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UK seeks to divide states along ethnic lines: Analyst

Saturday, 17 December 2016 6:52 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 17 December 2016 6:52 PM ]

Saudi King Salman (L), British Prime Minister Theresa May (C) and King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa, pose for a picture during a [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) summit on December 7, 2016, in the Bahraini capital, Manama. (Photo by AFP)

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has strongly criticized Britain’s role in the region, saying London has always been a threat to West Asia throughout history. The Leader made the remarks in response to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s recent anti-Iran comments.

Ayatollah Khemenei pointed to the British government’s divisive bids in India, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq, and noted, “Now, that British official shamelessly claims that Iran is a threat to the region.”

Catherine Shakdam, programs director of Shafaqna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies in London, believes Britain has done everything it can to split countries and people along sectarian and ethnic lines because it seeks to divide and conquer.

“So I think that America and Britain have a lot to answer to when it comes not just to Western Asia but the rest of the world because whenever people and countries have tried to stand on their own two feet and become independent and claim their sovereignty, then something has happened, the narrative has been weaved and war has been declared,” the analyst told Press TV.

She also stated the source of sectarianism which has plagued the Islamic world is Saudi Arabia, adding that the British Empire plays a great role in helping the rise of Wahhabism which is the ideology that terrorist groups such as Daesh carry.

According to the analyst, Muslim unity is the only way to counter Western agendas which seek to divide not just the Middle East but the Islamic world as a whole.

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