News / Politics

Iran: Khashoggi murder would have been impossible without US support

Wednesday, 24 October 2018 10:54 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 24 October 2018 11:14 AM ]

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) speaks at a cabinet meeting in Tehran on October 24, 2018. (Photo by president.ir)

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has condemned the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying perpetrating such a “heinous” crime would have been impossible without the support of the United States, a close Riyadh ally.

“No one would imagine that in today’s world and in this century, we would witness such an organized murder, with an apparatus organizing such a heinous killing,” Rouhani told a cabinet meeting, referring to the findings in the case of Khashoggi, who entered the Saudi consulate on October 2, but never emerged.

A Turkish investigation has found that Khashoggi was murdered inside the diplomatic mission.

In a belated acknowledgement, which followed repeated denials, the Saudi regime finally admitted that Khashoggi, a supporter-turned-critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had been killed. Members of bin Salman’s inner circle have been blamed for the Washington Post columnist’s death.

Ankara is now working to find out the details of the death, including who ordered the murder and how exactly it was perpetrated.

PressTV-Erdogan wants Saudi suspects in murder case tried in Istanbul

Turkish President Erdogan says all the 18 suspects in the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Khashoggi should be brought to justice, calling for the trials to be held in Istanbul.

Rouhani further said, “I do not think that a country would dare commit such a crime without the support of the US,” which currently stands accused of seeking to cover up Khashoggi’s murder and protect its allies in Riyadh.

The Iranian president described the case as a “big test” for the entire Western states, the so-called advocates of human rights.

“Undoubtedly, the positions which the US, Europe and other world countries adopt on the issue will reveal the degree of their sensitivity to [protecting] human rights and to preserving human dignity,” he noted.

The Iranian president further note that Khashoggi’s murder had been inspired by the same ideology that created the Takfiri terror outfits, such as Daesh in the region.

“Committing such a crime shows how a wrong ideology could lead to deviation and this is the same ideology that has created terrorist groups such as Daesh in the region," he said.

He also called on the Turkish government to conduct “precise and impartial" investigations to shed light on all dimensions of the “unprecedented” crime.

Rouhani further denounced the US backing for the Saudi-led military campaign on Yemen and the world’s silence on the brutal war.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey will not allow those responsible for the killing of to avoid justice, from those who ordered it to the ones who carried it out.

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