Aal-e Saud strategic partner of Israel, West in Mideast: Shamkhani

Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani on Friday has slammed Western double standards in dealing with Saudi crimes against Muslim nations, saying Riyadh serves as the “strategic partner” of the West and the illegal Zionist entity in the region.

According to Press TV, he said that the West’s all-out support has encouraged the Saudis to step up their atrocities across the region.

Shamkhani added: "Today, the government which is the root cause of Muslim killings in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, serves as the strategic ally of the West and Israel in the region, leaving a big question mark over  fake US claims about human rights."

Shamkhani, who was speaking on the first anniversary of the deaths of thousands of Muslim pilgrims in a human crush during last year’s Hajj rituals, further said the tragedy “will be a stain of shame on Aal-e Saud forever.”

Riyadh’s refusal to apologize for the incident as well as its failure to identify those guilty fuel the suspicion of the kingdom’s complicity in the incident, he said.

About 7,000 people, including 465 Iranians, lost their lives in a crush during Hajj rituals in Mina, near Mecca, on September 24, 2015. Iran had the greatest number of deaths among foreign nationals.

SS