President Donald Trump's condolence message to Iran after the recent terrorist attack in Tehran was met with a less-than-positive reception, to say the least.
Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, "Repugnant WH statement & Senate sanctions as Iranians counter terror backed by US clients. Iranian people reject such US claims of friendship."
[salon_video id="14777177"]As Politico points out, Iran's Revolutionary Guard is blaming the attacks on Saudi Arabia, a major ally of the United States in the Middle East. That said, Saudi Arabia has denied involvement in the attack, while the well-known terrorist group ISIS (aka the Islamic State) has claimed responsibility.
The "repugnant" statement referenced by Zarif is presumably the "Statement by the President on the Terrorist Attacks in Iran," which could certainly be perceived as blaming the Iranian government for the atrocity committed in Tehran.
"We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times," the statement read. "We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote."
Last year, the State Department found that Iran was the top state sponsor of terrorism, although it also found that ISIS is the main culprit behind terrorist attacks on an international level, according to a report by CNN. The annual report on global terrorist activity identified Iran as "the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in 2015, providing a range of support, including financial, training, and equipment, to groups around the world."
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