Four prominent Shiite Muslim clerics as well as the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards militia expressed support Wednesday for the Palestinian suicide bombings against Israel.
"Suicide attacks are justified. Those who carry out such acts die as martyrs and will end up in paradise," Grand Ayatollah Yussef Sanei told an office of support for the Palestinian intifada headed by Parliament Member and former ambassador to Syria Ali Akbar Mohtashami.
The organization said three other senior clerics in the Iranian holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, also "justified the attacks and said that support for the intifada is a religious task for all Muslims."
Meanwhile, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Rahim Safavi, also justified suicide attacks, Kayhan newspaper reported.
"If a part of the Muslims in the world takes actions against Israel, the Israeli regime is doomed to disappear," he said, encouraging Palestinian activists "to continue their martyr operations."
Iran has close ties with Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
