The few Iranian officials to speak about the vote by Britain to leave the European Union appear to support the move, though the benefits to Iran remain unclear.

Deputy chief of staff of the armed forces Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri was the first Iranian official to offer a comment after the shocking June 23 vote that surprised most Western experts and analysts. “The desire by the people of England to leave the EU is in reality a ‘No’ by the majority of the people for the continuation of the compliance of the British government with respect the imposition of America’s will on this country,” Jazayeri said.

On the desire of the remaining countries of the EU to stay together, Jazayeri advised, “The only path to protect the EU is the open and practical independence from the White House.” Jazayeri also supported the calls for separation of other countries from Great Britain, saying, “The people of Scotland and other countries have the right to leave the yoke of monarchy of the so-called Great Britain.”

President Hassan Rouhani’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs Hamid Aboutalebi also weighed in on the referendum. “A large earthquake shook Europe,” Aboutalebi tweeted. Addressing the possible trend of other far-right groups in Europe in convincing their countries to leave the union, he tweeted, “The stars of the EU flag are currently falling.”