Ayatollah criticizes ‘British Shia’ as protests continue
The tweet from the Iranian Supreme Leader follows the Islamic Republic's complaints about London-based Persian language media outlets’ coverage of ongoing anti-government protests in Iran.
The Supreme Leader of Iran lashed out today at Iranians living in the United Kingdom.
“I once referred to the British Shia. Some falsely said what we mean by British Shia is the Shia living in England. No, we mean the people who follow the British in creating discord, the conflict-inciting Shia,” said Ayatollah Ali Khameini on Twitter.
Khameini added that such individuals are “like Wahhabis & Takfiris who serve the enemy in this way.”
Wahhabism is a Sunni fundamentalist form of Islam that predominates in Iran’s geopolitical foe Saudi Arabia. Takfiri is an Arabic-language term that refers to apostasy in Islam. Iran often calls the Islamic State and other Sunni groups takfiris.
