Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says efforts by the US and its allies under the banner of the fight against militants of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria are meant to divide Muslims.
"The US and its allies have falsely called their attempts combating IS; in fact, they are seeking to sow discord and fuel enmities among Muslims rather than eradicating the root causes of terrorism," Ayatollah Khamenei said, IRNA reported.
The Leader made the remarks in an address to a gathering of people from all walks of life in Tehran on the grand occasion of Eid al-Ghadeer, which marks the appointment of Imam Ali (AS) by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as his successor.
"The emergence of takfiri groups in Iraq, Syria and other countries is the outcome of plots by the enemies of Islam … they established al-Qaeda and IS to divide Muslims and confront the Islamic Republic, but their plots have failed and now engulfed themselves," he said.
"The enemies of Islam have always sought to drive a wedge between Shiites and Sunnis in order to deflect their attention away from the real enemy," the Leader stated.
A takfiri is a Muslim who accuses another Muslim of being an unbeliever.
The Islamic State is a terror group that was fighting the central government in Syria. Since June the group sent its militants into Iraq seizing large parts of land straddling the border between the two neighboring states. The IS militants have committed numerous crimes and atrocities there that has forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
Last month, the US and its allies agreed to launch airstrikes against the IS militants in Iraq and later extended the aerial bombardment to Syria as part of a US-led coalition.
