According to Iranian opposition figures, the recent campaign of aggression against the Egyptian, Saudi and Jordanian diplomatic missions in Teheran and Mashhad was not a spontaneous outburst, but rather a series of attacks planned by the Iranian government.

The National Council for the Iranian Resistance, one of Iran’s most prominent opposition groups, claimed that the instructions for aggression were issued by the Commander of the Revolutionary Guards himself, establishing the political backdrop against which the actions took place.

In a communiqué issued on the subject of the attacks, the Council expressed the view that the decision by the Revolutionary Guards and their government backers to resort to such actions was an attempt to exploit events in Gaza and the Palestinian cause generally to justify Iranian interventions in a number of Middle Eastern countries and to reproach Arab countries that oppose Iran’s policies.

The Council called on Arab countries to shut down their diplomatic missions in Tehran, cautioning them that the protest was a warning of the possibility that Arab embassies in Tehran could be stormed in the way that the U.S. Embassy was in 1979.

It renewed its appeal to all states, parties and religious, political and cultural entities in the region to form a united front against extremism and thus stay the hand of the Iranian regime, particularly in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq.

The attacks cited were accompanied by protests in several Arab countries with vocal pro-Iranian communities demonstrating at embassies. Egyptian embassies were a particular target of demonstrators. Some of those protests culminated in confrontations with security forces.

Elements subservient to Iran also issued statements and accusations targeting Egypt in particular. The most strident of these emanated from Hamas leaders and Secretary General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah.

[Al-Watan (Kuwait)]