SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speeches during the Caspian Summit on August 12, 2018 in Aktau, Kazakhstan. (Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
Iranian President: Saudis Would Not Have Carried Out Khashoggi Murder Without 'Protection of America'
"No one would imagine that in today's world and in this century, we would witness such an organized murder, with an apparatus organizing such a heinous killing," said Hassan Rouhani
Oct 24, 2018
As the Trump administration refuses to punish Saudi Arabia with anything more than a meaningless slap on the wrist following the kingdom's murder of Washington Post journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared on Wednesday that the Saudi killing of Khashoggi--as well as the oil monarchy's vicious bombing campaign in Yemen--could not have taken place without U.S. "protection."
"If there was no American protection, would the people of Yemen still have faced the same brutal bombing?"
--Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President"No one would imagine that in today's world and in this century, we would witness such an organized murder, with an apparatus organizing such a heinous killing," Rouhani said during a cabinet meeting. "I don't think that a country would dare commit such a crime without the protection of America."
Rouhani went on to rip the U.S. for continuing to fuel the Saudis' ongoing assault on Yemen, which has killed thousands of civilians--including many young children--and sparked the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet.
"If there was no American protection, would the people of Yemen still have faced the same brutal bombing?" the Iranian president asked.
Rouhani's remarks came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump described Saudi Arabia's handling of Khashoggi's killing as "the worst cover-up ever," but once again declined to place any blame for the gruesome murder on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Unlike Germany, the Trump administration has not halted its massive weapons deal with the Saudis over Khashoggi's murder. Instead, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Tuesday that the U.S. is revoking the visas of 21 Saudis suspected to have played a role in the killing--a punishment that was immediately decried as "a joke."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As the Trump administration refuses to punish Saudi Arabia with anything more than a meaningless slap on the wrist following the kingdom's murder of Washington Post journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared on Wednesday that the Saudi killing of Khashoggi--as well as the oil monarchy's vicious bombing campaign in Yemen--could not have taken place without U.S. "protection."
"If there was no American protection, would the people of Yemen still have faced the same brutal bombing?"
--Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President"No one would imagine that in today's world and in this century, we would witness such an organized murder, with an apparatus organizing such a heinous killing," Rouhani said during a cabinet meeting. "I don't think that a country would dare commit such a crime without the protection of America."
Rouhani went on to rip the U.S. for continuing to fuel the Saudis' ongoing assault on Yemen, which has killed thousands of civilians--including many young children--and sparked the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet.
"If there was no American protection, would the people of Yemen still have faced the same brutal bombing?" the Iranian president asked.
Rouhani's remarks came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump described Saudi Arabia's handling of Khashoggi's killing as "the worst cover-up ever," but once again declined to place any blame for the gruesome murder on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Unlike Germany, the Trump administration has not halted its massive weapons deal with the Saudis over Khashoggi's murder. Instead, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Tuesday that the U.S. is revoking the visas of 21 Saudis suspected to have played a role in the killing--a punishment that was immediately decried as "a joke."
As the Trump administration refuses to punish Saudi Arabia with anything more than a meaningless slap on the wrist following the kingdom's murder of Washington Post journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared on Wednesday that the Saudi killing of Khashoggi--as well as the oil monarchy's vicious bombing campaign in Yemen--could not have taken place without U.S. "protection."
"If there was no American protection, would the people of Yemen still have faced the same brutal bombing?"
--Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President"No one would imagine that in today's world and in this century, we would witness such an organized murder, with an apparatus organizing such a heinous killing," Rouhani said during a cabinet meeting. "I don't think that a country would dare commit such a crime without the protection of America."
Rouhani went on to rip the U.S. for continuing to fuel the Saudis' ongoing assault on Yemen, which has killed thousands of civilians--including many young children--and sparked the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet.
"If there was no American protection, would the people of Yemen still have faced the same brutal bombing?" the Iranian president asked.
Rouhani's remarks came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump described Saudi Arabia's handling of Khashoggi's killing as "the worst cover-up ever," but once again declined to place any blame for the gruesome murder on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Unlike Germany, the Trump administration has not halted its massive weapons deal with the Saudis over Khashoggi's murder. Instead, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Tuesday that the U.S. is revoking the visas of 21 Saudis suspected to have played a role in the killing--a punishment that was immediately decried as "a joke."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.