Iran Parliament Speaker: US, Israel obstruct regional revolutions

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Iran’s Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has censured Washington and Tel Aviv for attempting to neutralize the pro-democracy revolutions occurring across the Middle East and North Africa.Addressing a Friday ceremony in the Tunisian capital Tunis celebrating the adoption of the country’s first post-revolution constitution, Larijani said that Washington and Tel Aviv have tried to divert some of the region’s revolutions from their course.“Even after the revolutions that happened in the region, the US and Israel tried to divert and devastate some of the revolutions so that Israel can benefit,” he said.He also called Israel the "cancer" of the region. The US delegation walked out of the ceremony in protest.The Iranian Majlis speaker also congratulated the Tunisian officials for adoption of the new constitution and said Iran supports the country’s interim government.Tunisia, the birthplace of pro-democracy protests across North Africa and the Middle East, has been struggling with a democratic changeover since the overthrow of its Western-backed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.The Tunisian constitution was approved on January 26, after receiving 200 of the 216 votes in the country’s National Constituent Assembly.During a Friday meeting with Tunisian Parliament Speaker Mustafa Ben Jafar in Tunis, Larijani called for the enhancement of economic ties between Iran and Tunisia and invited Ben Jafar to participate at the upcoming meeting of parliament speakers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.Larijani traveled to Tunisia at the invitation of the president of Tunisia’s National Constituent Assembly to take part in the ceremony./129