Tehran: A change of government in Tunisia
and violent protests in Egypt and Yemen are evidence that
Iran`s revolution is being replayed, a senior Iranian cleric
said on Friday.
"An Islamic Middle East is taking shape," Ayatollah
Ahmad Khatami said in his Friday prayer sermon. "A new Middle
East is emerging based on Islam ... based on religious
democracy."
Violent protests in Tunisia toppled former President
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and a "Friday of Wrath" has engulfed
Egypt, a US ally.
Protesters in Yemen also have called for the outser of
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled for nearly 32
years.
Khatami said the deposed Tunisian president copied the
policies of the former Iranian shah and met a similar fate.
"This is God`s tradition: Those who fight religion are
doomed to fail," he said.
Iran`s state TV provided extensive coverage of the
violent protests that have engulfed Egypt, saying President
Hosni Mubarak won`t have a fate better than the shah`s.
PTI
