TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei joined the international criticism of race-related violence in the United States on Wednesday with a tweet.
"If U.S. has any power, they better manage their country, tackle #WhiteSupremacy rather than meddle in nations' affairs. #Charlottesville," Ayatollah Khamenei's official Twitter feed posted.
The Leader’s office was responding to the furor in the U.S. over an attack in Charlottesville by a suspected Nazi sympathizer, who ploughed his car into anti-racism protesters, leaving one dead and 19 injured.
U.S. President Donald Trump has raised another huge controversy by saying there was "blame on both sides."
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry lashed out at Washington for a "hypocritical” annual report on the situation of religious freedom in the Islamic Republic.
 "It is clear that religious and racial discrimination, Islamophobia, and xenophobia are a widespread and frequent phenomenon among American politicians," spokesman Bahram Qasemi hit back on the ministry's website.
White supremacists welcomed Trump's insistence on blaming "both sides" for deadly violence in Charlottesville.
The praise for the Republican leader drew concern and condemnation from across the political spectrum, including from senior figures within his party.
Trump's presidential campaign last year enjoyed broad far-right backing, and the Trump administration includes several figures linked to far-right and neo-Nazi groups.
Trump initially blamed "many sides" for the violence and avoided calling out the far-right by name.
After an outcry, he specifically condemned white supremacy two days later.
By Wednesday, however, Trump again criticized "both sides" including anti-fascist protesters, who he described as the "alt-left", a term popularized by the far-right.
The U.S. president earned praise from white supremacist ideologue, Richard Spencer, and from former KKK leader, David Duke.
Responding to a tweet by far-right polemicist Ann Coulter, which praised Trump for standing up to the media, Spencer wrote: "Trump cares about the truth."
Duke wrote on the social media platform: "Thank you President Trump for your honesty and courage to tell the truth about Charlottesville and condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa."
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a U.S.-based civil liberties organization demanding equal rights for African Americans and an end to police brutality.
From the center-right to the left, Trump's behavior and comments have attracted condemnation on Twitter.
During his address on Wednesday, the U.S. president referred to "very fine people" on both sides of the divide.
Activist and writer Shaun King said Trump's speech was an "an open embrace of white supremacy."
"As expected, white supremacists loved the off-script press conference Donald Trump just gave. loved it."
Senior Democrat and senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, said Trump's purported neutrality was indicative of his sympathies.
"By saying he is not taking sides, Donald Trump clearly is. When David Duke and white supremacists cheer, you're doing it very very wrong," he tweeted.
The Trump campaign targeted minority groups, including immigrants from Latin America, refugees, and Muslims.
Trump, a former reality TV star, has described immigrants from Mexico as "drug dealers, criminals, rapists" and called for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S.
A watered down version of his Muslim ban was later introduced, only to be rejected by courts.