kayhan.ir

News ID: 70463
Publish Date : 14 September 2019 - 22:06
FM Zarif:

With a Friend Like Israel, U.S. Needs No Enemies

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif has weighed in on a report that said the occupying regime of Israel was behind the placement of devices in the vicinity of the White House that can capture cellphone calls.
Zarif mocked the U.S.-Israel relationship in a tweet directed at U.S. President Donald Trump that referred to his relationship with Zionist PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
"With a BFF in the #B_Team — who empties US coffers and takes US foreign policy hostage — SPYING on the US PRESIDENT, America doesn’t need enemies,” Zarif wrote, alongside screenshots of the report.
Zarif on Twitter often refers to the "#B_Team,” which includes former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, who left the post Tuesday, Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, all hawks on Iran. "BFF” is an acronym used online that stands for "best friends forever.”
The Politico news outlet reported Thursday that the FBI had determined the Zionist regime was responsible for the placement of cellphone surveillance equipment near the White House and at other sensitive locations in Washington, DC.
Trump said Thursday that he did not believe it. "I don’t believe that, no, I don’t believe the Israelis were spying on us. I really would find that hard to believe,” Trump told reporters at the White House after being asked about the report.
"My relationship with Israel has been great,” Trump said, listing some of his controversial pro-Israel decisions. "Anything is possible,” he conceded, "but I don’t believe it.”
An Israeli spying operation against the United States government on American soil would represent a dramatic departure from decades-old Israeli policy, a former intelligence official said.
The occupying regime of Israel was first caught red-handed in the 1985 Jonathan Pollard scandal of spying on the United States.
A former senior U.S. official with knowledge of the Israeli operation told Politico it was assumed that the devices were installed to spy on Trump and his top aides, although it was unclear whether the attempt was successful.
Netanyahu on Friday appeared to blame a U.S. strategist working with the Blue and White campaign for being behind the report.
On Thursday afternoon, the author of the Politico story, Daniel Lippman, said he stood by the report, despite denials by the Zionist regime.