TEHRAN — Tehran has reacted to recent bigoted remarks by Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir, saying every terrorist group in the region has graduated from Saudi-funded Madrassas.

“For decades, Wahabism—nurtured by colonial powers—has been *the* source of bigotry, hatred & terrorism in our region—and beyond,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh wrote in a tweet on Thursday.

“Fact: Every terrorist group in our region has graduated from Saudi-funded Madrassas,” he said. “No amount of Saudi obfuscation can hide this ugly reality.”

It came after al-Jubeir took to Twitter to attack Iran’s Foreign Minister Zarif. He said Zarif is “desperate to blame the Kingdom for anything negative that happens in Iran. Will he blame us for the next earthquake or flood?”

“It is not the policy of Saudi Arabia to engage in assassinations; unlike Iran, which has done so since the Khomeini Revolution in 1979,” al-Jubeir said. “Ask us, and ask many other countries who have lost many of their citizens due to Iran’s criminal and illegal behavior!”

Khatibzade said the Saudi kingdom’s atrocities in Yemen, and the infamous case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are just some of their other stunts.

“The latest: standing alongside the leading state-sponsor of terrorism against Palestinians,” he said, making a reference to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent secret visit to Saudi Arabia.

“Saudis must change course. The policy of inflaming tension is no longer tenable,” the spokesman added.

The Saudi minister’s rant came after Zarif said in an Instagram post on Monday that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent tour of the region, his tripartite meeting with Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as Netanyahu’s recent remarks were signs of yet another conspiracy against the Islamic Republic, which unfortunately came to light with Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s assassination.

“A counter-intelligence campaign and purposeful psychological warfare were launched in tandem with this terrorist act, in the delusive hope that the evil plans of Pompeo, Netanyahu and bin Salman to create tensions would materialize,” Zarif’s post read.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, 59, was assassinated in a terrorist attack at a small city east of Tehran on November 27. The attack involved an explosion and small fire.

In a message after the incident, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged all relevant administrators to “investigate this crime and firmly prosecute its perpetrators and its commanders” and “to continue the martyr’s scientific and technological efforts in all the sectors where he was active.”

MH/PA