Iranian supreme leader calls Annapolis conference a failure

Ayatollah Khamenei says US "hopes to preserve its reputation and compensate for past failures of the fake Zionist regime."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
khamenei the boss!! (photo credit: AP)
khamenei the boss!!
(photo credit: AP)
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the Annapolis conference a failure on Monday, claiming it was meant to salvage America's reputation in the region rather than realize the rights of Palestinians, state television reported. "Today, all politicians know in advance that this conference has already failed," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast by state TV. "The US and its accomplices hope to preserve their reputation with this conference and compensate for past failures of the fake Zionist (Israeli) regime." Khamenei's comments came on the heels of a telephone call late Sunday between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in which the Iranian president expressed disappointment at Saudi participation in the parley. "I wish the name of Saudi Arabia was not among the participants at the Annapolis conference," the official news agency IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. The Iranian president said the US could not be a legitimate host for the conference because "it is an accomplice to Zionist (Israeli) crimes." He urged Arab countries to be watchful of Israeli plots and deception, IRNA reported. Also Sunday, Ahmadinejad said in a public speech that the peace conference would help Israel and "has no benefit for the oppressed Palestinian nation." He questioned the intelligence of the representatives attending the meeting, accusing them of making concessions to Israel - an apparent reference to Arab neighbors like Saudi Arabia and Syria who are sending senior officials to the conference. In October, Iran called the conference a hopeless exercise.