TEHRAN – Iranian officials have welcomed the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder and leader of Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group, but at the same time blamed the U.S. government for creating Daesh and other terrorist groups in the first place.

Iran’s presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi said on Monday that the criminal activities of Daesh would only end if sponsors of the terrorist group stop funding and arming the terrorists to secure their own interests.

“Fighting terrorism, by any country, is a justified action, but according to the confessions of American authorities, Daesh terrorist group was formed by the U.S. itself,” Mehr quoted Vaezi as saying.

Daesh was supported by the Americans “as long as it was involved in blind terrorist measures and warmongering in the region to secure that country’s interests,” he remarked.

Vaezi added that the U.S. destroyed Daesh’s leader but this will not eradicate the source of violence.

“Obviously, as long as the U.S. and some countries in the region are using terrorist groups, the mindset and mentality of terrorism will not be drained.”

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Baghdadi had died during a “dangerous and daring” nighttime operation in Syria.

“Last night the United States brought the world’s number one terrorist leader to justice,” Trump said while addressing the media at the White House on Sunday.

The U.S. president said the Daesh leader blew himself up, dying “like a dog,” and “like a coward” after American forces trapped him inside a dead-end tunnel.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was born in 1971 in the city of Samarra, Iraq. He earned a PhD in Islamic Studies from Saddam University in Baghdad.

Root of Daeshism won’t be eradicated by bomb

Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Sunday that the death of Baghdadi will not be the end of Daeshism.

“The root of Daeshism will not be eradicated by bomb and mortar fire,” Rabiei said, pointing out that regional petrodollars and Takfirism need to be addressed as the main reasons behind the phenomenon.

“As the death of Bin Laden did not root out terrorism, the death of Baghdad will not end Daeshism,” he added.

He also said the terrorism that exists in the Middle East and North Africa is the result of Washington’s militaristic policies, its oil-driven interventions and its support for dictators.

Rabiei said Iran is at the forefront of fighting terrorism and has favored a diplomatic and strategic approach to combat Daesh. 

Foreign Ministry: Daesh was destroyed by Syrians, Iraqis

“Daeshism, terrorist ideologies, extremism and sectarianism still persist and have always been among the instruments used by countries like the U.S.,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry says.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said the nations and governments of Syria and Iraq, with logistical support from Iran and the pious people of the region, destroyed Daesh through their resistance.

“Daesh was eliminated by the youth of the (axis of) resistance,” Mousavi said on Monday, adding, “Daeshism, terrorist ideologies, extremism and sectarianism still persist and have always been among the instruments used by countries like the U.S.”

‘Daesh ideology is still alive’ 

He said the Americans themselves have claimed and even confessed to have created Daesh and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 

“They (terrorists) have an expiration date, and whenever they are expired, they are destroyed (by the U.S.),” he stated.

“We do not consider the killing of al-Baghdadi as an end to terrorism and Daesh. Although we defeated Daesh with the (help of) regional governments and nations, we warn that the ideology is still alive, and their remnants may be reorganized by the Americans and carry out destructive operations in the region,” Mousavi added.

“The U.S. is the creator of terrorist groups and Trump is the destroyer of expired terrorists,” Abbasali Kadkhodaei, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, said in a tweet on Monday.

“After Daesh, should we expect creation of a new terrorist group?” he asked.

MH/PA