TEHRAN – Hossein Amir Abdollahian, a senior foreign policy advisor to the Iranian parliament speaker, has blamed the United States and Saudi Arabia for the recent unrest in Lebanon and Iraq, saying the two countries’ “political terrorism” will end in failure.

“Yesterday in Yemen, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia forced the prime minister to resign and created a government-less state which led to their failure and they are now stuck in Yemen’s quagmire,” Amir Abdollahian said in his Instagram account. “Today, they are creating a government-less state and unrest in Iraq and Lebanon.”

“Without a doubt, the new version of ‘political terrorism’ will end in failure as well,” he added.

Iraq and Lebanon have been the scene of protests in recent days.

At the start of October, street protests erupted in several Iraqi cities over unemployment and a lack of basic services.

An official investigation found that a total of 157 people, including civilians and security forces, had been killed in the first round of protests in the capital and other cities.

The protests resumed on Friday after a pause of about two weeks. The gatherings have turned violent at some points over the past days, with conflicting unofficial reports of fatalities.

In Lebanon, the protests first began on October 17, hitting Lebanon at a time of worsening financial crisis — banks were closed for a 10th day on Tuesday along with schools and businesses.

Embattled Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri submitted his resignation on Tuesday evening as people remained on the streets across Lebanon for anti-government demonstrations against the country’s economic crisis.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the resignation of the incumbent government led by Hariri would not solve the deep social and economic crisis in the country, and would further complicate the situation.

MH/PA