Iranian officials continued on September 5 to trade barbs with the Palestinian Authority over its president's decision to renew direct peace talks with Israel.
Both sides have been publicly criticizing each other since Friday, when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the talks would fail. He made the comments on Quds Day, an annual holiday in Iran that marks the country's solidarity with Palestinians and calls for the end of Israeli occupation.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, fired back Saturday, saying Ahmadinejad, "who does not represent the Iranian people, who forged elections and who suppresses the Iranian people and stole the authority, is not entitled to talk about Palestine, or the President of Palestine."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast warned Abu Rudeineh on September 5 to "exercise more caution in wording his statements," according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
"(Ahmadinejad) was chosen with the overwhelming majority of votes, and is responsible for announcing the country's foreign policies as the representative of the people," Mehmanparast said in responding to Abu Rudeineh's allegations.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met for direct talks in Washington last week, pledging to move the peace process forward. After two days of meetings, they deadlocked over the contentious issue of Israeli settlements.
Meanwhile on September 5, Iran's Mehmanparast said the passionate comments made by Ahmadinejad and the Quds Day rallies "shows their concern about the fate of Palestinian people and their occupied lands," according to Fars.
CNN/VOVNews
