Iran cleric: Mideast unrest replay of our 1979 Islamic revolution

Haaretz (Link) - DPA (January 28, 2011)

The �aftershock� of Iran�s 1979 Islamic revolution was now rocking Egypt and other Arab states, a senior ayatollah said in the Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran.

�I herewith proclaim to those (Western leaders) who still do not want to see the realities that the political axis of the new Middle East will soon be Islamic rulership and a democracy based on religion,� Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said.

�All these protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and Yemen are inspired by Iran�s Islamic revolution and these countries are de facto rocked by the aftershock of the Iranian revolution,� the ultra-conservative cleric added.

The ayatollah said that the era of �Western-backed dictators� in the Arab world was over and the people have entered the scene with the slogan of Allaha Akbar (God is Great), which Khatami said.

A surge of popular protests over police and government repression and poverty swept Tunisia earlier in the month and sent their veteran leader from power, sending a chill through unpopular authoritarian governments across the Arab world. This first ousting has led to a wave of protests throughout the Arab world, with citizens holding anti-government demonstrations and demanding reform. Protests continued in Egypt for the fourth day, despite at least 5 protesters being killed in clashes with police since the protests began. �