January 24-2014
Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif places a wreath at the tomb of Imad Mughniyeh, the late Hezbollah official the United States says organized both the truck bombing of the US Marine barracks and of the US embassy in Beirut a few months apart in 1983. The two bombings killed 350 people. The White House said it was astounded that Zarif would honor such a person who was “responsible for heinous acts of terrorism.” At a time when Iran is trying to negotiate with the United States, Zarif’s public display of honoring Mughniyeh “sends the wrong message,” the statement said. Mughniyeh died in Damascus six years ago when a bomb attached to his SUV blew up when he turned the ignition. Israel is widely believed to have been behind that bombing.
