Ayad Allawi clarifies his comments about Saddam and Khamenei

BAGHDAD, January 8 — the office of the leader of the National Coalition, Iyad Allawi, issued a clarification regarding his recent statements made on a television program, about former president Saddam Hussein and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The office’s clarification, translated by 964media:

Statement by the office of the leader of the National Coalition, Dr. Iyad Allawi.

Some media and social networking sites recently discussed the excerpted conversation of Dr. Iyad Allawi during his meeting on the MBC channel and the controversy it sparked among some unscrupulous individuals, attempting to discredit national no figures. Here we wish to clarify the following.
The segment is part of Dr. Iyad Allawi’s interview in the Al-Satr Al-Awsat program, which airs on MBC channel. The interview’s content was about milestones and memoirs in Dr. Iyad Allawi’s journey since the 1950s, including his opposition to Saddam’s tyranny and the phase post-2003, along with many issues and facts.
The interview was documentary in nature, discussing the past. Dr. Iyad Allawi’s response, when asked during the interview about his love for Saddam, was part of his talk about the beginning of his acquaintance with Saddam and his initial appreciation for the courage and loyalty he found in him until the truth was unveiled, revealing Saddam’s real intentions to seize power by any bloody means. He then killed many leaders, including the late Abdul Karim Sheikhli and many others. The main reason for Dr. Allawi’s opposition to Saddam and his regime was his wrongful behaviors, policies of killing, bloodthirsty approach, tyranny, and lust for power. Even Allawi himself was subject to several assassination attempts by Saddam and his oppressive regime, nearly losing his life but for divine providence. He spent a year and a half in the hospital and still suffers from its effects, in addition to the harassment his family faced and the confiscation of his properties in Iraq. Eventually, his brother, the late Imad Allawi, was assassinated. Is it conceivable that after all this, Dr. Allawi would express his love for a person whose only path to achieving his goals and desires was killing, blood, and injustice?
Regarding Dr. Allawi’s comments about Mr. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, it was a message of reproach for previous statements made by former Iranian officials claiming that Iran controls four Arab capitals. Dr. Allawi expressed his displeasure and rejection of these statements, reaffirming his opposition to any foreign interventions in the internal affairs of countries.