Tag: Terrorism

Israel’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, has claimed that Iran is actively supporting Shi’ite organisations and promoting terrorism in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa in a bid to undermine stability in the region. Freeman made the allegation during an interview on The Morning Show on Arise News, where he discussed what he described as Iran’s long-standing pattern of backing militant groups in different parts of the world. He pointed to organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah as examples of groups that Tehran has allegedly supported over the years, adding that similar influence is also being extended to Africa. Speaking about Nigeria, the envoy alleged that the Islamic Movement of Nigeria is among the groups receiving backing from the Iranian government, stating that the relationship between the movement and Tehran has been publicly documented. “I think that it is well documented. We know that certain movements, for example, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, are sponsored and backed by the Iranian regime. This is not just me saying this; we’ve seen it documented by the Iranian regime. “The Supreme Leader posted on X his support and his backing there, so that’s very open. There are also other areas where Iran is working to destabilise not only Nigeria but all of West Africa. “We’ve seen over 47 years that they’ve taken all the actions they can in order for that to happen. We’ve seen them sponsor terror organisations. They were behind the October 7 massacre by Hamas. We’ve seen them sponsoring Hezbollah. We’ve seen them acting in Europe, Australia, and Nigeria. “We’ve seen these people acting all across the world to spread disturbance as they pursue their aim of destroying Israel. Israel will not allow another country to have nuclear weapons when they have expressly stated they want those weapons to destroy Israel,” he said. Freeman further argued that Iran has spent decades financing militant groups globally as part of its confrontation with Israel and broader efforts to spread instability. “The issue here is about Iran. Iran is the only country in the world, in the United Nations, who expressly desires to wipe another country off the face of the earth. Iran has stated its very policy is to destroy Israel — to wipe Israel off the map and ensure every single person is killed. No regime or country that has an express desire to destroy Israel should be allowed to pursue such ambitions.”