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The Ambassador of Israel to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, has described Nigeria as a victim of Iran’s alleged terrorism sponsorship.
“Nigeria has been on the receiving end of terrorism from Iran. We’ve seen Iran spreading terror throughout the world,” said Freeman.
The ambassador made this statement during an interview with Arise News on Friday.
Western governments, including the United States and some of their allies, have consistently accused Iran of funding, training, and arming militant groups abroad.
These allegations stem from the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the US-backed Shah. The new leadership said it would export its Islamic revolutionary ideology and oppose Western and Israeli influence in the Middle East.
Iran reportedly began supporting armed movements opposed to Israel and Western allies in the region. This led the United States to designate Iran a “state sponsor of terrorism” in 1984, a label it still carries today.
Aside from this, the United States and Israel have also accused Iran of building nuclear weapons in violation of international provisions on nuclear proliferation. The US has, over the years, cited this as a justification for its strikes on Iran, referring to them as “preemptive”.
Freeman echoed these exact sentiments. He accused Iran of funding and backing all the major terrorist organisations and carrying out terror attacks in Argentina, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere.
“We’ve seen them carry out terror attacks in the UK. We’ve seen them carry out attempted attacks in Australia. This is a country that sponsors terror, whose Revolutionary Guard is a designated terror group across all of Europe and many other countries around the world,” said Freeman.
“It’s quite clear that Iran is a nation—is an international sponsor of terror, and to make any other accusation or any other claim is absurd.”
Despite these allegations, Nigeria maintains diplomatic relations with Iran, and the two countries have generally cordial ties, mainly focused on trade, energy, technology, and diplomacy.
