things like this illustrate the evil nature of 'our' government;

 

 Senior American officials waged an intensive behind‑the‑scenes campaign over the past five days to dissuade countries from participating in the funeral ceremonies of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, according to a report.

The US campaign was coordinated at the highest levels, involving Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US ambassadors worldwide, and included explicit threats to cut development aid and harm bilateral relations if nations chose to pay their respects to the martyred leader, Tasnim News Agency reported, quoting a senior Iranian source.

On June 26, Rubio issued a confidential directive instructing all US embassies and diplomatic missions to use various capacities of the United States to persuade host country officials that their participation in Iran’s funeral ceremony would be considered an unfriendly act by the United States and would have negative consequences for bilateral relations.

Two Arab diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Rubio personally contacted his counterparts in at least five Arab countries to press them to stay away.

Meanwhile, US ambassadors in African nations went further, explicitly threatening to cut off American development aid if their host countries sent representatives to Tehran.

As a result of the intense US pressure, at least 13 countries, including three Eastern European nations, five African states, two Persian Gulf Arab countries, and two major East Asian nations, withdrew from the funeral...........more...........