Iran eager for Brexit to destroy Europe

Hamid Abutalebi, the political director of the Iranian presidential office, suggested Iran should try to capitalize on Britain&#039;s decision to exit the EU.

(Image credit: Majid Saeedi/Getty images)

published 24 June 2016

Before the dust had even settled from Britain's historic vote Thursday to exit the European Union, Iran was already talking about how to capitalize on it. On Friday, the political director of the Iranian presidential office, Hamid Abutalebi, applauded Britain's decision to leave the European Union, which he said could be a signal that the EU's collapse is imminent. Abutalebi then urged Tehran to get as much out of the "historical opportunity" as possible.

"A great earthquake has shaken Europe and the U.K. has quit the European Union," he tweeted Friday. "The stars of Europe's union are falling down. Economic changes in south European countries, terrorism, and the refugee crisis showed that the Union is about to fall. But the domino was ticked off with Brexit."