Hassan Ameli, the Friday prayer leader in Ardabil, said in his sermons at Friday prayers in this city: “The United Arab Emirates is the center of plots against Arab and Islamic countries. The UAE is the fifth government in the world in arms purchases; what do they want this weapon for? They don’t have an army; where are they fighting on their own borders? All these weapons are sent to other countries to disrupt their situation.”

Ameli continued: “There is no Arab or Islamic government except that the UAE has created trouble for it; of course, Zayed lacks the rational management of these plots and these complex projects, and behind the scenes, the Israelis are present.”

The Friday prayer leader in Ardabil added: “People of investigation say that the United Arab Emirates is among the Israeli settlements and the Hebrew settlements.”