Iranian ambassador implicates CIA in Neda Agha Soltan’s death

In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Iranian Ambassador to Mexico Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri implicated the CIA in Neda Agha Soltan’s widely-publicized death.

Via the LA Times, here’s a snippet of the WTF-inducing exchange:

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we’re anxious to hear your government’s response to all of these developments which have been very dramatic over the past two weeks. A key question many people around the world are asking is, why did your security forces kill that 26 year-old beautiful student named Nada?

MOHAMMAD HASSAN GHADIRI, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO: I prefer to answer this in Persian.

BLITZER: Go ahead.

GHADIRI (through translator): This death of Ms. Nada is very suspicious. She was shot from behind. The location was where there was not much demonstration, there was no police presence and the gun that shot and killed her was a smuggled gun. It was not a government-issued gun.

Blitzer is incredulous.

BLITZER: Are you seriously accusing the CIA of killing Neda?

GHADIRI (through translator): We say that the bullet that was found in her head was not a bullet that you could find in Iran.

These are the bullets that the CIA and terrorist groups use. Of course they warned that there would be a bloodshed in these demonstrations and then they could attribute that to the Islamic republic. This is part of a common act of CIA in various countries.

BLITZER: Do you really believe that, Mr. Ambassador?

You’re a distinguished diplomat representing Iran. This is a very serious accusation that you’re making, that the CIA was responsible for killing this beautiful, young woman.

GHADIRI (through translator): I’m not saying that the CIA had done this. There are different groups. Could be intelligence services, could be CIA, could be the terrorists.

Well, it’s nice to know the OMG terrorists don’t just terrorize us poor beleaguered Americans.

CIA spokesman George Little hit back at the allegations, saying:

“Any suggestion that the CIA was responsible for the death of this young woman is wrong, absurd and offensive.”

It should also be noted that Neda was, by most reports, shot in the chest- not the back or the head as Ghadiri seems to think. Ghadiri went on to accuse the international media of digging its propagandist claws into Iran, accusing news outlets of overlooking violent Moussavi supporters and unironically stating:

“Some of the reporters and mass media do not reflect the truth.”