''Egypt, Tunisia suffered for being servile to US''

Tehran, Feb 5 (MNA) Supreme Leader of the IslamicRevolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that the maincause of the protests of the Tunisian and Egyptian nations wasthe humiliation they suffered due to their governments''servitude to the United States.

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks at Friday prayersat the Tehran University campus, in reference to the popularprotests which have recently occurred in certain Arabcountries.

During his sermon, the Leader called Mubarak the"servant" of Israel and the United States.

He told worshippers, "For 30 years, this country(Egypt) has been in the hands of someone who is not only notseeking freedom, but himself is the enemy of the quest forfreedom. Not only is he not anti-Zionist, but he is thecompanion, colleague, confidant, and in a sense, the servantof the Zionists."

The ex-Tunisian president Zine al Abidine Ben Ali wasalso linked to the U.S. and there are reports which show hehad connections with the Central Intelligence Agency, theLeader added.

However, western countries are making efforts todeflect the world''s attention from the main cause of theuprisings saying they occurred due to economic problems,Khamenei stated.

He also described the developments in the Arab worldas the "echoes of the voice of the Iranian nation."

This is the Islamic awakening that "was always talkedabout at the time of the victory of the great IslamicRevolution of Iran," he added. (MNA)