TEHRAN (Tasnim) � Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said the West and Israel have sought to prevent Muslim countries from focusing on the Palestinian issue by establishing Takfiri (extremist) groups.

Speaking to Arabic-language Al-Manar TV, Shamkhani touched upon the latest developments in the Middle East and the spread of Takfiri and terrorist groups in the region, saying that the extremists have emerged in the region with the support of some Western states and the Zionist regime of Israel.

��western states, Zionists and tyrants have created them (Takfiri groups) in our region to waste the energy and power of the Islamic Ummah (community) and prevent the Muslim world from focusing on its basic objective, which is the issue of Palestine,� he noted.

Earlier on June 4, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei reiterated that the issue of Palestine is the main issue for Iran and that Tehran's support for the Palestinian people will continue.

Takfiri groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are believed to be supported by the West and some regional Arab countries.

The terrorist group claims as an independent state the territory of Iraq and Syria, with implied future claims intended over more of the Levant, including Lebanon, occupied Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, and Southern Turkey.

By Tasnim News Agency