In a sectarian twist, War on Terror rhetoric has also been weaponised by Islamic Republic of Iran[26][27] which follows the Khomeinist interpretation of islam, even closely cooperating with USA frequently.[28] Iranian officials commonly invoke the "Wahhabi" label to further its sectarian identity politics in the region.[29] Even prior to the War on Terror, Iranian leaders like Ayatollah Khomeini and Rafsanjani had invoked the Wahhabi label describing Sunnis as "heretics" to stir up Sunniphobia and Iran's policy of exporting its Islamic Revolution.[30][31] After the War on Terror, its perceived that an imagined Wahhabi conspiracy replaced America as Iran's Great Satan.[32] This was further revealed by the statements of Qassem Soleimani, the former chief of IRGC who labelled "Wahhabism" with Jewish roots.[33][34] Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah labelled "Wahhabism" as "more evil than Israel"[35] in addition to "British Shiism" which he denounced as a "bigger threat than Wahhabism and Zionism".[36] In even more provocative tone, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif penned a controversial article in The New York Times titled "Let Us Rid the World of Wahhabism" wherein he described Wahhabism as a “theological perversion”, "a death cult" that has “wrought havoc” and labelled virtually every terrorist group as "Wahhabi".[37][38][39]