Iran warns of US blame-game bid
Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi warns of a new ' blame-game' scheme by Americans against the Islamic Republic, saying the US seeks to justify its defeats in the region.
Vahidi dismissed the recent claims by the newly appointed US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta that Tehran is arming certain Iraqi groups, saying “US officials are leveling such accusations with the purpose of justifying their defeats in the region, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
He pointed to “weak performance” of the US and its Western allies in Iraq and Afghanistan and stated that their defeats have led to the creation of a “crisis-like” situation in Washington.
“They are trying to play a blame game by attributing their defeats to other countries in the region, including Iran,” Vahidi emphasized.
On July 11, US Defense Secretary Panetta, who was on a formal visit to Iraq, said the US is “very concerned about Iran and the weapons they’re providing to extremists in Iraq.”
The United States and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003, citing concerns over alleged weapons of mass destruction wielded by the executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist government.
No such weapons were ever found in Iraq. However, nearly 50,000 American troops still remain in the country.
In August 2010, the United States declared an end to its combat mandate in Iraq but left 50,000 of American troops in the country for what it called "advising and training" purposes.
The US forces, however, are expected to fully withdraw from the Iraqi soil by the end of 2011, although they are exerting intense pressure on the Iraqi government and power centers to force an extension of their military presence in the war-torn country.
Source: presstv.ir
