Iran says Khalilzad's accusations not true

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said today that Washington's insistence on military strategies accounts for the problems facing Iraq and the Middle East.

According to a report released by the Foreign Ministry Media Department, the statement was made in reaction to the claims of US Ambassador to Baghdad Zalmay Khalilzad against Iran.

Accusing Iran of taking dual standards in its stance on Iraq, Khalilzad claimed that on the one hand Iran supports the Iraqi government and on the other it assists the paramilitary and extremist groups in the country.

Hosseini referred to Khalilzad's claims as a way to blame others for the problems caused by the US foreign policy and getting away from difficulties currently encountered in Iraq. He stressed that the incompatibility of US foreign policy to the general conditions of Iraq and the region also mainly account for the failure of the US policy-making system.

"The general strategy of Iran's foreign policy is based on promotion of peace, stability and security in Iraq's territory and strengthening of its government," he said.

Turning to Iran's sincere support for the Iraqi government and nation, he urged that at the end of his diplomatic term in Iraq, the US ambassador to Baghdad would better brief the White House honestly on the basic drawbacks of his country's foreign policy, given that this might create the hope for return of stability and tranquility to Iraq.