ID :
194566
Tue, 07/12/2011 - 14:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/194566
The shortlink copeid
Senior MP Rejects US Allegations about Iran's Interference in Iraq
TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian lawmaker on Tuesday categorically rejected the allegations raised by the US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta about Iran's arms shipment to anti-US militants in Iraq, and condemned the US as the main creator of terrorist groups in not just Iraq, but the region.
"The groups that wage terrorist attacks in Iraq today have all been created by the US," member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Parviz Sorouri told FNA.
"Evidence and documents display that most of the terrorist operations in Iraq have been carried out by the Al-Qaeda network which receives direct support and backup from the US," he added.
"All the groups that are killing Muslim people in Iraq are born by the US and intend to portray Iraq as insecure (country)," he noted.
The remarks by Sorouri came a day after Leon Panetta said during his first visit to Iraq as Pentagon chief on Monday that Washington is concerned about Iran providing weapons to Iraqi militants.
The Iranian lawmaker further stated that the US officials make such remarks in an effort to escape from their repeated failures in the region.
Meantime, a senior US State Department official confessed that Washington has no proof to substantiate its allegations about Iran's arms shipment to militant groups in Iraq.
Speaking to FNA in Iraq's Northern Kurdish city of Erbil on Monday, US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Thomas Nides repeated his country's earlier claims against Iran, but admitted that the US has no "strong and tangible evidence" to prove the claim.
He claimed that "the US is well aware of Tehran's financial and military assistance with US foes in Iraq", but it does not have any proof or document to corroborate its allegations.
Asked to explain the US logic behind such claims, the senior US administration official said, "We are sure that Iran helps the militants, but our knowledge is based on information that cannot be presented or released.
"That is to say, there is no proof since it is just intelligence (information)," Nides added.
The allegation was first raised by the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.
Tehran has strongly rejected the allegations, saying that the US is trying to project the blame for insecurities and killing of its troops in Iraq on other actors.
"These comments are repetitious and display the United States' trouble in earning the attention of the Iraqi parliament and government for extending its presence in Iraq," Iran's Envoy to Baghdad Hassan Danayeefar said on Sunday.
"These remarks are a lie and aim to put the blame on the other countries," he added.
The Iranian envoy stated that "Americans are seeking an excuse to implement their Iranophobia plans and stir doubt and anxiety among Iraqi politicians and statesmen. They want to pretend that Iraq would be threatened by Iran, if Americans leave Iraq".
The US signed an agreement with Baghdad at the end of November 2008 on withdrawing all its troops from Iraq by December 31, 2011 as a deadline.
But Washington officials have recently pressed senior Iraqi officials to revise their decision on the US pullout and demand Washington to keep its troops in the country beyond their scheduled departure in the yearend.
Iraqi state officials as well as religious and political figures have all condemned the US attempts for extending the mission of its troops in the country.
Iraq's Government Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh categorically denied speculations that Baghdad is going to strike a deal with Washington to extend the presence of the US troops in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline.
"The report is a sheer lie since no action has been taken in this regard and the government of Iraq hasn't singed such a deal with the US," Dabbagh told FNA in Baghdad last month.
"The groups that wage terrorist attacks in Iraq today have all been created by the US," member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Parviz Sorouri told FNA.
"Evidence and documents display that most of the terrorist operations in Iraq have been carried out by the Al-Qaeda network which receives direct support and backup from the US," he added.
"All the groups that are killing Muslim people in Iraq are born by the US and intend to portray Iraq as insecure (country)," he noted.
The remarks by Sorouri came a day after Leon Panetta said during his first visit to Iraq as Pentagon chief on Monday that Washington is concerned about Iran providing weapons to Iraqi militants.
The Iranian lawmaker further stated that the US officials make such remarks in an effort to escape from their repeated failures in the region.
Meantime, a senior US State Department official confessed that Washington has no proof to substantiate its allegations about Iran's arms shipment to militant groups in Iraq.
Speaking to FNA in Iraq's Northern Kurdish city of Erbil on Monday, US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Thomas Nides repeated his country's earlier claims against Iran, but admitted that the US has no "strong and tangible evidence" to prove the claim.
He claimed that "the US is well aware of Tehran's financial and military assistance with US foes in Iraq", but it does not have any proof or document to corroborate its allegations.
Asked to explain the US logic behind such claims, the senior US administration official said, "We are sure that Iran helps the militants, but our knowledge is based on information that cannot be presented or released.
"That is to say, there is no proof since it is just intelligence (information)," Nides added.
The allegation was first raised by the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.
Tehran has strongly rejected the allegations, saying that the US is trying to project the blame for insecurities and killing of its troops in Iraq on other actors.
"These comments are repetitious and display the United States' trouble in earning the attention of the Iraqi parliament and government for extending its presence in Iraq," Iran's Envoy to Baghdad Hassan Danayeefar said on Sunday.
"These remarks are a lie and aim to put the blame on the other countries," he added.
The Iranian envoy stated that "Americans are seeking an excuse to implement their Iranophobia plans and stir doubt and anxiety among Iraqi politicians and statesmen. They want to pretend that Iraq would be threatened by Iran, if Americans leave Iraq".
The US signed an agreement with Baghdad at the end of November 2008 on withdrawing all its troops from Iraq by December 31, 2011 as a deadline.
But Washington officials have recently pressed senior Iraqi officials to revise their decision on the US pullout and demand Washington to keep its troops in the country beyond their scheduled departure in the yearend.
Iraqi state officials as well as religious and political figures have all condemned the US attempts for extending the mission of its troops in the country.
Iraq's Government Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh categorically denied speculations that Baghdad is going to strike a deal with Washington to extend the presence of the US troops in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline.
"The report is a sheer lie since no action has been taken in this regard and the government of Iraq hasn't singed such a deal with the US," Dabbagh told FNA in Baghdad last month.
