Injudicious US policies root cause of Mideast tensions: Iran

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has dismissed the “spiteful” anti-Iran remarks by the head of the US Central Command, saying Washington's “injudicious and incorrect” policies are the root cause of tensions in the Middle East.

“The injudicious and incorrect US policies have been the main reason behind the volatile, tense and unstable situation in the Middle East region over the past decades and recent years,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday.

He added that the “wrong and meddlesome policies of US statesmen” have generated the current tensions in the region.

“These mistakes are themselves a product of US officials’ excessive demands and lack of correct understanding and perception of the strategic and sensitive region of the Middle East and a result of relentless support for the [Israeli] regime occupying Jerusalem al-Quds,” the Iranian spokesperson added.

He said allegations leveled by the US official against the Islamic Republic are merely an attempt to divert attention away from Washington’s role in the creation of terrorist groups.

Addressing the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, General Joseph Votel, the head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), alleged that Iran “aspires to be a regional hegemon and its forces and proxies oppose US interests in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza and Syria, and seek to hinder achievement of US objectives in Afghanistan and some Central Asian States.”

He claimed that Iran’s "influence is the most significant threat to Middle East Security.”

Qassemi said the unwise and malevolent conducts of the US are the root cause of the establishment of Takfiri terrorism and extremism and the emergence of terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and Daesh are just a small part of the results of these policies.  

The Iranian spokesman pointed out that even the US president, as the commander-in-chief of the country, had “openly, explicitly and repeatedly acknowledged and clarified [these policies] in the election campaign.”

In an interview in August 2016, US President Doland Trump reaffirmed his assertion that former US President Barack Obama had founded Daesh.

"No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS (Daesh)," Trump said. "I do. He was the most valuable player. I give him the most valuable player award. I give her, too, by the way, Hillary Clinton."

Qassemi added that the US is the biggest exporter and supplier of advanced weapons and military equipment to “certain governments in the region” and as such plays a significant and prominent role in the escalation of tensions, crises, warmongering, insecurity and political turmoil in some Western Asian countries.

The Iranian spokesperson said the consequences of such US policies can be clearly seen, monitored and judged by all the world.

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