Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in Tehran today that the allegations "are in line with U.S. officials' efforts to cover up their weaknesses and to justify their defeats in Iraq."
Asefi said Iran wants to have a united, strong, and integrated Iraq as its neighbor.
On June 22, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey, said Iran was a major force behind unrest in Iraq. He said Tehran trains and arms violent Shi'ite groups and uses "surrogates" to carry out terrorist strikes.
(AFP)
Iraq And Iran
WHAT IS GOING ON? On March 8, RFE/RL's Washington office hosted a roundtable discussion on relations between Iraq and Iran. Although most analysts agree that Iran has been actively involved in Iraq since the U.S.-led military operation to oust former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, they continue to debate the nature, extent, and intent of that involvement.
The RFE/RL briefing featured WAYNE WHITE, former deputy director of the U.S. State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research's Office of Analysis for the Near East and South Asia, and A. WILLIAM SAMII, RFE/RL's regional analyst for Iran and editor of the "RFE/RL Iran Report."
LISTEN
Listen to the complete RFE/RL briefing (about 75 minutes):
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