Iran's Supreme Leader Says U.S. Efforts In Region Will Fail

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (file photo) (Fars) February 18, 2007 -- Iran's supreme leader has said that the United States' efforts in the region will not succeed.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the comments today during his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Tehran.


He told al-Assad that "the aims of the United States in Iraq have not been realized and there is no sign that they will be realized. The position of [US President George W.] Bush is so weak that even members of his own party criticize him."

Al-Assad accused the United States of seeking "to push the peoples and the governments to make use of ethnicities and create divisions in the Islamic world. It is this final card that they are trying to play."

Al-Assad also renewed Syria's support for Iran's nuclear activities, saying that as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty the country has the right to a peaceful nuclear program.

The Syrian leader left Iran today after two days of talks with Iranian leaders that focused on Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine.

(AP, Reuters, AFP)