Diplomats Debate Role of Iran in Region

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Former Iraqi Defense Minister Sa’adoun Al Dulaimi stressed that sending additional American troops to Iraq will not bring peace to the war torn country,.

“Sending more American troops to Iraq will not help the situation there,” said, the country’s defense minister during the Iraqi Transitional Government, in reference to the Bush Administration’s recent announcement to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq.

He also played down claims of Iranian interference in Iraq, saying they are “an exaggeration.”

“The Americans are blaming the Iranians for [the instability] in Iraq to deflect attention from the failure of their policies there,” he said.

Al Dulaimi was attending a conference held by a Dubai-based think tank, the Gulf Research Centre (GRC), which brought together academics, diplomats and government officials to introduce the center’s Gulf Yearbook.

Much of the event was dominated by concerns about a possible war in Iran and the future of Arab Gulf states’ relations with the country.