Eurasia Press & News
Iran’s envoy at a conference on Iraq security in the Syrian capital denied accusations by the United States that Teheran is fueling Iraq’s violence.“There is no evidence on this subject,” said Mohammad Firouznia, head of the Iranian delegation at the gathering in Damascus. “We have held talks with the Americans in Baghdad aimed at helping the Iraqi government and people … We are serious about this issue.”
Firouznia’s comments followed a recent announcement by Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the US second-in-command in Iraq, in which he claimed that Iranian-armed Shiite militiamen were behind 73 percent of the attacks that killed and wounded US troops in Baghdad in July, nearly double the figure six months earlier.
“This isn’t an official report. It’s not the first time that such accusations are made,” Firouznia told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting of a newly set up security committee on Iraq.
The United States has long alleged that Iran is fueling violence in Iraq, but it has never presented any corroborative evidence to prove its allegations.
The US is also at loggerhead with Iran over Tehran’s refusal to halt sensitive nuclear work, alleging that Tehran is seeking to produce nuclear bombs. Yet, Washington has never presented any substantiating evidence to prove its allegations. Tehran rejects the charges vehemently, stressing that it needs nuclear technology for generating electricity.
