Mottaki criticizes US policy in Middle East

Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Monday that the White House policies in the Middle East are a “failure.”

Mottaki said the war against terrorism and extremism is used as a pretext for the presence of the US military in the oil-rich region.

He made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting South African Parliament speaker, Max Sisulu, in Tehran.

In another meeting with German Ambassador to Tehran Bernd Erbel, the Iranian minister said if Washington fails to revamp its approach in Afghanistan, the future of the war-ravaged country would be in doubt.

US-led forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001, following the 9/11 attacks on US soil, to allegedly root out terrorism and establish democracy in the country. However, none of the stated objectives have yet been achieved.

Mottaki said the American people and elites understand the severity of the situation in Afghanistan.

The administration of US President Barack Obama has recently decided to increase its troops in Afghanistan to counter the escalating militancy in the country.

Iran’s first Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi also commented on the issue before flying to Turkey for a conference on the Afghan crisis.

He said there is no military solution to the Afghan war.