US cannot make up for regional blunders by accusing others

Tehran has rejected US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent claims on Iran’s regional role as unfounded, saying such fabrications cannot help undo Washington’s “strategic blunders” in the region.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the European Union (EU)’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels on Tuesday, Tillerson accused Iran of carrying out a number of “destabilizing actions in the region.”

“These issues and activities of Iran cannot be ignored and cannot go unanswered, and we intend to continue to take action to ensure Iran understands this is not acceptable to us, and we look forward to working with European partners in that regard as well,” he said.

Reacting to the allegations, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said, “Repeating baseless and false allegations would not help make up for the strategic and big mistakes made by the US vis-à-vis Iran and the region over the past decades,” he said.

“Leveling accusations against other countries would be no cure for the pains as well as deep and old scars left form America’s aggressive policies and excessive demands in the region,” he added.

Qassemi also advised Tillerson to develop a better understanding of the realities on the ground and the region’s history as well as the negative impact of US policies there before expressing his views and making judgements.

Iran, which has itself been a victim of US “interventionist policies,” is viewed as a country operating on the frontline of the fight against terrorism in the region and the world, he pointed out.

Qassemi also slammed the US for turning a blind eye to Iran’s counter-terrorism efforts, and said leveling false allegations against the country emanate from Washington’s anger over the Islamic Republic’s relentless struggles to eliminate terror and restore stability to the region.

The Iranian official stressed that Tehran would keep up its contribution to regional peace and its fight against terror within international norms.

Iran has been offering military advisory assistance to Syria and Iraq in their campaigns against Takfiri terrorists wreaking havoc in the two countries. Tehran’s support helped the Iraqi and Syria national armies cleanse their homeland of Daesh, the world’s most notorious terror group.

On the contrary, the US and its allies back militants fighting to topple legitimate governments in the region.

They have also been conducting a bombing campaign without any authorization against purported terrorist targets, resulting in civilian casualties.