TEHRAN, August 11 (RIA Novosti, Nikolai Terekhov) - An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has rejected claims made by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that Iran was involved in illegal weapons supplies to Iraq.
Hamid Reza Asefi said Thursday the Americans should bear complete responsibility for their failed strategy in Iraq and refrain from ungrounded accusations.
Asefi said Iran was in favor of comprehensive support for the friendly people and government of Iraq, who can choose their own fate and follow the road of political and economic development.
The Pentagon head accused the Iranian authorities earlier this week of helping to transport shaped charges allegedly made in Iran to Iraq, and criticized Iran of interfering with Iraq's internal affairs.
Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Washington has accused Tehran of human rights violations, attempts to torpedo the Middle East peace process and obtain nuclear weapons. Rumsfeld's statement has now added another accusation to this traditional list - interference with the internal affairs of Iraq, where the Shi'ite opposition is now an opponent of the pro-American authorities.
