Iran's Foreign Minister: 'US military presence leads to disaster'

Iranian Foreign Minister. Photo AE

The statement was made by Mr. Zarif when speaking at the Doha Forum in the capital of Qatar on December 15. He said: “The disparities in power, geographical size, natural and human resources… between countries in our region have led to disastrous outcomes.”

“Some global actors look at and see these differences and regional rivalries as an opportunity: indeed, as fertile ground to expand their military presence and sell more weapons to almost everyone in the region,” the Iranian foreign minister said.

He added that the presence of foreign forces in the region did not enhance security and “only led to disasters, from the USS Vincennes shooting down an Iranian civilian airliner in 1988 to the rise in extremism that was an inevitable consequence of the US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan – an outcome we have predicted since 2001.”

Criticizing Washington's policy of selling more weapons to Persian Gulf countries, leading to an arms race in the region, the senior Iranian diplomat asserted: "In terms of arms trade, Persian Gulf countries accounted for nearly a quarter of global arms imports in the period 2014-2018, an average of almost double compared to the previous five years. It is not surprising that the US sells most of these lethal weapons."

Zarif also said that some countries in the region have chosen unwise policies: “And most in the region, flush with oil wealth, believe that everything can be bought. Certainly, weapons – including the most sophisticated ones – can be bought in abundance.”