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Iran's Ahmadinejad Accuses U.S. of Seeking Mideast Dominance

Associated Press
Published | Updated

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's president criticized the U.S. on Friday for its plan to increase weapons sales to several Arab countries and step up military aid to Israel, saying Washington was trying to impose its dominance on the Middle East, the president's office reported.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments were sparked by Washington's announcement earlier this week that it would sell advanced weaponry to Persian Gulf nations worth at least US$20 billion (euro15 billion) and provide new 10-year military aid packages to Israel and Egypt.

"All U.S. efforts are for the creation of differences among our brothers in the region to impose its ideas and hegemony," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying on his office's official Web site. "Americans feel their relations with regional (Mideast) countries are weakened, and under cover of this, the arms deal, they want to make relations warm."

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice visited its allies in the Middle East this week to discuss the proposed military package, seen as a counterweight to Iran's rising influence in the region.

The Iranian president also criticized U.S. support for Israel and Washington's efforts to promote Arab-Israeli peace.

"The U.S. plans to introduce Israel as a friend of the regional (Arab) countries," said Ahmadinejad. "Instead, they want to portray the Iranian nation, brother and best friend of Arab nations, as their enemy."

The U.S. accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons and supporting Shiite militias in Iraq, charges Tehran denies.

The Sunni-led governments of the Middle East are also wary of Shiite Iran's growing power, and Israel views the country as its principal enemy. The U.S. hopes to capitalize on this fear to rally support for its efforts to isolate Iran.

During his visit, Gates said the U.S. "can't wait years" for Iran to change its policies and argued that more countries needed to support U.N. sanctions to put additional pressure on Iran.

Ahmadinejad was defiant on Friday, saying "Americans have faced a dead end" in their efforts to squeeze Iran.

"They will go nowhere with these primitive and weak movements," he added.

The Iranian president called on Arab nations to spurn the U.S. weapons deal, arguing they should "spend the resources for progress and development of their countries."