Iran Blasts "Mistaken Policies of Occupiers" in Iraq

Source: Al-Manar TV, 29-05-20008
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Thursday blamed the United States for the grave security situation in Iraq, which he said had "cast a shadow" over the lives of Iraqis. The major security problems remaining in Iraq were "due to mistaken policies by occupiers in Iraq," Mottaki told an international conference on the war-torn country in Stockholm.
"Security in Iraq is now so grave that it has cast a shadow over" the lives of all Iraqis, he added, in what was one of the few signs of criticism at the upbeat meeting held in the outskirts of the Swedish capital. Iran was "following with profound humanitarian concern the ongoing events in Iraq," Mottaki said.
"This common and regional concern and the very holding of this conference bear testimony to the grave situation of this country," he said, stressing Iran's commitment to "assist Iraq in its political development, restoration of its peace and stability, as well as its reconstruction process."
The one-day conference was the first follow-up meeting since the International Compact with Iraq (ICI), a five-year peace and economic development plan, was adopted in Egypt in May 2007. It was hosted by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and UN chief Ban Ki-moon and drew as many as 600 delegates, including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.