Iranian Official Hits US for Scapegoating

The US is hyping an Iranian threat to Iraq to deflect attention away from its mistakes, Iran’s ambassador to Iraq told CNN, again denying allegations Tehran is attacking American troops trying to stabilize the country. “US security plans for Iraq have not succeeded,” Hassan Kazemi-Qomi said. The administration is accusing others to “cover up their own failed plans.”

This week, Gen. David Petraeus repeated assertions that Iranian operatives were infiltrating Iraq and targeting American forces, a claim Kazemi-Qomi denied, suggesting instead that US allies were acting “as sabotaging forces” in the country. He criticized several US policies like de-Baathification of Iraq and the arming of some groups he labeled “terrorists.” (More Iran stories.)