TEHRAN — Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Saturday that Washington was aiming to trigger a confrontation between former archfoes turned allies Iran and Iraq.
"America's final goal is to create confrontation between Iran and Iraq," Vahidi said in reaction to an interview by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in which he urged Washington's Arab allies to strengthen their military capabilities in order to pressure Iran into halting its nuclear programme.
"We advise US officials not to try to militarise the atmosphere in the region and to change their wrong strategy to make up for past mistakes," Vahidi was quoted as saying by Fars new agency.
According to a transcript of the interview with Al Jazeera aired on Monday, Gates said "one of the pathways to get the Iranians to change their approach on the nuclear issue is to persuade them that moving down that path will actually jeopardize their security, not enhance it.
"So the more that our Arab friends and allies can strengthen their security capabilities, the more they can strengthen their co-operation, both with each other and with us, I think sends the signal to the Iranians that this path they're on is not going to advance Iranian security but in fact could weaken it," he said.
Gates also suggested that a democratic Iraq will help "diminish" Iran's influence in its Shiite neighbour.
"I think that a strong and democratic Iraq, particularly one with a multi-sectarian government, becomes a barrier to Iranian influence and not a bridge for it," he said.
"So I think, in the short term, perhaps Iran's position was strengthened somewhat but I think if you look to the longer term, and the role that Iraq can play in the region going forward, I think that Iran's position may well be diminished," he said.
Iran and Iraq fought a brutal war in the 80s which left about a million people dead on both sides. But since the fall of Saddam Hussein, relations between the two Shiite neighbours have flourished.
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