#Iran #accuses #provoking #crises #Middle #East
Tehran on Sunday accused Washington of provoking tensions in the Middle East, a day after US President Joe Biden ended a trip to Iran’s rival Saudi Arabia and nemesis Israel.
Washington “again has resorted to failed Iran-phobia policies in an attempt to create tension and crisis in the region,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement.
The comments come after Biden vowed in a transparent reference to Iran on Saturday that the United States would “not tolerate efforts by any country to dominate another country in the region through military buildup, incursions and/or threats.” .
Biden’s first visit to the Middle East came just days before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s scheduled July 19 visit to Tehran.
Biden, speaking in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah at a summit bringing together the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, reassured Arab leaders that Washington would remain fully engaged in the Middle East.
“We’re not going to walk away and leave a vacuum for China, Russia or Iran to fill,” Biden said.
After the meeting, the heads of state and government pledged in a joint declaration to “maintain regional security and stability”.
It also underscored diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, notably calling for enhanced joint deterrence capabilities “against the increasing threat” posed by unmanned aerial vehicles — a likely reference to Tehran, which released ships and submarines on Friday revealed capable of carrying armed drones.
Tehran, which denies building a nuclear bomb, dismissed comments made in Jeddah on Sunday.
“These false allegations are consistent with Washington’s insurgent policies…in the region,” Kanani said.
Biden began his regional tour in Israel on Wednesday before visiting the Palestinian Territories and then flying to Saudi Arabia.
In the Jewish state, Biden signed a security pact to strengthen a united front against Iran, in which the president pledged to use “all” US power to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Kanani said the pact was a “magnificent display of deception and hypocrisy” by the United States because “they turn a blind eye to the Zionist (Israeli) regime as … the largest holder of the nuclear arsenal in the region”.
It is widely believed that Israel possesses the Middle East’s only, but undeclared, nuclear arsenal.
A landmark deal that imposed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions lifting was undermined in 2018 by former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal, prompting Iran to break its commitments.
Efforts to revive the deal have stalled since March.
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