Iran Accuses US of Taking "Warmonger Approach"

Iranian leaders on Monday accused the United States of taking "warmonger approach," and called for efforts to safeguard the world peace.

The accusation was made by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and President Mohammad Khatami when they were addressing a ceremony marking a Muslim holiday, the official IRNA news agency reported.

In his speech, Khamenei said that the ongoing U.S. military strikes against Afghanistan were based on "a pretty weak pretext" of uprooting international terrorism.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns the warmonger approach of the United States and calls on the world nations and governments to safeguard peace and calmness, as well as to adopt rational approaches," he stressed.

He urged the world Muslims and the Islamic countries to rely on their inheritance and resources to "make essentially important decisions on their fate and annul the threats, injustice and oppression plotted against them."

Khatami noted that the latest developments in Afghanistan have demonstrated the "moral decline of the world."

He expressed regret that the U.S. is attacking a "most oppressed nation" instead of punishing the "real criminals" of the September 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington.

The world is "in dire need of the life-giving message of Islam," that is the prevalence of peace, kindness and comprehensive understanding of all, the Iranian president said.

The U.S. has been pounding the Afghan ruling Taliban militia since October 7 for harboring Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect of the September 11 terror attacks.

Iran, which has been at odds with both the U.S. and the Taliban regime, has not only condemned the September 11 terror attacks, but also opposed the U.S. military strikes against Afghanistan.






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