Iran says US blame over Iraq attacks ‘astonishing’

Iran describes as “astonishing” the accusations by the White House earlier today that Tehran’s allies in Iraq were responsible for attacks on US diplomatic missions during deadly unrest last week.

Both the US consulate in Iraq’s third city Basra and its embassy in Baghdad were in areas that came under attack.

But the main target of the unrest in Basra were the offices of political parties and militias backed by Iran, which saw its consulate in the city burnt to the ground.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi blames the unrest on US support for “groups which have spread and promoted violence and extremism.”

“The US government must be held accountable for its years of support for these groups,” Ghasemi says, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

He is responding to a statement by the White House on Tuesday, which criticized Iran for failing to prevent the violence, particularly the attacks on the US diplomatic missions.

“Iran did not act to stop these attacks by its proxies in Iraq, which it has supported with funding, training, and weapons,” the statement said.

— AFP