ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned as “shocking, provocative, and irresponsible,” a White House statement holding Tehran to account for attacks on US facilities amid unrest in Iraq. “The US government is the main cause of instability, unrest, tensions, and divisions in the region,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Ghasemi said in a statement. He was reacting to comments from White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders who said on Tuesday that Washington would Tehran responsible for any attacks that injured Americans or damaged US government property in Iraq. “Iran did not act to stop these attacks by its proxies in Iraq, which it as supported with funding, training, and weapons,” she said. Six artillery rounds were fired at the US Embassy in Baghdad on Friday, but did not cause any damage or casualties. Iran’s consulate in Basra was torched last week by protesters. Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi opened a new facility in the city on Tuesday. Ghasemi said the US carries the blame for the unrest because of its support for “groups that have spread and promoted violence and extremism.” The US must be held accountable, he added, saying Iran’s priority is for a “safe and developed Iraq.” Washington’s hawkish policy on Iran is part of a foreign policy that is isolating the US globally, argued Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. “Today, we are at a clear war against the aggressors of history. Today, a group are lining up against the Iranian nation and don’t have any political and intellectual supporter except a few countries,” Rouhani said at a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, ISNA reported. America is being abandoned by its allies, he added, describing it as “one of the worst times in the history of the US.” “Today, the allies of America are not supporting them politically and even America’s traditional allies have distanced from this country and they are proud of this distance, while once they were proud of being with the US,” he said.
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