Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today accused the United States of promoting terrorism in the nation’s Kurdish border areas. Iran has been clashing with Kurdish separatists in the border region for years. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell claimed to have no knowledge “that we are undertaking anything of that sort.”
Morrell added that he found the accusation “terribly ironic given the fact that the Iranians continue to provide financing and weaponry to undermine our efforts to stabilize the governments in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Morrell said the US soldiers are still finding large numbers of Iranian-made weapons. Iran remains on good terms with the Iraqi government despite the US claims, and is hosting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari today. Zebari praised Iran for its support.
The US has previously been accused of funding separatist movements in Iranian Balochistan, as well as sewing dissent among the nation’s Azeris and Arabs. The US has officially denied such actions, but has until very recently had a very public policy of trying to foment regime change in Iran.