Iran, Pakistan defense ministers discuss US role in region on phone

The Iranian and Pakistani defense ministers have held talks on Washington’s role in the region days after US President Donald Trump’s Twitter spree against both nations.

According to Press TV, in a Thursday telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Khurram Dastgir-Khan, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ali Hatami hailed growing defense cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad.

Hatami said the latest developments in the region and the Islamic world necessitate more interactions among officials of Iran and Pakistan, as two major countries in the region and the Muslim world.

“The Americans always blame the others over their own failures in different parts of the world and they pursue the strategy of the Zionist regime (Israel) to destabilize the region,” he said.

The Iranian defense chief said the “evil and stupid policies of the US” are the root cause of the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and the deaths of innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq and Syria on a daily basis.

Hatami pointed to the ample potentials for military cooperation between Iran and Pakistan and stressed that the two countries should utilize such capacity to enhance their economic growth and security.

The Pakistani defense minister, for his part, welcomed the promotion of military cooperation with Iran with regard to the regional issues, noting that the two countries should further enhance such cooperation given the rapid pace of changes and regional developments.

Dastgir-Khan also criticized US President Donald Trump’s repeated tweets against Pakistan and underlined the importance of the Muslim nations’ sovereign right to provide their own security.

Iranian and Pakistani security officials are cooperating to root out the so-called Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group which has been launching terrorist attacks against Iran from the Pakistani soil.

The latest phone conversations came only days after US President Donald Trump posted a series of tweets, in which he voiced support for the scattered riots in Iran and lashed out at Pakistan for supporting terrorists.

Trump tweeted on Monday that, “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif fired back and said his government was preparing a response that “will let the world know the truth.”

The White House is also suspending national security assistance to Pakistan, claiming Islamabad is not acting seriously enough against militants.

Iranian officials have also slammed Trump for meddling in Iran’s internal affairs, calling on the US president to stop posting insulting tweets against the nation.

Last week, a number of peaceful protests over economic grievances started in several cities, but those gatherings suspiciously changed color and turned ugly when groups of participants, some of them armed, launched attacks on public property, police stations and religious sites.

The original protesters soon left the streets upon calls by the authorities so security forces could deal with the rioters and sporadic violence, which continued in some towns and cities for several days.

Taking a provocative and meddlesome stance, US President Donald Trump posted several tweets in defense of rioters, expressing his support for the protests in Iran.

On Wednesday, Iranians from all walks of life took to the streets in several cities to condemn the violence.   

ME