Full Focus

Somali government soldiers run to position during an ambush by al Shabaab rebels on the outskirts of Elasha town May 29, 2012. Somalia's al Shabaab rebels ambushed an armoured convoy carrying the President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed during a rare overland trip outside the capital on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said. President Ahmed was unharmed in the attack which occurred on the outskirts of Elasha town, located between Mogadishu and the former rebel stronghold of Afgoye, about 30 km (18 miles) northwest of the city. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

Editor's choice

Our best photos from the last 24 hours.  See more 

Iran hits back at U.S. over dictatorship comment

Factbox

Related Topics

Related Video

Video

Secretary Clinton warns Iran

Mon, Feb 15 2010
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki speaks with journalists while attending a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in Tehran February 16, 2010. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki speaks with journalists while attending a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in Tehran February 16, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Morteza Nikoubazl

TEHRAN | Tue Feb 16, 2010 7:36am EST

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran hit back at the United States on Tuesday for saying the Islamic state was moving toward a military dictatorship, accusing Washington of pursuing wrong policies in the Middle East.

"They themselves are involved in a sort of military dictatorship and have practically ignored the realities and the truths in the region," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, according to ISNA news agency.

"America has a wrong attitude toward the issues in the Middle East and it is the continuation of their past wrong policies," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday the United States believes Iran's Revolutionary Guards are driving the country toward military dictatorship and should be targeted in any new U.N. sanctions.

"We are sorry for Mrs. Clinton...for trying to divert public opinion in the region toward unreal and untruthful matters," Mottaki said.

Speaking in Qatar before flying to Riyadh, Clinton denied the United States planned to attack Iran and said Washington wanted dialogue with Tehran but could not "stand idly by" while Iran pursued a suspected nuclear weapons program.

Clinton said Washington hoped to pressure Iran through a U.N. Security Council resolution targeting the Revolutionary Guards, who she accused of usurping the government.

"We see that the government of Iran, the supreme leader, the president, the parliament, is being supplanted and that Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship," she told students in a televised session.

The United States is leading a push for the U.N. Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran, which says its nuclear program is solely to generate electricity so it can export more of its oil and gas.

(Reporting by Reza Derakhshi; writing by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Angus MacSwan)
World
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (10)
alimostofi wrote:
The mullahs of Iran do not represent Iran, and the world should be careful in reprinting their comments. Please refer to them as the Iranian regime. Please help us remove them non-violently, so that we can have intelligent people making intelligent comments on behalf of all of us. Thank you.

Feb 16, 2010 6:01am EST  --  Report as abuse
texasbrian wrote:
@alimostofi : Although everyone understands that the Iranian leaders do not represent the will of the Iranian people (much like the Bush government didn’t represent most of the American people), they ARE the Iranian government in place right now, so it is correct to refer to the leaders as “Iran.”

Feb 16, 2010 6:54am EST  --  Report as abuse
TBendoraitis wrote:
Whenever you hear anything spoken by the odious cult disciple Hillary Clinton, immediately shut your belief system down. She is among the six most hated women on the planet internationally. They don’t call it the “Clinton” body count for nothing. It seems anyone who is about to testify against the Clintons dies a mysterious and untimely death other than Monika which makes ya wonder. She is being used now to stir hatred against the Iranian people and again instill that dangerous but successful instrument of fear amongst Americans because she has no conscience and is deprived of moral fiber. Do some research, Google or better yet use ixquick to read the odious history trying to tell America’s youth and people that the Iranians are the bad guys…give me a break. If Hillary told me it was raining outside I’d definitely take a look out of a window before I grabbed my umbrella. That’s quite a team they have there in Washington now, Greenspan, Kissinger, Clinton etc. all puppets of the cabal pulling the strings on the biggest mistake America has possibly ever made, electing Obama as their savior President. One act of aggression after another, continually in the propaganda mill stirring up public resentment and fear against other nations which have never threatened the United States but do have oil or other strategic attributes. How do you define Imperialism, slavery, fiefdoms, tyranny, dictatorships, and plutocracies? Leave Iran alone, get out of the Middle East exit Iraq and Afghanistan, stop feeding Israel 65 billion a year of US citizens tax payers money for nothing, and start looking after your own sick, aging, unemployed and weary inhabitants and citizens which are what you call America and are being used for cannon fodder already while people like Hillary are already concocting the next arena for America’s youth to die for the banker/industrial empire which is shipping it’s manufacturing base out the US in ship convoys. In God I trust.

Feb 16, 2010 8:49am EST  --  Report as abuse
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.
See All Comments »