Iran rejects US claim of arms aid to Afghan militants

At a Kabul news conference, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen claimed that Iran has shipped arms to Taliban militants in Kandahar.

In a statement released on Monday, the Iranian Embassy in Kabul rejected the charges as "recurring allegations" and a sort of "fabrication" by the US in order to justify its defeat in Afghanistan.

The statement added that Washington is attempting to "deceive the public opinion" by accusing other countries of sending weapons to militants in the war-torn country.

It urged the US to "find more logical ways to fight terrorism rather than accusing others" of providing arms to the militants.

"Iran always supports the nation and the government of Afghanistan," the embassy statement added.

The United States has frequently accused Iran of supplying aid to the Taliban militants in Afghanistan. Such claims come in face of the fact that the Taliban, which follow the radical Wahhabi sect, have opposed Iran since long ago and have murdered eight Iranian diplomats when they took over most of Afghanistan in the 1990's.

"Iran is working to increase its influence in the area. On the one hand, that's not surprising; its is a neighbor state, a neighbor country. On the other hand, the influence I see is all too often negative," Mullen said at the news conference during a visit to Kabul on Wednesday.

"I was advised last night about a significant shipment of weapons from Iran into Kandahar, for example," Reuters quoted Mullen as saying.


/Press TV/