Iranian Foreign Minister Denies Destabilizing Iraq

Iran's foreign minister today challenged U.S. and Iraqi officials to prove their accusations his country is meddling in Iraqi affairs. Kamal Kharrazi said such accusations were meant to "evade reality" instead of trying to find solutions in Iraq. Earlier this month, Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said that Iranian and Syrian intelligence agents were cooperating with an Al-Qaida-linked group in Iraq. U.S. President George W. Bush has warned Iran and Syria that meddling in Iraq's internal affairs is not "in their interest." Kharrazi repeated Iranian support for the January elections in Iraq, saying the balloting would accelerate the departure of foreign forces from the country. He said this foreign presence is the main factors for the instability and insecurity there. Kharrazi was speaking in Syria after meeting with President Bashar al-Assad. He is expected to go to Lebanon later today before visiting Turkey on Friday.