Iranian president likens occupier countries to “axis of evil”

xinhuanet.com
XINHUA online

2004-09-11 20:12:40

TEHRAN, Sept. 11 (Xinhuanet) — Iranian President Mohammad Khatami
has likened occupier countries to “axis of evil”, a term invented
by the United States to label Iran, the official IRNA news agency
reported on Saturday.

“Countries that prevent others from living in peace in their own
homelands and flagrantly support or commit terrorist acts are the
real ‘axis of evil’,” Khatami was quoted as saying during his visit
to Byelorussia.

“Those who illegally occupy lands belonging to others against
international norms and those who fuel chaos and extremism worldwide
are the main components of the axis of evil,” Khatami said.

“They try to deviate the world public opinion from their own crimes
by trying to find scapegoats,” he added.

In January 2002, US President George W. Bush labelled Iran, the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Saddam Hussein’s
Iraq as the “axis of evil”.

Khatami cited the Middle East situation and the Iraqi turbulence
as examples.

“All regional countries have a stake in continued peace and security
in a sensitive region like the Middle East. Crises and tensions in
the region only serve the illegitimate interests of the outsiders,”
Khatami said.

“The Iraqi people are now suffering because of the mistakes and
failures of the outsiders, who came to the country on their own
selfish agenda and should bear the cost of their mistakes,” he said.

“However, the current problems in Iraq have shown that the occupation
can no longer continue and the use of force has to come to an end,”
Khatami noted.

Khatami arrived in Minsk, the capital city of Byelorussia, on
Thursday evening for an official visit, which is the second leg of his
three-nation regional tour starting from Wednesday. He has already
visited Armenia and will travel to Tajikistan after conclusion of
Minsk tour. Enditem