TEHRAN (AFP) – Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Saturday that Washington was aiming to trigger a confrontation between former foes turned allies Iran and Iraq.

“America's final goal is to create confrontation between Iran and Iraq,” Vahidi said in reaction to an interview by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in which he urged Washington's Arab allies to strengthen their military capabilities in order to pressure Iran into halting its peaceful nuclear program.
“We advise U.S. officials not to try to militaries the atmosphere in the region and to change their wrong strategy to make up for past mistakes,” Vahidi was quoted as saying by Fars new agency.
According to a transcript of the interview with Al-Jazeera TV channel aired on Monday, Gates said “one of the pathways to get the Iranians to change their approach on the nuclear issue is to persuade them that moving down that path will actually jeopardize their security, not enhance it.
“So the more that our Arab friends and allies can strengthen their security capabilities, the more they can strengthen their cooperation, both with each other and with us, I think sends the signal to the Iranians that this path they're on is not going to advance Iranian security but in fact could weaken it,” he said.
Iran and Iraq fought a war in the 1980s which left about a million people dead on both sides. But since the fall of Saddam Hussein, relations between the two neighbors have flourished.
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Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has warned that that Washington is aiming to trigger a confrontation between Iran and Iraq.