TEHRAN -- Visiting Kuwaiti Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah on Monday said that the lack of trust among regional states had encouraged foreign interference in the Middle East and described as dangerous U.S. policies for regime change in the region.

Al-Sabah, in a meeting with the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Hassan Rowhani, blamed Iraq for giving the U.S. the pretext to reinforce its military presence and interference in the region by invading Iran and Kuwait.

He said that the Iranian and Kuwaiti nations have suffered the heaviest damage as a result of the policies advocated by the Iraqi regime, adding that the Iraqi people deserve a peaceful life with their neighbors.

The Iraqi people, al-Sabah said, are living in a dreadful prison under the rule of the Iraqi regime, which has been unprecedented in world history.

He also stressed the importance of Iran and Kuwait closing ranks in joint efforts to promote ties and decrease the foreign presence in the region and highlighted the need for the two countries to reinforce cooperation toward that end.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iraqi defense minister said any change in the political map of the region was impossible.

He also mentioned the Zionist atrocities in the occupied territories and said the crimes perpetrated by the Zionist regime against the Palestinian nation only served Baghdad's interests.

Al-Sabah also said that the Zionists' oppressive policies against Palestinians had provided a pretext for Iraq to wage a propaganda campaign in the Islamic world.

Rowhani, for his part, pointed to the historical affinities between Iran and Kuwait as the appropriate groundwork to promote mutual ties and said Iran's geopolitical position in the region had made the national security of both countries inseparable.

He went on to say that Iran and Kuwait enjoy great potential to reinforce mutual ties, stressing that regional and international conditions had made the need to exploit this potential urgent.

He said that world powers are greedily eyeing the energy resources of the geostrategically important Persian Gulf region, adding that this had fomented regional tensions and the deployment of troops and interference by extraterritorial powers in the region.

Rowhani added that the Islamic Republic remains skeptical about U.S. objectives in their planned attack on Iraq and reiterated that Iran is opposed to military action against Iraq.

"We hope Baghdad will never give any pretext to the U.S. to repeat the bitter incidents in the region," he said.

Rowhani stated that it seems that the U.S. has extensive plans for the Middle East and may try to change the political map of the region.

He said that the Islamic Republic believes that safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of regional states and fostering strategic cooperation among regional nations is the best way to promote peace and stability.

Rowhani stated that Iran is pursuing a policy of détente with neighboring countries and is willing to boost relations with Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) countries. The policy has made tangible headway, he added.