AFP: Iran on Tuesday cast doubt on the authenticity of documents released by WikiLeaks and told its Arab neighbours not to fall into the whistleblower’s “trap.”
TEHRAN, November 30, 2010 (AFP) – Iran on Tuesday cast doubt on the authenticity of documents released by WikiLeaks and told its Arab neighbours not to fall into the whistleblower’s “trap.”
US diplomatic memos from Arab countries in the Gulf released by WikiLeaks over the past few days uncover a fixation on the Iranian nuclear threat as well as fear that regional conflict is inevitable.
“This is a very suspicious plot. They have planted some Western and US crimes in them to present them as credible,” foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a press conference when asked about the massive US document leak.
But “the enemies of the Islamic world are pursuing a project of Iranophobia and disunity. This project only protects the interests of the Zionist regime and its supporters,” he said, referring to Israel.
“So the countries in the region must be aware not to fall into this trap and show in practice that these plots will never have any results and convince public opinion in practice by cooperation and unity,” he said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday dismissed the WikiLeaks documents as “worthless” and “mischief” which he insisted would not affect Tehran’s relations with its Arab neighbours.
But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they underline the broader world’s concern about Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Any of the comments that are being reported on allegedly from the cables confirm the fact that Iran poses a very serious threat in the eyes of many of her neighbours and a serious concern far beyond her region,” Clinton said.
Mehmanparast hit back, saying Clinton’s comments cast doubt on the validity of the leaked cables.
“The fact that of all these documents Ms Clinton focuses on the ones involving Arab countries’ concern about Iran’s nuclear activities makes us suspicious about their authenticity,” he said.
The spokesman also repeated charges made by other Iranian officials that “publishing these documents would not have been possible without the cooperation of Western intelligence services, especially those of the US.”
