UK Policies Behind Mideast Instability

Iran said the crises in the Middle East region are largely due to the "colonial" policies of the UK and its allies.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi made the statement on Wednesday in response to remarks by British Prime Minister Theresa May during a trip to Saudi Arabia, Press TV reported.  

In an interview with al-Riyadh newspaper, May claimed that Iran was creating tensions and insecurity in the region by interfering in the affairs of Arab nations.

While noting that this was not the first time May had made such baseless claims, Qasemi stressed that Iran's regional policies are undoubtedly aimed at establishing stability and battling terrorism in the region.

"It is known to all that Iran has played a significant role in supporting security, stability and peace in countries that have been attacked by terrorists and have requested the help of the Islamic Republic," he said.

He noted that the UK and some of its close allies in the region were "probably not pleased with" the recent gains made against terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, and would prefer a Middle East "beset with prolonged insecurity and instability".

Qasemi stressed that May's claims against Iran are made at a time when Britain supplied millions of dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, which has been waging a deadly war on Yemen.

"The sales of weapons and equipment to aggressors for the killing of innocent civilians in the region, especially in the inhuman and unequal war against Yemen, have no correlation with May's claims [against Iran]," he said.   

Saudi Arabia—backed by a number of African and Persian Gulf Arab states— launched the massive aggression against neighboring Yemen on March 26, 2015, in an attempt to reinstate ousted president Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a close ally of the kingdom, and to crush the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The offensive has so far left over 12,000 Yemeni civilians dead, according to the latest tallies.

Qasemi noted that May's remarks were made to gain the financial support and please some of the regional countries.