Iran More Than Willing to Help US Exit Iraq

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, said on Wednesday that Iran is willing to help the United States develop an exit strategy from Iran.

During an interview with the Financial Times, Abbas Araghchi said Iran would be willing to work together in helping the US in developing a plan that would allow the US to leave Iraq.

Araghchi also denied allegations from the US that Iran is aiding insurgents in Iraq by supplying the insurgents with weapons. Mr. Araghchi went on to say there is no amount of pressure great enough that would force Iran to stop their nuclear program.

Araghchi told the Financial Times the US led invasion of Iraq was a total disaster, and that the US should not allow their withdrawal to become a total disaster also.

In a strange turn of events, Mr. Araghchi did kind of side with President Bush in saying that an immediate withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq would probably lead to chaos and civil war. But, Mr. Araghchi did say some sort of withdrawal plan needs to be developed. Mr. Araghchi does think the US presence in Iraq is part of the cause for so much civil unrest and that Iraq is "suffering a vicious cycle."

Araghchi said this vicious cycle is one where one side is claiming to be in Iraq because of the 'war on terror' while the other side claims to be in Iraq because they are fighting foreign occupiers.

Mr. Araghchi answered allegations about Iran supplying weapons and aid to the insurgents in Iraq by saying the US should stop blaming others for the problems they created.

Mr. Araghchi went on to say the opposite is true about the flow of weapons between Iraq and Iran. Araghchi said that by reading the crime reports in Iranian newspapers you can see more weapons are coming into Iran from Iraq inside of the other way around.

Mr. Araghchi also said he feels the influx of weapons into Iran has led terrorists and criminals into viewing Iran has a possible 'target of opportunity'.

And this also makes the Iranian nuclear program even more of an issue because if Iran does fall into, if they are not all ready, the wrong hands, then there may be a real possibility criminals and terrorists will have access the necessary supplies needed to make 'weapons of mass destruction'.

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