West doesn't differentiate between jihad, terror: Larijani
Sunday, July 04, 2010,
Dubai: Opposing "foreign interference" in Islamic States, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has claimed that the West does not differentiate between 'jihad' and terrorists and considers groups like Hezbollah and Hamas and 'jihadist' forces in Afghanistan as terror movements.
He alleged that the Western countries lacked the true knowledge of the Afghan civilisation and view the "Afghan people as a prey”.
Addressing an Iran-Afghanistan forum in Tehran, Larijani charged that the US "occupied Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting terrorism and drugs and then occupied Iraq to execute its plans in the region in order to strengthen the Western dominance and change the cultures of peoples of the area”.
Iran rejects foreign interference, especially those of NATO forces, in Islamic states, particularly in Afghanistan, he was quoted by KUNA news agency as saying.
"Iran believes that the Afghan people should be allowed to have the political and military capabilities," he said.