Iranian minister says U.S. a dictatorship

TEHRAN, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Iran said the United States was acting as a military dictator in the Middle East, reacting to a similar comment by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki's comments come after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday Iran was "moving toward a military dictatorship," Iranian government-backed Press TV reported Tuesday.

Mottaki called Clinton's remarks "modern deceit," saying it was regretful Clinton "tries to conceal facts about the stance of the U.S. administration through fake words."

The minister also accused the United States of meddling in internal affairs of other countries as well as undermining Iran's "scientific and technological achievements," The New York Times reported.

"We recommend Clinton and other U.S. statesmen to open their eyes to realities in the region even one time," Mottaki said. "They should respect rights of regional states to development, welfare and modern technologies without enmity."

He said the United States adopted a "wrong" approach in the region and forged military dictatorships by fanning tension and instability, Press TV reported.

On Monday, Clinton said the United States believes the Revolutionary Guard was effectively supplanting the Iranian government.

"We see that the government of Iran -- the supreme leader, the president, the parliament -- is being supplanted, and that Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship," she said during an interview while on a diplomatic mission to Doha, Qatar.