TEHRAN, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Iran's Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani warned the United States not to think about invading lest it risk a crushing response.
The Chairman of the Expediency Council said in a television interview Friday night that Iran was "capable enough to thwart plots hatched by the enemies" and portrayed Iran as a scapegoat of U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I believe that the U.S. and U.K. and their allies are now experiencing a very tough situation in Iraq and Afghanistan and seek a way out of the crisis," Rafshanjani said, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Saturday.
The chairman, who was Iran's president from 1989 to 1997, also dismissed allegations Iran was providing covert assistance to Iraqi insurgents. He blamed the trouble on foreigners seeking to stir up sectarian violence, and said Iran was prepared to help with security in Iraq once U.S. forces withdraw.
