Iran says there is no excuse for the United States to continue deploying troops in the Middle East after the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, says the US can no longer send troops to the region under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Iran says it cooperated with the US in fighting terrorism but instead of being rewarded, former President George W. Bush placed Iran in his “axis of evil.” Iran says it has cracked down on Al-Qaeda operatives, especially along its border with Afghanistan, but also criticised the US for invading Afghanistan and Iraq.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood on May 2 called for US forces to quit Muslim countries now Bin Laden is dead, and one member said Al-Qaeda should rethink its tactics which had only made the “enemy” more aggressive.
The Brotherhood said the revolutions sweeping the Middle East proved democracy was at home in the region and foreign occupation was no longer needed. “With Bin Laden’s death, one of the reasons for which violence has been practised in the world has been removed,” said Essam Al-Erian, a senior member of the Brotherhood.
Erian addressed the Brotherhood’s call to US President Barack Obama: “It is time for Obama to pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq and end the occupation of US and Western forces around the world that have for so long harmed Muslim countries.” “The revolutions taking place across the Middle East are proof that democracy has a home in the Middle East and we do not need foreign occupation any more,” Erian said.