Iran has blamed Western countries, especially the US, for problems in the Middle East, insisting that US-led forces invaded the region under the pretext of fighting terrorism, Press TV reported.
"Certain Western countries, above all the United States, occupied Afghanistan and Iraq under the false claim of fighting terrorism," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Oceania Affairs Mohammad Ali Fathollahi said at Indonesia's University of Paramadina, Mehr news agency reported Wednesday.
Fathollahi said the root cause of problems in the region stem from the presence of foreign forces, adding that Western countries, including the US, invaded other countries as a scapegoat for their own internal issues.
The Iranian official visited the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to attend the 4th joint political advisory committee to review the latest bilateral developments as well as economic and political cooperation.
He also met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, during which he called for expansion of ties with Indonesia in all areas, including economic sectors.
He expressed optimism that the fourth meeting of the committee would be a major step toward the development of bilateral cooperation.
Natalegawa, in turn, expressed his country's readiness to expand ties with the Islamic Republic and called for further interaction between the two countries.
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