“With the killing of bin Laden, there is no excuse for US presence in the region”

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the US has no more pretexts to remain in the region following Washington's confirmation that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed.

“If the US invaded the region under such a pretext, the problem is over now and they had better pull out of the region immediately and stop the killing of people,” Salehi said at a press conference in the Qatari capital of Doha on Monday, IRNA reported.

Salehi returned to Iran early Tuesday after a one-day trip to Qatar. During his short stay in Doha, he discussed regional developments and bilateral ties with Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani.

Salehi referred to the deaths of “tens of thousands” of defenseless people as a result of US presence in the region and said there was no place for the US in the region's future.

Salehi pointed out that Iran opposed the US invasion of Afghanistan under the pretext of tracking down and killing bin Laden from the very beginning. “Our stance [on the bin Laden issue] was valid since the issue of bin Laden was not resolved militarily and he was killed by commando teams.”

Iran's English-language Press TV reported on Tuesday that Salehi has discussed "bilateral ties" and the Palestinian issue in addition to the latest developments with his Egyptian counterpart during a telephone conversation on Monday night, in the first direct contact following a thaw in Tehran-Cairo relations.
  
Earlier, Salehi expressed "optimism about the future of ties" with Egypt. "We want to bring relations to ambassadorial level," he told a news conference in Doha, insisting that cooperation between Iran and Egypt would lead to "peace and stability" in the region.
  
Salehi and Arabi are set to meet for the first time next month on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Indonesia.
  
During Monday's phone call, the two ministers also discussed Iran's stance on "the tentative agreements on Palestine," Press TV reported without further elaboration. Iran has welcomed the reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah announced last week in Cairo by the two rival Palestinian groups, as well as Egypt's role in its conclusion.