TEHRAN - Iran hit out at US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Friday for comments on its participation in an Iraq reconstruction conference and "interference" in elections, the student news agency ISNA reported.
"Ms Rice is infuriated by our foreign minister's successful trip to Iraq and feels belittled when comparing that to her own trip," said foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, referring to a landmark visit last month by Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi to Iraq.
Asked if Iran would be invited to the conference to be held in Brussels on June 22, Rice had launched into a litany of criticism of Iran.
"We have our differences with Iran. We believe very strongly that Iran is a state that is out of step with what is going on in the region," the chief US diplomat said.
Asefi however said that "Iran is not moving in line with America's imposed changes in the region" and that "people in the region have enough political awareness to determine their fate".
Jean Asselborn, foreign minister of current EU president Luxembourg, said Iran would be invited to the gathering to be co-sponsored by the United States and EU.
Asefi also criticized Rice for "interference in our domestic affairs" over her attacks on Iran's hardline clergy that barred more than 1,000 would-be contenders from the June 17 poll.
"It is not right that Ms. Rice make comments on different (political) bodies in Iran without studying their formation," he said.
06/03/2005 09:07 GMT