Foad Izadi: US taxpayer money wasted on American military bases

Press TV has conducted an interview with Foad Izadi, a professor at the University of Tehran, about recent remarks by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Can you please tell us who the Leader is referring to when he says that some countries are saying that Iran should not exercise war games in its own backyard?

Izadi: The Leader is referring to people in the US Congress. A few days ago, we had a resolution in the House of Representatives, House Resolution 709, that talked about Iran’s activity in the Persian Gulf. And the audacity of members of the Congress to dictate to Iran what it should or should not do in the Persian Gulf is problematic, and what Ayatollah Khamenei is doing is basically reminding the people in the US Congress that the Persian Gulf actually belongs to the people of this region including Persians – Iranians - and Americans have no business being here.

He talked about Bay of Pigs and the fact that if they want to do any exercise, they can do it in their own neighborhood. For Americans to come thousands of miles to this part of the world and dictate to the countries of this region and this part of the world what they should or should not do is not going to be accepted by the Iranian people and it’s not going to be accepted by the people of this region. This was one part of Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech.

The other part was talking about some governments in this part of the world that not only follow US lead, they in fact provide part of their territory to US vessels, to US warships. And the problem these governments have is that they are not supported by their people. They are dictators that are supported by the United States; and that is a problem. This is what Ayatollah Khamenei was basically saying. He was saying that these governments are not doing what they’re supposed to do. If you have governments that are elected by the people of this region, these governments are going to act like Iranian government, which is opposing the US government in this part of the world.

Press TV: If you were to take a look at some of the involvements that the US is currently engaged in, taking this example in the Persian Gulf area, all the way to the East China Sea, where we know that the US - even in China’s owned backyard - is trying to dictate China, provoke China. And then of course you are looking at how the US through NATO is provoking Russia. It seems like where there were footprints of the US, there is conflict.

Izadi: As you know, the United States has about 790 military bases outside the United States. These military bases are established to put pressure on countries like Iran, countries like China and Russia as you mentioned. And for independent countries, they are not going to go for that. And it should be a point that American officials should remember that having statements that are creating difficulty or putting pressure politically or economically on countries is going to eventually backfire.

And what the Iranian Leader was saying today is that Iran is not going to accept this type of dictates. The same way, as you said, China and Russia are not going to accept it. And unfortunately the US taxpayers’ money is being wasted on all these military bases that are not really serving the American people. These bases are wasting a lot of money and enriching the companies that are making the weapons that the soldiers are carrying and using. And so it’s a total loss for the American people, is a big gain for weapon manufacturers and it may lead to war.

So hopefully in the next US presidential election, American people will choose candidates that are not warmongers. Because if they continue with this policy of aggression and interference, they are going to either find a confrontation with Iran or China or Russia and that’s not going to be good for world peace.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk