国际英语新闻：Iran says Clinton contradicts Obama

TEHRAN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton contradicts U.S. President Barack Obama over Iran's ties with Latin America, the local Press TV reported on Sunday.

    In a response to Clinton's recent remarks regarding the U.S. concerns over Iran's growing ties with Latin American countries, Mottaki said that Clinton's remarks do not go with Barack Obama's foreign policy views.

    "Clinton's statements are in direct contradiction with those of the U.S. president," he was quoted as saying.

    "At a time when even Obama admits that decades of U.S. interference and gunboat diplomacy in South America have led to so many unresolved issues, it does not make sense for Clinton to drag Iran into regional disputes," he added.

    On Friday, Clinton said that the United States must try to reach out to Latin American leaders to counter the growing Iran's influence in the region.

    She described Iran's attempts in the U.S. backyard as "disturbing" and "they are building strong economic and political ties with many of these (Leftist Latin American) leaders."

    Mottaki has made an announcement in an interview with a local state TV channel that Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to visit Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador on May 7 to 8, or Thursday and Friday, which Clinton says "I don't think that's in our interest."