Raisi says US presence ‘disrupts’ Middle East security

TEHRAN, Tokyo: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday criticized the deployment of US troops in the Middle East, saying it “disrupts security.”

“The presence of US forces in our region has no justification,” Raisi said in a Tehran ceremony ahead of the 45th anniversary of Iran’s revolution on Feb. 12.

Referring to both past and present deployments, he said the US presence “in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and the region is in no way creating security. It disrupts the security in the region.”