TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that the U.S. is seeking to destabilize the Middle East region “permanently” to justify its heinous policy.

“Complicity in Saudi & UAE war crimes with arms, Intel & logistical support apparently not enough. The US also proliferating advanced weapons to extremists incl Al Qaida & ISIS. First Syria; now in Yemen. Aim: Permanent instability to justify heinous policy,” he tweeted on Sunday.

The comments by Zarif came after the Guardian reported that investigators say weapons from the UK and the U.S. have fallen into hands of groups some with links to al-Qaida and ISIS.

“In an apparent abuse of trade agreements by the Saudi- and the UAE-led coalition, sophisticated armoured vehicles, rocket launchers, grenades, and rifles are among the weapons being purchased from European and U.S. companies and reaching local factions and groups,” the Guardian reported on Wednesday.

The details, to be aired in an Arabic-language documentary, The End User, came from analysis of thousands of broadcasts, social media and closed internet groups, alongside intensive research to verify the origins of weapons.

The documentary accuses the Saudi coalition, weapons suppliers and governments of a sustained breach of “end user” certification laws stretching back to the beginning of the conflict in 2015.

NA/PA