Addressing worshipers at Friday prayers in Tehran, Rafsanjani said the U.S. is trying to realize its objectives in the strategic Persian Gulf region, which is home to "Muslim revolutionary forces", through bullying policies in the absence of its former rival, the Soviet Union.
"To advance its militarism in the world, the U.S. prepared international public opinion through the September 11 incidents. U.S. officials want to act as the policeman of the world, and particularly the Middle East region, and are trying to frighten the world by relying on their militarism," he told worshipers at the Tehran University campus.
"But the Iranian nation will never be frightened by the U.S., and if we look at regional developments with the spirit of sacrifice and logic, there is no room for being frightened."
Rafsanjani, who is also the chairman of the Expediency Council (EC), said the U.S. is suffering from numerous internal problems, including domestic and foreign debts and an increasing demand for energy, adding that the U.S. war on Iraq exacerbated those problems.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rafsanjani said that the U.S. told a "big lie" about the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and is currently wondering why it has not been able to produce documented proof of its claims.
He added that many complaints have been filed against U.S. officials at international courts, stressing that this is the reason the U.S. administration has made strenuous efforts to acquire immunity for its soldiers.
"The UN granted immunity to U.S. soldiers this year, provided that the soldiers operate within the UN (peacekeeping) mandates, and this will create major problems for the White House," he said.
"The U.S. never achieved its desired goals in Afghanistan and Iraq, given the great costs incurred and the huge losses that it suffered, and now it is said that U.S. troops are going to pull out of Afghanistan."
Rafsanjani said that the situation of U.S. soldiers in Iraq was worse than their situation in Afghanistan.
"The U.S. has reached a deadlock in Iraq. The Iraqi nation is not willing to cooperate with the U.S.-backed government in Iraq. It is not possible for the Iraqi people to tolerate the continuation of conditions currently prevailing in the country, conditions that are exacerbated by unemployment, high prices of goods and services, and the destruction resulting from the war.
"The fall of Saddam made the Iraqi people happy. But U.S. officials will not be able attain their goals, given the current state of affairs in Iraq. The ship of the U.S. has already run aground in Iraq," he said.
AA/HG
MNA