Tehran, Dec 16 (IANS) Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that military presence of the United States in the Gulf caused "disasters" and helped foment extremism.

"Some global actors look at disparities and unending rivalries in the region as an opportunity that provide a fertile ground to expand their military presence and to sell more weapons," Zarif made the remarks in Doha, the Xinhua news agency reported.

However, the presence of foreign forces in the region has failed to foster security and "only led to disasters," said Zarif.

In the meantime, Washington's policy of selling more arms to the Gulf countries has led to an arm race in the region, he noted.

--IANS rs/