Both countries have reacted angrily to the US accusations. On 30 March, the Syrian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in the local press refuting Rumsfeld's allegations of smuggling weapons to Iraq and accusing the US of trying to blame others for its failures in the war so far. 'It is an absolutely unfounded, irresponsible statement, just like his statements that brought his country and the allied countries into a terrible, unnecessary war on Iraq,' it said. Rumsfeld had warned: 'We consider such [weapons] trafficking as hostile acts and will hold the Syrian government accountable for such shipments.' Syria has been one of the most outspoken of the Arab nations in opposing the war on Iraq, and on 27 March the Grand Mufti, Ahmad Kaftaro, urged Muslims to wage jihad against foreign troops in Iraq. Iran denied claims that the Tehran-based Iraqi Shia opposition had been allowed to cross into Iraq with the intention of getting involved in the war. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said that the Badr brigades did not want to interfere in the fighting.