TEHRAN, Iran, (AP) – Iran’s foreign ministry says the Mideast Quartet meeting last weekend in Egypt proves that the U.S. initiative for peace in the region has failed.

After Sunday’s gathering in Sharm el-Sheik, both Israel and the Palestinians pledged to continue the peace process that President Bush launched last November in Annapolis, Md. But the year-end target for a deal appears unlikely to be met.

Iranian ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi says the meeting spelled the “failure of Annapolis” and was just another in 19 Mideast trips by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Iran opposes the U.S.-backed Israeli-Palestinian talks. Tehran supports the militant Palestinian Hamas rather than the moderate Fatah, which is talking to Israel.