U.S. Would Be Open to Limited Iran Talks
The Guardian
By TERENCE HUNT
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is open to talks with Iran on a limited basis, the Bush administration said Wednesday while insisting that any improvement in relations would require Tehran to hand over terror suspects.
Even as the administration raised the prospect of a dialogue, the United States said it would be watching to see if Iran complied with a Friday deadline to prove that its nuclear program is peaceful under terms set by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
``Our feeling has been and continues to be that they are not in compliance with their nonproliferation obligations and that, under those circumstances, the matter as a matter of course should be referred to the (United Nations),'' said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
The administration is debating whether to soften its hardline attitude toward Iran, a nation that President Bush branded as part of an ``axis of evil'' along with North Korea and prewar Iraq. Concern about Iran's nuclear program has aggravated U.S. suspicions about Tehran.
A day after an administration official signaled a more conciliatory approach, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, ``Our policy towards Iran remains the same.
``We are continuing to insist that they abide by their international obligations on nonproliferation, that they stop supporting terrorism and that they turn over to the countries of origin the al-Qaida terrorists that they are now harboring,'' McClellan said.
McClellan's comments followed testimony Tuesday by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said, ``We are prepared to engage in limited discussions with the government of Iran about areas of mutual interest, as appropriate. We have not, however, entered into any broad dialogue with the aim of normalizing relations.''
McClellan called attention to Bush's comments earlier this month about Iran. ``He (Bush) said that Iran must change its course, change its behavior'' particularly with regard to terrorism, McClellan said.
``If they could resolve that issue, it would be an important step in our relations,'' the spokesman said. ``But we cannot move forward without that step. There are still serious concerns we have with Iran and they need to address.''
In Iran, government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said that if the United States wants better relations, it could start by ending accusations that Iran supports terrorism. ``They have to avoid making irrelevant accusations against us,'' he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3325268,00.htmlIraq could offer common ground for US and Iran
Christian Science Monitor
By Michael Theodoulou | 30 October 2003
Iran has offered Iraq a line of credit and access to electricity and gas supplies.
TEHRAN, IRAN – Huge murals of the young "martyrs" who fell in the eight-year war with Iraq cover the sides of many buildings in Tehran. They are a constant reminder of the huge suffering inflicted on Iran by the devastating conflict Saddam Hussein unleashed in 1980.
Not surprisingly, Iranians are relieved to see the back of the Iraqi dictator. His removal has also enabled devout Iranians to visit Shiite holy places in Iraq, despite the dangers from mines and bandits.
For the fractured Iranian regime, however, the consequences of Mr. Hussein's fall and Iran's encirclement by US forces are far greater. The new situation presents opportunities as well as dangers that could shape both the internal power struggle and Tehran's relations with Washington.
American officials have accused Iran of trying to destabilize Iraq, but European diplomats in Tehran believe Iran has so far played a "reasonably constructive" role. Britain's former ambassador to the United Nations, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, agreed on Sunday, saying: "I think on the whole that they have been quite cooperative."
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazzi has also promised Iraq credit of up to $300 million and offered cross- border electricity and gas supplies. A stabilized Iraq could boost Iran's regional power as the ally of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority.
By proving it can be an "anchor of stability" in Iraq, Iran could also reduce American hostility, analysts say. This could pave the way to an eventual restoration of ties with Washington, which polls show would be very popular with ordinary Iranians. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said on Tuesday that Washington was prepared to restore limited contacts with Tehran, a change he tied to Iran sharing intelligence on Al Qaeda, a move Tehran has so far rejected.
Observers see Iraq as a potential patch of common ground between the two countries.
"Tehran has given the Iraqi governing council more legitimacy than any Arab country," a senior European envoy says. "Like the US, Iran wants an Iraq that is stable, prosperous, nonthreatening, and democratic, which would accord Iraqi Shiites their due weight in running the country."
While the US was willing to allow Iran to help in Afghanistan, neoconservative hawks in Washington appear determined to prevent Tehran from having any role in Iraq.
"This is a big mistake," another European diplomat in Tehran says. "It risks driving Iran down the very path America is so scared of. If Iran is not allowed to get involved positively, there is the risk it will do so negatively."
The European Union's policy of "conditional engagement" with Iran, using carrots and sticks in contrast to US threats, was seen to have paid important dividends last week.
Britain, France, and Germany persuaded Iran to comply with demands for tougher nuclear inspections and to suspend its uranium-enrichment project to ease fears that Iran's nuclear energy program was a cover for developing the bomb.
The international community should also take measures to address Iran's "strategic loneliness" to steer Iran away from feeling it might need a nuclear deterrent, the European diplomat says. "Iran has few serious friends. We should be looking at regional security structures to tie Iran in and give it the feeling that it's not out in the cold."
The disorder in Iraq has enabled hard-line media to portray the US as a blundering superpower that has suffered an ideological and strategic defeat.
"They are also portraying the whole occupation of Iraq as an anti-Islamic move by the United States and posing the question: 'Why should we respect international conventions ... when the US so openly violates every international convention?' " says Sadegh Zibakalam, a political science professor at Tehran University.
Radical hard-liners, such as Massoud Dehnemaki, who edits a newspaper but is suspected of being a leader of a feared Islamic vigilante group, say Iran's hostility to Washington has been vindicated.
"Twenty years ago, people were burning the US flag in Iran. Now it is being burned in other countries," he says. "Twenty years ago, we said the UN was under the control of America. Now all countries say this."
Yet those such as Mr. Dehnemaki are a radical minority.
"The majority of the conservative and reformist leadership would prefer to see a stable Iraq," Mr. Zibakalam says. Iran wants an end to the American presence next door, but is playing a stabilizing role, he adds.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1030/p07s01-wosc.htmlIran says US can act to improve ties
Hi Pakistan Daily
TEHRAN: If the United States wants better relations with Tehran, it could start by ending accusations Iran supports terrorism, an Iranian government spokesman told reporters Wednesday.
"They have to avoid making irrelevant accusations against us," government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said, referring to the terrorism charges. He also called on US officials to "release our assets blocked there and lift sanctions". "These are the preliminary practical measures to win the confidence of the Iranian nation. We need to justify better ties with America for our people," Ramezanzadeh said after a Cabinet meeting.
He was reacting to a statement by Deputy US Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who said Washington may hold limited talks with Iran. Ramezanzadeh said the Americans "appear to be understanding regional realities more than before," but said Washington should stop its threats if it wants dialogue to develop. —AP
Ramazanzadeh also said that Tehran would not share its intelligence on al-Qaeda with the United States. "We don’t have any relations or links with the US or its security services. So there is no reason to cooperate with them by giving them information," government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh told reporters.
He added that Iran may "never" reveal the identities of its detainees, and he later clarified to AFP that "we have no programme to announcing their names". "It depends on our national interests," the spokesman said.
http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en43338&F_catID=&f_type=source