Replies

Iran pays rare tribute to Arafat

From correspondents in Tehran
12nov04

IRAN today offered rare praise for Yasser Arafat, calling him a defender of the Palestinian people, and said his efforts for Palestinian rights should be clear to all.

The comments, issued by the Iranian Cabinet, were a far cry from Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's criticism of Mr Arafat in 1998, when he described him as "shameless" and a "traitor".

Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, denounced Arafat in 1998 for signing an accord with Israel promising to crack down on Islamic militants in exchange for a withdrawal of Israeli troops from part of the West Bank.

Khamenei made no comments following Arafat's death today.

Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi is scheduled to attend the funeral ceremonies for Mr Arafat in Cairo, Egypt, according to state-run television.

Friend of mine was saying today that the Iranian government is going to fill the void in the PA and aggressively pursue their radical agenda in the region now that Arafat is gone. He thinks that Arafat was actually keeping the Iranian government in control.