Posted on 10/29/2001 6:54:10 AM PST by Dog Gone
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's hardline judiciary chief moved to put an end on Monday to growing calls for contact with the United States, threatening to punish reformers who speak in favor of the Islamic republic's arch foe. Many reformist allies of President Mohammad Khatami have demanded a review of a hostile policy toward Washington, saying Iran should think first of its long-term strategic interests, rather than ideological concerns. ``Our national interests lie with antagonizing the Great Satan. We condemn any cowardly stance toward America and any word on compromise with the Great Satan,'' said Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, using a term favored by hard-liners to describe the United States. ``Our foreign policy, constitution, religion and people reject any compromise with oppressor America. Those who speak of relations with America are not speaking for this Muslim nation,'' he said, quoted by Iran's student news agency ISNA. The ayatollah told judges to take ``legal action'' against anyone who speaks of improved ties in public. Tehran and Washington broke diplomatic ties after the 1979 Islamic revolution and communicate with each other indirectly.
IRAN POLARISED ON AFGHAN POLICY Moderate Iranians have urged the government to seize the opportunity arising from the September 11 attacks on the United States and seek rapprochement. But Khatami and his Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi have been unable to overcome internal opposition to reach out to the United States. A member of a special parliamentary committee on the Afghan crisis said on Sunday they had reached a conclusion on the need for direct contact with Washington. Golamheidar Ebrahimbai-Salami said Tehran and Washington could cooperate to set up a new government in Afghanistan. ``Iran's role must not be ignored in ending the current crisis. We have to make sure that the future government in Afghanistan will not adversely affect our interests,'' he said. Iran has taken a hands-off approach toward the conflict, hoping that would help protect its interests with the West and its image in the Muslim world. Khatami discussed the Afghan crisis with members of the committee on Sunday. MPs said later the president had informed them of the ``limitations'' he faces in pursuing a more active diplomacy. Hard-liners are incensed by the rise in civilian casualties from relentless U.S. strikes and growing anti-war sentiments among other Muslims. Defense Minister Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani criticized his country's policy, suggesting that Iran may be sacrificing its revolutionary legacy for better ties with the West. He demanded a return to deep anti-American sentiments of the past. The United States' uncompromising line toward the Islamic republic has made it all the more difficult for Khatami and his allies to sell the idea of better ties. Last month, Iran's supreme leader flatly ruled out cooperation with the United States against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia after Secretary of State Colin Powell accused Tehran of backing terrorism.
These ragheads need to learn that even the nicest dog will bite sooner or later if you keep poking it with a stick.
Hopefully, it will erupt into civil war, or some sort of coup in which the secular rulers prevail. We can only hope.
It would be wonderful to have Iran be a pro-western power again like it was under the Shah.
Now that we're doing "targetted assassinations" again....
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