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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden)

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To: Tomas who wrote (2602)	6/28/2001 10:53:21 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) of 2742

Iran: Upstream editorial leader - Washington's blast explodes in its face Upstream, June 29 Nassir Shirkhani US assertions of Iranian involvement in the Khobar bombing in Saudi Arabia are ill-timed and hardly convincing. The charges that Tehran's clerical leadership inspired the attack in which 19 US servicemen were killed in 1996 have publicly outraged Saudi Arabia whose own investigation into the incident is still ongoing. They have also raised a few eyebrows elsewhere because US Attorney General John Ashcroft failed to identify the Iranian officials who allegedly supervised the bombing. It is not only the Saudis who are upset at what they regard as interference in their judicial probe. US oil companies must be privately seething with anger, too, as this latest episode in Tehran-Washington relations is bound to encourage a pro-Israeli US Congress to vote for the extension of economic sanctions, which have for years shut them out of the key Iranian market. The US pronouncement comes at a time when moderate voices within the Islamic system have been urging members of the Iranian parliament to debate the issue of reconciliation with Washington after more than two decades of hostility. Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef said the kingdom alone and not Washington reserved the right to investigate and try suspects. Saudi Arabia, which is holding all but three of the suspects, has so far obtained no proof that Tehran was involved, Nayef said. While Riyadh has yet to put the suspects on trial, the US indicted 13 Saudi militants and a Lebanese chemist on 21 June for the Khobar bombing near the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran. Ashcroft said "elements of the Iranian government" inspired and supervised the attack. But his failure to identify officials makes the accusations hard to stick. This is not to say that the Iranian government has not condoned or even supported attacks against US targets in the past. But reformist President Mohammad Khatami has in recent years tried to curb the influence of rogue elements within the Iranian intelligence community much to the disgust of his conservative opponents. Although Khatami's grip on the intelligence service is still tenuous since the security apparatus is largely answerable to anti-US supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the president has succeeded in cultivating cordial ties with American allies such as Saudi Arabia. Khatami is determined to clean up the image of the Islamic republic through persistent efforts to curb the powers of the intelligence apparatus and making agents accountable for their deeds. These efforts may partly explain Saudi Arabia's anger at what it regards as premature apportioning of blame in the Khobar bombing. Riyadh seems to understand the complexity of Iranian politics better than Washington. It realises that improved links with Tehran can significantly contribute to regional stability in the vital Persian Gulf region. Tehran had been hoping that President George W. Bush would make more of an effort to turn a new page in US relations with Iran. Early indications are hardly encouraging as the powerful pro-Israeli lobby displays little appetite for a clerical system vehemently opposed to the Jewish state. Radical conservatives in Iran are undoubtedly delighted with the outcome of the US judicial investigation into the bombing since this will hamper Khatami's efforts to improve relations with Washington. It is not only the Saudis and moderate Iranian politicians such as President Khatami who see the indictment as a clear attempt by hardliners in Washington to torpedo a Tehran-Washington rapprochement. US and Western oil companies are frustrated too. BP chief John Browne is clearly not very pleased with the probability of the US Congress extending for a further five years the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA), which seeks to punish investment in the Iranian oil sector. Browne is understood to have told Washington that his company is seeking a mega deal with Iran whatever the state of US relations with Tehran. The inevitable renewal of ILSA is sure to shut frustrated US oil companies out of the lucrative Iranian oil market for years while their European rivals get to pick the cherries.

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