Iran indicates it would back UN-led fight against terror
By Guy Dinmore in Tehran and Stephen Fidler in Washington
Published: October 14 2001 20:50 | Last Updated: October 15 2001 04:54
A leading Iranian official has indicated that Tehran is
willing to set aside its reservations about the US attacks
on Afghanistan and work with Washington in its
campaign against terrorism.
Mohsen Rezaei, who has close ties to the military, said
this could include the sharing of intelligence provided the
fight against terrorism was led by the United Nations. Mr
Rezaei told the Financial Times: "If the Americans get
trapped in the swamp of Afghanistan, they will definitely need Iran."
His comments were the clearest indication that Iran might be willing to use an
opportunity created by the September 11 attacks on the US to erase 20 years of
tension between the countries since the Iranian revolution.
US and Iranian officials are expected to meet during discussions on Afghanistan's
future this week at the UN.
Meanwhile, the White House rejected an offer from a senior Taliban official that it
would consider handing Osama bin Laden, chief suspect in last month's terror
attacks, to a third country if the US halted its bombing.
President George W. Bush told reporters: "When I said no negotiations, I meant
no negotiations."
Prospects of closer liaison with Iran came as the US-led campaign in Afghanistan
on Sunday entered its second week and a week of intense diplomatic activity
began with the departure of Colin Powell, US secretary of state, to Pakistan and
India.
There were hints of concern in Washington that the Northern Alliance, the main
opposition to the Taliban regime, could advance rapidly on Kabul, weakening the
chances for a broad-based post-Taliban government.
Mr Rezaei, commander of the Revolutionary Guards for 16 years and now
secretary of the powerful Expediency Council, is the most senior figure in the
Iranian establishment to state explicitly that Iran and the US have common
interests and can work together, within the right international framework. He said:
"In fact, Iran is the solution to this crisis. Although the US is dissatisfied with Iran, it
seriously needs Iran's position."
However, the role of Iran in any US-led anti-terrorism coalition remains uncertain.
The government is divided between conservatives and others over what line to
take with Washington.
Meanwhile, in a region where leaders have been reticent about voicing
fully-fledged support for the US, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, emir of Bahrain,
said in an interview he supported the anti-terror campaign "with all my heart". He
said he would even consider sending troops in support of the US if asked.
The Taliban, in an effort to gain sympathy for its cause, lifted restrictions on foreign
journalists entering the country and invited reporters for tours of areas where
civilians were said to have been killed.
The Pentagon, in its first admission that a US guided munition missed, said a
2,000-pound bomb hit a residential area near Kabul on Friday, missing by a mile
a military helicopter at Kabul airport.
It said reports on the ground, that it could not confirm, suggested four people were
killed and eight injured and regretted the loss of any civilian life. It said the mistake
in directing the bomb appeared to have been caused by an error in target
processing.
In Jacobabad, southern Pakistan, there were protests near an air base reportedly
being used by US forces.
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