Iran may consider resuming ties with U.S.
By Modher Amin
From the International Desk
Published 4/12/2003 2:08 PM
TEHRAN, Iran, April 12 (UPI) -- Iran on Saturday
hinted at ways the Shiite Muslim country could resume
ties with the United States, the official Islamic
Republic News Agency reported.
In an interview with the Rahbord (Strategy)
periodical, published by the Center for Strategic
Studies, Iran's powerful former President Akbar
Hashemi Rafsanjani said the two decade-long freeze on
relations between Iran and the United States could be
resolved either through a popular vote or a decision
by Iran's arbitration body, the Expediency Council.
"One solution is to hold a referendum to see what the
society says provided the Majlis (parliament) approves
it and then it is accepted by the supreme leader,"
Rafsanjani, who heads the council, was quoted as
saying.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the supreme leader of Iran,
the most senior cleric in the religious state.
"The other solution is that the problem is referred to
us (the Expediency Council) and we discuss it and
announce what is expedient. Of course, the leader
should approve this too," he further said, adding that
is usually the case.
Rafsanjani's comments, particularly his references to
the role of the Expediency Council, suggested Iran's
leadership may be ready to crack open the door to
relations with the United States.
The Expediency Council arbitrates in disputes between
Iran's two main governmental bodies, the legislative
Majlis and the watchdog Guardian Council. The latter
reviews parliamentary bills to ensure they comply with
both Iran's constitution and Islam's Sharia law. The
traditionally conservative Guardian Council thus
wields substantial power over the elected government.
"When an issue turns into a problem, it is referred to
the (Expediency) Council to make a decision on that,"
Rafsanjani explained.
The United States and Iran cut diplomatic ties in
April 1980 after militant Islamic students stormed the
U.S. Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held 52
staffers hostage for 444 days. The Algiers accord,
signed in late 1980 between the two countries,
detailed the conditions under which the hostages were
released.
Subsequent attempts at rapprochement have failed,
however. Tehran resents U.S. support for Israel;
Washington, in turn, alleges Tehran backs militant
Palestinian groups that hinder the Middle East peace
process.
U.S. President George W. Bush dubbed the Islamic
republic, and pointedly "its unelected few," as part
of an "axis of evil" that tries to develop weapons of
mass destruction. Tehran has repeatedly denied the
accusation.
Diplomatic sources, however, say that direct U.S.-Iran
contacts have taken place in recent years,
particularly over the crises in Taliban-ruled
Afghanistan and most recently Iraq. Tehran
nevertheless eyes with concern the build-up of
American military presence in the region from Central
Asia to the Gulf states.
In the same interview, Rafsanjani alluded to the
possibility of restoring ties as well with Egypt. Iran
cut off relations with Egypt in the late 1970s after
then-president Anwar Sadat signed an agreement with
Israel that led to relations between Arab Egypt and
the Jewish state. Cairo also received the ailing
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi after Iran's fundamentalist
movement deposed the autocratic shah from the throne
in 1979.
In 2000, the presidents of Iran and Egypt, Mohammad
Khatami and Hosni Mubarak, spoke by telephone for the
first time. However, in January IRNA reported Iran's
foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, as saying: "Ties
with Egypt are not on our agenda at all."
Copyright © 2001-2003 United Press International
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N. Korea Hints It May Accept U.S. Talks
Sat Apr 12, 9:43 AM ET
By JAE-SUK YOO, Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea (news - web sites)
hinted Saturday it could accept U.S. demands for
multilateral talks to discuss the communist country's
suspected nuclear weapons program.
The announcement might herald a dramatic change in
North Korean policy. Until now, the North has insisted
on only direct talks with Washington to negotiate a
nonaggression treaty.
"If the U.S. is ready to make a bold switchover in its
Korea policy for a settlement of the nuclear issue,
the DPRK will not stick to any particular dialogue
format," the North's KCNA news agency quoted a North
Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.
DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
the North's official name.
U.S. officials say North Korea poses a global danger
and have rejected one-on-one talks, saying the
standoff should be solved in a multilateral forum
including Russia, China, Japan and South Korea (news -
web sites).
"It is possible to solve the issue if the U.S.
sincerely approaches the dialogue," said the
spokesman, who was not identified by name. "What
matters is the U.S."
A senior South Korean Foreign Ministry official,
speaking on condition of anonymity, described the
North's comments on the talks as a "step forward."
The possible shift came as the war in Iraq (news - web
sites) progresses and the United States is expected to
pay more attention to North Korea. In recent weeks,
North Korea has repeatedly accused the United States
of planning an invasion there once it toppled Saddam
Hussein (news - web sites).
President Bush (news - web sites) has dubbed North
Korea as part of an "axis of evil" with Iraq and Iran.
He has said he seeks to deal with North Korea
diplomatically but has not ruled out military action.
On Friday, North Korea said it would never give up its
nuclear programs and compared U.N. inspections to
"taking off our pants" and giving Washington an excuse
to invade.
On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council said it was
concerned about the nuclear dispute. The council could
eventually impose sanctions against the North if a
diplomatic solution is not found.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on Saturday urged
North Korea to hold talks to resolve the crisis, which
flared in October when U.S. officials said North Korea
admitted it had a clandestine nuclear program in
violation of the 1994 agreement with the United
States.
"When the North comes out as a responsible member of
the international community, we and the international
community will not hold back on all necessary
assistance," Roh's office quoted the president as
saying.
South Korea, which is a close ally of the United
States, hopes to persuade isolated North Korea to
scrap its nuclear programs in return for aid and
better ties with the outside world.
Roh, who took office in February, said he would
discuss the issue with Bush when he visits Washington
next month for their first summit. He said he also
plans to meet with the leaders of China, Russia and
Japan soon.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov was
quoted as telling the Interfax news agency Friday that
the government has ordered officials to work out
"preventive measures" to defend national interests and
the population in the country's Far East should the
crisis on the Korean Peninsula spin out of control.
Losyukov said Moscow might reconsider its opposition
to economic sanctions against North Korea, which the
United States favors, if Pyongyang starts to consider
producing or using nuclear weapons, Interfax reported.
Losyukov said Russia was frustrated by the two sides'
refusal to open talks.
"We are disappointed and surprised by the position of
some participants in the conflict, who do not seem to
want to seriously address the problem through
negotiations," Interfax quoted Losyukov as saying.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspected a military
base on Friday. Kim inspected Unit 205 of the Korean
People's Army and told officers there, "No forces on
earth can match this might of the People's Army," the
North's news agency said. KCNA earlier reported that
Kim visited an air force base Thursday.
On Saturday, a North Korean youth group vowed loyalty
to the regime ahead of the nation's biggest holiday,
the April 15 birthday of late President Kim Il Sung.
He died in 1994 and Kim Jong Il succeeded his father
in communism's first hereditary succession.
"Once Kim Jong Il gives us an order, we, 5 million
young people will become human bombs and wipe out the
U.S. imperialists on this land," North Korea's KCNA
news agency quoted unidentified members of the Young
Vanguard as saying. |
