Washington Post - 09/23/98
By Anwar Faruqi
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Iran's leader called for increased U.S. investments Tuesday but Mohammad Khatami said his government
remains cautious about improving ties with Washington.
Khatami, who addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, told reporters he sensed a more positive U.S. tone toward his
country, but that was not enough to improve formal ties.
''Just as we sense a change in tone, we also see the allocation of funds in the U.S. Congress to hurt Iran,'' said Khatami, a
moderate cleric who has improved Iran's image since his August 1997 election. He was referring to a $20 million allocation by
Congress for covert operations in Iran.
Sitting in the flowing robes and turban of a senior Shiite cleric and speaking between mouthfuls of a a cheese-and-mushroom
omelette, Khatami said Iranian assets in the United States that were frozen after its 1979 revolution also contributed to strained
relations.
He reiterated the need for cultural exchanges between the United States and Iran as a way of promoting better understanding.
''We would like these kinds of exchanges to extend to U.S. industrialists and investors as well. Iran has the right conditions for
foreign investment,'' said Khatami, whose government is grappling with weak oil prices that have played havoc with the economy.
He said U.S. sanctions that ban investments in Iran were hurting U.S. companies more than Iran. ''This is a big world and problems
can be solved without the need of the United States,'' Khatami said.
Khatami, asked whether Tehran would lift its death sentence on author Salman Rushdie, said his government had already pledged
not to enforce the fatwa.
''Iran has officially declared that in action it has no decision on this matter,'' Khatami said.
In 1989 the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini accused Rushdie of blasphemy against Islam in his book, ''The Satanic Verses.'' He
issued an Islamic ruling calling for Rushdie's death.
In recent years Iranian officials have said that they cannot lift the execution order, but have pledged not to actively seek Rushdie's
death.
Although critical of the United States, Khatami repeatedly expressed his ''respect for the great American people.'' His tone is
markedly different from other Iranian leaders.
The last Iranian president to speak at the General Assembly was Ali Khamenei, who in 1986 blasted the ''The Great Satan,'' as the
United States is still called by many officials in Iran.
Khatami said that what Iranians remember about the United States is its support for the late shah, who was ousted by the 1979
Islamic revolution.
''Given this history, I think we have the right to proceed cautiously about any talk of resuming relations,'' said Khatami.
Asked about his country's military standoff with the Taliban militia that controls nearly all of Afghanistan, Khatami said Tehran was
trying its best to avoid a war. Iran massed 200,000 troops on its border with Afghanistan after the Taliban killed eight Iranian
diplomats and an Iranian journalist. |
