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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (45354)	9/19/2002 2:07:50 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Iran wary of U.S. push to change Iraq regime By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY NEW YORK — No country has suffered more at the hands of Saddam Hussein than Iran, which Iraq invaded in 1980, provoking a bloody war that killed or injured more than a half-million Iranians. But Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi says it is not up to "others from the outside" to change Iraq's regime. Iran worries that if U.S. forces topple Iraq's government, Iran could be the next target. The Bush administration has identified Iran as a supporter of anti-Israeli terrorism and says it is trying to develop nuclear weapons. (Related item:Q&A with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi) In an interview this week in New York City, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly, Kharrazi said unilateral U.S. action would set a "dangerous" precedent. If the U.N. Security Council authorizes the use of force against Saddam, Kharrazi said Iran would respect the decision, "but that does not mean we would participate in a war." During the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Iran also stayed on the sidelines. Iran's wariness about regime change in Iraq reflects growing nervousness that the Bush administration may want to make Iran a target of the war on terrorism. On July 12, President Bush praised young Iranians for demonstrating against their government, in which religious leaders have trumped policies for change advocated by the elected president and parliament. Kharrazi criticized the statement as interference in Iranian internal affairs and warned it would backfire. "When intervention comes from outside, people are united because it is a matter of their dignity and independence," he said. Middle-aged Iranians remember U.S. support for the Shah of Iran, who was overthrown in a revolution in 1979. The two countries have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, when Iranians held U.S. diplomats hostage. The Clinton administration made some gestures toward Iran after the election in 1997 of a moderate cleric, Mohammad Khatami, as president. After Sept. 11, 2001, a further thaw looked possible because both Iran and the United States opposed the Taliban government in Afghanistan. But in January, President Bush named Iran, Iraq and North Korea in what he called an "axis of evil." Kharrazi said Iranians were "shocked" by the characterization. He said Iran has detained and deported numerous al-Qaeda members, most recently the head of a Kurdish group, Ansar al-Islam, that has menaced U.S. allies in northern Iraq. "He was coming from Europe to Iran illegally," Kharrazi said of Mullah Krekar, 46, who was arrested Saturday at Tehran Airport and sent back to Amsterdam, where Dutch authorities detained him. Iran has also deported 16 Saudi al-Qaeda members to Saudi Arabia. U.S. officials have accused Iran of allowing several dozen al-Qaeda fugitives to transit the country from Afghanistan and enter a lawless portion of northern Iraq. Other mid-level al-Qaeda members are also said to be in Iran with the knowledge and acquiescence of the Iranian government. But Kharrazi said Iran has no interest in harboring al-Qaeda remnants. "Why should we help them? We have been helping the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan against these people," he said. Iran has also given refuge to anti-Saddam...