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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Land Shark who wrote (432698)	7/25/2003 10:55:09 AM
From: DMaA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Nice to know Canada can still stand on its hind legs when ITS interests are at stake: Iran hits back in worsening spat with Canada Thu Jul 24,10:57 AM ET TEHRAN (AFP) - A defiant Iran hit back in a worsening diplomatic row with Canada, responding to Ottowa's recall of its ambassador over the death of an Iranian-Canadian in custody here by accusing Canadian police of killing an Iranian. The fresh downturn in relations with a key proponent of dialogue with the Islamic regime came amid reports that Iranian President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) had cancelled a visit to Belgium as Tehran's ties with Europe also ran into trouble. Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said an Iranian national, whom he named as Kayvan Tabesh, had been killed in the western Canadian city of Vancouver on Wednesday. Two Iranians had also been wounded in the "unjustifiable" incident, Asefi told state television. "The Islamic republic will seek through diplomatic channels clear and convincing explanations of this crime," he said. No Canadian reaction was immediately available. But the accusation was likely to further fuel Ottawa's anger over the death of Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi, 54, following a still unexplained blow to the head while in police custody last month. Canada recalled its ambassador Wednesday after Iran refused its requests for her body to be returned home for burial. But Foreign Minister Bill Graham warned he did not rule out further sanctions. "We are looking at other measures that we can take," he said. Kazemi's death, after she was arrested while photographing protests outside Tehran's Evin prison, has sparked outrage in Canada, particularly among its 250,000-strong Iranian community. Tehran has been unrepentant throughout despite Ottawa's longstanding policy of engagement with the Islamic regime. Iran has refused even to acknowledge Canada's interest in the affair as it does not recognize dual nationality. The worsening row with Ottawa came as the government newspaper Iran reported Khatami had cancelled his planned visit to Belgium amid European pressure on Iran's nuclear programme and human rights record. "It is possible that the cancellation of this visit is not unconnected to the recent attitude of the European Union (news - web sites), which made progress in relations with Iran conditional on its signature of the additional protocol (of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) and respect for human rights," the paper said. No official confirmation could be obtained of the cancellation of a visit which has never been announced officially here. On July 11, Belgium's RTBF state radio said Khatami was to visit Belgium to receive an honorary doctorate from the university of Liege, probably in the autumn. Iran Tuesday rejected "conditions or threats" attached to its negotiations with the EU, a day after foreign ministers expressed "increasing concern" over Iran's nuclear programme and warned the trade bloc would review relations with Tehran unless it cooperated fully with the UN's nuclear watchdog agency. "More intense economic relations can be achieved only if progress is reached in the four areas of concern, namely human rights, terrorism, non-proliferation and the Middle East peace process," a joint EU statement said. The ministers said they would "review future steps of the cooperation between the EU and Iran in September," adding that their next moves will depend on a report by the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei. Iran is under strong international pressure to sign the additional NPT protocol to allow surprise inspections by the IAEA of its nuclear sites to show it is not developing atomic weapons. Khatami warned Thursday that the issue was playing into the hands of hawks in Washington who wanted to follow the same policy of regime change in Iran that they have already implemented in Iraq (news - web sites). "The Americans want to use the same pretexts against Iran," the reformist president told a public rally east of the capital. story.news.yahoo.com