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Gold/Mining/Energy : Nevtah/Tower Oil Intl.- NTAH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JW@KSC who wrote (3104)	9/6/1998 1:24:00 AM
From: Just My Opinion	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3817

jim w.: here is the latest I read. dailynews.yahoo.com Yahoo! News Top Stories Headlines Saturday September 5 11:29 PM EDT Iran Warns Afghan Taleban of Possible Strike (Reuters) By Firouz Sedarat TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran stepped up pressure on Afghanistan's Taleban militia on Saturday, warning of possible action as tension mounted between the neighboring states over the fate of Iranians caught up in faction fighting. State-run Tehran radio, in a commentary reflecting calls in Iranian media for a strike against the Taleban, said Iran had the right under international law to take all necessary action against the ruling purist Islamic militia. Iran accuses the Taleban of holding scores of Iranians, including at least 11 diplomats and a journalist who have not been seen since militia fighters captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, headquarters of the northern opposition alliance, on August 8. Iran last week issued a stern warning to the Taleban after the Islamic militia's supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar said the diplomats were ''probably dead.'' Tehran has also asked the United Nations to investigate the men's fate. ''Tehran has tried...to make the (United Nations) Security Council aware of a situation which can threaten international peace and security,'' the radio said. ''After this process, Iran will have the right under Chapter 7, Article 51 of the U.N. Charter to take all necessary action in the context of legitimate defense.'' The Washington Post reported on Saturday that U.S. intelligence analysts had warned the Pentagon and the White House that Iran was poised to send thousands of troops and attack aircraft into Afghanistan imminently after tension between the neighbors reached breaking point. Iranian officials were not available for comment on the report. National Security Adviser Samuel Berger, accompanying U.S. President Bill Clinton on a visit to Ireland, told reporters Iran has made a ''substantial buildup'' of military forces near its border with Afghanistan. Iran sent some 70,000 Revolutionary Guards, paratroopers and commandos to a northeastern area close to the Afghan border this week for three days of major military maneuvers. It said the exercises -- the largest in the area either before or since Iran's 1979 revolution -- were a warning to the Taleban and that the bulk of its forces engaged in them would remain in the border area afterwards. An independent report in Pakistan said the Taleban militia had taken the unprecedented step of arming civilians in Nimroz province, which borders Iran, against possible attack from Iran or anti-Taleban fighters exiled in the Islamic republic. The Taleban has acknowledged holding 30 Iranian truck drivers but said it was not aware of the fate of the journalist and the missing staff of Iran's Mazar-i-Sharif consulate. Iranian political analyst Sadeq Zibakalam said an Iranian strike against the Taleban appeared likely. ''Unfortunately, it seems that we are quickly moving towards a grave situation. I do not see the situation so stable,'' said Zibakalam, a professor of political science at Tehran University. ''Iran wants to teach the Taleban a lesson. On the other hand, it seems that some officials want to reestablish Iran's influence in Afghanistan through military means, something they tried and failed to do through diplomacy,'' he told Reuters. Iran has close ties with the anti-Taleban coalition, especially fellow Shi'ite Muslims in Afghanistan. ''Undoubtedly even if the international community remains silent in the face of the savage acts of the Taleban in Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran will in no way allow its citizens to remain as Taleban's hostages,'' Tehran radio said. ''Iran is still waiting to receive the Taleban's responses... Iran sees the release of the five Iranian drivers as positive but this is not enough in itself. ''No position taken by the Taleban other than the quick and unconditional release of Iranian citizens will be acceptable to Tehran,'' the radio said. Hossein Abdollahi, a senior Iranian diplomat in Pakistan, was quoted by the Iranian daily Abrar as saying the Taleban had pledged to clear up the situation of the missing diplomats within a week. He said there was also a proposal to set up a joint team by Iran and the Taleban with Pakistan's help to investigate the diplomats' fate. Iran and most other countries do not recognize the Taleban government, although the militia controls much of Afghanistan. Tehran, along with the United Nations, still sees deposed President Burhanuddin Rabbani as the country's legitimate leader. Only three countries -- Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates -- have given diplomatic recognition to the Taleban. ÿ ÿ ÿ