Iran rejects US charges on Al Qaida

News, May 2003, Al-Jazeerah.info

Iran rejects U.S. charges on Al Qaida Tehran \|Reuters \| 31-05-2003 Iran yesterday denied U.S. accusations that Al Qaida members in Iran played a role in this month's suicide attacks in Saudi Arabia and said Washington was losing the fight against Osama bin Laden's network. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Iran had arrested hundreds of Al Qaida suspects since the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and detained another group before the Riyadh attacks that killed 34 people, including eight Americans. "The recent arrests were made before the Riyadh explosions so, therefore, the accusations that the Riyadh explosions were controlled and planned from Iran are totally baseless," Kharrazi told a news conference. "Prisoners cannot control a military mission. They are under tight control and they have no contact with the outside world," he said. In an interview aired yesterday, U.S. President George W. Bush said he thought Iran would respond to U.S. requests to detain any members of Al Qaida that may be on the loose in the Islamic republic. "Obviously, we're nervous about the reporting now out that there's some Al Qaida inside of Iran," Bush told Dubai-based Al Arabiya news channel. "We just want the Iranians to understand that if there are Al Qaida loose in Iran we expect them to be detained. If there are Al Qaida in Iran and they plot against the United States, that obviously we're going to be displeased with that," he said. "My hope, of course, is that the Iranians respond. And they've heard our message loud and clear, and I suspect they will," Bush said. In a Russian television interview broadcast late yesterday, Bush dismissed reports of a planned attack by the U.S. on Iran as "idle speculation." Kharrazi said the latest attacks in Riyadh showed Washington was losing its battle against bin Laden's militant network. "The U.S. has lost its fight against Al Qaida and because of that they are facing new explosions and terrorist attacks every day and they cannot hide this by accusing others," he said. Meanwhile, Iranian Vice President Mohammed Ali Abtahi said he had no information that Abu Ghaith was in Iranian custody. The vice president is responsible for legal and parliamentary affairs. Yesterday, Asharq Al Awsat, the London-based daily, said that Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a senior member of Al Qaida, was arrested in Iran. The paper sourced its information to what it said informed Kuwait sources. The sources told the paper that Iran was studying the legal position of Abu Ghaith since the Kuwaiti authorities have stripped his citizenship following the September 11 attacks on the U.S. The Kuwaiti sources told the paper said that Iran was not sure if it could hand over Abu Ghaith to Kuwaiti authorities since he was not Kuwaiti anymore.

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

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