AFGHANS DO NOT WANT TO BE SACRIFICED FOR IRANIAN INTERESTS
TEHRAN 19 Oct. (IPS) As the United States started the second phase of its military intervention in Afghanistan and as first sign of tension between Iran and the Northern Alliance surfaced, Tehran, caught by surprise, confirmed, though in a clumsy way, information that it had agreed with the United States to rescue American servicemen in distress on its soil.
"No offer has been made by the Islamic Republic of Iran to America", Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said, adding, however, that: "Instead, Tehran had only responded to a request, made by the American government through the Swiss Embassy, for the Islamic Republic's help to U.S. troops in cases of a crash or forced landing on the Iranian territory".
"It was announced in response that Iran would act according to international regulations and conventions", a confused Asefi added, in reaction to the Iranian decision to help American soldiers.
American Foreign Minister Collin Powell had earlier confirmed newspapers reports that Iran had said through diplomatic channels that it would be willing to perform search and rescue missions for U.S. troops should they require it in ground operations, he said.
The Iranian offer to Washington was passed to American Administration by the Swiss embassy in Tehran, in charge of American interests since the cutting of relations between Tehran and Washington in 1979, after Iranian students stormed American embassy in the Iranian capital and took 55 US diplomats as hostage for 444 days.
Mr. Collin said though the US did not need "at present" the Iranian offer, but it considered the proposal a "friendly gesture" that the Bush Administration "fully appreciates".
"There has been no word on the issue of ground operations", the Iraqi-born Asefi said, quoted by the official news agency IRNA.
"As it has been repeatedly reiterated, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers military operations in Afghanistan unacceptable, since they lead to the killing of innocent people and further destruction of that country", he reminded, amidst first confirmed reports about US’s land engagement in Afghanistan.
According to informed Afghan and Pakistani sources in borders area, American special units had already took position around the city of Jalalabad, waiting for instruction to engage the Taleban and mercenaries of "Al-Qa’eda", Mr. Osama Ben Laden’s main organisation.
Iran made the surprise offer to Washington at a time that the whole issue of its policy towards the international efforts mounted by Washington in the aftermath of the 11 September operations in New York and in Washington to combat terrorism is under question at home.
Though Tehran was among the first nations to condemn the terror attacks on the United States, attributed to Mr. Osama Ben Laden’s Afghanistan-based "Al-Qa’eda" organisation and sounded it was ready to join international efforts to fight terrorism, but it changed course and on instructions from Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i, the staunchly anti-American leader of the ruling Iranian Islam-based regime, who, in several speeches, accused American leaders of "insincerity" and "lying", reverted to its traditional US-bushing policy.
The public anti-American position taken by Iranian officials and their opposition to co-operate with the Americans in toppling the Islamic Emarat of Afghanistan has ended to annoy many Afghans opposed to the ruling Taleban extremists, including the Northern Alliance, that had been supported militarily and financially by Tehran ever since the Islamic Government led by Borhaneddin Rabbani was booted out of Kabol by the Pakistan-backed Taleban in 1996.
The tension in relations between the NA and Iran was manifest by the low-key publicity given by Iranian official media to the visit to Tehran of the Alliance’s Defence and Foreign Affairs ministers, General Mohammad Qasem Fahim and Dr Abdollah Abdollah.
While announcing a quick meeting between Dr. Adbollah and Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, the media, including the pro-government IRNA, ignored the presence of General Fahim, who replaced the late Ahmad Shah Mas’ood, assassinated on 9 September by an Arab suicide commando that had paused as journalists.
Afghan sources blamed the assassination on both Mr. Ben Laden and Pakistan’s notorious ISI.
Fahim left Thursday Doshanbeh for Tehran to meet Iranian, Russian and Uzbek military and other diplomatic representatives from India, Kirghizstan and Tajikistan concerned with the Afghan issue.
In the Tajik capital, Fahim had held talks in Dushanbe with the Commander of Russian forces General Anatoly Kvashnin, briefing him on the latest fighting in Afghanistan.
Independent Afghan sources speaking to Iran Press Service expressed "deep concern" over Iran "unclear" policy and pointing to the anti-US stand taken by Iran’s leader, said this position was undermining the Northern Alliance’s bargaining hand.
"In meeting the Iranians, General Fahim would tell them that Afghans could not accept to be sacrificed to Iranian interests, if only the Iranian knows were lies their interests", one Afghan source told IPS.
Afghans opposed to the Taleban regret that Iran, due to its internal feuding, has lost the initiative to Pakistan. "We had placed our hopes on Iran to get rid of the Pakistanis in the post-Taleban situation in Afghanistan, but what we have now is an Iran that has become a neutral observer of the situation while Pakistan has again maintained its position", an Afghan observer pointed out.
"It is time for Tehran to adopt a clear cut policy concerning Afghanistan and do not allow that its relations with Washington become a liability for the Alliance and other major players, like Russia", the analyst added.
In meeting Friday with Emam’ali Rahmanov, the Tajik president, the Iranian Foreign Minister reiterated Iran’s fierce opposition to the participation of any Taleban in the composition of the future Afghan government.
This position runs against that of the United States that has agreed with the presence of so-called "moderate Taleban" in the future government to be led by former Monarch Mohammad Zaher Shah. ENDS IRAN US ADQANESTAN 191001