IRAN: Opposition to war against Iraq renewed

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Att.Editors: The following item is from the Qatar News Agency (QNA)

LONDON, Feb 6 2003 (IPS) - Iran renewed its opposition to the use of force against Iraq for a so-called "democratic change" in this country, stressing that such a change should be a matter for the Iraqi people themselves to decide or introduce.

This was asserted by Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi during a meeting at the British Royal Institute for Foreign Affairs during his current visit to London.

The Iranian authorities, he said, had concerted some precautionary measures with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees ahead of a potential influx of Iraqi refugees a military strike against Iraq might spark.

He expressed hope that force would not be used against Iraq, repeating his country’s opposition to war. "Tehran is not prepared to take sides, but would strongly defend its national interests," Kharrazi said.

"The United States wants to act as a sole superpower on the international scene, but the reality is different, because there are other forces in the world," he said.

Kharrazi called for the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction from the entire Middle East region and the world at large, saying that such weapons do not foster security.

The Iranian foreign minister, who arrived in London yesterday in the context of a European tour that will take him to Slovakia, is planned to meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a step to push ahead the gradual re-normalization of relations between Iran and Britain. Relations between the two countries were severed since 1989.