Glorious Iran once again maintaining it’s independent stance, and not bowing to American bullying, unlike some of Iraq’s cowardly southern neighbours.
Iran Won’t Recognize U.S.-Led Iraq Gov’t
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said Wednesday his country will not recognize a U.S.-installed interim administration in Iraq and will support Syria if it is attacked. It was the first time a senior official had defined Iran’s already well-known stance on a postwar Iraq. “We will not recognize any administration other than an all Iraqi government. However, we are not seeking tension or confrontation with anybody,” Khatami told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. On Tuesday, retired U.S. Gen. Jay Garner, chosen by the United States to lead the interim administration, opened a conference in Ur, Iraq, with the goal of shaping Iraq’s postwar government. “The Iraqi nation will not accept any foreign rule,” Khatami said. “It is in the interests of morality, civility and international law that an administration representing all Iraqi ethnic, religious groups take over in Iraq and in the long term a government is elected on the basis of one vote for each Iraqi citizen.” In the first official Iranian comment on U.S. claims that Syria was hosting members of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Khatami said the rhetoric was a “bluff” and that Iran would support Syria if attacked.
“Syria is on the front line against Zionist pressures, defending the cause of the Palestinian nation, freedom and peace in the region. We will defend Syria but it doesn’t mean we will engage in military confrontation,” he said. The U.S. administration has accused Syria of harboring remnants of Saddam’s toppled regime, supporting terrorism and possessing chemical weapons, raising fears that Syria is America’s next target. Khatami said the United States must learn to respect other nations and live with them in peace. “Their (U.S.) interests also require that they give up (bullying) methods and live with the world in peace,” he said. Khatami called on the United States to avoid tension with Iran. “We have big problems with America. But we don’t welcome tensions either. If we feel they are changing their behavior, then a new situation may emerge (in our relations),” he said. Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the failure of the Iraqi Republican Guards in defending their country against U.S.-led coalition forces would remain “an eternal disgrace,” state-run Tehran television reported. “The world always pays tribute to defenders who resist, even if they are defeated by the enemy, but is ashamed of their humiliating surrender,” the television quoted Khamenei as saying.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami called on the United States on Wednesday to stop threatening Syria but said a U.S. military attack on Iraq’s western neighbor was unlikely.“Our advice to the Americans is to abandon such threats,” Khatami told reporters after a cabinet meeting. “We reject U.S. threats and allegations about ourselves, and I think the same goes with Syria.”
[thumb=B]irran2.JPG[/thumb]
Toning down Washington’s sharp rhetoric of late toward Syria, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Tuesday there was “no war plan” to attack Syria or Iran despite the belief both countries are pursuing weapons of mass destruction. Khatami argued that “Syria is different from Iraq,” which U.S.-led forces invaded on March 20 in a war that has ended President Saddam Hussein’s rule. “We’ve always had friendly ties with Syria and we hope to cooperate with Syria to establish peace … in the region,” he added. Asked if he thought the United States, Iran’s arch-foe, could attack Syria, he said: “It is unlikely that the United States will be able to do it, and it is unlikely that the world would allow a repetition of what happened in Iraq.”
Iran has maintained neutrality on the war in Iraq and has welcomed the fall of Saddam, hated for ordering his forces to use chemical weapons against Iranian troops during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. But the Islamic Republic, which is on Washington’s “axis of evil” list, has also denounced the occupation of Iraq by “military aggressors” as an attack against Islam and Muslims. “We hope the occupiers leave Iraq soon,” Khatami said.
"The Iraqi nation will not accept any foreign rule," Khatami said. "It is in the interests of morality, civility and international law that an administration representing all Iraqi ethnic, religious groups take over in Iraq and in the long term a government is elected on the basis of one vote for each Iraqi citizen."
This guy sounds almost exactly like George Bush. Glad to see Iran and the US on the same page.
Glorious Iran demanding freedom and democracy for anyone is a joke, they need to start at home. They should count themselves lucky they weren't Iraqicized the first time they stirred up trouble in '79.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Seminole: *
They should count themselves lucky they weren't Iraqicized the first time they stirred up trouble in '79.
[/QUOTE]
The luck of birth is a far more impressive trait. Be proud that chance favored you. Take advantage of it...
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Seminole: *
Glorious Iran demanding freedom and democracy for anyone is a joke, they need to start at home. They should count themselves lucky they weren't Iraqicized the first time they stirred up trouble in '79.
[/QUOTE]
I think the American's should count themselves lucky that they managed to extract themselves out of the humiliation they suffered after the fall of their puppet, the Shah.