http://www.boston.com/dailynews/038/world/Iran_considers_expelling_Afgha:.shtml

Iran considers expelling Afghan warlord who opposes interim government

By Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press, 2/7/2002 08:28

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) In an indication it seeks to ease escalating tensions with the United States, Iran is considering expelling a former Afghan warlord who has opposed Afghanistan's interim government, the state news agency reported.

The rhetoric, though, remained harsh. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on state television Thursday that the United States ''should know that anybody staging an aggression against this nation or threatening its interests will meet a harsh and regrettable response.''

Khamenei was addressing army air force officers.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Colin Powell accused Iran of trying to destabilize the fragile post-Taliban government in its neighbor, Afghanistan. U.S. officials have repeatedly made similar accusations in the last month, saying Tehran gives refuge to anti-government figures or supports them in Afghanistan. Iran has denied the accusations.

Iran's Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari said that Iran is considering whether to kick out former Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and is discussing the matter with Afghanistan's interim government, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported late Wednesday.

''Iran is not a place for any individual or group to make mischievous acts or any other action,'' IRNA quoted Lari as saying when asked if Hekmatyar's continued presence in Iran could create tension with the Afghan government.

''The case of Hekmatyar is being pursued through the Intelligence Ministry and other bodies and an appropriate action will be taken about him,'' Lari said.

Hekmatyar, a notorious former Afghan prime minister living in exile in Iran, has rejected U.N.-brokered accord that established a new Afghan administration, saying the pact negotiated in Germany amounted to a U.S.-imposed government.

Iran has insisted that it supports the government of Afghan Prime Minister Hamid Karzai, which is to run the country until June. Still, some observers say Iran, like others among Afghanistan's neighbors, is jockeying for influence among the various factions within the country.

Meanwhile, Iran's ambassador in Moscow echoed Khamenei's comments, warning Iran would respond if the United States uses force against it.

''We will react as any country would,'' Gholam Reza Shafei told reporters in Moscow, without elaborating. But he expressed hope that U.S. leaders ''will come to their senses and will not allow this to happen.'' He did not elaborate on Iran's possible response.

Iran has become concerned that it may be a new target in the U.S. war against terrorism after President Bush accused it of belonging to an ''axis of evil'' along with Iraq and North Korea that supports terrorism and seeks to develop weapons of mass destruction. Iran denies the allegations.

CIA director George Tenet said Wednesday that Iran remained ''a serious concern because of its across-the-board pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and missile capabilities.''

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2002

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http://www.boston.com/dailynews/037/world/Iran_says_captured_al_Qaida_ or:.shtml

Iran says captured al-Qaida or Taliban fighters will be returned to their countries

By Afshin Valinejad, Associated Press, 2/6/2002 05:15

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran has said that any al-Qaida or Taliban fighters captured in Iran will be returned to their countries.

Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi acknowledged that Iran has not been able to fully control its 600-mile border with Afghanistan, which drug smugglers have crossed for 20 years.

However, Iran makes many arrests along the border every day, he said at a news conference Tuesday, and any escaping al-Qaida or Taliban veterans will be dealt with ''appropriately,'' which he said meant sending them to their home country.

''We are doing our utmost effort, but the reality is that it is not possible to control this long border completely,'' Kharrazi said.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday that ''there isn't any doubt in my mind that the porous border between Iran and Afghanistan has been used for al-Qaida and Taliban to move into Iran and find refuge.''

U.S. officials have accused Iran of seeking to destabilize Afghanistan's new government and possibly harboring Afghan militants as part of that campaign.

Kharrazi's comments on Iran's border with Afghanistan were a major public shift from previous official comments that no fleeing al-Qaida or Taliban elements could enter Iran.

''What is important is to help the Islamic Republic of Iran to be able to accomplish its duties,'' Kharrazi said.

''Instead of propagating against Iran, some information should be provided to Iran. If anyone has crossed the border and you have information about that, give it to us,'' Kharrazi said.

He did not say which country should provide the help, but the United States has been Iran's most vocal critic and the only country to make specific and public claims that al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives are in Iran.

While asking for help, Kharrazi said recent allegations by the U.S. administration against Iran were just an attempt to ''put more pressure on Iran and to pave the way for more U.S. hegemony.''

In his State of the Union speech, President Bush lumped Iran together with Iraq and North Korea in what he called an ''axis of evil.''

Kharrazi noted Iranian participation in Afghanistan's rebuilding, saying ''the current government of Afghanistan is the one which we had an important role in its establishment.''

Iran, along with the United States, supported the anti-Taliban northern alliance, which dominates in the current interim government.

In a television interview broadcast Tuesday night on the Arab news channel Al-Jazeera, Iran's defense minister responded to recent Israeli charges of Iranian involvement in terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction.

''Iran is not Iraq. Iran is not a small country. It is certain that if Israel carries out any military action against Iran, the response will be beyond the imagination of any Israeli politician,'' Ali Shamkhani said.

Asked to elaborate, he said only, ''we'll see the action.''

In the interview, Shamkhani said Iran has only defensive weapons and has ''no interest in acquiring any nuclear weapons.''

''We don't have any programs to produce chemical, nuclear or biological weapons,'' he said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Monday that Iran supplied the Hezbollah guerrilla group in Lebanon with 10,000 rockets with a range long enough to strike at the heart of Israel.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2002