US demands Iran move against al-Qaeda suspects on its soil

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States delivered a blunt demand to Iran that it act against suspected al-Qaeda operatives on its territory, amid reports it has decided on a much tougher line on the Islamic republic.

The State Department said a protest on the matter had been delivered to Iran through unspecified means earlier this week and would continue to register its complaints until Tehran acted on them.

"We have made clear to Iran as recently as this week that we believe that al-Qaeda operatives are present in Iran and that Iran needs to meet its international responsibilities," spokesman Richard Boucher said.

"We've called on Iran ... to meet their responsibilities under UN Security Council Resolution 1373: to deny safe haven to those who plan, support and commit terrorist acts, and to affirmatively take steps to prevent the commission of terrorist acts by providing early warning to other states by exchange of information.

"We'll continue to pursue those issues in a variety of ways with the government of Iran and with all governments around the world."

"We have said so many times, and even the US knows, that we are massively combatting all sorts of al-Qaeda presence in our country," Iranian government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh said.

"We were already fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban elements at the time when the US supported them, and we have intensified fighting them even after the Taliban's fall."

Boucher declined to name the operatives believed to be in Iran. The Washington Post reported Sunday that among them is Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian thought to be al-Qaeda's top military commander.

He also refused to confirm a Los Angeles Times report that the United States had decided to suspend a recently-begun secret dialogue with Iranian officials.

However, he did say the protests would continue no matter what form the al-Qaeda presence took in Iran -- whether it was government approved or not.

"The presence of al-Qaeda operatives working from Iran is a matter of very serious concern to us," Boucher said.

"Whether they're there with permission, not with permission or what, it's the responsibility of the government to prevent those kind of people from coming to their country."

Boucher spoke shortly after US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said senior al-Qaeda leaders are "busy" in Iran, amid reports that they may have directed last week's deadly triple suicide bombing in Saudi Arabia.

"Just from a factual standpoint there is no question but that there have been and are today senior al-Qaeda leaders in Iran and they are busy," Rumsfeld said.

The New York Times reported earlier that intercepted communications strongly suggested that a small cell of al-Qaeda leaders in Iran directed the May 12 attacks in Riyadh, which killed 34 people.

US halts talks with Iran amid al-Qaeda claim
By Robin Wright in Washington
May 22 2003
Washington has broken off talks indefinitely with Iran because of intelligence indicating al-Qaeda agents have taken refuge there.
The United States has told Iran, through Swiss, British and United Nations envoys, that it expects to see action against al-Qaeda before it resumes the talks on security and regional issues, held under UN auspices. The latest talks had been due in Geneva yesterday.
US officials said they had intercepted communications strongly suggesting that a small cell of leaders of al-Qaeda in Iran directed last week's terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia.
Unrelated intercepted communications have been cited as a factor in Washington's decision to raise its security alert to code orange. The US television network ABC said it had obtained an FBI bulletin that said two intercepted emails warned of possible attacks against Boston, New York, Washington and US beaches.
The break in talks between the US and Iran comes at a delicate moment. The White House is deeply divided over whether to foment opposition to the Iranian Government, ignore it as internal forces press for change, or try to deal with Tehran on key regional and security issues. Iran's government has been split over the sincerity of US intentions.
Washington had viewed the dialogue as a way to deal directly with Tehran on mutual security concerns, most notably the threat from al-Qaeda. The discussions, which began as a forum on Afghanistan among eight nations several years ago, had evolved into direct talks between Iran and the US on Iraq and other issues.
Last week the State Department said the talks had become increasingly useful.
But al-Qaeda's suspected role in the three Saudi bombings last week led the White House to question the reliability of talking with the Iranian Government, Administration officials said.
Recent intelligence, including intercepted communications from al-Qaeda operatives in Iran, indicates that at least some parts of the Iranian Government are allowing the militants to remain in the country, US officials said.
Iran vehemently denies it is harbouring al-Qaeda operatives.
US officials say Saif al-Adel, a top al-Qaeda official, and Saad bin Laden, the son of al-Qaeda's founder's Osama bin Laden, may both be in Iran. US officials concede, however, that the government of President Mohammed Khatami may not be fully aware of what religious hardliners and their supporters may be doing.
"The Iranian Government is, unfortunately, not a single entity," a US official said. "Some may know about the al-Qaeda presence and others may not. It's important to get at the bottom of this as soon as possible."
In Tehran, officials who promoted the dialogue feel burned by recent US accusations. They point to past announcements that they have expelled dozens of al-Qaeda operatives. The Bush Administration unveiled an expanded and evolving missile defence program on Tuesday, loosely tying it to the "war against terrorism".
A White House document declared that "the US will develop and deploy missile defences capable of protecting not only the United States and our deployed forces, but also friends and allies".

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/21/1053196639723.html

In other words, if a terrorist attack takes place in the USA, bombs start falling in Iran before the dust settles here. Iran is bracketed by US forces to the east in Afganistan and to the west in Iraq. How stupid can they be? The Bush Administration is spelling it out for them. They can't say they weren't warned.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.