Iranian official confers with Iraqi opposition
Iraq-Iran, Politics, 1/5/2002

The London- based al-Hayat daily issued on Friday quoted sources of the Iraqi opposition in Damascus as saying that Seif Ellahi, the official in charge of the Iraqi file at the office of the spiritual guide of the Islamic revolution in Iran Ali Khameini is currently making talks in Syria with the Islamic, national and Kurdish trends in the Iraqi opposition.

The sources indicated that there is a new Iranian inclination in dealing with the Iraqi file based on two axes: openness to all opposition trends and not supporting one trend at the expense of the other and working for achieving democracy in Iraq.

After the paper said in the context of a report by its correspondent in Damascus, yet sources at the Iranian embassy in Damascus were hesitant in conforming or denying the nature of the mission of the Iranian official in being a private or an official visit, the paper said quoting the Iraqi opposition sources that Seif Ellahi for whom the Iranian ambassador in Damascus organized a work luncheon attended by leading figures at the Iraqi opposition, had on Wednesday evening made talks with the chairman of the Iraqi (al-Watan) " the homeland" party Mashaan al-Jabouri.

The sources quoted al-Jabouri as saying that his party will strongly oppose every political project on the future of Iraq based on dismissing the authority's party, the army and the intelligence from the political life. Al-Jabouri added " I am defending the interests of those because they are faithful to their principles. The ruler might have had led them to the wrong destination and therefore our position should be positive towards them."

The sources indicated that al-Jabouri stressed during his meeting with Ellahi support for democracy and human rights in Iraq and his country's determination to create a meeting point between all Iraqi opposition trends.

The paper indicated that Seif Ellahi arrived in Damascus last Friday and was welcomed at the airport by the Iranian ambassador in Damascus Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, al-Jabouri, the Ghazi Zeibari the representative for the Kurdistani democratic party led by Mesout al-Barazani, Adel Murad the representative of the Kurdistani national federation and Bayan jaber the representative of the higher council of the Islamic revolution led by Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim.

Previous Stories:
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