Iran calls for US policy change in Iraq, hints at assistance
Iraq-Iran-USA, Politics, 12/16/2006

Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani said yesterday that the US can count on Iran's assistance if the White House changes its policy in Iraq.

"If Americans insist on their erroneous strategy, they should not expect us to help them," he told reporters on the sidelines of the 4th Assembly of Experts and 3rd local council elections as well as second by-elections of the 7th Majlis.

Larijani said certain states in the region were acting "wickedly," and "with their lobbies and adventurist behavior, they want the US not to change its strategy." "Americans can move in a more sensible direction provided that they do not go along adventurism," he added.

He said the US Administration had committed a great mistake in its Iraq strategy and now intends to correct it, but added that "they should first admit that they have stepped into a mistaken direction." "If the US adopts the right strategy, it can then count on Iran's cooperation. We are not willing to assisst them in the wrong way," he said.

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said yesterday the emergence of democracy in the Middle East marks an important event in the region. He strongly criticized the US' "wrong" policies in Afghanistan and Iraq and said, "What we are increasingly witnessing in Afghanistan and Iraq is the greater concern and hatred of the world public opinion of the US' wrong policies on Iraq and Afghanistan."
He added, "We believe the Iraqi people -- Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Turks -- are leading peaceful co-existence for centuries and now Americans and Britons are following 'burned land' policy after their departure from Iraq as their approaches indicate."

Larijani, who is chief negotiator in the talks on Iran's nuclear case, also said that the referral of the case to the UN Security Council was void of any legal significance.

"If there is any technical problem, it should be discussed in the International Atomic Energy Agency and the best, logical solution is through negotiations," he asserted.

Suggesting that a UNSC resolution can harm logical and reasonable solutions in the region, he said "regrettably, some approaches drive us to conditions to withhold the help we can provide in the region." To a question on Iran and its relations with the IAEA, he said Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog enjoy close ties.

"As long as the IAEA is not invalidated, we will keep our honest approach," said the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

Previous Stories:
  Major cleric: US should leave Iraq   (12/9/2006)
  Ayat. Khatami denies Iran role in Iraq insecurity   (12/2/2006)
  Iran: US, UK should leave Iraq, region   (11/7/2006)

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