Khatami: Iran-US Contacts Should Come as No Surprise

[Gloria]

From the new World Media Watch now up at the URL in the sig below, tomorrow at Buzzflash.com


2//The Daily Star, Lebanon Friday, December 02, 2005

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=20472



KHATAMI: IRAN-U.S. CONTACTS SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE

By Hanan Nasser and Mayssam Zaaroura
Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said Thursday that Iran wants full stability in Iraq, adding there should be no surprise if there are contacts between the US and Iran to make this possible. Speaking during a news conference during his visit to Lebanon, Khatami said: "As a former president of Iran ... I can say that the Islamic Republic wants stability and security in Iraq. Allow me to make an impossible wish for the Americans to return to the path of reason."



Asked about the recent alleged contacts between the U.S. and Iran, pertaining to the situation in Iraq, Khatami said he had no exact information as to the contacts, but added that "one should not be surprised if such a thing happens."



On Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki rebuffed possible negotiations with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq to discuss future security issues, saying Iran had no plans to meet U.S. officials. The U.S. State Department had given permission for Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to meet with officials from Iran, though Tehran and Washington have no diplomatic relations.



Khatami said "the current government is more informed of these contacts and thus is capable of making decision on what should be done. But in case contacts were established, this should not come as a surprise."



He said: "The best policies in U.S.-Iranian relations were adopted during my first presidential mandate and under the administration of Bill Clinton. There were individuals, both in Iran and the U.S., who did not want the two countries to improve their ties."

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1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Dec 2, 2005

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GL02Ak03.html



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