The Hindu : International : Iran not averse to joining SAARC

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005

International

International

Iran not averse to joining SAARC

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI, FEB. 22. Iran is not averse to the idea of joining the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), its Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi, said in a question-answer session at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) today.

"We are working on that," Mr. Kharrazi said about Iran being associated with the SAARC. "This has been on the table for some time," he said. In the same breath, he also floated the idea of a "West Asia Cooperation Bloc," stressing that he had taken up the issue during his visit to New Delhi. The issue of Iran's accession to SAARC was under discussion, he claimed.

On India's security concerns about the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, he said that an international consortium tasked with the responsibility of executing the project would take care of this issue as well.

Pointing out that this international consortium of companies would be "responsible for everything," Mr. Kharrazi emphasised that the gas would be sold to India on a "take or pay" basis. Since the gas pipeline would pass through Pakistani territory, he felt that Islamabad would have considerable interest in ensuring its security.

He was upbeat about the results of the Iraqi elections, but said that the people there wanted foreign troops to leave. "That is what needs to be done," he maintained, referring to Iran's view that foreign troops must leave Iraq.

According to him, it would be a "big mistake" to assume that Iraqi participation in the recent elections meant that the people supported the presence of foreign troops. Iraqis, he stressed, were capable of taking care of their own security. A legitimate government in Iraq would be able to take decisions and get the support of the people. "We hope that the new government would get good support."

To another question, Mr. Kharrazi claimed that what the United States had done in Iraq would not be repeated elsewhere. Referring to the ongoing visit of the U.S. President, George W. Bush, to Europe, he said Mr. Bush was making conciliatory noises to heal the rift with Europe over Iraq.

The U.S. had come to realise that it could not act unilaterally and needed the support of the United Nations and the Security Council. He claimed that while the U.S. spoke about the need for democracy in West Asia, it had done nothing to ensure that the people of Palestine were able to enjoy their rights.

Mr. Kharrazi admitted that U.S. military bases in countries around Iran were a matter of concern. The Americans, he maintained, were making a big mistake in assuming that they could solve problems in West Asia by force.

Asked if Iran feared an attack by the Israelis on its nuclear installations, he claimed that the U.S. objective was to destabilise countries in the region. Iran did not perceive an American threat, he said and added that Iran was not like other countries. "We are capable of defending ourselves."

To a query on what kind of support Iran expected from India, he said New Delhi played a very important role in both the Non-Aligned Movement and the G-77 group of nations. According to him, plans were afoot to discriminate further against developing countries during the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty review conference in May. India, he said, could play a very important role in dealing with this move.

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