DAMASCUS, 24 December 2004 — Iran’s foreign minister challenged US and Iraqi officials yesterday to prove their allegations that his country is meddling in Iraqi affairs.
Kamal Kharrazi, speaking to reporters during a visit to Syria, which has faced similar charges from Washington and Baghdad, said such accusations were meant to “evade reality instead of discussing the crisis and trying to find solutions for it.”
“Those who release accusations should give evidence,” Kharrazi said.
Earlier this month, Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said Iranian and Syrian intelligence agents, plus former operatives from toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s security forces, were cooperating with an Al-Qaeda-linked group in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has distanced himself from the allegations, saying the defense minister’s comments were not government policy. Syria dismissed Shaalan’s accusations as “baseless.”
President Bush has warned Iran and Syria that “meddling in the internal affairs of Iraq is not in their interest.”
Kharrazi, who arrived on a previously unannounced visit, held talks yesterday with President Bashar Assad and met with his Syrian counterpart, Farouk Sharaa, to discuss events in Iraq and the Palestinian territories, the state news agency said.
Kharrazi, after his meetings, said Jordanian accusations that Iran plans to create a “Shiite crescent” including Syria, Lebanon and Iraq — countries with large Shiite populations — “should not be taken seriously.”
Earlier this month, Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned of a possible Shiite hegemony in the region. In an interview with The Washington Post, the king accused Shiite-dominated Iran of trying to influence the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq, where Shiite candidates are expected to fare well. Kharrazi repeated Iranian support for the elections and warned against internal divisions in Iraq.
