JEDDAH/LONDON, 7 March — Close on the heels of Syria, Iran yesterday announced its support for the proposals made by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, to bring peace to the Middle East.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told reporters in Tehran that his country was looking forward to the initiative “as a positive step toward liberating the Palestinian territories.”
Addressing a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Farouk Shara, Kharrazi said Tehran would welcome any effort that would help retrieve the occupied Arab territories.
Iranian President Muhammad Khatami sent a message yesterday to Crown Prince Abdullah. Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, said it had learned that the message was in support of the Saudi peace proposal.
According to Palestinian International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath, the Kingdom’s initiative will be put to Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Saturday. “Although the proposal has been submitted (to the League) it will be presented next Saturday to Arab foreign ministers before being officially submitted to the Arab summit,” in Beirut on March 27 and 28, Shaath said in a statement.
“Consultations and discussions held recently by Saudi Arabia are a Saudi attempt to explain its position and to clarify” the initiative, Shaath said.
Crown Prince Abdullah told the New York Times in mid-February that Arab countries were prepared to normalize ties with Israel if it withdrew from all occupied Arab land, including East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian ambassador to the Kingdom, Mustafa Hashem Al-Sheikh said the crown prince was trying to ensure that Arafat attended the Beirut summit. “He wants this issue resolved once and for all,” he said.
A Saudi official told AFP in Riyadh that the crown prince’s proposal is based on UN resolutions, including the right of Palestinians to return to their homes. “Crown Prince Abdullah’s offer rests essentially on the UN ... resolutions, namely 194 which demands the right of return for Palestinian refugees,” said the official.
The Kingdom told Syrian President Bashar Assad that the proposal includes Resolution 194, which was issued by the UN General Assembly. Bashar met the crown prince in Jeddah on Tuesday and voiced his support to the Kingdom’s peace move.
