TEHRAN, 4 September 2003 — An independent Palestine and a Middle East devoid of nuclear weapons — those were the goals laid down by King Abdallah and Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami at the end of the first visit to Iran by a Jordanian monarch for 25 years yesterday.
In a joint communiqué after their talks, the two leaders called for the creation of “an independent Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem,” the official news agency IRNA reported.
They also underlined the need to “promote security and stability in the region” which should be clear of all nuclear weapons, IRNA said, a reference to Israel’s nuclear capability and Iran’s claims that its nuclear program has no military application.
They also acknowledged that the setting up of a Cabinet in Iraq was “a step toward putting power back in the hands of the people”.
Earlier, Abdallah met with Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, having already held talks during his two-day official visit with Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi and several ministers.
Khamenei told Abdallah during the meeting that Iraq’s future does not look bright as long as the country is still occupied by the US-led coalition, IRNA reported.
“The Iraqi situation is truly worrying, and with continuation of the Iraqi occupation in the hands of the US and British forces, the future of Iraq is not bright... the occupiers should quickly leave Iraq and give the authority back to the people,” Khamenei told the king.
However, Khatami told Abdullah Tuesday that, with the help of its neighbors, Iraq’s worries would be over as soon as possible, IRNA reported. “The Iraqi situation is worrying and we hope for restoration of the populist Iraqi government... With the help of the neighboring countries the existing worries will be over as soon as possible,” he was quoted as saying.
As for the Palestinian issue, Khatami said “we want peace for the oppressed Palestinians nation based on justice... We want a sustainable and just peace and stability for the Middle East region.”
Khatami said: “Our bilateral relations are not harmful to any other country and will bring about peace.”
He added that Iran is willing to extend “technical and scientific services and also investment opportunities in the fields of petrochemical, gas, dam building, and irrigation to the friend and brother country of Jordan... and also boost trade and cooperation with scientific and university, cultural and art centers.”
For his part, Kharazi voiced his concern over the Iraqi situation despite calling the new Iraqi cabinet a step forward toward giving authority to the people, IRNA said.
“With elimination of Saddam, as a source of threats to its neighbors and sufferings to its people, Iraqis are still worried about their rights, political and security destinies,” he said. “Thus these worries should be removed.
“The new Iraqi Cabinet is a step toward giving government authority to the Iraqi people under the auspices on the United Nations and also toward immediate departure of the occupying forces from Iraq,” he added.
Jordan is particularly eager to woo Iranian tourists to the kingdom, which boasts many archeological sites, including the tombs of many of the companions of the Prophet Mohammed (Pbuh).
The king’s two-day visit was seen in Amman and Tehran as an “important” step in improving relations between the two countries. They were restored in 1991 after a 10-year break, during which Iran criticized Abdallah’s father, the late King Hussein, for supporting Baghdad in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
Although ties between Jordan and Iran improved dramatically after Abdullah succeeded his father in February 1999, a diplomatic spat last year fueled tensions between them.
A top Jordanian official said yesterday Abdallah’s visit to Iran has opened a new page in oft-soured relations between the two nations. The official said the visit underscored identical viewpoints on reactivating bilateral relations.
