Iran Rejects Bush's Warning Over Harboring Terrorists

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 11, 2002

Iran Rejects Bush's Warning Over Harboring Terrorists

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Iran on Thursday rejected as " baseless" a warning by U.S. President George W. Bush that Iran must steer clear of offering heaven to terrorists and not destabilize the interim Afghan government. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said that Bush's comments are based on "undocumented information," Radio Payam (message) reported.

Earlier in the day, Bush warned Tehran against harboring al- Qaeda members seeking refuge in Iran and cautioned it against destabilizing the interim Afghan government.

"Since the start of the Afghan crisis, the fundamental policy of Iran has been to prevent members of al-Qaeda from entering Iran," Asefi was quoted by the radio as saying.

"Iranian borders are closed and under tight control," he added. He said that Iran attaches great importance to restoring and establishing stability in Afghanistan, and it has played an active role in pursuing the objective.

Asefi said that Iran is against foreign military presence in Afghanistan, which he said "would block the way to permanent peace and stability in Afghanistan." He stressed that before the international community expressed concerns over terrorism and thus paid due attention to an anti- terror campaign, Iran had gone all out to fight this inhuman phenomenon.

Iran's principal policy on Afghanistan is based on maintaining Afghanistan's independence, the spokesman said, expressing hope that the Afghan people would decide on their own fate independently.