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Iran and Saudi Arabia Urge Restraint in U.S. Response
TEHRAN, Sept 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia warned Sunday against any hasty action in response to the attacks on the United States, citing that such responses could lead to a human catastrophe, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
The agency said Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud al-Faisal, speaking by telephone, condemned the September 11th attacks in New York and Washington and expressed "great concern over the possibility a human calamity could engulf the world."
"The two ministers stressed restraint by all countries of the world and the avoidance of taking any hasty decision that would risk more innocent human lives," IRNA quoted an Iranian foreign ministry statement as saying.
U.S. President George W. Bush has said all evidence so far pointed to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, who lives in Afghanistan as the "guest" of its ruling Taliban, as the man responsible for the hijacked plane attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which has left 6,800 people dead or missing.
Bin Laden has repeatedly denied responsibility for the attacks and all countries pledging cooperation with the U.S., including Britain, have asked for solid evidence linking him to the attacks before they would grant support for military strikes.
Iranian officials have expressed sympathy to the United States - long viewed as the Islamic republic's archenemy - in terms unprecedented since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iran, which is on a U.S. list of countries accused of sponsoring terrorism, has said it would not allow U.S. warplanes to use its airspace to attack Afghanistan, reiterating Tehran's neutrality in any conflict.
Although publicly opposed to U.S. military attacks on its eastern neighbor, Iran favors some response against the Taliban, whose rule over Afghanistan it has never recognized, news agencies reported.
According to the BBC's online service, a top Iranian state body has been debating Tehran's stance towards the growing confrontation between the United States and Afghanistan.
The Expediency Council, which sets important policy guidelines, has considered a report by Iran's National Security Council, which is headed by President Mohammed Khatami.
The Council called for an international coalition to fight terrorism, but cautioned against a hasty response to last week's attacks in the United States.
Any reaction, it said, should be based on strong proof and co-coordinated with the United Nations.
The BBC reported that Iran is divided over its policy toward the United States, but appears to speak with one voice in condemning the attacks on New York and Washington.
The British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, who is to visit Iran Monday, is bringing with him a message from the United States to the authorities in Tehran.
Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia has pledged support to the U.S. campaign against those behind the attacks, but Prince Saud has said it should be a "clearheaded" campaign aimed at justice rather than one based on vengeance.
The kingdom, one of only two countries to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's government, froze ties with the movement in 1998 over its harboring of bin Laden, who had been stripped of his Saudi citizenship for activities against the Saudi royal family.
The BBC reported that if Saudi Arabia refuses to allow Washington the use of its bases for a military strike, it would force the Pentagon to rely more on its naval task forces in the Gulf, which could result in a delay of military action by several days, or possibly weeks.
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