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Tehran, June 14, IRNA -- President Mohammad Khatami has condemned the 'defiled seed of terror which grew to show its ugly face' in the September 11 attack on the US landmarks, but added that the incident had provided the 'intimidators with an excuse to change the world into a sphere of conflict, threat and abhorrence'.
In response to a letter by William F. Vendley, the secretary general of the world conference on religion and peace which was held in November in New York, Khatami has paid tribute to American society for their 'great achievements', but has flayed US rulers' aggressive overtures against Iran and several other countries.
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Tehran, June 14, IRNA -- President Mohammad Khatami has condemned the 'defiled seed of terror which grew to show its ugly face' in the September 11 attack on the US landmarks, but added that the incident had provided the 'intimidators with an excuse to change the world into a sphere of conflict, threat and abhorrence'.
In response to a letter by William F. Vendley, the secretary general of the world conference on religion and peace which was held in November in New York, Khatami has paid tribute to American society for their 'great achievements', but has flayed US rulers' aggressive overtures against Iran and several other countries.
"Today, the United States is a great hub for knowledge, technology, research and wealth... It is appropriate that these great achievements, for which the American people are rightly credited, be put at the service of peace and prosperity for the entire world," he has said in part of the letter.
US President George W. Bush has accused Iran as part of an 'axis of evil' along with Iraq and North Korea. Tehran was swift to condemn terror attack on American trade and defense centers on September 11.
Khatami has questioned the approach of the "American politicians who, in the name of the American people and fight against terrorism, address other governments with a language full of threat and humiliation."
"I believe that the responsibility befalls the benevolent leaders of the US civil society, including clerics and thinkers, to confer with their politicians and induce them to desist from unjust and inappropriate behaviors," the Iranian president says.
"I trust that sooner or later the US public opinion will mobilize against warmongers," Khatami has added.
He has also condemned US support for the racist Israeli regime which has launched an aggressive incursion into the Palestinian lands.
"Today, the scale of transgression, bestiality and trespass is soaring to the heights of fury in Palestine... Isn't intimidation, terrorism and conflict the illegitimate offshoot of hatred," Khatami asked.
The Iranian president has reiterated his new brainchild of 'coalition for peace' which he mooted first during a speech at the UN General Assembly in November.
"Peace is a heavenly blessing but it is not showered on man suddenly and without his willing. Truly, peace ... may rain upon us only when hands of earthlings are fully stretched to warmly embrace it," Khatami has said.
Vendley, in his letter to Khatami, had lauded the Iranian president's speech in the assembly, saying that "you outlined with clarity an integral notion of human relations based on a dialogue among civilizations.
The United Nations designated 2001 as the year of 'dialogue among civilizations' on President Khatami's initiative.
"You also spoke in many forums about the need to reject terrorism and to build a world order based on justice and the rule of law," Vendley had added in the letter.
"We appeal to you to continue to articulate these principles so important to the world community, and to all within your power to help ensure that these principles are acknowledged and heeded by all states," he had added.
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