Iran reiterates opposition to possible US attack on Iraq

  
 

 

  
 

        Tehran, Sept 17, IRNA -- President Mohammad Khatami here Tuesday reiterated Iran's opposition to a possible US attack on Iraq, saying this will set a 'dangerous' precedence for government change in the world.
        He also called on Baghdad to observe UN resolutions amid Iraq's announcement of readmitting UN weapons inspectors into that country.
        "It is a dangerous tradition that any power, since it is powerful, attacks another country whenever it wants to," Khatami told commanders of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps (IRGC), adding any change in Iraq must come from its people.

  
          "Iran rejects violence and resorting to violent ways to confront violence," the Iranian president said in implicit reference to US' anti-terror campaign in the backdrop of the September 11 attack.
        "Iraq also must submit to UN's resolutions and the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns any aggression against the rights of the Iraqi people," he said.
        Khatami described the Iraqi regime as the cause of "several world powers' adventurism, malevolence and expansionism" in the region". 
        "The Iraqi regime has turned into the cause of adventurism in the region and the question to ask is where this adventurism arises from," he said.
        Khatami, who is also the head of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), stressed on Iran's detente and trust-building policies in addition to maintaining its defense preparedness.
        "Detente policy does not mean we do not think of defending ourselves and repelling those who are seeking to foment tensions," he said.
        He called on the country's armed forces to keep up their defense readiness against any probable threats. "A country like the Islamic Republic of Iran is always under threats and we need to strengthen our might," Khatami said.
        Armed forces are the backbone of Iran's detente policy, he said adding "regional countries have completely realized that a powerful Iran is not a threat to their interests; it is rather a strong boost to peace and stability in the region."
        Khatami also hailed the IRGC, saying they were prepared "to confront any threat and plot" thanks to their "calculated organization and access to various skills"
 		  
 

  

Home