TEHRAN, Iran - Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that he
approves of talks between U.S. and Iranian officials on Iraq, but warned that
the United States must not try to "bully" Iran.
In front of a picture of Iran's late revolutionary
founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers his
speech in the city of Mashhad 537 miles (895 kilometers) east of the capital
Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 21, 2006. Khamenei said Tuesday that he approves of
talks between U.S. and Iranian officials on Iraq, but warned that the United
States must not try to 'bully' Iran. [AP]
It was the first confirmation that Khamenei, who holds final say on all state
matters in Iran, is in favor of the talks.
His comments came hours after President Bush spoke in favor of such a
meeting, saying American officials would show Iran "what's right or wrong in
their activities inside of Iraq."
Khamenei said that "if the Iranian officials can make the U.S. understand
some issues about Iraq, there is no problem with the negotiations."
"But if the talks mean opening a venue for bullying and imposition by the
deceitful party (the Americans), then it will be forbidden," he said in a speech
in the northeastern city of Mashhad, aired on state television.
Both the United States and Iran have said the talks will focus solely on
stabilizing Iraq and not deal with the heated issue of Iran's nuclear program.
No time or place has yet been set for talks, though the U.S. ambassador to Iraq,
Zalmay Khalilzad, who is to head the U.S. side, has proposed holding them in
Baghdad.
Last week, a top Iranian official — Ali Larijani, the secretary of the
Supreme National Security Council — announced that Tehran was willing to enter
talks with the United States. Khamenei voiced his approval Tuesday after some
hard-liners in Iran's clerical government came out against any contacts with the
United States.
Iran has considerable influence with Shiite political parties who dominate
Iraq's parliament, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said
U.S.-Iranian talks on Iraq could be "useful."
Bush on Tuesday told reporters that he had instructed Khalilzad to make Iran
understand that "attempts to spread sectarian violence or to maybe move parts
that could be used for (improvised explosive devices) is unacceptable to the
United States."
The Bush administration has accused Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard of
smuggling bomb-making parts across the border into Iraq, though Gen. Peter Pace,
chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged last week he has no
evidence Iran's government is sponsoring such activity. Bomb attacks have mainly
been carried out by Sunni insurgents attacking the Shiite-led Iraqi government.
Also in Tuesday's speech, Khamenei dismissed the threat of U.N. Security
Council action over Iran's nuclear program, saying Tehran would reject any
measures it considers against its interests.