The Iranian press on Wednesday dismissed the Middle East peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh as an ineffective attempt to stop the Palestinian uprising against Israel and mask US foreign policy failures.
Post-summit statements that a ceasefire deal had been reached was "only meant to pave the way for further US interference in the region in favor of the Zionist regime," the conservative Tehran Times said.
"The gathering made no decision to take due measures to vindicate the rights of Palestinians and bring to book those responsible for their massacre," it said.
"The summit was only aimed at pressuring (Palestinian leader Yasser) Arafat to call for an end to the uprising of the Palestinian nation."
The pro-reform Iran Daily said the meeting at the Egyptian Red Sea resort, like other peace initiatives at Camp David and in Oslo, was an "empty talk show."
"Which bottlenecks did the Sharm el-Sheikh summit solve?" it asked in a front-page editorial.
"As long as reality is sacrificed for the sake of the interests of a few racist occupiers, neither Arafat nor any powerful authority in the world can succeed in solving the problems of the Middle East."
The conservative daily Kayhan International said the meeting had revealed US President Bill Clinton as "defeated and powerless."
"Posterity is sure to record Clinton's term in office as a long list of foreign policy setbacks, the worst being his failure as a Middle East peace broker," it said.
"Washington's foreign policy in this part of the world and near about has been a total failure," it said, citing the attack on a US destroyer in Yemen and the increasing number of nations flouting the international embargo on Iraq in recent weeks.
"The growing anti-American sentiment the world over indicates that American foreign policy makers are a long way off track," it said, adding that the Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, has been "rekindled, and this time it will be hard to douse it out."
Iran does not recognize the state of Israel and is opposed to the peace process. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called on Muslim nations to pave the way for a holy war against the Jewish state – TEHRAN (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
