The top diplomat of the Sultanate of Oman, used a visit to Tehran Sunday to express strong opposition to any US-led military action against Iraq.
Yussef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Oman's minister of state for foreign affairs, said on arrival for a visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, "Our position is the same, ruling out any military option against an Arab and Muslim country. "We are opposed to an attack on Iraq or any other Muslim state because we think that any differences with regard to the Middle East must be resolved under UN auspices."
According to AFP, in the course of talks with bin Abdullah later in the day, Iran's President Mohammed Khatami reiterated the Islamic regime's own concerns. "Iraq's territorial integrity and future is important for all the countries of the region," Khatami said.
"Baghdad should accept international regulations and thus neutralize interference by foreign powers," he said, in a clear reference to the United States, which has pledged to change the regime in Iraq by force.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, on his part, who held separate talks with the Omani minister, dismissed Washington's threats to topple Saddam Hussein, saying this "interference is bound to fail." "What we see in the threat to attack Iraq is a new American strategy aimed at spreading insecurity across the world and thus leading to a world dictatorship," Kharazi said in a statement quoted by state radio.
The talks between the Omani minister and Iranian officials were also set to deal with relations between their two countries, which face each other across the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
