US Urges Iran to Expel Al-Qaida Fugitives

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, August 29, 2002

US Urges Iran to Expel Al-Qaida Fugitives

The United States on Wednesday urged Iran to expel al-Qaida members it harbors despite rejection of such allegations by Tehran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi on Wednesday denied US allegations about the presence of al-Qaeda members in Iran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

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The United States on Wednesday urged Iran to expel al-Qaida members it harbors despite rejection of such allegations by Tehran.

"What we have stated most recently, ... that there are some al-Qaida in Iran and, if there are, we expect every government not to harbor terrorists in their country and not to provide them with safe haven," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in Crawford, Texas, where President George W. Bush is spending his summer vacation.

"That's what we call on the Iranian government to do as well," he said, noting that the United States wants to be "very clear" tothe Iranian government on that message.

McClellan was responding to a report by The Washington Post on Wednesday that dozens of al-Qaida members are hiding in Iran and plotting new attacks on the United States.

The warning echoed similar allegations recently made by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who accused Tehran of providing safe haven for al-Qaida fugitives.

Iran, branded by Bush as part of the "axis of evil," flatly rejected US Media reports on Wednesday, describing them as "repetitious and unfounded accusations."

"Iran's policy is not to shelter al-Qaida members and to prevent such people from entering the country," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi was quoted as saying by agencies reports.

Tehran Denies Allegation

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi on Wednesday denied US allegations about the presence of al-Qaeda members in Iran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

Quoting intelligence sources, the Washington Post claimed on Wednesday that two al-Qaeda members have been given shelter in Iranian hotels.

In response to the report, Asefi said that the campaign against terrorism is "top on the agenda of the Islamic Republic of Iran which decisively prevents any terrorist elements from entering the country to ensure its national interest."

He denounced "the US circles for fabricating allegations against Iran without any evidence."

Asefi made it clear that no al-Qaeda member stays in Iran, noting that Tehran has already handed over 16 persons suspected of being al-Qaeda members to Saudi Arabia.

In December 2001, the US media had reported that one of the two al-Qaeda members the Washington Post claimed staying in Iran was killed in an air strike, IRNA said.

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