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Iranian FM Says Normalization of Ties With US Possible
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi has not ruled out a possibility to normalize the Tehran-Washington ties cut off 21 years ago, the official IRNA news agency reported Friday.
Iran can have relations with all countries, except the "Zionist regime" of Israel, if they do not tend to harm Islamic values, Kharazi, who was in Tokyo, Japan, told reporters Thursday when asked whether Iran and the United States could resume ties.
Kharazi on Friday concluded his three-day whirlwind East Asian tour that took him to Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan with the aim to consult with the countries over recent international developments and coordinate stances toward the on-going Afghan crisis.
The United States and Iran severed relations after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since then the two countries have adopted policies of hostility towards each other.
The New York Times has recently reported a secret Iranian offer to provide humanitarian aid to U.S. troops who are engaging in military strikes on Afghanistan.
The U.S. had promised in return that Iran's territorial integrity, including airspace, would be respected for the duration of the U.S.-led military strikes on Afghanistan.
However, Iran has denied the report and ruled out any normalization of ties between the two countries. "There are no new developments between Iran and the United States and our position towards that country remains the same," President Mohammad Khatami said.
The U.S. has been pounding the Afghan ruling Taliban militia since October 7 for harboring Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect of the September 11 terror attacks on Washington and New York.
Iran has condemned the terror attacks on the U.S., but also denounced the U.S.-led military strikes against neighboring Afghanistan.
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