July 1, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 30, 1424

TEHRAN: The visit to Tehran by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was supposed to be a political turning point for Iran, but after two days of talks, nothing new seems to have been achieved.

“Considering the enormous pressure on Iran from the United States, Straw’s visit could be a good opportunity for us to persuade a close US ally that we are innocent,” said reformist MP Reza Yussefian, articulating some expectations connected to the visit.

But just a few hours after his arrival, Straw said that not only Britain and the United States but also the European Union wanted Iran to sign quickly and unconditionally an additional protocol allowing for thorough inspections from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran in return stressed that before it would even consider signing the IAEA protocol, it required a lifting of trade sanctions, a cessation of accusations concerning weapons of mass destruction, and an acceptance of its request for IAEA assistance.

Straw however made clear once again that EU political and trade cooperation with Iran depended on Iran providing guarantees that are not limited to — and, says one EU diplomat, much harsher than — the IAEA protocol.

The EU demands include: full observation of internationally acknowledged human rights criteria, recognition of Israel as a sovereign state, and using influence on anti-Israeli militia groups to stop attacks against Israeli targets.

That would be trampling all of the establishment’s political principles, an Iranian official said.

Signing the IAEA protocol could be interpreted as bowing to American pressure.

And as for human rights, Iran has always stressed its own interpretation of the issue. Acknowledgement of Western criteria would mean that the prevailing Islamic laws in the country should be ignored.

Recognizing Israel, widely regarded as the harshest demand, would contradict a Middle East policy followed by the Iranian establishment for almost a quarter of a century, whose focal point has always been support for Palestinians against “Zionists”.

The EU request on anti-Israeli militia groups would further be inconsistent with Iran’s characterization of such groups as “freedom fighters against occupiers” rather than “terrorists”.

“You need a wise policy to settle the crisis,” President Mohammad Khatami told Straw, confirming what Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi termed as an imbalance in the Middle East in favour of Israel, an imbalance that has become the main barrier for a just peace.

The British foreign secretary however presented the so-called Middle “roadmap” as a clear sign of the West’s commitment to establishing both an Israeli and Palestinian state. He expected the same commitment from Iran.

Straw stressed several times during his two-day visit in Tehran that this time the EU was behind US-British demands, indicating that Tehran should not count on the support of the “old Europe”, as was the case of the US-British military operations in Iraq.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi played down Straw’s rather tough approach, suggesting that Tehran and London also shared points in common.

According to observers, one of the few points in common is the detainment — or even extradition — of scores of alleged members of the Al Qaeda terrorist network, including two high-ranking members, who had illegally infiltrated into Iran from Afghanistan.

The West in return followed Iran’s request to brand the militant Iranian dissidents of the People’s Mujaheddin as terrorists, with France even arresting and detaining some of their leaders.—dpa