OTTAWA - Iran has sent a message to George W. Bush, the U.S. President, through the Canadian government that Tehran will not oppose military strikes against terrorists in the region.
John Manley, the Foreign Affairs Minister, was contacted by senior Iranian officials and asked to pass on assurances to Washington that the Iranian government will not condemn U.S. retaliation against those found to have been behind last week's massacres in New York and Washington.
"They [the Iranians] feel the tragedy as well and they support any targeted military action, but it must be targeted," an insider said. "But the Iranians can't call the Americans and say that, so they are looking for other friends and allies [to tell the U.S.]"
The message from Tehran comes from the highest levels of government and puts Canada in the role of diplomatic interlocutor between the United States and the Iranian theocracy.
Tehran's message may be interpreted by U.S. leaders as approval for military action in the region but also as an attempt to limit the scope of any operation.
Any co-operation between the U.S. and Iran would mark one of the biggest shifts in regional relations in more than 20 years, since the 1979 revolution toppled the pro-Western shah. The United States still considers Iran a state sponsor of terrorism, despite a slight warming of relations that began after Mohammad Khatami was elected Iran's president in 1996.

http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20010918/693264.html

-- Anonymous, September 18, 2001

Answers

Tehran will not oppose military strikes against terrorists in the region. ...they support any targeted military action, but it must be targeted.

I think this gives us the ability to bomb targeted cells in Iran as well, don't you?

Of course sometimes the targeting software is a little off....

-- Anonymous, September 18, 2001

Well.. it at least seems a mildly positive, rather than hostile reaction from Iran.. Don't know what to make of it really..

Incidently, last week , Newsmax sent out one of their occasional e-mails.. that said that Israel had the Ok from US to take out some Iran Nuclear sites.. The article compared it to the Israelis taking out Iraq's site in 1981(?).. Later i tried to find a corresponding link on the web site..found a link that looked like the right article.. but couldn't access it.. then forgot about it..

-- Anonymous, September 18, 2001

Canadian foreign minister speaks to Iranians, but has no message for US

Canadian foreign minister speaks to Iranians, but has no message for US

OTTAWA, Sept 18 (AFP) -

Iran has expressed its condolences to Canada for the tragedy of the terror attacks on the United States last week, Foreign Minister John Manley said Tuesday.

But, talking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Manley denied a newspaper report that Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi had asked Ottawa to pass a message to the United States.

The National Post had reported that the message included a pledge that Iran would not oppose targeted military strikes against the perpetrators of last week's terror attacks.

Manley said he called Karazi on Monday at the request of Iranian officials in Ottawa and during their converstion Kharazi "expressed his condolences ... and renewed his attack" on the perprators of last week's attacks.

Earlier, Manley said in a radio interview: "I spoke with the foreign minister of Iran in order to ... begin to understand what their position would be in response to any kind of action that might be contemplated and how they saw the developments in the region."

Manley said Iran had "very little sympathy quite frankly for the Taliban or what they're doing and you know, a great deal of sympathy for the situation in which the West finds itself."

http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/article.html?s=asia/headlines/010919/world/afp/Canadian_foreign_minister_speaks_to_Iranians__but_has_no_message_for_US.html

-- Anonymous, September 18, 2001