Bush Administration Officials Held Rare Private Meeting with Iranian Representatives in Europe Last Month - 2003-02-08

The Washington Post reports that Bush administration officials held a rare private meeting with Iranian representatives in Europe last month to discuss Iraq, which shares a long border with Iran. The newspaper cites American officials who stated they are seeking guarantees from Iran regarding humanitarian aid and assurances that Tehran would not intervene in the event of any U.S.-led military action against Iraq. The U.S. is also interested in Iran helping to prevent Iraqi soldiers from crossing the border and reuniting, as well as assisting in search and rescue operations for American aircrew who may be shot down. The Washington Post notes that U.S. and U.N. officials have described Tehran's signals and indications, which had also been expressed during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan for search and rescue missions, as encouraging. In Tehran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not reference this report during a speech to military officers. In his speech commemorating the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the U.S. seeks to control the Middle East. He claimed that the U.S. is using the threat of Iraq and war as a pretext to dominate Iraq's oil resources. Iran and Iraq fought a brutal eight-year war in the 1980s.