- TEHRAN 22 Sept. (IPS) --
Iranians in great majority rejected Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i's policy of
hostility with the United states, with more than 75 per cent of Tehran's
12 million population supporting normalisation with Washington.
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- According to a poll conducted recently by the official
"National Institute of Researches", concerning the thorny and
emotional question of relations with the United States, 74 per cent supported
dialogue with Washington, with 65 per cent of them called for establishing
full diplomatic ties.
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- America cut all relations with the newly installed Islamic
Republic and imposed economic embargo after revolutionary students stormed
the US embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and took 55 diplomat and staff
as hostage for 444 days.
-
- The lamed leader of the Islamic Republic was also contradicted
when, answering to a question, only 24 per cent of the questioned said
they consider Washington's policy on Iran as "wrong", against
more than 60 per cent considering Iran's hostile attitude towards the United
states as "counterproductive".
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- Though the poll was restricted to the greater Tehran
region, but analysts said the outcome translates "a national trend
if conducted nation-wide".
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- The not surprising result of the poll confirms the huge
gap between a great majority of Iranians with the staunch anti-American
policy drummed up by Mr. Khameneh'i and the conservative ayatollahs who,
not only insists that Iranians are opposed to relations with America, but
have even forbidden the media to publish anything in favour of dialogue
with Washington.
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- Iranian analysts said it was on an "awareness"
of the Iranian public sentiment in favour of normalisation with the United
States that President George W. Bush, in his last statement, dumped the
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, whom he described as "powerless
and incapable" of implementing his promised reforms and said he would
establish "direct contact" with the Iranian people and the "neo-reformers",
known in Iran as the "third current", who calls for radical changes
in the present Constitution based on the concept of Velayat Faqih, or the
absolute rule of a clerical leader.
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- In his State of the Union address last January, President
Bush had placed the Islamic Republic in the basket of "evil nations",
alongside Iraq and North Korea.
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- "This must be very alarming for Ayatollah Khameneh'i
and his surrogates that oppose normalising with Washington", said
Mr. Sadeq Saba, a senior expert on Iranian affairs, analysing the poll
for the BBC's Persian service.
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- Meanwhile, a former Iranian envoy at the United Nations
suggested Sunday that Iran "should welcome" if the United States
"seeks unconditional talks with Iran".
-
- "This is because we have to finally set aside our
differences", Mr. Sa'id Raja'i Khorrasani told the official news agency
IRNA, adding that the issue of talks with the US must not be marred by
"internal and factional disputes" and there must be a "national
stance" on that.
-
- "Now that detente is being followed as a principle
in Iran's diplomacy, we should also act wisely on the issue of ties with
America" he said, suggesting however that Iran must not sit at the
negotiation table with the US "because of the fear it may have from
a possible American attack".
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- "Doubtless, countries can settle their differences
better and wisely through dialogue...but, we should not negotiate with
America out of an attack fear from the weak position", IRNA quoted
him as having said.
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- At the same time, he warned the US against spreading
war fronts inside Iran, saying, "Americans know that they will face
an all-out defense (from Iranians) and will pay a heavy cost" if they
attack the Islamic Republic.
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- Iran has dismissed speculations that it could be next
in line for US attack on Baghdad.
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- "We currently do not see any special threat from
any foreign power," government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh told
Iranian and foreign media persons earlier this month. ENDS TIES WITH US
22902
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- http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2002/Sept_2002/ties_with_us_22902.htm
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