Iran warned the Iraqi government on Monday that it was taking "very seriously" the matter of an Iranian diplomat held hostage in Iraq and threatened with "punishment" by his captors. "Iran is holding the interim government solely responsible" for the safety of Fereydun Jahani, abducted on August 4, government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh told reporters. "We are following this matter, which we are taking very seriously," he added.
| "An' youse guyz are gonna get it!" |
A group calling itself The Islamic Army of Iraq has said it will "punish" Jahani if Iran does not release 500 Iraqis allegedly held since the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88. Ramezanzadeh repeated that Iran had freed all its prisoners of war, adding, "this file is closed, Iran has said this many, many times and it has been confirmed by international organisations." The only problem, he said, was of soldiers who had been reported missing. The spokesman said Tehran also hoped to clear up the question of the arrest last week in Baghdad of the Iraq bureau chief of Iran's state news agency IRNA and two of his Iraqi staff.
He again denied allegations by Iraqi officials that Iran was interfering in Iraq's internal affairs, saying, "We want security, stability, calm and progress for Iraq because we consider that is also in our national interest and our aim is to help the Iraqi people."
| And then his lips fell off. |
Ramezanzadeh said the accusations came from former members of Iraq's ruling Baath party, toppled by US-led invading forces in April last year, and not from true representatives of the Iraqi people. Other Iraqi officials spoke a different language in their dealings with Tehran, he added. Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi distanced himself from the allegations spearheaded by Defence Minister Hazem al-Shaalan at the weekend in an interview with IRNA, saying he looked forward to constructive relations between the former foes. "We do not accuse the Iranian government of interference in Iraq's domestic affairs at the present time," the premier said. Shalaan has called Iran Iraq's "number one enemy", saying it was trying to "kill democracy" in his country by fomenting unrest and arming the rebel militiamen of radical Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr.
| Let's keep an eye on his Shalaan guy, he could be a suitable PM if Allawi falters. |
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