Kayhan, Islamic
Republic of Iran
'Certain' Western Media Mistaken About Iran-Iraq Oil Well Border Dispute
Have
'certain Western media' exaggerated the significance of an incident in which
Iranian troops crossed the border into Iraq and occupied an Iraqi oil well?
According to this news item from Iran's rigidly-controlled Kayhan
newspaper, the event is just a 'misunderstanding.'
November 24, 2009
Islamic Republic of Iran - Kayhan - Home Page (English)
TEHRAN: Foreign Ministry
spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that certain sections of the media
are trying undermine friendly relations between Iran and Iraq.
During his weekly press
conference, Mehmanparast commented on recent claims by certain Western media
about emerging border disputes between Iran and its western neighbor. The
spokesman described the border incident with Iraq as a
"misunderstanding" and called for experts from both countries to look
into border demarcation issues.
"Our stance has been
crystal clear ... this was a misunderstanding," Mehmanparast said.
Saying that the foreign
ministers of the two countries had reached an "understanding" during
a phone conversation on Saturday, he said that a committee should be formed to
look into border demarcation issues between Iran and Iraq, which fought a war
from 1980-88.
"We think this is a
technical issue and that experts on both sides should sit down and look into
... specifying the border areas between the two countries, so that such
misunderstandings are removed," he said.
On Sunday, Iraq's government
spokesman said a group of Iranian troops, who had taken over an oil well in a
remote region along the Iran-Iraq border, were no longer in control of the
well, which Iraq considers part of its Fakka oilfield.
An Iranian border official was
quoted on the same day as saying that Iranian forces had returned to their
original positions after dismantling a barricade built by Iraqi soldiers near
the disputed well.
Iran-Iraq relations warmed
after Saddam Hussein's ousting in 2003.
Iran says the well falls
within Iranian borders. "The best solution is ... for the experts to sit
down and investigate the issue," Mehmanparast said. "A committee will
review the demarcation and borderlines to remove any possibility of a
misunderstanding and find solutions," he said.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Mehmanparast strongly
rejected allegations of an Iranian link to an aircraft loaded with weapons that
was confiscated in Thailand.
“It's crystal clear that these
allegations were put forward to exert psychological and political pressure against
Iran,” the spokesman said.
Mehmanparast also commented
that Tehran is examining whether to take part in an upcoming conference on the
situation in Afghanistan to take place in London.
Asked about a visit to Tokyo
by the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, the
spokesman said Jalili was in Japan to discuss major bilateral, regional and
international developments, and that there are no constraints in Iran's cooperation
with other nations in regard to peaceful nuclear technology, including Japan.
He stressed that Tokyo enjoys “good nuclear knowledge.”
Touching on the crisis in
Yemen, Mehmanparast said that the conflict has no military solution.
“A military solution for the
Yemeni crisis is neither good nor humanitarian, as the majority of victims of
these military attacks in that country are civilian,” said the spokesman.
Reiterating Tehran’s regret
over the ongoing "fratricide" in Yemen, Mehmanparast said that the
issue should be resolved through “diplomatic talks.”
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Al Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:
Iran Seizes Iraqi Oil Field to Justify Domestic Repression
Die Welt, Germany:
Ahmadinejad Announces Iranian Plans to 'Administer the World'
Estadao, Brazil:
Brazil's Foolhardy Treatment of America and Embrace of Iran
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria:
Arab World 'Impotent' but to Witness Iran's Ascent
He also referred to the issue
of the three American nationals being held in Iran saying, “Their cases should
be followed up by the judicial system.”
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
In addition, Mehmanparast
announced that in the near future, Hezbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah will likely pay a visit to Tehran. Noting that such visits are held to
expand normal consultations, he described Nasrallah as a prominent and
influential figure in forming the new Lebanese government.
Asked about reports of a
possible visit to Iran by U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John
Kerry, he said, "We have yet to receive official word on his visit to the
Islamic Republic."
A Middle East insider had
told the U.S. magazine Foreign Policy that Kerry has pitched the idea to
the White House and that the White House is thinking it over.
The United States and Iran
broke off diplomatic relations in April 1980, after Iranian students seized the
U.S. espionage center at its embassy in Tehran. The two countries have had
tense relations ever since.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US, Dec. 24, 3:51pm
