"Iran has not only not been harboring terrorists, but it has been fighting against them," Kharazi

PRETORIA, July 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Iran rejected U.S. President George W. Bush’s accusations of harboring and supporting terrorism on Monday, July 21, saying it had no intention of pulling out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"Iran has not only not been harboring terrorists, but it has been fighting against them," said Kharazi, in South Africa for a meeting of a South African-Iranian bilateral commission.

"I think it is the United States that is harboring terrorists because right now every corner of Iraq is controlled by Americans," he told an Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Kharazi accused the United States of supporting armed Iranian rebels operating from Iraq, allowing them to "stay and function in Iraq" even though the group was "a registered terrorist organization".

At his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Bush issued new warnings to both Iran and Syria, accusing the two Middle Eastern countries of "unacceptable" conduct in supporting and harboring terrorism.

‘Unacceptable’

Bush said it was time for all governments in the Middle East to support Israel and the Palestinians as they strive to end their conflict.

"This includes the governments of Syria and Iran," Bush said in a joint press conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

"Today, Syria and Iran continue to harbor and assist terrorism. This behavior is completely unacceptable," he said.

Bush added that states which he said supported terrorism would be "held accountable" and that terrorism undermined the prospects for Middle East peace.

"Supporting and harboring terrorists undermines the prospects for peace in the Middle East and betrays the true interests of the Palestinian people," the US president said.

"Terrorism is the greatest obstacle to the emergence of a Palestinian state and all leaders who seek this goal have an obligation to back up their words and real actions against terror.

Syria has come under mounting U.S. pressures to back Palestinian and Lebanese resistance groups it classifies as terrorist.

Bush has branded Iran - along with North Korea and the Iraq of ousted President Saddam Hussein - as a member of an "axis of evil" that harbors terrorism and developing weapons of mass destruction.

No ‘Withdrawal’ From NPT

In the meanwhile, the Iranian government said on Monday it had no intention to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in spite of repeated calls to do so.

"Withdrawal from the NPT is not on our agenda," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi was quoted by Reuters as telling a news conference.

"Our nuclear activities are transparent and we have nothing to hide," he said.

Iran has long insisted that it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons – the main justification used by Washington for launching an invasion against neighboring Iraq.

But it refused to sign an additional protocol of the NPT which would allow intrusive, extensive and short-notice checks of its nuclear facilities, saying the protocol carries not enough guarantees and are not even signed up by many countries.

Observers fear Washington might use the nuclear allegations to make the case for launching a military aggression against Iran and deviate attention from the Iraq quagmire by turning heat on its neighbor.

Bush's blast at Syria and Iran was unprompted, as it came at his opening statement with Berlusconi – currently president of the European Union.

More than three months into the U.S. forces rolling into Baghdad, none of the alleged weapons of mass destruction have been found so far – raising speculations the invasion was launched on false pretexts.

Kharazi had told reporters during a visit to South Africa that any concern over the implementation of treaties on WMDs “should be resolved through the mechanisms of present international treaties,"

"Threatening or intimidating countries by raising unfounded allegations will only weaken the credibility of these international treaties," he said.