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Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal |
WASHINGTON,
Aug 11 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Iran quietly expelled to
Saudi Arabia 16 al-Qaeda fighters who sought refuge in the country
after fleeing neighboring Afghanistan, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince
Saud Faisal told the Washington Post in an interview published Sunday,
August 11, 2002.
Iranian
authorities handed over the al-Qaeda fugitives, all Saudis, knowing
that whatever intelligence was obtained from them during interrogation
in Saudi Arabia would be passed on to the United States for use in the
war against terrorism, Saud told the Post.
The
cooperation with Iran comes despite the Bush administration's
characterization of Tehran earlier this year as forming part of an
"axis of evil," along with Iraq and North Korea, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) said.
The
Post wrote that the revelations of Iran's cooperation were made in an
interview with the foreign minister at his residence in Jeddah.
"We
asked (the Iranians) to hand them over and they did," Saud said.
"Iran
has not only cooperated with Saudi Arabia in this conflict in
Afghanistan but cooperated extensively with the United States,"
the prince added.
Saud
said his country is also going to great lengths to assist the U.S.-led
war against al-Qaeda, saying that the Saudi government shares the U.S.
desire to prosecute accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and
his network, AFP said.
"All
the information we have on al Qaeda has been exchanged with the
U.S.," he told the daily.
The
June transfer of the al-Qaeda operatives to Saudi Arabia reflects
improving ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have a history of
strained relations since the 1979 Iranian revolution.
The
expulsion reversed long-standing Iranian claims that there were no
al-Qaeda operatives in its territory, the newspaper said.
The
detainees were reported to be in Saudi Arabia, but officials declined
to tell the daily whether they remain incarcerated.
Saud
suggested to the Post that Iran had also cooperated with the United
States bilaterally to combat al-Qaeda.
"The
U.S. and Iran can speak for themselves as to how much cooperation
happened between the two countries," he said.
Iran-U.S.
tension has mounted in the past weeks after Iran denounced U.S.
President George Bush’s "open interference” in the Islamic
republic’s internal affairs after the U.S. leader urged Tehran to
abandon what he called destructive policies.
Tehran
and Washington severed ties after the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy
in Tehran. Attempts at rapprochement have been dogged by fierce
resentment in Iran over U.S. support for Israeli occupation of the
Palestinian territories.
