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Iran Mending Relations With Arab Countries
by Tareq Ayyoub
AMMAN, Jan 23 (IslamOnline) - The Speaker of Iran's Shura Council (parliament), Mahdi Kharoubi, said on Tuesday that his country is willing to remove all obstacles that impede the improvement of its relations with the Arab world.
"Iran's [foreign] policy is based on the elimination of all tension and to get rid of all disputes with all neighboring countries," Kharoubi, who was speaking in a press conference before he left Jordan after a three-day visit, said.
The Iranian official indicated that his country has succeeded in improve ties with leading Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq and Jordan.
Kharoubi, who met with King Abdullah and Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb, indicated that Tehran is moving towards "normalizing" its ties with its western neighbor, Iraq, with whom it had fought an eight-year war.
But the Iranian official admitted that the issue of the three occupied islands, which the United Arab Emirates is claiming, is still a thorny issue impeding normalizing ties with the Gulf emirate.
The UAE has repeatedly demanded Iran to pull out from the three islands, which were occupied during the Shah's regime in 1973.
Iran has refused such a request and has stressed that the islands belong to Iran, but said that it was ready for direct talks with the UAE to resolve the issue peacefully.
The Speaker of Jordan's Lower House, Abdul Hadi Majali, said that the issue of the three islands was brought up during talks between the Iranian delegation and Jordanian lawmakers late Monday.
"This issue should be settled through serious dialogue and we support such step. We will be happy if this issue is resolved once and for all," Majali, who attended the press conference, said.
The Jordanian official said that Iran's new policy with its neighbors was welcomed by Arab states, and indicated that Jordan's relationship with Iran has increasingly improved due to the belief that Iran provides "strong support" for Arab causes.
Jordan and Iran resumed ties in the early 1990s after severing diplomatic relations following the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war, where Jordan sided with Baghdad, angering Tehran.
Jordan and the Islamic Republic of Iran are currently negotiating a $625 million water project, which will offer the Kingdom a 100 million cubic meters of water annually.
Iranian sources said the offer stipulates that Jordan will pay 25% of the project's expenses while the remaining portion will be paid over the next ten years.
Part of Jordan's payment will be through potash and phosphate, sources said.
Libya has repeatedly pledged to finance the project but has failed to perform on its promises.
A Jordanian delegation is expected to leave for Iran this week to discuss the details of the project.
Abdullah is also expected to visit Tehran next month, the first by a Jordanian monarch since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Concerning events in the Occupied Territories, Kharoubi said that if Arab states decided to go for war to end the dispute with Israel, "Iran recommends that such a decision should receive the consensus of other Muslim countries."
He also indicated that if Arab states decided to resume the economic boycott against countries supporting Israel, "Iran is ready to be committed for such efforts."
"If they also decided to stop oil exports for these countries, Iran is also ready to take part in such a step," the Iranian lawmaker told reporters.
Majali said he was pessimistic about the outcome of the current talks between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators taking place in the Egyptian resort of Taba.
"From our point of view, we believe that such talks will not bring any important results," he said.
The Speaker of the Lower House warned that if right wing leader Ariel Sharon wins the upcoming elections (for prime minister) "things in the region will…move towards more complication and problems."
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