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Iranian MPs Condemn "Blind Bombardment" of Afghanistan
TEHRAN, Oct 10 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - More than 150 members of Iran's reform-majority parliament Wednesday "vehemently" condemned the U.S.-led "blind bombardment" of Afghanistan, state radio reported.
"We, the members of parliament, condemn any form of terrorism at any time and place, and vehemently condemn America's illogical attack and blind bombardment of the Muslim nation of Afghanistan and the killing of innocent women and children," state radio quoted a resolution as saying, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"We ask the United Nations to prevent the killing of innocent people and to provide guidelines for the fight against terrorism," the Iranian deputies added.
The U.S. response to "the terrorist attacks against economic and military centers in America can in no way justify the bombardment and missile strikes against a country and an innocent people," the MPs said.
"This U.S. action has not only not destroyed the terrorists claimed by America, but is a repetition of the same terrorist act which took place in the United States, meaning the killing of innocent people," they said.
Iran has condemned the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington but has refused to join or assist U.S.-led military actions against its Muslim neighbor.
Instead, Tehran demands that the international campaign against terror be led by the United Nations, and has cautioned that military strikes would only compound the problem of its more than two million Afghan refugees.
On Tuesday, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami called for an "immediate end" to the strikes against Afghanistan, while supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Washington Monday of "lying" about its true intentions.
Khatami said the strikes against Afghanistan's Taliban and Osama bin Laden had caused a "human catastrophe".
"An appropriate atmosphere was established for politicians after the attacks on the United States to fight and resist this ugly phenomenon of terrorism," Khatami told a gathering of the nation's Friday prayer leaders.
"But one should not use fighting terrorism as an excuse to make thousands of innocent and defenseless people the victims of violation and oppression," he said.
"When war creates war, and terror develops into war and innocent people burn in fire, it signals a great gap between politics and morality. What the world needs to pay attention to today is that immoral humans commit crimes and make innocent people the victims of their policies," Khatami said.
"One should not, in the struggle against terrorism, act so as to create a desire for this somber phenomenon, instead of creating detestation," the Iranian head of state said.
The 57-year-old cleric, in apparent allusion to the September 11th attack on the U.S., condemned the "use of religion and the abuse of sacred values for committing crimes", which he said is a "crime in itself".
"Afghanistan has a legal government, which holds a seat at the United Nations. The U.N. must cooperate with the legal Afghan government to pave the way for elections" in that country, Khatami added.
He was referring to the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani, ousted from Kabul by the Taliban in 1996 but still clinging on to the northeast region of the country through the Northern Alliance opposition force.
Iran closed its border with Afghanistan following the attacks on the U.S., and has built camps on the other side of the border to cope with an anticipated flood of new refugees.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has estimated that between 300,000 and 400,000 Afghans may now flee to Iran.
Tehran, which shares a 900-kilometer (540-mile) border with Afghanistan, is also a strong supporter of anti-Taliban groups, as well as the Rabbani's Northern Alliance.
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