Iran has rebuffed an offer from the United States to send a delegation led by Senator Elizabeth Dole to assist in the distribution of relief supplies to earthquake victims in Bam, the Bush administration said Friday. The offer had been seen by the administration as a gesture of American concern for Iran at a time when the United States has declared that some — but not all — of Iran’s recent actions have been positive and could lead to a resumption of dialogue to improve relations. Administration officials said Tehran cited the overwhelming difficulties facing relief workers in the ancient city of Bam in southeastern Iran as the reason it could not accommodate the American offer now. The officials did not rule out the possibility of a future visit, however. "We have heard back today from the Iranians that, given the current situation in Bam and all that is going on there now, it would be preferable to hold such a visit in abeyance," said J. Adam Ereli, a State Department spokesman. "Therefore, we are not pursuing it further at the moment."
| Actually, that's pretty reasonable. They're pretty busy, and probably don't think they can spare the time and resources to attend to visiting dignitaries. It sounds like the refusal was polite, rather than "get bent, Great Satan!"... |
Mr. Ereli said the message from Iran had been conveyed to James B. Cunningham, the deputy American representative to the United Nations, by the Iranian permanent representative at the United Nations, Dr. M. Javad Zarif. Administration officials said the decision to make the offer to send Mrs. Dole, a former president of the American Red Cross Thingy, came after the senator suggested the idea herself. A spokesman for Mrs. Dole, a North Carolina Republican, said that based on her experience overseeing relief deliveries from the Red Cross to Rwanda, Somalia and other disaster areas, she wanted both to assist operations in Iran and to report back to Congress. The mere possibility of an exchange between Washington and Tehran, even on a nonpolitical subject, piqued the interest of diplomats and specialists who have been watching the twists and turns of American policies since President Bush labeled Iran a member of the "axis of evil" two years ago. The United States has repeatedly denounced Iran for what American officials say is an advanced nuclear weapons program and broad support for Hezbollah and other militant groups that have attacked Israelis, Americans and others. On the other hand, the United States has recently praised Iran for its support of the American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. In October, the United States welcomed Iran’s agreement to open its nuclear facilities to inspection, but considered as inadequate Tehran’s decision to "suspend" its uranium enrichment operations, which Washington wants to see dismantled. Direct conversations between American and Iranian officials on Iraq and other subjects were held sporadically until May, when the United States suspended the talks after determining that a series of bombings in Saudi Arabia were carried out by groups based in Iranian territory.
Otherwise known as al-Qaeda. |