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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran talks to Taliban, unsure of al Qaeda: Germany |
| 2007-11-29 |
| Iran is talking to the Taliban but has a "very ambivalent" attitude towards al Qaeda, a third major foe of the United States, a top European security official said. Tehran's relations with the Taliban and al Qaeda are of key importance because of Washington's concerns they could carry out damaging attacks on the United States and its allies in the Middle East and Afghanistan. The United States would be particularly wary of any growing relationship between the three as Tehran is looking for support in case of a possible U.S. strike on its nuclear facilities, which Washington says are being used to develop a nuclear bomb. "I certainly believe the Iranians are conducting talks with the Taliban," August Hanning, Germany's deputy interior minister and former head of its BND spy agency, told Reuters in an interview. He noted that Iran has also acknowledged holding some senior al Qaeda figures for years, possibly under some form of house arrest, and said Tehran might seek to use them as a "bargaining chip" against the West. Although talks are under way with Iran over a diplomatic solution concerning Tehran's nuclear program, Washington has not ruled out military strikes on its atomic facilities. Iran says it wants nuclear energy to generate electricity. Western security analysts assume Shi'ite Iran is already planning its response to a U.S. attack. Some believe it might set aside its differences with the Sunni Taliban and al Qaeda in a bid to maximize its "asymmetric capacity" to retaliate. The United States has long accused Iran of backing insurgents in Iraq and security experts say Tehran's response to any U.S. airstrikes on its nuclear installations would include stepping up support of anti-U.S. forces in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 There's reasons why "The Base" and "The Students", etc. surnames are what they are. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-11-29 03:03 |