The letter reads,”Upon instruction from my Government, I have the honor to bring the following to your attention: On 16 June 2006 ,the French Government lifted a series of restrictions against a number of the leading members of a well-known terrorist group , namely the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO).”
This indicates that these few Italian MPs are not aware of MKO’s records and that they should be illuminated, which will be done by our embassy. However, we have said that such move in fact encourage the violence.”
During a press conference in Tehran, government’s spokesman Gholamhussein Elham, referring to the issue of extradition of MKO members, which has been requested by Iran from Iraq, said:”Iraq also has been a victim of terrorism and both countries seek to eradicate terrorism in the region”.
Speaking at a UN gathering titled ‘Prevent, Combat & Eradicate Illicit Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects’, Mottaki referred to the existence of hundreds of millions of such weapons around the globe, mainly at the disposal of the civilians.
There are various comments on the issue of US-Iran Talks, including that of Al-Zaman newspaper, writing:”Joint fight against terrorism will be possibly a basis for the talks and Iran will ask for the extradition of MKO.”
Mottaki said:”The US and Europe have for long time entangled themselves in this complicated situation; they condemn terrorism and designate the MKO as a terrorist organization on one hand and support this group on the other. Members of this group were in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was in power, and he (Saddam) couldn’t do anything against Iran. This group has performed terrorist operations and has assassinated different Iranian figures but nothing has happened because the revolution is not based on a particular person. If there’s concern, it’s for the other side, not for Iran.”
Economist has published an article about US’s 75 million dollar budget for intensifying media propaganda against Islamic Republic.
Besides discussing and reviewing Iranian opposition groups that are supposed to receive this money, Economist’s analyst has examined State Department’s refusal to allocate the money to the MKO.
In a widely reprinted story, the February 8 Washington Post reported that Iran has completed drawings of an underground shaft that could be used for testing a nuclear weapon. Citing unnamed US officials who claimed to have examined classified documents held by US intelligence for 20 months, the drawings included sensors for measuring heat in the envisioned 400-metre tunnel.
A day after the June 28th bombing at Islamic Republic Party, Masud Rajavi’s men returned to me. I told them that I wanted to write a statement to reveal this terrorist action. They assured me that they had no interference in this one. …Before leaving Iran, we signed a contract. It was based on three principals: political pluralism, individuals’ liberty and national independence. I had presented detailed explanation for each of these principals..