Iran denied Monday an accusation by a senior US official that it was harboring members of Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terror network and accused Washington of "telling lies to achieve its illegitimate objectives in the region. "It is untrue, and Iran has no affinity with Taliban and Al-Qaeda and Iran has proven it by words and acts", foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi firmly said, according to AFP.
The United States "intends to achieve its illegitimate objectives in the region" through this "false and misleading information". Zalmay Khalilzad, special US presidential envoy to Afghanistan, who has frequently criticized Tehran on this matter in the past, said Friday it was unacceptable for Iran "to harbor, host or hide" members of the group blamed for the September 11 attacks on US cities.
He added that the Iranian government had to make a "strategic" decision to hand over Al-Qaeda members that Washington believes are still in the Islamic Republic of Iran. (Albawaba.com)
