Iran to Hold another Pro-Palestine Conference in October

Published April 26th, 2001 - 02:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

Iran will hold another pro-Palestine conference in October to support the Intifada, reported the official Iranian news agency (IRNA). 

A two-day conference ended in Tehran Tuesday with the participation of Palestinian factions, the Lebanese Hizbollah movement as well as representatives from Arab and Muslim countries. 

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera satellite channel’s correspondent reported late Tuesday that differences surfaced in the last minutes between the attending Palestinian factions on the wording of the final communiqué.  

The statement, whose announcement was delayed accordingly, was modified and parts of it cancelled, he said. One of the erased items was the Iranian proposal of a referendum on ways to confront Israel to be voted by the Palestinians in the territories.  

The conference triggered US criticism with US officials accusing Tehran of supporting international terrorism, said reports. 

But Iran's foreign ministry on Wednesday rejected the US accusations. 

Tehran "will continue its moral and humanitarian support of the Islamic resistance in Lebanon and of the Palestinians, and the agreement of the United States is not needed for that," ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said. 

"Iran and Islamic nations agree on the need to support the legitimate struggle of those fighting for their rights, and the Islamic world hopes that all countries will support the struggle for liberation," he said. 

"On the other hand, Iran and the Islamic world condemn US support for the Israeli state's terrorism," he added, cited by IRNA. 

"The Islamic Republic does not need the US approval for its humanitarian and spiritual aids for the oppressed Palestinians and the Lebanese Resistance Movement," Assefi pointed out.  

The United States on Tuesday slammed comments by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Zionists collaborated with Nazis in exaggerating the Holocaust. 

State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said the remarks, combined with Iran's hosting of the conference, were more evidence that Iran backed terrorism, IRNA quoted him as saying. 

"The outrageous and deplorable statements such as those that we've heard ... do nothing to allay our concerns about Iran and its support for terrorism and opposition to Middle East peace," Reeker told reporters. 

He said the State Department would next week release its annual report on worldwide terrorism and that Tehran's relations with groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas, who are attending the conference, would be noted. 

Khamenei told the conference Tuesday that Zionists worked with the Nazis to exaggerate the Holocaust in a bid to win sympathy for the creation of the Jewish state – Albawaba.com 

© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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