Iran rejects US official`s claim on harboring al-Qaeda
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad, Feb 29, IRNA -- Iran on Sunday categorically rejected claims by a US State Department official alleging that fugitive members of al-Qaeda have taken refuge in the Islamic Republic. "The claims are baseless since the stand of the government of Iran regarding sectarianism and terrorism is both transparent and a principle one," Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian told IRNA. J Cofer Black introduced by a local TV network in Pakistan as US State Department`s ambassador-at-large said Sunday that Tehran was in contact with al-Qaeda. "These al-Qaeda operators are not only a threat to the US but they are also a threat to Pakistan," he went on claiming. In response to his allegations, the Iranian envoy stated: "In our bilateral relations, Pakistan and Iran do not need a spokesman." Taherian also remarked that Black`s designation as presented by the GEO TV was not known to the diplomatic circles. Reliable sources here told IRNA that Black was a Department of State official as a coordinator of counter-terrorism and suggested that GEO producers might have made a mistake with the title. They also said that Black served for 28 years in the CIA. In part of the TV interview, the US official was reluctant to answer some questions related to intelligence. He neither confirmed nor contradicted news on a recent secret visit of the US spy chief George Tenet to Pakistan. He was neither ready to comment on a reported meeting between Tenet and Pakistan`s senior nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan in Islamabad, but said that Dr Khan was definitely providing vital information about proliferation. While responding to a question, Black confirmed that coalition troops in Afghanistan are preparing for a major "hunt Osama operation" but he refused to comment on the reports that Bin Laden`s deputy Aymanal-Zawahri was spotted by US spy planes recently. TSH/AH/210 End
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