DATE=3/17/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-S/IRAN SANCTIONS (L)
NUMBER=2-260289
BYLINE=NICK SIMEONE
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United States is easing some sanctions
against Iran in the biggest step Washington has yet
taken toward ending two decades of hostility between
both countries. In addition to allowing Americans to
purchase Iranian goods ranging from carpets to caviar,
Correspondent Nick Simeone reports the Clinton
Administration is expressing regret for some of the
darker chapters in U-S relations with Iran over the
past half century.
TEXT: Three years after Iran's reformist President
Mohammad Khatami took power -- and a month after
reformists gained the upper hand in parliamentary
elections -- Washington is telling Iran the time is
right for a thaw in relations that have been frozen
for the past 20 years.
Speaking before an audience of Iranian-Americans in
Washington Friday, Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright announced a further lifting of sanctions,
designed to show the Iranian people the United States
bears them no ill will.
/// ALBRIGHT ACT ///
I am announcing a step that will enable
Americans to purchase and import carpets and
food products such as dried fruits, nuts and
caviar from Iran.
/// END ACT ///
The easing of sanctions amounts to a further
broadening of commercial ties between both countries.
Washington recently decided to allow Iran to purchase
American medicine and food as well as aircraft parts.
Left in place, though, is a ban prohibiting American
investment in Iran's oil industry. That isn't likely
to be lifted until Tehran ends its alleged support for
terrorism and its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Still, the White House is eager to show its support
for last month's elections that saw reformist
candidates sweep Iran's parliament, giving further
backing to President Mohammed Khatami against hard-
liners who oppose greater personal freedoms and
stronger ties with the West.
Secretary Albright wanted to send a message directly
to Tehran that America now seeks a clear break from
the past -- and its past behavior, describing as
short-sighted U-S support for Iraq during its eight-
year war with Iran, and expressing regret for a U-S
decision a half century ago to support the overthrow
of Iran's popularly elected prime minister, Mohammad
Mossadegh.
/// ALBRIGHT ACT ///
The Eisenhower administration believed its
actions were justified for strategic reasons.
But the coup was clearly a setback for Iran's
political development and it is easy to see now
why many Iranians continue to resent this
intervention by America.
/// END ACT ///
Washington doesn't expect an overnight improvement in
U-S/Iranian relations. But Gary Sick, who played a
central role on President Carter's National Security
Council during the 1979 hostage crisis, thinks it's
conceivable both countries may be moving toward face-
to-face discussions about the fundamental issues
blocking normal relations, including Iran's alleged
support for terrorism and its opposition to the Middle
East peace process.
/// SICK ACT ///
We could ask Iran for specific assurances about
certain things. We could talk to them about
things that we see as threatening and ask them
to do it and they could tell us things that they
see as threatening in our behavior that they
would like to see change. That's what
negotiations are all about, and I think once we
get to the point where we stop playing that
"Alfonse-Gaston" game of who is going to take
the first step, who is going to agree to sit
down together -- once we get past that, I think
we'll discover that both of these countries have
a great deal to talk about.
/// END ACT ///
Early reaction from the Iranian government to the U-S
overture is positive, with a Foreign Ministry
spokesman welcoming the easing of sanctions and
expanded trade. (SIGNED)
NEB/NJS/JP
17-Mar-2000 13:01 PM EDT (17-Mar-2000 1801 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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