DATE=3/18/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAN CONSERVATIVES (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-260329
BYLINE=DALE GAVLAK
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Washington's decision to lift a ban on certain
imports from Iran is sharpening the struggle between
conservatives and the reformers there who favor better
ties with the United States. Though a government
spokesman has welcomed the U-S decision, some Iranian
hard-liners are calling it interference in the
country's internal affairs. Dale Gavlak reports from
Cairo.
TEXT: Conservatives in Iran are not happy about the
U-S move to improve relations with Iran by lifting an
American import ban on carpets, caviar and nuts. The
head of the Supreme National Security Council, Hassan
Rouhani, criticized the measure, saying that U-S
policy is just as hostile as before. He called the
move an improper attempt by Washington to reward
certain forces inside Iran. He added that Americans
have no right to encourage or persuade any political
trend in his country. Mr. Rouhani lost his seat in
parliament when reformists swept last month's
elections.
Rouhani's sentiments are echoed by Iran's hard-line
Revolutionary Guard. It has promised to give an
appropriate response to what it described as American
plots. But it hasn't said just how intends to react
to the U-S move. The Guard has hundreds of thousands
of men in arms, and its own air force and weapons
industry.
By contrast, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Hamid
Reza Asefi, says the government welcomes the lifting
of non-oil sanctions. He adds that Tehran would
respond by importing American grain and medicine.
Iran's merchant class said the U-S decision would have
little immediate effect on their business. They said
the move will help dealers in Europe and Canada that
already have a stockpile of Persian rugs ready to
flood the U-S market. They added that sellers in Iran
would only begin to enjoy the new market once those
stocks abroad have been sold. (SIGNED)
NEB/DG/JP
18-Mar-2000 15:05 PM EDT (18-Mar-2000 2005 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
