28 August 2002
White House Warns Iran Against Harboring Al Qaeda
(Spokesman says "we want to be very clear" on that message) (550) The White House August 28 warned Iran against harboring terrorists, after the Washington Post reported that Tehran had given safe haven to two deputies of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. "What we have stated most recently, I think it was Secretary (of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld, that there are some al Qaeda in Iran and, if there are, we expect every government not to harbor terrorists in their country and not to provide them with safe haven," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters. "And that's what we call on the Iranian government to do as well," he told reporters in Crawford, Texas, near President Bush's ranch. "We want to be very clear to the Iranian government on that message." The Washington Post, quoting unidentified Arab intelligence sources, reported that two al Qaeda deputies were in Iran along with dozens of al Qaeda fighters and were said to be plotting new attacks. Following is a transcript of McClellan's remarks on Iran: (begin excerpt) Q: What can you tell us about reports that Iran is harboring members of al Qaeda? MR. MCCLELLAN: A couple of things. U.S. government officials, senior officials have repeatedly said that some al Qaeda personnel are in Iran, and so that remains a concern. And no country, as we have repeatedly said, should harbor terrorists. And so we would call on and urge the Iranian government not to offer any terrorists safe haven. I refer you back, when you're talking about Iran and the Iranian government, refer you back to the President's remarks, I believe it was July 12th about Iran. The behavior of the Iranian government is unacceptable when it comes to oppression of the Iranian people, efforts to seek weapons of mass destruction, and support for terrorism. So we would call on the Iranian government not to offer terrorists any safe haven. Q: -- any official communique or anything -- MR. MCCLELLAN: I think it's well-known what our position is. Q: On Iran, does the administration have proof that the Iranian government could be harboring any terrorists linked to al Qaeda? MR. MCCLELLAN: Well, I go back to what I said and what we have stated, most recently, I think it was Secretary Rumsfeld, that there are some al Qaeda in Iran. And if there are any -- we expect every government not to harbor terrorists who are in their country and not to provide them a safe haven, and that's what we call on the Iranian government to do, as well. Our views are very clear, and we want to be very clear to the Iranian government on that message." (end excerpt) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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