Asefi says talks with US not on Iran agenda
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Damascus, Nov 30, IRNA
Iran-US-Asefi
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Parliamentary and Consular Affairs Hamid-Reza Asefi said here Monday that talks with the United States is not on the agenda of the Islamic Republic.
Asefi, who arrived here Monday night to attend the 2nd joint consular meeting of Iran and Syria, was heard making the remark while commenting on statements released Monday by US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
According to reports, McCormack on Monday said that US Ambassador to Baghdad Zalmay Khalilzad received explicit permission from US President George W Bush to hold talks with Tehran on the insurgency in Iraq.
Pointing to US pressures on Syria to resolve questions relating to the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "In view of the retraction by one of the witnesses of his confession, the United States should deal wisely with this case."
A Syrian witness, Hosam Taher Hosam, had accused Lebanese officials of masterminding an elaborate scheme of deception, bribery and torture to induce him to testify falsely against Syria and said the international inquiry's initial findings rested largely on his lies, reports said on Tuesday.
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