Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=01/28/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-285758

TITLE=IRAN / IRAQ (L ONLY)

BYLINE=GREG LaMOTTE

DATELINE=CAIRO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Officials from Iran and Iraq are calling for peace and new beginnings between their nations following three days of meetings in Tehran that ended today (Monday). But as we hear from VOA's Greg LaMotte in our Middle East bureau in Cairo, analysts say Iran and Iraq have many issues to settle before there will be a true normalization of relations between them.

TEXT: Fourteen years after they fought a long and bitter war, Iran and Iraq have no formal peace agreement and still remain suspicious of one another.

Even so, Iranian and Iraqi leaders say they hope to use the Tehran meeting as a first step toward settling at least some of their differences.

Following diplomatic meetings in Tehran with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said "the time has come for both countries to forget the past and work for permanent peace and cooperation."

The two countries share a bitter history. An estimated one million people were killed during fighting between the two countries that lasted from 1980 to 1988.

Walid Kazziha is a political science professor at American University in Cairo. He says Iraq's recent behavior toward one-time enemy Iran appears to be motivated by fear of a possible expansion of the U-S war on terrorism.

/// KAZZIHA ACT ///

I think it is symbolic because, since the 11th of September, Iraq has said the threat may also extend into Iraq itself and therefore Iraq has been, generally in the region, trying to build bridges and pacify any outstanding problems it has with its neighbors.

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Abdullah el-Ashaal is a lecturer on Arab affairs at several universities in Cairo. He thinks too much bitterness remains between Iran and Iraq for them to be able to normalize relations. For that to occur, he says, both countries will have to reach several agreements.

/// EL-ASHAAL ACT ///

One of them is to return, in a mutual way, the prisoners of war who have been maintained since the end of the war. They could also have some sort of peaceful atmosphere like stop supporting the opposing forces. You could also cooperate concerning the Gulf affairs and trying to find some sort of common mentality. /// OPT /// And, in this case, I think Iran can play a role in pacifying Kuwait and to do some things to make Iraq more acceptable to the Gulf States, which have been hurt by the Iraqi invasion. /// END OPT ///

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However, Abdel Moneim Said, the head of the al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, says different political systems and long memories could conspire to sabotage any current attempts at reaching a lasting peace between Iran and Iraq.

/// SAID ACT ///

The geopolitical position of the two countries, the memories of the war, is kind of against a normal relationship. It does not lead to a fruitful conclusion.

/// END ACT ///

Last week, Iran released almost 700 Iraqi soldiers it had been holding since 1988, the last year of its war with Iraq. Iraq said it handed over fifty Iranian prisoners. Each side, however, maintains the other continues to hold several thousand prisoners of war. Something both countries deny. (Signed)

NEB/GL/KL/MEM