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U.S. Department of State

Daily Press Briefing

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QUESTION: Another subject -- Iran. Did Iran test fire the engine for a ballistic missile earlier this month?

MR. FOLEY: Well, as you know, Carol, in instances such as these, our assessments of Iranian missile capabilities, or tests, or anything of this nature, would be based on intelligence information, which I cannot discuss.

QUESTION: Yes, but it goes directly to the discussion and the debate that has some relevance on the public these days, which is, is Iran serious about having a dialogue with the United States, and is this a good idea for the United States to undertake? And this is a factor that needs to be weighed.

MR. FOLEY: We take reports of Iran's seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery extremely seriously; and indeed, this factor is one of three -- also including Iranian support for terrorism, violent opposition to the Middle East peace process -- as sort of the triad of concerns we have with Iranian actions. And that has not changed.

At the same time, though, on the issue of a dialogue with the Iranian Government, we have stated, since the Bush Administration -- and it was repeated by President Clinton in his recent press conference here at the State Department -- our openness to dialogue, an authoritative dialogue with Iranian Government representatives. We've also indicated that in the framework of such a dialogue, that while we would be open to discussing issues of concern on the part of the Iranian representatives, that we would be addressing ourselves, first and foremost, to these three significant areas of concern.

So, in other words, our areas concerns and the issue of dialogue are not in any way mutually contradictory, because if we get to an official, authoritative dialogue with Iran, we would be raising these concerns.

QUESTION: Is Frank Wisner planning another trip to Russia to talk about these issues?

MR. FOLEY: I believe that a trip is planned in the very near future, yes.

QUESTION: What are the dates?

MR. FOLEY: I don't have that, but I believe it's in the very near future.

QUESTION: January then?

MR. FOLEY: Yes.

QUESTION: And do you believe - have you come to some conclusion yet about whether or not Russia is - the Russian Government is turning a blind eye to efforts to help Iran with missiles?

MR. FOLEY: Well, I can't discuss the specifics of that dialogue and the mechanism that has been in place to deal with these concerns.

What I can say is that, first of all, we take reports of transfers that might contribute to Iran's missile program very seriously. Secondly, we are aware that the Russian authorities themselves have detected some missile-related cooperation between Russia and Iranian entities. So there is a problem that the Russian authorities have recognized. We have raised our concerns repeatedly and at the highest levels of the Russian Government, and we have been assured by them that it is Russia's policy to meet its MTCR commitments.

As you indicated, we've established a mechanism to pursue with Russia the matter of Iran's efforts to acquire missile technology. We're working very hard to resolve this problem. As you indicated, as I confirmed, Ambassador Wisner is hard at work on this issue, and will be meeting again with his Russian counterparts.

QUESTION: But this has been going on for a number of months. Has there been any tangible evidence of results?

MR. FOLEY: Well, again, in the nature of both our diplomatic undertaking and the separate question of intelligence assessments and capabilities, these are not things that I can address from the podium.

QUESTION: Well, I mean, you are willing to say that the Russians acknowledge a problem; you're willing to say that Wisner is going again in January, because there's obviously more to talk about. I mean, I can't understand why you're not - if you feel that there's been some tangible progress, tangible new cooperation by Russia on this issue, why you wouldn't say it. I mean, because it leads one to the conclusion that there is no progress, and that your talk has not proved fruitful.

MR. FOLEY: Well, as I said, the Russian authorities have detected some instances of such missile cooperation. Therefore, we believe they're seized of the problem. They're working with us; we're working together to address the problem. It's an ongoing dialogue, and we're not in a position now to step forward and announce the results. Certainly, if it's determined that entities have engaged in sanctionable activity, we will apply the law.

QUESTION: Two things - first of all, have the Russians told you that in the event that they are satisfied that there has been cooperation by Russian entities, that they oppose such cooperation; that they're against it?

MR. FOLEY: Certainly the Russians have made clear that they oppose this kind of activity. They're working to compile information on the subject. We're working together with them, sharing information. We believe that they share our concerns. They've stated so, I believe, publicly, and we're working together on it.

I just am not in a position, though, to get into any kind of detail about our dialogue with the Russians on this subject.

QUESTION: Do you have any idea when this will come to resolution? I ask partly because of Congresswoman Harman's resolution, which was overwhelmingly passed by the House, urging the Administration to impose immediate sanctions on the Russian companies that are named in The Washington Post today.

MR. FOLEY: Well, we share the concerns of the Congresswoman, and that are generally shared in Congress. We have opposed congressional efforts to restrict assistance to Russia on the basis of such concerns because we believe that our assistance is directly related to strengthening our national interests.

But on the question, though, of sanctioning of entities that have been found or deemed to have been involved in such transfers, as I said, we will apply the law if we're able to determine that there has been sanctionable activity.

QUESTION: If that activity has been by the Russian space agency, would that lead to an end of cooperation on Mir and other US-Russian projects?

MR. FOLEY: We believe those projects are in our mutual interests. As I said, I'm not prepared to discuss the specifics of our dialogue with the Russians on this subject. We will apply the law if we determine that sanctionability applies.

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QUESTION: A couple weeks ago, I think it was, somebody asked you about executions in Iraq, and I don't know that there was ever a reply -- about whether you agreed with what opposition figures are saying, that there are massive executions going on.

MR. FOLEY: Well, it is true that over the past several weeks we've received a number of, we believe, credible reports that the Iraqi regime may have ordered the summary execution of hundreds, if not thousands, of political detainees at Abu Ghuraib prison and the Radwaniyah prison - detention camp, rather, near Baghdad. According to these reports, many of those killed were serving sentences of 15 to 20 years for such crimes as insulting the regime or membership in an opposition political party. We understand that families in Iraq are receiving the bodies of the executed bearing clear signs of torture.

In addition, you are well aware of the case recently of four Jordanian students who were executed for allegedly stealing auto parts. These reports are shocking, and we are actively seeking independent confirmation of them. If the reports reflect the actual situation, what actually happened, it would certainly be a horrific event and a gross violation of the human rights of Iraqi citizens, on the part of the Iraqi regime.

Now, operationally speaking, we understand that Max Van Der Stoel the UN special rapporteur on human rights, and Mr. Ndaiye, the UN special rapporteur on summary executions, are indeed investigating the charges, and we fully support their initiative. Unfortunately, Iraq has for year prevented the UN special rapporteur on human rights from visiting Iraq and does not permit independent inspection of the prisons in question.

QUESTION: During what period did you say these thousands of executions have taken place?

MR. FOLEY: Over the last few weeks.

QUESTION: You said "hundreds, if not thousands"; right?

MR. FOLEY: Yes, yes. The reports cover the gamut, but some of the reports indicate as many as thousands have been executed.

QUESTION: Do you think these reports are credible?

MR. FOLEY: Well, the reports --

QUESTION: When you repeat the reports, it sounds like you do.

MR. FOLEY: Well, the reports we've been getting have been multiple, so there's a basis, certainly, for investigating. Secondly, the reports are of such an horrific nature that they compel an investigation. I don't think it would be prudent to proclaim, at this point, a verdict on the reports. That's why we think that the UN rapporteur on human rights and the UN special rapporteur on summary executions ought to have the opportunity to investigate these charges, investigate on the ground and shed the light of truth on them.

QUESTION: But you repeated some very specific charges, which sounds to me like you want that out; that you think that there's credibility to these reports.

MR. FOLEY: Well, it's speculative to, as I said, provide a definitive assessment. That's why we think an international investigation is compelled at this time. But we would note, historically speaking, members of literally every opposition group and ethnic minority have been killed in Iraq over time. Also, we had the recent case of the four Jordanians executed, perhaps even - there have been reports that some Kuwaiti POWs held incommunicado since the war have been executed. So we're calling for a vigorous investigation so that these reports can be verified.

QUESTION: And why do you think this is happening now?

MR. FOLEY: I think, again, it's very speculative, and I would hesitate to venture to guess; except to suggest that perhaps Saddam Hussein is feeling again under stress, and the situation in Iraq certainly has not improved since his war of aggression against Kuwait. The plight of the Iraqi people has not improved during that period. There's bound to be increasing opposition, increasing anguish inside Iraq, and perhaps he's feeling the heat politically and responding in characteristic form.

QUESTION: You said yesterday that you're sure the Iraqi - I'm paraphrasing here, so forgive me if I don't have it exactly - that you're sure the Iraqi people understand that their economic plight is due to his misspending of money on palaces and weapons of mass destruction, et cetera, et cetera. Is this part of the anecdotal evidence that you used to reach that conclusion? You said people were being executed for grumbling about the regime.

MR. FOLEY: I think so. They are separate questions. The question yesterday was how he spends his own resources. I think it would not be a secret to the people of Iraq that the Iraqi regime is not broadly representative, either politically speaking or in terms of representing the needs of the average Iraqi man, woman and child. I think that's quite obvious to any observer of the situation in Iraq.

The people of Iraq know that he launched them on two disastrous adventures, first the war against Iran in the 1980s, then the aggression against Kuwait; and that their livelihood, their way of life, have declined precipitously as a result of their leader's actions. I think that has to be obvious to every man, woman and child in Iraq.

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QUESTION: Mr. Foley, what is the State Department's reaction to reports that Iraq and Iran are beginning to exchange friendly messages, starting last month with Saddam's representative at the Islamic summit in Tehran? And today, I believe, a congratulatory message was sent to mark the Moslem's holy month of Ramadan, from the Iranian president, Khatami, to Mr. Saddam Hussein. Are these positive steps toward reconciliation from war in '80?

MR. FOLEY: Well, I would only note -- insofar as Iranian-Iraqi relations are concerned, I don't have a lot of late information at my disposition today -- I would note two things, though. First, during the OIC meeting in Tehran, we knew for a fact that the Iraqis were bitterly disappointed that the OIC failed to pass any resolutions urging the ending of sanctions against Iraq. We were very encouraged by that development.

Secondly, in the last week or ten days, there was an airplane flying from Russia, carrying goods to Iraq, that was held up in Iran, pending approval by the appropriate UN authorities. And we saw that also as an indication that Iran is committed to the UN's policies on Iraq. So I don't see any grounds at this stage for a rapprochement or an improvement in relations between the two countries.

Finally, I'd note that President Clinton today, himself, together with the First Lady, have issued a greeting to Muslims in the United States and all over the world at the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

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