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REGION: Iran shrugs off US terrorism claims

* Foreign Ministry spokesman accuses US of promoting terrorism
* Says Iran is fully committed to restoring peace and security in Iraq

TEHRAN Iran shrugged off as deceptive and repetitious a US terrorism report condemning the Islamic republic as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iranian dailies reported on Saturday.

“The latest US accusations against Iran are repetitious, worthless and deceptive and are another example of Washington’s propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi was quoted as saying.

Asefi pointed to Iran’s arch-enemy’s support of Israel, which Iran does not recognise, saying: “As the main supporter of the Zionist regime, whose documented terrorist activities have invoked hatred throughout the world, the US is actually promoting terrorism and is in no position to reprimand anyone.

“Iran’s policies toward Iraq have been transparent, and today it remains fully committed to restoring peace and security in that war-torn country as well as the entire region,” he added.

On Thursday, the United States again condemned Iran as the world’s leading “state sponsor of terrorism”.

As in previous years, the State Department identified Iran as the chief exporter of terrorism in its annual “Patterns of Global Terrorism” report, accusing it of fomenting terrorist attacks throughout the Middle East, particularly against Israel.

“Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2003,” the report said, maintaining that Tehran’s intelligence and security services were responsible for supporting extremist groups and that the country had failed to meet pledges to act against Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network.

Iran’s “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Intelligence and Security were involved in the planning of and support for terrorist acts and continued to exhort a variety of groups that use terrorism to pursue their goals,” it said.

The most egregious of these actions were Iran’s continued funding of and arms transfers to Palestinian “rejectionist groups,” its attempts to thwart the efforts of the US-led coalition in Iraq and its refusal to turn over Al-Qaeda operatives it says are in custody, according to the report.

Washington broke diplomatic ties with Tehran in 1980 after hardline university student stormed its embassy in Tehran, taking 444 people hostage. afp

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