Seraphim
08-13-2003, 01:28 PM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=574&e=6&u=/nm/20030813/wl_nm/security_iran_qaeda_dc
TEHRAN (*******) - Iran's president said on Wednesday Tehran had no intention of allowing U.S. officials to interrogate any al Qaeda members it has arrested but would hand over any Saudi al Qaeda members it has to Riyadh.
Asked by reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting whether Iran would let U.S. officials question al Qaeda members detained in Iran, President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) responded with a firm "No."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage Tuesday told reporters in Canberra Washington wanted access to high-level members of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s network held in Iran so that it can interrogate them on any future attacks al Qaeda may be planning.
Iran has refused to identify which al Qaeda members it has caught and has already ruled out handing them over to the United States.
Tehran says it will extradite some al Qaeda suspects to unspecified "friendly countries" and try those whose citizenship has been revoked and cannot be extradited.
A Saudi official told reporters in Washington Tuesday Iran was holding some key al Qaeda members, including the network's security chief and a son of bin Laden.
But he said Iran had not responded to requests for Saudi citizens among them to be extradited.
Asked about the issue Wednesday, Khatami told reporters: "We have always cooperated with Saudi Arabia...and we have no problem to hand them (Saudi al Qaeda members) over to Saudi Arabia."
The Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said around a dozen senior al Qaeda figures, as well as other al Qaeda members, were being held in "safe houses" in Iran.
He said that Iranian authorities had "total control" over the al Qaeda members but, "we don't know if they can still engage in terrorist activities."
Asked whether the al Qaeda members it has detained were being held in safe houses or in prison, Khatami said: "They are under arrest."
Iran says it has arrested and deported around 500 al Qaeda members in the last year who crossed into Iran from Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Pakistan. Many of them were sent to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi official said those al Qaeda members being held in Iran included: Saad bin Laden, an older son of the Saudi-born al Qaeda leader; Egyptian Saif al Adel, believed to be the network's security chief; Kuwait-born Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, al Qaeda's spokesman; and Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi who has suspected al Qaeda ties and is accused of plotting the murder of a U.S. diplomat in Amman last year.
TEHRAN (*******) - Iran's president said on Wednesday Tehran had no intention of allowing U.S. officials to interrogate any al Qaeda members it has arrested but would hand over any Saudi al Qaeda members it has to Riyadh.
Asked by reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting whether Iran would let U.S. officials question al Qaeda members detained in Iran, President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) responded with a firm "No."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage Tuesday told reporters in Canberra Washington wanted access to high-level members of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s network held in Iran so that it can interrogate them on any future attacks al Qaeda may be planning.
Iran has refused to identify which al Qaeda members it has caught and has already ruled out handing them over to the United States.
Tehran says it will extradite some al Qaeda suspects to unspecified "friendly countries" and try those whose citizenship has been revoked and cannot be extradited.
A Saudi official told reporters in Washington Tuesday Iran was holding some key al Qaeda members, including the network's security chief and a son of bin Laden.
But he said Iran had not responded to requests for Saudi citizens among them to be extradited.
Asked about the issue Wednesday, Khatami told reporters: "We have always cooperated with Saudi Arabia...and we have no problem to hand them (Saudi al Qaeda members) over to Saudi Arabia."
The Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said around a dozen senior al Qaeda figures, as well as other al Qaeda members, were being held in "safe houses" in Iran.
He said that Iranian authorities had "total control" over the al Qaeda members but, "we don't know if they can still engage in terrorist activities."
Asked whether the al Qaeda members it has detained were being held in safe houses or in prison, Khatami said: "They are under arrest."
Iran says it has arrested and deported around 500 al Qaeda members in the last year who crossed into Iran from Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Pakistan. Many of them were sent to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi official said those al Qaeda members being held in Iran included: Saad bin Laden, an older son of the Saudi-born al Qaeda leader; Egyptian Saif al Adel, believed to be the network's security chief; Kuwait-born Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, al Qaeda's spokesman; and Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi who has suspected al Qaeda ties and is accused of plotting the murder of a U.S. diplomat in Amman last year.