Iranian Diplomat Recalls Cooperation With the United States After 9/11

Iranian Diplomat Recalls Cooperation With the United States After 9/11

Iranian diplomat Mohammad Sadegh Kharazi today recalled a period when Iran closely cooperated with the United States and provided assistance during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

Kharazi said:

«“Iran opened its airports to the United States and helped it during the war in Afghanistan. We even donated blood.»

«About a month and a half after Hamid Karzai became president of Afghanistan, U.S. President George W. Bush addressed Congress and began sharply criticizing Iran, eventually placing it on what he called the ‘Axis of Evil.’»

«But look at the irony.»

«At that time, we opened our airports in Iran’s Sistan region to U.S. forces so they could use them in emergency situations.»

«We provided the United States with various forms of assistance and services, even going so far as to donate blood.»

«The assistance Iran provided after the September 11 attacks and during the war in Afghanistan could have been viewed by the United States as a major opportunity to improve relations between Iran and America.»

«Instead, relations continued to deteriorate.»

«This led me to believe that there were hidden forces that did not want Iran-U.S. relations to improve.»

«I believe Israel and pro-Israel Jewish pressure groups were among those forces.»

«The opportunity genuinely existed. The United States could have used Iran’s cooperation during the Afghanistan war to open a new chapter in relations between the two countries, but it chose a different path.”»