In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Mr. President, Distinguished Colleagues,

I am very happy to be here today to discuss with you the current state of affairs of what has been the most daunting challenges facing humanity in the new millenium.

What happened on September 11 shocked the whole world. The every corner of the globe witnessed, through live pictures, how in the span of less than an hour, high rises were demolished and innocent lives were perished. The people all over the world came to realize that terrorism has no boundary, and that the world cannot be divided between safe and unsafe areas. The effects of September 11 event were so monumental on the daily life of individuals everywhere that one can say that the world will never be the same.

As a heinous act terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, is a threat against humanity. Nothing justifies terrorism and it should be unambiguously condemned by all peace-loving nations. In a serious and genuine fight against terrorism, it is necessary to utilize, in a concerted and coordinated manner, all capacities available at the international level. In other words, the fight against terrorism bears fruit when an international consensus is reached and the members of the international community consider their participation, with utmost vigor, in this common endeavor as a humanistic, national and international undertaking. That is the reason why we have emphasized on the role of the UN, as the universal organ, in the fight against terrorism because it is only the UN that can generate support within the international community in combating terrorism. Naturally, when we are talking about consensus, we do not mean that one or two countries can veto the emerging consensus among members of the international community. Rather, reaching consensus is meant to respect the world public opinion and pay heed to the will of the majority of members of the international community.

We are of the belief that it is imperative to identify the root causes of terrorism if we are to deal with the problem of international terrorism effectively. Poverty, unjust distribution of wealth at the international level, application of double standards in dealing with issues of similar nature, unilateralism, suppression of liberation movements, and efforts to impose one’s culture and way of thinking over others are among the examples of injustices prevailing around the world that can be the root causes of many violent or even terrorist acts.

Furthermore, the struggles of those people who are fighting for the liberation of their lands from foreign occupation should not, in any way, be equated with terrorism. Liberation movements, contrary to terrorist acts, are justified under international law. It is unfortunate to note that certain states in pursuance of their shortsighted interests, instead of supporting legitimate struggles of those who are fighting for their liberation thus pre-empting any ground for terrorism to grow, tend to label these struggles as terrorism and mobilize all their resources to fight them.

Let me now turn to the problem at hand and share with you our assessment of the current crisis. You are all familiar with the position we took with regard to the terrorist act of September 11. All officials of the Islamic Republic including the leader and the President condemned, in the strongest terms, this terrorist act and expressed sympathy with the families of the victims. We took this position because not only Islam is opposed to terrorism as reflected in our leader’s call for “ Jihad against this common evil phenomenon”, but because of the fact that we too have been the victim of terrorism and totally share the Americans' feelings in these hard days.

Our position on Taliban is also quite clear. We are opposed to what this group is doing in Afghanistan. Taliban government has brought misery for Afghan people as well as for us. A number of our diplomats were murdered when Taliban forces entered the city of Mazar-Sharif. We have been suffering the effects of narcotic drugs originated from Afghanistan and transferred to Europe. More than 3000 of our law enforcement officials have been martyred in the fight against drug-traffickers. Furthermore, our youth are being subjected to drugs that are easily transferred from Afghanistan. Our people have also experienced terrorism nurtured in Afghanistan. There are credible reports suggesting that MKO members were active in Afghanistan even after September 11 and cooperated with Taliban.

Therefore, we have ample reasons to oppose any involvement of Taliban in the future government of Afghanistan. Nowadays, some people talk about the so-called moderate Taliban. We cannot buy that. We believe that this ideology cannot change itself. This view does not rule out the involvement of Pashtuns in the future government. What we insist, rather, is that there is no place for Taliban per se in future Afghanistan.

Our view with regard to Taliban, nonetheless, does not in any way endorse the current military operations that, in our opinion, will not solve the problem for the following reasons.

- Many civilians are being killed or injured everyday and the hatred of the ordinary people against those who have brought this suffering on them deepen.

- Taliban has begun a campaign to show to the world that it is the victim rather than a culprit. The passage of time will be in favor of Taliban in this regard.

- Taliban has portrayed the military operations as a war against Islam. Furthermore, the civilian casualties have given them the opportunities to try to garner support within the Muslims world.

- The real culprits are still at large and apparently the Al- qaeda group is intact.

- The possibility of further terrorist attacks has not only diminished, but it has intensified. Those responsible for the biological warfare are not known and the Anthrax is spreading not only in the US, but in other countries as well. These days we hear about the possibility of nuclear attack by terrorists that is really scary.

We have to look beyond the current crisis in Afghanistan and explore the possibility of establishing a broad-based government in that country. In this context, the capacities of all countries with influence in Afghanistan should be utilized. As I explained earlier, as a neighbor of Afghanistan sharing common language, religion, culture and history, and as a country being aware of the sensitivities of the region, we can be of help in the formation of future government of that country.

Since the beginning of the crisis, we have undertaken a number of steps in accordance with our Islamic and moral duties. Besides condemning the terrorist attacks of 11 September, we have closed our borders with Afghanistan to prevent the movement of individuals to and from Afghanistan. We have encouraged the Northern Alliance to work with others against Taliban. We have also worked hard with other Islamic countries to oppose any attempt to portray the present crisis as a conflict Islam and the West. In fact, at a time when the hatred and bigotry are being promoted by certain groups and individuals, the idea of dialogue among civilizations introduced by President Khatami is being appreciated wholeheartedly. We have had good cooperation with the UN Secretary General and his Special Representative. High-level contacts with the EU officials are in high gear. With the Islamic countries, we are in close contacts. As for the US, we have been in contacts with the Americans through the Swiss, and within 6+2 group and the Geneva initiative. We have taken the measures explained earlier in line with our principled position without asking for anything in return. While some countries in our neighborhood have received certain prizes for the so-called cooperation, the US has not shown an interest to move even a bit in a positive direction towards Iran.

People are asking in Tehran about the advisability of our position. They are suggesting the change of course. In other words, the government is under tremendous pressure to present a credible report as to what it has received in return for the measures it has taken with regards to the present situation in Afghanistan. And we have no good answer. We believe the US is loosing a great opportunity to exhibit that it has no hostile attitude against Iranian people. In the absence of any change of policy on the part of the American government towards Iran, we have no choice than to conclude that the old thinking about Iran is still prevailing in Washington. And we have to act accordingly.

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate the fact that terrorism has no borders and threatens the entire humanity. It is a common problem necessitating a common response.