Iranian President Offers to Mediate Gulf Peace Talks

Neutral Iran’s President Hashemi Rafsanjani said today he is ready to meet Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and talk to the United States in a bid to end the Gulf War.

“If there is hope for the salvation of the Iraqi nation, why shouldn’t I meet Saddam?” Rafsanjani asked a news conference in Tehran reported by the national Iranian news agency IRNA.

He said that Iran would, if necessary, contact the United States through the Swiss Embassy, which handles U.S. interests in Iran.

But the White House reacted coolly to Rafsanjani’s offer to mediate the Middle East conflict.

“They (the Iranians) are not directly involved in this conflict and our interest is getting Iraq out of Kuwait,” White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said.

Iran’s peace efforts nevertheless gathered pace with an announcement that Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Belonogov will visit Tehran on Tuesday. IRNA quoted Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman Vitaly Churkin as saying in Moscow that the visit was “in line with an exchange of views with the countries interested in resolving the crisis.”

Iran became fiercely anti-American when a 1979 Islamic revolution overthrew the U.S.-backed monarchy. The United States formally severed diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 after Tehran’s holding of 52 Americans hostage.

Rafsanjani said he had sent peace proposals to Hussein and was awaiting a reply. The peace message was given to Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Saadoun Hammadi, who met the Iranian president Saturday. He has since returned to Baghdad.

Iran fought Iraq from 1980 to 1988 but Baghdad made peace on Tehran’s terms after invading Kuwait Aug. 2.

Asked about details of Iran’s peace initiative, Rafsanjani said: “We are now negotiating with the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Persian Gulf littoral states, Pakistan, Turkey, the United Nations, France, the Soviet Union and Algeria.