Iran strives to avoid Iraq war

A gulf still exists between Iran and Britain on Iraq

By Pam O'Toole BBC regional analyst

Iran's Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi, has said another UN Security Council resolution on Iraq would be "helpful" and has again stressed the importance of avoiding force to settle the crisis.

Dr Kharrazi was speaking after talks in London with his UK counterpart, Jack Straw, and the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Sometimes international diplomacy has to be backed by the threat, and if necessary, the use of force

Jack Straw

Mr Straw said the message from the Security Council was that there was still an opportunity to resolve the matter, but that time was running out.

Dr Kharrazi stressed the need for a diplomatic solution and for arms inspectors to be given more time.

Cautious

A wide gulf still exists between the way Iran and Britain view the current crisis.

Iran, a neighbour of Iraq, remains cautious.

Dr Kharrazi said Iran had yet to hear a detailed Iraqi response to the allegations made by US Secretary of State Colin Powell in his presentation to the Security Council.

Iran may once again be faced with a refugee influx

He said "political instruments", including the Security Council, could still be applied and that force might not be necessary.

"I think more time should be given to the inspectors to complete their jobs and the Saddam regime should be urged more fully to comply with the resolutions," Dr Kharrazi said.

Mr Straw insisted the issue before the Security Council was not one of more time for the inspectors - or more inspectors - but much, much more co-operation from Baghdad.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his regime were in the dock, he said, and it was for them to prove they no longer had weapons of mass destruction.

'Clash of civilisations'

Mr Straw said resolution 1441 carried the threat of serious consequences for non-compliance.

[Is it a] question of Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime or a question of the whole Middle East and the Islamic world?

Kamal Kharrazi

"If we are to ensure the world is governed by law and not by the rule of the jungle, then sometimes international diplomacy has to be backed by the threat, and if necessary, the use of force," Mr Straw said.

Dr Kharrazi said Tehran was still hoping there would be no war, but confirmed that Iran was preparing to receive refugees from Iraq should a conflict erupt.

He said camps should be constructed close to the Iraqi border so that once any war was over, refugees could return to their homeland easily.

In a speech in London on Wednesday night, Dr Kharrazi had warned there could be a "clash of civilisations" if the Iraq crisis were mishandled.

He said there were suspicions in the Islamic world about the real intention behind a war - whether it was a "question of Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime or a question of the whole Middle East and the Islamic world?"