Iranian politician asks U.S. goodwill

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

EHRAN, Iran — Iran's former president and leading contender to return to power said Sunday that Iran and the United States have a common enemy in al-Qaeda and shared interests in Iraq. He urged the White House to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets as a sign of goodwill that could help end 25 years of U.S.-Iranian estrangement.

In his first interview with an American journalist since 1997, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 71, said Iran was not concerned about tough statements from President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, which he called "nonsense." President from 1989 to 1997, Rafsanjani remains one of the country's most powerful figures and is expected to run again in June. "The mere fact that I am sitting here talking to you is an indication that we have no differences with the American people," he said. "This would not happen with an Israeli journalist," a reference to even greater enmity between Iran and Israel.

Rafsanjani said Iraq's elections "have gone well," and stressed that al-Qaeda terrorists there "are our enemies, too. You are aware of what (they) have done to our friends in Iraq." Al-Qaeda has targeted Iraqi Shiites in bombings and assassinations. Like Iraq, Iran is a majority-Shiite nation.

The interview comes at a time of rising U.S.-Iranian tension over concerns that Iran is close to acquiring the ability to make nuclear weapons. In his State of the Union address last week, Bush suggested he would like to see Iranians overthrow their cleric-run government, saying "As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you." Rice, who is on her first overseas trip, called Iran's human rights record "something to be loathed" and warned Iran against developing nuclear weapons.

Story: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-02-06-rafsanjani-interview_x.htm

Damn. This reminds me of when Iraq was trying to convince the world they didn't have WMD.