March 31: US Letter to Iran

Interesting analogies about the purpose and
intent of the Ahmadinejad's letter sent
to Bush, the other day: jihadwatch;
HT: lgf ~~~~"The emotional insecurity of Iran's
President, is really getting annoying." "We act according to laws and our activities are quite clear.
We are rather intent on solving more fundamental global matters."-Mahmoud Ahmadinejad~~~~"The Iranian activities are often "unclear", as you can see
in this 3 . 31 . 06 -IRNA correspondence (below)
re: Recent Luristan earthquakes (western Iran)

-About the US letter-U.S. State Department spokesman Ereli on March 31 read a letter from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in which she expresses condolences to victims of the Luristan earthquake, Radio Farda reported. The letter also mentions the possibility of U.S.
assistance: "We wish to support efforts under way to help those suffering as a result of this tragedy. The United States is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iranian people in this time of need."

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns telephoned Iran's ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on March 31 to express sympathies and offer assistance that would include blankets and water, IRNA reported.
Zarif said Iran is not yet seeking international aid.~~~~
IRNA responds to letter: The United States "uses" humanitarian disasters like the recent
Luristan earthquakes to show the Iranian people "it has a
humanitarian heart" so it can "create a wedge between
the people and the government."
State radio reacted to the U.S. offers by saying on April 1 that "the objectives and motives behind the deceptive and misleading sympathies expressed by [U.S. President George W.] Bush and [Secretary Rice] for the quake victims in Iran are apparent to the Iranian people. And if the officials in Washington are sincere, instead of promising to help, they should recognize the rights of the Iranian nation in nuclear technology."
"Blah-blah-blah....

Iran has previously accepted U.S. earthquake relief, and the extent
of the assistance after the December 2003 earthquake in Bam led to
speculation that official contacts could follow. Tehran dashed these
hopes when it rejected a visit by a high-level U.S. delegation that
would include North Carolina Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole.
Tehran would later ascribe its failure to assist quake victims in a
timely fashion to the failure of other countries to meet assistance
commitments, but the Red Crescent Society demanded an accounting
because only $1.9 million of the more than $11.8 million in foreign
funds sent; reached the victims.~~~~~~~~"What a tremendously complicated regime."
Joseph Farah:
Iran letter precursor to war?Inside the bullpen:
Ahmadinejad: My letter was
invitation to Isalm blog posts on Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad at The Truth Laid Bear
Basil's: A.of I. | Jo's: Friday | CCat F P F