Iran denies Bin Laden reports
31/10/2004 21:17  - (SA)  

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Tehran - Iran's foreign ministry on Sunday denied US media reports that it has given shelter to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, saying the charge was nothing more than pre-election hysteria.

"Neither bin Laden nor any other extremist member of al-Qaeda is present in Iran, except a few middle-ranking members who are being held in prison," ministry spokesperson Hamid Reza Asefi said at his weekly press conference.

"It seems that as we reach the high point in the US election, that country's papers have the duty to fabricate news? It is only to cover up the US shortcomings in fighting terrorism," he said.

An article in the Washington Times claimed last week that the fugitive bin Laden crossed from Afghanistan into Iran in July 2002 under a deal with the Islamic republic.

In ideological terms, Al-Qaeda and Iran's clerical regime are worlds apart.

Tehran condemned the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States and was long opposed to the Taliban militia, Afghanistan's former rulers, who gave shelter to al-Qaeda before their ouster in a US-led war the same year.

- AFP

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