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American Morning
Interview With Alexander Downer
Aired May 26, 2003 - 08:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Washington is breaking off contact with Tehran, Iran, according to Iranian officials, after allegations that Iran is harboring al Qaeda operatives, including some believed to have played a role in the May 12 bombings in Saudi Arabia.
Australia's foreign minister, Alexander Downer, was just in Teheran. He met with President Mohammad Khatami. Hue raised the al Qaeda issue at the meeting.
He joins us now from Colombo, Sri Lanka to give us a report on what happened in that meeting.
Thank you for taking time to talk with us, sir.
What exactly did President Khatami have to say about the presence of al Qaeda in Iran?
ALEXANDER DOWNER, AUSTRALIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, I made it perfectly clear to the president and other officials that it was unacceptable for al Qaeda to be able to operate in Iran and find sanctuary in Iran. He said to me, and as did the others I spoke -- the other leaders I spoke to in Iran, that they wouldn't tolerate al Qaeda, that they had arrested already a number of al Qaeda people and returned them to their home countries and they would continue a policy of apprehending any al Qaeda people that they came across.
But they did make the point -- and one has to weigh this up -- but they did make the point that they have a long border and it wasn't possible for them to monitor every single person who ever came across their borders. But if they knew of anybody from al Qaeda in their country, they would arrest them.
HARRIS: The signals that have been coming out of Washington is that the presence of al Qaeda in Iran is a very serious matter. It has been described as a life or death issue in Washington.
Did the Iranian officials you spoke seem to grasp just how seriously the Bush administration is taking this?
DOWNER: They did after I had finished talking to them, even if they didn't before. I told them that this was a threshold issue, that I couldn't overstate the seriousness of a terrorist organization like al Qaeda being able to operate out of Iran. It was completely unacceptable to Australia and clearly completely unacceptable to the United States and others.
Yes, I think they did understand that. But I took the opportunity of really trying to hammer home the seriousness of it, and in particular drawing to their attention allegations that al Qaeda people in Iran had known in advance of the Riyadh bombing and whilst they profess not to know whether that was the case or not, nevertheless, they reinforced their opposition to al Qaeda and the view that al Qaeda is opposed to the Iranian regime.
HARRIS: Are you aware and are the Iranian officials you spoke with aware of the words that have been whispered in Washington, whispered rather loudly, I should say, about efforts here that are at least being considered about destabilizing the situation in Iran and perhaps making some sort of steps to put pressure on the government there and destabilizing the government? What do you think about that? Do you think that is something -- is that a tact that should be taken?
DOWNER: Look, they were aware of it because it was -- there was a story to that effect on the front of the "Washington Post" yesterday and that was drawn to their attention by the media. So they certainly knew of the story in the "Washington Post."
Look, I think I'd put it to you this way. I think the Iranian leadership, from my discussions with them, which included not just the moderates -- and the president is the leader of the moderates -- but also some of the conservatives such as Rafsanjani. I think they really are starting to understand the immense seriousness both of this issue of terrorism, and in particular al Qaeda, but also of Iran playing a constructive, not a spoiling role in Iraq.
HARRIS: Well, we'll have to see how this all plays out.
Alexander Downer, Australian foreign minister, thank you very much for your time this morning.
We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 26, 2003 - 08:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Washington is breaking off contact with Tehran, Iran, according to Iranian officials, after allegations that Iran is harboring al Qaeda operatives, including some believed to have played a role in the May 12 bombings in Saudi Arabia.
Australia's foreign minister, Alexander Downer, was just in Teheran. He met with President Mohammad Khatami. Hue raised the al Qaeda issue at the meeting.
He joins us now from Colombo, Sri Lanka to give us a report on what happened in that meeting.
Thank you for taking time to talk with us, sir.
What exactly did President Khatami have to say about the presence of al Qaeda in Iran?
ALEXANDER DOWNER, AUSTRALIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, I made it perfectly clear to the president and other officials that it was unacceptable for al Qaeda to be able to operate in Iran and find sanctuary in Iran. He said to me, and as did the others I spoke -- the other leaders I spoke to in Iran, that they wouldn't tolerate al Qaeda, that they had arrested already a number of al Qaeda people and returned them to their home countries and they would continue a policy of apprehending any al Qaeda people that they came across.
But they did make the point -- and one has to weigh this up -- but they did make the point that they have a long border and it wasn't possible for them to monitor every single person who ever came across their borders. But if they knew of anybody from al Qaeda in their country, they would arrest them.
HARRIS: The signals that have been coming out of Washington is that the presence of al Qaeda in Iran is a very serious matter. It has been described as a life or death issue in Washington.
Did the Iranian officials you spoke seem to grasp just how seriously the Bush administration is taking this?
DOWNER: They did after I had finished talking to them, even if they didn't before. I told them that this was a threshold issue, that I couldn't overstate the seriousness of a terrorist organization like al Qaeda being able to operate out of Iran. It was completely unacceptable to Australia and clearly completely unacceptable to the United States and others.
Yes, I think they did understand that. But I took the opportunity of really trying to hammer home the seriousness of it, and in particular drawing to their attention allegations that al Qaeda people in Iran had known in advance of the Riyadh bombing and whilst they profess not to know whether that was the case or not, nevertheless, they reinforced their opposition to al Qaeda and the view that al Qaeda is opposed to the Iranian regime.
HARRIS: Are you aware and are the Iranian officials you spoke with aware of the words that have been whispered in Washington, whispered rather loudly, I should say, about efforts here that are at least being considered about destabilizing the situation in Iran and perhaps making some sort of steps to put pressure on the government there and destabilizing the government? What do you think about that? Do you think that is something -- is that a tact that should be taken?
DOWNER: Look, they were aware of it because it was -- there was a story to that effect on the front of the "Washington Post" yesterday and that was drawn to their attention by the media. So they certainly knew of the story in the "Washington Post."
Look, I think I'd put it to you this way. I think the Iranian leadership, from my discussions with them, which included not just the moderates -- and the president is the leader of the moderates -- but also some of the conservatives such as Rafsanjani. I think they really are starting to understand the immense seriousness both of this issue of terrorism, and in particular al Qaeda, but also of Iran playing a constructive, not a spoiling role in Iraq.
HARRIS: Well, we'll have to see how this all plays out.
Alexander Downer, Australian foreign minister, thank you very much for your time this morning.
We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
