Iranian President Khatami: I Expect No Change in US-Iranian Relations; We Love Hizbullah; Chirac Told Us He He Never Called to Disarm Hizbullah

The following are excerpts from an interview with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on July 14, 2005.

Khatami: We have yet to reach a political conviction about establishing relations with America. As long as this is our policy, any government, whether conservative or reformist, cannot act contrary to it. I believe there will be no change in relations between Iran and the US following the change of government. If the Americans change their methods and policies, the general policy of Iran will opt towards thing about changing its current attitude on this matter.

Host: But Mr. President, some people accuse you of wanting to implement the model of the Iranian regime in Iraq through your allies.

Khatami: Absolutely not. It is not true. We do not say that Iraq should follow the Iranian model - quite the contrary. We called upon the Iraqis to determine their (regime) by themselves, according to their own circumstances. The positions of the Ayatollah Al-Sistani, Al-Hakim, Al-Ja'fari, and other prove that these rumors are false, and are nothing but a satanic attempt to damage relations between both sides. Iraq is Iraq and Iran is Iran. Iraq should have its own experience, especially in light of its ethnic and national fabric. Iraq needs a model that guarantees its adherence to Islam and its teachings, and embraces all its components. Clearly, we do not wish to impose our model on others.

It is not in Lebanon's best interest to stop the resistance. We always support this idea. We believe that Hizbullah has an authentic Lebanese identity. We love Hizbullah. I emphasized this in talks with Mr. Chirac, who said he has never called to weaken or disarm Hizbullah, and that on this matter, he is in disagreement with some of his European allies. Hizbullah will remain and will keep its weapons.