BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 14 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mohammed Khatami Wednesday blamed the United States for obstructing the resumption of relations with Tehran.
Speaking at a news conference on the last day of a three-day visit to Beirut, Khatami said U.S.-Iranian disputes were significant and the main obstacle to resuming diplomatic ties, broken after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, "are the Americans themselves and U.S. policy."
Asked about reported U.S.-Iranian contacts in Geneva, Khatami reiterated recent statements from Tehran, he said, "There was no talk about (renewing) U.S.-Iranian relations."
When those talks were first reported by United Press International last week U.S. officials also ruled out the restoration of ties.
Khatami said that in the talks with the United States, Iran called on Washington to let Iraqis determine their fate, rule themselves as soon as possible and sought the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
"This is what we conveyed to the Americans during our negotiations," Khatami said. "We told them in good faith that their presence (in Iraq) harms our interests in the region and in the long run, their interests."
The Geneva talks started nearly two years ago under U.N. supervision, Khatami said, and dealt with issues related to Afghanistan and, more recently, Iraq.
On Washington's recent remarks against Iran, Syria and Lebanon, he said: "I see no reason for U.S. fear of countries like Iran. The U.S. is a big power and has all the capabilities in the world."
Turning to the Arab-Israeli conflict, he said, "The main problem with the U.S. administration is that it does not accept the line delimiting terrorism from legitimate resistance to occupiers.
"As long as this problem remains, the conflict will remain," he said.
Khatami condemned Monday's bombings that ripped through the Saudi capital, Riyadh, that killed at least 34 people.
The bombings would only lead to "more violence and terrorism in the world and give a pretext to those who benefit from those cases and want to impose wars on the peoples," he said. It was an apparent dig at the United States and its war on Saddam Hussein's Iraq, accused of involvement with terrorism.
Khatami tried to distance Iran from Lebanon's militant Shiite party, Hezbollah, which is on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.
"Iran's ties with Syria and Lebanon are good but do not mean interfering in each others' affairs," he said.
"Hezbollah receives no instructions from any party and belongs to no foreign side," he said.
Washington maintains Iran backs Hezbollah and supplies it with weapons.
Khatami, however, denied this.
"I don't believe Hezbollah needs weapons brought in from the outside," he said. "For the sake of defending its land, Hezbollah possesses the necessary capabilities."
Hezbollah, which shares Iran's Shiite ideology, is regarded as a resistance movement in the Middle East because it fought and ended the 22-year Israeli occupation of Lebanon.
Khatami warned the United States wants to "be the sole force to impose its will on all countries in America, Asia and Europe" but said "solidarity between East and West will make its policies fail."
From Beirut, Khatami was to leave for Damascus later Wednesday for talks with Syrian officials. He was also expected to visit Yemen and Bahrain during his tour of the region.
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