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Iranian leader dismisses U.S. strikes as election year ploy
September 3, 1996
Web posted at: 10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 GMT)MOMBASA, Kenya (CNN) -- Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani rebuked the United States for its missile strike against Iraq, even though Iraq is an enemy of Iran and President Clinton has intervened on behalf of an Iranian-backed faction in Iraq.
"The people of Iraq are being sacrificed and the sanctity of international rules are being violated," said Rafsanjani during an interview with CNN, in regard to Tuesday's missile attack.
Speaking in Kenya, where he is visiting as part of an extended diplomatic mission in Africa, Rafsanjani attributed the latest U.S. military move to gamesmanship in advance of the November presidential election.
"Political expedience in the United States is writing the destiny of others now," he said. "Bob Dole is accusing Mr. Clinton of not being competent enough to protect the safe haven in northern Iraq. And Mr. Clinton, in order to drive away this pretext from Bob Dole, is launching his missiles to Iraq. And apparently there is not much political comprehension among the people to see that these are only political games being played by both sides."
Iran has a big stake in the outcome of the dispute between the U.S. and Iraq as a large number of Kurds live in northwestern Iran.
Moreover, Iran has reportedly been involved in the internal Kurdish dispute that preceded Tuesday's attack.
The Democratic Party of Kurdistan (DPK) led by Massoud Barzani asked Saddam Hussein to attack its rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The DPK claimed Iran had sent troops to help the PUK, and Saddam's entry on the side of the DPK prompted the retaliatory strikes by the United States.
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