An Iranian Foreign Ministry official warned today that any US-led war against Iraq would only destabilise the region and said United Nations weapons inspectors should be given more time to disarm Iraq.
"I think the Americans should be aware that what they are doing is really putting the region in danger," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a news conference.
In spite of the fact that there is no love lost between Iran and its western neighbour, with which it fought a gruelling eight-year war in the 1980s, the Islamic Republic has officially voiced its opposition to a US-led attack on Iraq."We should give a chance to inspectors to fulfil their work and we should not seek any premature action that will not serve the region," he said.
Asefi said Iran would continue lobbying European states and its neighbours, including Iraq, to avert war.
"On the one hand, we have made Iraqis take note of the perilous situation of the region. On the other hand, we have told Europeans, the Germans, French, English and recently Italians that war is not the right solution and that it can further destabilise the region," he said. Asefi added that Iran would support neither side in a possible conflict and would not interfere militarily if war breaks out.
Iranian officials and ordinary people make no secret of their loathing for Saddam Hussein. A hardline cleric said on Sunday the Iraqi president was not qualified to rule Iraq. "We are not satisfied with Saddam's regime. He is an outlaw, a war criminal and traitor to his people and neighbouring states," said Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, who heads the Assembly of Experts, a body that elects Iran's supreme leader.
However, Iranian officials are also deeply suspicious of US intentions in the region and concerned that with the removal of Saddam, Iran would move higher up on Washington's "axis of evil" agenda. Washington last year labelled Iran an "axis of evil" member alongside Iraq and North Korea.