Iran: 'propaganda' and 'torture'

Last Modified: 07 Apr 2007
By: Tom Clarke

An Iranian diplomat, freed after being held for two months in Iraq, has said he was tortured by American troops during his captivity.

Today the Iranian government rubbished claims by the freed British troops that they were mal-treated during their detention. A foreign ministry spokesman said their statements were propaganda scripted by the MoD.

In London, Iran's Ambassador, who's been summoned to the foreign office in recent days, repeated his government's insistence that the hostage release was an Easter gift.

Telling the Financial Times it was a gesture that should now be reciprocated he said:

"We played our part and we showed our goodwill. We share in the British people's happiness and we believe it is the right time for the British government to affirm its willingness to establish sensible lines of communication with Iran".

And what do they want to communicate about? Well, certainly the release of five Iranian diplomats detained after a US raid on the Iranian consulate here in the Northern Iraqi town of Arbil.

"We played our part and we showed our goodwill. We share in the British people's happiness and we believe it is the right time for the British government to affirm its willingness to establish sensible lines of communication with Iran".
- Iranian ambassador

Iran is also asking for international recognition of its nuclear programme one that it has always maintained is peaceful.

But relations won't have been helped by claims today by Iranian diplomat Jalal Sharafi, released from captivity in Iraq on Tuesday, that he was kidnapped by the US military and severely tortured. The US denies any involvement in his capture.

Also souring relations is the bomb attack that killed four British soldiers in Southern Iraq on Thursday. British commanders here are quick to link powerful explosions like this with Iranian sponsored insurgency in Iraq. As yet there's no evidence Thursday's bomb was Iranian made.