US links Iran to suicide bombings

WASHINGTON - The Bush Administration has cut off contact with Iran, and Pentagon officials are pushing for action they believe could destabilise the Government of the Islamic republic.

The Washington Post reported the move followed intelligence reports suggesting al Qaeda operatives in Iran played a role in the May 12 suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia.

Citing Administration officials, the newspaper said the White House "appears ready to embrace an aggressive policy of trying to destabilise the Iranian Government".

Officials will meet on Wednesday at the White House to discuss the Iran strategy, with Pentagon officials pressing for action that could lead to the toppling of the Government through a popular uprising.

A White House spokeswoman declined comment.

Since the US campaign in Afghanistan, Iranian and US officials have occasionally met to discuss issues.

After this month's suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Bush Administration cancelled the next planned meeting.

The newspaper said "very troubling intercepts" before and after the Saudi Arabia bombing played a role in the Administration's new stance towards Iran. The intelligence suggested al Qaeda operatives in Iran were involved in the planning of the bombings, which killed 34 people.

On Friday, the official Irna news agency of Iran said US allegations that the Islamic nation harboured al Qaeda members were based on faulty intelligence, but officials vowed to arrest any militants who might have slipped into the country.

Yesterday, Iran's top diplomat told the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat that Iran saw no need to immediately revive a dialogue with the US following talks on who should govern postwar Iraq.

"This dialogue has stopped now and we see no reason to revive it for the time being," Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said.

"We entered into an honest dialogue with the Americans to create a Government in Iraq that has popular support, but they kept on changing their minds and also changing their representatives in Iraq," he said, without giving additional details.

The US is trying to set up an interim Iraqi administration after US-led forces invaded the country two months ago and ousted President Saddam Hussein.

- REUTERS