TOP IRAN CLERIC SAYS AFGHAN REBELS FOUGHT FOR AZERBAIJAN

asbarez
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Defense Minister Ohanian confirmed Afghans fought alongside Azeri
soldiers

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)-One of Iran’s top clerics, Ayatollah Seyed
Hassan Ameli, said that Iran supplied weapons and training to Afghan
rebels who then fought on behalf of Azerbaijan during the Karabakh
war. This comment has initiated mixed reactions in Armenia.

Armenia’s Defense Minister, Seyran Ohanian on Tuesday confirmed the
Ayatollah’s statements saying that Afghan militants were fighting
for Azerbaijan, a reality that was reported during the war.

“Afghan militants were definitely in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh
at a certain time,” Ohanian said commenting on reports by Iranian
sources.

“They were withdrawn within the framework of different agreements
and suffered huge losses as a result of the professional action of
the Karabakh side,” added Ohanian.

Meanwhile officials at Iran’s Embassy in Yerevan said they did not
want unreliable information to impact the friendly Armenian-Iranian
relations.

The embassy neither confirmed, nor refuted Ayatollah Ameli’s statement,
saying that the official stance of Tehran on the Karabakh conflict
resolution has been articulated and voiced Iran’s President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, as well as the Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Seyed
Ali Saghaeyan.

“We do not rule out the possibility that there are forces that aim
create obstacles for our friendly relations,” an Iranian Embassy
official said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress