Britain to give aid to Afghanistan's neighbours
( 2001-09-24 10:30 ) (7 )

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is to use a groundbreaking trip to Iran on Monday to help Afghanistan's neighbours deal with refugees fleeing in the aftermath of the attacks on New York and Washington.

Straw's two-day visit is the first by a British foreign secretary since the 1979 Islamic revolution which toppled the Shah.

Iran was quick to condemn the September 11 attacks, a gesture that pleased the West and suggested that further diplomatic rapprochement might be in the offing.

Britain has allocated 25 million pounds (US$36 million) to help Afghanistan's neighbours, including Iran, deal with the problems of refugees fleeing the country where prime suspect in the attacks, Osama bin Laden, lives as a guest of the ruling Taliban.

Tehran has opposed any military attack on its eastern neighbour, Afghanistan, for fear of a flood of refugees to add to the 2.8 million Afghans Iran's Interior Ministry now says are already inside the country.

"The plight of the people of Afghanistan will, of course, be high on the agenda for my discussions with President Mohammad Khatami and Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi," Straw said in a message to the Iranian people released by the British embassy in Tehran.

Straw also promised to increase cooperation against drug smuggling from Iran's eastern neighbour.

The United States still lists Iran as a state that sponsors terror. A 1998 agreement by London and Tehran to exchange ambassadors came after a 14-year rift over Iranian death threats issued against British author Salman Rusdie.

Straw, who also visits Jordan, Israel and Egypt, will use his trip to start what Britain sees as a dialogue that leads to closer cooperation on terrorism.

Straw will also emphasise that Britain sees the response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as a "war against terrorism" and not a war against Islam.

Although Tehran has made it clear it would not allow US planes to use its airspace to attack neighbouring Afghanistan, US allies hope to secure Iran's aid, or at least acquiescence, in any retaliatory strikes on the country sheltering bin Laden.