Iran reprimands Saudi Arabia for participation in Middle East peace talks

Saudi Arabia’s participation in this week’s U.S.-hosted Middle East peace talks has drawn the ire of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Agence France-Presse reported today.

“The U.S. government, which is an accomplice to Zionist crimes, cannot play the role of savior by hosting the Annapolis conference,” Ahmadinejad told Saudi King Abdullah.

In a telephone conversation with King Abdullah, Ahmadinejad said that he wished Saudi Arabia was not attending the conference with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The conference will be the first time the kingdom will meet with Israel to discuss a peace agreement.

More than a dozen Arab countries have stated they will be sending representatives, including Israeli adversary Syria, a chief ally of Iran. Iraq has not confirmed its presence, and representatives from the Islamist Hamas movement will not be attending.

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the conference, predicting that it was “doomed to failure.”

Non-recognition of Israel is one of Iran’s main ideological themes. In response to the meeting, Ahmadinejad has invited leaders of Palestinian factions to Tehran.

The conference will be held Tuesday in Annapolis near Washington, D.C.

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Afghan president offers government positions to Taliban in new peace proposal

When Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced on September 29 that he was willing to give militants government positions in exchange for peace, some Taliban leaders refused. However, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan reported that some leaders are not averse to the peace talks after all.

Karzai spokesman Humayun Hamidzada said: “The information we have received from tribal elders indicates that different groups operating inside Afghanistan under the Taliban name are discussing this issue seriously. In this case, we don't expect huge developments in the very near future, but we hope that those who want peace and stability in Afghanistan will come step by step to join the ongoing peaceful process."

Karzai pledged to hold talks under two conditions: he will only negotiate with Afghan, not foreign, Taliban fighters, and will not meet with militants associated with al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups.

“We are ready to negotiate to bring peace [to] this country,” Karzai said. “Continuation of the war, explosions, and suicide attacks should be stopped in any way possible. There were some contacts with [Taliban] in the past. But there is no specific, clear-cut line of communication – I mean, there is no official place for communication with the Taliban. I wish there were such a place.”

Tim Foxley, a researcher at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said that, in theory, talking to “moderate” Taliban leaders would weaken the insurgency, but admits the difficulty in finding these kinds of figures.

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