RAMALLAH – Iran has invited Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for an official
visit.
PA sources said Abbas has accepted the invitation. The sources said the PA chairman would fly to Teheran later in 2005.
Iran opposed the establishment of the PA and its cooperation with Israel. Iran has been regarded by the PA as the leading foreign supporter of Palestinian insurgency groups, particularly the ruling Fatah movement.
PA sources said Iran's invitation to Abbas followed meetings between Iranian leaders and Fatah chief Farouk Khaddoumi, Middle East Newsline reported. Khaddoumi has urged close Palestinian relations with Iran.
Iran extended the invitation on Feb. 1. The PA chief has completed a tour of several Middle East and other states, including Egypt, Jordan, Russia and Turkey.
Iran has refused to set formal relations with the PA, established in 1994. The sources said Abbas was expected to discuss any trip to Teheran with the United States, which opposes Iranian intervention in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
On Tuesday, Abbas met with Turkish president Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Erdogan expressed support for the PA and pledged that Turkey will supply 25,000 uniforms for the Palestinian police as well as security training at the Turkish Police Academy. Additionally, Erdogan pledged that Turkey will implement the free trade agreement signed at the end of 2003 and examine the reactivation of Gaza's international airport.
