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Quake-devastated
Iran
refuses aid from Israel Tehran official says 'Zionist regime' not welcome to assist victims as death toll soars Posted: December 27, 2003 11:40 p.m. Eastern
With the death toll from Iran's devastating earthquake soaring toward 40,000, and the Islamic republic's leaders openly acknowledging that as much outside help as possible is vital to limit the number of dead and suffering, Iranian officials are refusing to accept aid from only one nation – Israel. International offers of aid poured in to Iran as rescue teams from all over the world joined a massive search for survivors in the wake of the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that flattened the historic city of Bam, killing as many as 40,000 people. Witnesses told Reuters hundreds of corpses were bundled into trucks and the back seats of cars. Television footage showed distraught relatives wailing next to bodies wrapped in blankets and rugs lined up on the ground. While rescue workers have pulled hundreds out of the rubble – including an infant – thousands of others are feared still trapped alive. "I have lost all my family. My parents, my grandmother and two sisters are under the rubble," one teen survivor named Maryam told reporters. "The disaster is far too huge for us to meet all of our needs," President Mohammad Khatami told state television in a plea for international assistance. "We need help, otherwise we will be pulling corpses, not the injured, out of the rubble," added Brigadier Mohammadi, commander of the army in southeast Iran. Tehran officials stressed the need for sniffer dogs and aid equipment, medicines, blankets and tents, over volunteers. But as the death toll soars from the world's most serious earthquake since 25,000 were killed in the western Indian state of Gujarat in 2001, Tehran continued its longstanding hostility toward Israel, declaring it would not accept its assistance. "The Islamic Republic of Iran accepts all kinds of humanitarian aid from all countries and international organizations with the exception of the Zionist regime," Jahanbakhsh Khanjani, a spokesman for Iran's Interior Ministry, said following word that unofficial Israeli sources were considering sending aid to Iran. Earlier, Israel's foreign minister Sylvan Shalom offered condolences and suggested the Middle East foes should set aside their differences for the sake of the victims. "The Government and people of Israel are moved by the human tragedy experienced by the Iranian people and believe that despite all differences a mobilization of the whole international community is needed to come to the help of families of the victims and wounded," Shalom said in a statement, according to Israel News Agency. Israel considers the Islamic regime the world's "No. 1 terror nation" due to its support for terror groups like Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. President George W. Bush, who labeled Iran part of the "axis of evil" along with North Korea and the former regime in Iraq for alleged production of weapons of mass destruction, similarly offered his condolences and pledged humanitarian aid even though Washington has no diplomatic ties with Tehran. "We stand ready to help the people of Iran," said Bush in a statement. The State Department later announced the U.S. will send 150,000 pounds of medical supplies and dispatch teams of about 200 search-and-rescue and medical experts from Virginia, Los Angeles and Boston. Meanwhile, Iran received offers of assistance from most of the European Union states as well as many other countries, including Malaysia, Turkey and Greece, according to the news agency Al Bawaba. More than 600 tons of relief aid – medicine, ambulances, blankets, heating equipment, tents and canned food – had been shipped so far to the provincial center of Kerman, approximately 200 kilometers north of the quake zone. The first relief supplies, from Britain, Germany, Russia and Switzerland, were flown into southeastern Iran early today, reports Agence France-Presse, while rescue teams from several dozen countries set to work. The United Nations announced a 40-ton cargo aircraft carrying tents, tarpaulins, blankets, generators and water purification tablets donated by Italy and Norway was due to leave from southern Italy tomorrow. Offers of aid also flowed in from across Asia, including from Afghanistan and Pakistan, Australia, Beijing, New Delhi, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Japan. The Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it needed 20,000 large tents, 30,000 plastic tarpaulins, 200,000 blankets and 30 kerosene generators to care for the tens of thousands of Iranians left homeless. The Red Cross in Geneva issued an appeal for 10 million euros to fund quake relief for the next six months. Between 70 percent and 80 percent of the city of 200,000 was leveled. Located southeast of Tehran, Bam lies on the old Silk Road route between China and Europe used by merchants and travelers for centuries. The popular tourist spot is known for its historic citadel that dates back 2,000 years. Related offers: The
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