Iraqi urges Muslims to denounce terror
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-15 23:15

The conference has sought to sidestep direct political squabbles despite some clear differences, including an Iranian delegation led by former President Mohammad Khatami and a U.S. presence directed by Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.

But Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik made a diplomatic jab apparently aimed at Khatami's hard-line successor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who last month said Israel should be "wiped off the map."

"It is not acceptable at all to question the right of existence of another," said Plassnik, whose nation takes over the European Union presidency Jan. 1. Austria has one of the closest ties with Iran among the EU members.

Fried also used the sidelines of the conference to amplify U.S. claims that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is only for energy-producing reactors.

"The world should contemplate a nuclear weapons-armed Iran with the greatest of concern," Fried told journalists. The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board holds a key meeting on Iran's nuclear program next week at its Vienna headquarters