VOL. XL

No. 31

4-August-1997

IRAN

US Tacit Approval Of Trans-Iran Gas Pipeline Is Not A Signal To Iran, Says Albright

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright announced on 29 July that the US approval of a$1.6bn gas pipeline from Central Asia to Turkey through Iran was not meant to send apositive diplomatic signal to Iran, but rather "a way to help Turkey andTurkmenistan." However, she left the door open for potential future contacts betweenthe two countries if Iran moves to meet US demands....