ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <!-- saved from url=(0044)http://www.irna.com/newshtm/eng/01134642.htm --> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=unicode"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4616.200" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY><PRE> <BR>thr 027 <BR>Press-UK-Straw-Visit /GNR/ <BR>  Daily lauds historical visit of British foreign Secretary <BR>Tehran, Sept 23, IRNA -- `Iran News' on Sunday praised the upcoming <BR>visit, the first ever since the 1979 victory of the Islamic <BR>Revolution, of British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to Iran, <BR>presumably after Prime Minister Tony Blair recently held talks with <BR>President Khatami on the recent devastating events in the US. <BR> Anglo-Iranian relations improved tremendously during Khatami's <BR>first term in office, further praised the English-language daily. <BR> Yet, it warned, "far more is at stake in the forthcoming <BR>Anglo-Iranian talks amid the increasing tension and impending war in <BR>the region." <BR> It noted that Jack Straw is running "an errand for Britain's <BR>Trans-Atlantic allies since the US officials are also exploring the <BR>possibility of cooperation with Iran," but it warned of the <BR>Anglo-American alliance as being the "backbone" of past US strategy, <BR>clearly evident in the Persian Gulf War in 1990. <BR> "On Thursday, Blair was the only international figure to be <BR>singled out for praise at the joint congressional address of President <BR>George W. Bush. The dual-entente has steered the EU and the North <BR>Atlantic Treaty Organization and set the tone for the UN Security <BR>Council as in the case of its Balkan policy," it noted. <BR> It added that Jack Straw's visit will open the opportunity for all <BR>concerned and will go a long way in promoting Iran-EU rapprochement. <BR> But it warned, "although the US and Britain are comrades in arm in <BR>the impending war, they will pursue their own interests once the <BR>conflict dies down." <BR> "Britain has played a historical role in the Middle East and the <BR>Persian Gulf and will jealously guard its commerical ties and trade <BR>routes," it further went on to say. <BR> During his stay in Tehran, Straw is to deliver a message to Iran <BR>on behalf of the US, based on this, "it is then up to Iran to make <BR>the proper response based on our national interests," noted the paper. <BR>FH/HM <BR>End <BR>::irna 13:46 <BR></PRE></BODY></HTML>