After his talk with Jafari and among the reporters, Khatami said, "Because Iran was very interested to see stability and security in Iraq from the beginning, his government recognized the Governing Council as one of the first among the nations." He continued, "The Iraqi Shiite rational and moderate approach toward freedom and a government by the people is reflected in the views of Hizb al-Dawah, the SCIRI and also the wise positions of Ayatollah Sistani."

Khatami further said, "We condemn any violence and any action that escalate tension and crisis in this country. Any violent action that threatens the stability and security in Iraq will not be in the interest of Iraq, the Shiite and Islam." He was also very critical of the US actions in the last couple days in Iraq.

Khatami did not mention at all the name of Muqtada Sadr and his group.

Along the same lines, the Dissident Ayatollah Montazeri made a harsh criticism of Muqtada's al-Mahdi army as he told the Time Magazine repoerter in Qum on April 9, "Although the supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr have chosen the name of Mahdi Army for themselves, Imam Mahdi would never be content to initiate disunity, division and factionalism in his name. It is rational that under Ayatollah Sistani's direction and through a union of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds who are all Muslims, a stable government be established in Iraq." Similar to Khatami, he recognized the leadership of Sistani as the voice of the Shiite community in Iraq.

My other reliable sources have indicated to me that Rafsanjani and others in the conservative camp including the leadership, have tried very hard in the last couple of days to encourage al-Dawah and SCIRI to open a channel of communication with Muqtada [this means there are currently no channels between these three Shi'ite groups; two of which are pro-Iranian]. The aim of the conservative camp is very obvious. They want these groups to recognize Muqtada and his followers as a force in the future politics of this country. This is what all including Sistani are against.

The lines are very clear in Iran. The conservatives like very much to use Muqtada al-Sadr for their own interests in Iraq while Khatami and Muntazeri are absolutely against it. The moderate forces in Iran and Iraq wisely consider the radicalism of Muqtada Sadr as a threat to the establishment of a viable democracy in that country. The bitterness of the radical phase of the Iranian experience is shared by both sides.