Iran has extradited 16 Saudi nationals suspected of being members of al-Qaeda to Saudi Arabia.
The announcement came as Iranian President Mr Mohammad Khatami arrived in the Afghan capital of Kabul for talks with Afghan leader Mr Hamid Karzai on bilateral ties in the wake of the fall of Iran's arch-foe, the Taliban.
On his arrival, Mr Khatami promised that Tehran would not interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.
“We have no intention of interfering in the work of this country and no country should accept the interference of other countries in the affairs of Afghanistan,” he said.
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"Delivering the 16 Saudi nationals to their country of origin and President Khatami's visit to Afghanistan prove that Tehran does not harbour terrorists, does not interfere in its neighbours' affairs and its policy vis a vis Afghanistan is transparent and clear,"
Iran News
, seen as close to Mr Khatami, wrote today.
The newspaper stressed that returning al-Qaeda members to Riyadh "is not meant to appease the United States", with which Tehran has no diplomatic ties.
"Some analysts, however, choose to believe that following recent threatening statements by US officials, Tehran is trying to appease the Americans. This analysis is not correct," the paper said.
Iran was one of the fiercest opponents of the Taliban regime and a staunch supporter of the Northern Alliance, which teamed up with the United States last autumn.
In February, Iranian Foreign Minister Mr Kamal Kharazi said about 150 al-Qaeda sympathisers had been arrested on the border with Pakistan and would be extradited to their countries of origin.
AFP