American and Iranian delegates clashed verbally at a closed counter-terrorism conference in Riyadh in February 2005, according to Saudi media. The Saudi Gazette reported that the confrontation erupted when delegates began debating how terrorism should be defined, describing the encounter as heated.
The dispute followed an address by US Homeland Security Advisor Frances Townsend, who cited President George W. Bush's State of the Union description of Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. The Iranian delegation head responded with a speech of his own, though its specific contents were not disclosed.
A US embassy spokesperson in Riyadh maintained that the exchange was professional, reflecting differing policy positions between the two delegations. An Iranian delegate rejected the American characterizations, arguing that Iran itself had suffered from terrorism for more than 20 years.
The four-day conference was opened by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, who called for an international body to coordinate global counter-terrorism efforts. Washington and Tehran have had no formal diplomatic ties since the Islamic revolution in 1979, and tensions had intensified in the preceding months over Iran's nuclear program.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in February 2005, in its own words.