The United States on Monday urged Iran not to just identify the names of suspected al Qaida members in its custody to the United Nations but to hand them over to the United States or return them to their places of origin.

"We have indicated to Iran that we thought that anybody that they have in custody should be returned to places of origin for whatever justice might be appropriate, or turned over to us if they choose to do that," Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters after a meeting with Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahyan, deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, in the State Department building here.

The secretary was responding to reports that Iran informed the United Nations Security Council of names of 78 suspected al Qaida members whom Tehran said it had detained and extradited to their countries of origin.

Powell said that he had read such reports over the weekend and is trying to sort out relevant information.

Addressing a regular new briefing Monday, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher echoed Powell's position. "We believe Iran needs to turn over all suspected al Qaida operatives to the United States, or to their countries of origin, or to third countries for interrogation and trial," Boucher said.

"It's essential that other countries have direct access to information that these people may have about past and future al Qaida activities," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2003)