Iran Mullah Blasts U.S. Quake Aid

Workers have cleared away most of the corpses from the earthquake here that killed more than 30,000 people, and U.N. officials said Friday they were assessing the humanitarian needs in the ruined ancient city.

An American field hospital performed surgery on an Iranian soldier who lost his family and shot himself in the foot when he tried to commit suicide. The U.S. team has gotten a generally favorable response in Iran though one cleric was sharply critical on Friday and said the American team should go home.

"We hate the arrogance of the Americans and we are sure that they haven't come for humanitarian reasons, but for other things like spying," said Abdullah Irani, a mullah from Qum, the main center for Shia Muslim clerics in Iran. It was rare hostility after the welcome given by locals and Iranian doctors.

The United Nations plans to complete an assessment of Bam's water, sanitation, food and shelter needs by the middle of next week, said Ted Pearn, manager of the U.N. On-Site Operations Coordination Center.

At least five or six countries, including the United States, are working with U.N. agencies to help conduct the review of what is needed in Bam, which was mostly destroyed by the 6.6-magnitude quake on Dec. 26 and has been hit by dozens of aftershocks.

The Washington Post reported Friday that the United States has approached Iran about sending a high-level humanitarian delegation to Tehran. It would be the first public U.S. official visit since 52 Americans were held hostage in Iran for 444 days from 1979 to 1981.

The newspaper said the delegation, headed by Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., also would include an unspecified member of the Bush family. Iran's President Mohammad Khatami has not yet responded to the overture, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying.

Bill Garvelink, the U.S. Agency for International Development official leading the team in Bam, said the destruction was worse than in any quake zone he had ever seen.

"It's incredible," Garvelink said. "I've never seen anything like it. Bam is literally a rubble pile. I haven't seen any business functioning and you don't see anybody living in their homes."

Many residents have either left or are staying in tents amid the ruins.

Pearn said the humanitarian relief effort was speeding up, with the first of three tent camps now under construction. There are 11 foreign field hospitals — each able to treat dozens of patients at a time — up and running.

With at least 90 percent of the city cleared of corpses, and hopes of finding new survivors all but lost, three international search and rescue teams departed Friday. Seven remain.

Pearn said a survey by the Iranian Red Crescent — which is coordinating the government relief effort — had found no reports of disease outbreaks.

The spokesman for the U.S. team in Bam, Monty Bahamonde, said the U.S. field hospital set up on Thursday had treated 70 patients over a 21-hour period.

"We've seen a lot of walking wounded and children with respiratory problems because of the dust in the city," Bahamonde said. "A lot of people had remedial care after the earthquake, but now they have infected and dirty wounds."

Estimates on the death toll have varied. A U.N. report that cited government figures said the death toll by Tuesday was at least 33,000, although there have been 28,000 registered burials. A provincial government spokesman, Asadollah Iranmanesh, has predicted the final toll would be between 30,000 and 40,000.

Although hopes for finding survivors were slim, workers said Thursday they had rescued three more people — one on Thursday and two on Wednesday. Normally, people trapped under collapsed buildings can survive three days, a mark that passed Monday morning.

Pearn said he was skeptical of later reports that survivors had been found.

"We should not give false hope to people that their relatives can be found," he said. "The nights have been very, very cold."