The Turkish Daily News then asked the State Department to comment on how Washington viewed Pejak and how Haj-Ahmadi could openly visit Washington.

  In written answers sent to the Turkish Daily News, the State Department confirmed the Pejak leader's visit to Washington, but said it was not aware of any meetings between him and U.S. administration officials.

  It said that Pejak was designated a foreign terrorist organization by U.S. counter terrorism authorities, but that it was being monitored.

  "We are aware of the reports that Pejak perpetrated acts of violence and will continue to monitor its activities closely, along with other groups of concern," the State Department stated. "We are also aware of some reports that link Pejak with the PKK. The PKK is a designated foreign terrorist organization."

  It also said that Haj-Ahmadi entered the United States using a German passport under the visa waiver program.

 Pursuing U.S. backing:

  In an interview with The Washington Times, a conservative daily, Haj-Ahmadi said Pejak was not able to overthrow the Iranian regime with the weapons itcurrently had.

  "Any financial or military help that would speed the path to a true Iranian democracy, we would very much welcome, particularly from the United States," hesaid.

  Founded three years ago to fight the Tehran regime, Pejak is seen to be in close cooperation with the PKK. And like the PKK, Pejak has a base on the Kandil mountain in Iraqi Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, a region bordering Turkey and Iran.

  But Haj-Ahmadi claimed that his group was a "completely independent organization" from the PKK, although it had good relations with other Kurdish organizations in the region.

  The Washington Times said he was paying his first visit to Washington.

  Haj-Ahmadi said his group had only "limited contact" with the U.S. government, and his aides told the newspaper that they had received "no answer" from the State Department and other administration officials to their requests for meetings during their leader's visit. 

 ‘Greater Kurdistan,' not now:

  He said seeking the creation of a "greater Kurdistan" was not an urgent item on his group's agenda, but did not rule it out in the future. "Right now, for us, democracy inside Iran is the issue," Haj-Ahmadi said. "We will work with whoever we can to establish a just, democratic federal government to replace the Islamic regime."

  If and when democracy takes hold in Iran and throughout the region, "we would then lean toward the idea of a greater Kurdistan as an aspiration," he said.

  Iranian officials have accused the United States of secretly funding Pejak as part of a campaign to undermine their regime, but U.S. officials have denied the charges.

  The United States accuses Iran of seeking to obtain nuclear weapons and supporting global terrorism, but so far pursuing a regime change in Tehran has not been Washington's official policy.

  Some reports suggest that Turkey, fighting PKK terrorism originating from northern Iraq, and Iran are involved in limited cooperation against the PKK and Pejak in an area where Turkish, Iranian and Iraqi borders converge.