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Supreme leader receives
Mauritanian president
Supreme Leader of Islamic
Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei
received Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abd Aziz here
on Tuesday.
According to the
report of Supreme Leader Office website, in the meeting, the supreme
leader said, "One day, nations of the region will certainly witness
annihilation of the Zionist regime but the time depends on the work of
Islamic countries and Muslim nations."
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=921219&IdLanguage=3
Iran's FM arrives in
Yerevan
Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki arrived here on Tuesday
evening to attend the 9th joint commission of Iran-Armenia.
A high ranking
politico-economic delegation is accompanying Mottaki in the trip.
Mottaki was
welcomed at the Yerevan airport by his Armenian counterpart
Edward Nalbandian.
Mottaki is
scheduled to attend the 9th meeting of joint commission of
Iran and Armenia
on Wednesday and talk with Armenian Energy
Minister and head of Armenian side of the commission Armen Movsisian.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=117141§ionid=351020101
Peace in
Afghanistan will benefit all regional
states
Iranian First
Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi has
stated that peace and stability in Afghanistan will serve the interests of
all regional states.In a speech to the conference on Afghanistan in
Istanbul on Tuesday, Rahimi reiterated that the Kabul officials enjoy the
full backing of Iran in their efforts to establish peace and security in
the war-torn country.He went on to say that the West’s military approach
in Afghanistan has proven futile. The presence of foreign forces in
Afghanistan for eight years, not only has not brought peace and stability
to the country, it has also led to the deterioration of security situation
and a rise in extremism and terrorism,” he observed.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1024571
Iran
first vice-president off to Turkey
Tehran, Jan 25,
IRNA -- First Vice-President Mohammad Reza
Rahimi heading a delegation departed to Turkey on
Monday evening.Rahimi is going to participate in the fourth meeting
of Afghanistan's neighbors in Istanbul, Turkey Several Iranian lawmakers
and top official are accompanying Rahimi .The meeting titled ‘Istanbul
Friendship and Cooperation’ aims to survey ways to secure safety and
stability in Afghanistan and eradicating
terrorism in the region.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=918756&IdLanguage=3
Iran praises
Mauritania for cutting ties with
Israel
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
(R) and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has praised the Mauritanian government for breaking
diplomatic ties with Israel. During a meeting with Mauritanian President
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in Tehran on Monday,
Ahmadinejad called the move a valuable step which "should set an example
for the rest of the Islamic countries." Mauritania cut its ties with
Israel during the December 2008-January
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=117036§ionid=351020101
Larijani sends
condolence message on plane crash in Lebanon
Following the
fatal plane crash off Lebanese coasts
claiming a number of Lebanese and other countries’ citizens, IRI Majlis
speaker forwarded a condolence message to
his counterpart there .Ali Larijani has in
the message to Nabih Berri expressed deep
sorrow on behalf of he Iranian parliamentarians and himself on the sad
occasion.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=919043&IdLanguage=3
Regional, int’l
cooperation between Iran and Switzerland
surveyed
Bilateral ties, regional
and international cooperation were discussed between IRI deputy
foreign minister in Europe affairs and a
visiting deputy Swiss foreign minister here Monday. According to IRNA
Political Desk, the IRI Ministry of Foreign
Affairs Information and Media Head Office reported that the Deputy
Swiss Foreign Minster Monsignor Ambol, who is in Iran for an official two
day visit in his meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ali Ahani said that
his affiliated government is interested in having comprehensive dynamic
relations with Iran, particularly in economic, political, and cultural
fields.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=919052&IdLanguage=3
Iran,
Malaysia favor expansion of mutual
relations
The new Malaysian ambassador to Tehran conferred
on Sunday with
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on expansion of relations and
cooperation between the two Islamic states. At the meeting,
President Ahmadinejad highlighted the high
status of Iran and Malaysia in regional and global developments. There
exist ample potentials in both countries for deepening of bilateral
relations between the two countries, said the Iranian president.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=916536&IdLanguage=3
World
Tourism Organization to open office in Iran
World Tourism Organization will set up a representative office in
Iran. According to Iran's Cultural Heritage,
Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, the move was agreed by the head of (ICHHTO),
Hamid Baqaei, and secretary general of WTO,
Taleb Rifai, in a meeting on the sidelines of International Tourism Trade
Fair (Fitur) in Spain on Sunday.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=916614&IdLanguage=3
Majlis
commission calls for downgrading of ties with England
Majlis National Security and
Foreign Policy Commission on Sunday called
for lowering the current level of cultural and commercial relations with
England. A number of deputies to foreign minister,
officials from different organizations including Chamber of Commerce,
Industries and Mines were present in the Sunday meeting of the Majlis
commission.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=916655&IdLanguage=3
1st light aircraft exhibit planned
First Exhibit of Light Aircraft will be held at Payam Airport in
Tehran on March 1-5. Secretary of the
exhibit Arman Bayat said Sunday that the event is to feature some 80
various types of light aircraft and helicopters. The event seeks to change
the infrastructure of aeronautics industry and raise public awareness in
the field, he said.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=916577&IdLanguage=3
Istanbul
to host trilateral, Afghan summits
This file photo shows Turkish President
Abdullah Gul (C) joining hands with his Pakistani and Afghan
counterparts Asif Ali Zardari (R) and
Hamid Karzai during their previous
trilateral meeting in Ankara, Apr. 1, 2009
.A trilateral meeting between the presidents of Turkey,
Afghanistan, and
Pakistan will be held in Istanbul, a day before the city hosts a
summit on Afghan security.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116973§ionid=351020204
Iran says Kouchner under Israeli
spell
Tehran on Friday moved to reject a French
accusation that it might try to fuel insecurity in
southern Lebanon because of an "internal
crisis."
http://www.presstv.ir/region.aspx?section=3510201
Russia
warns against new Iran sanctions
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign
minister, told a news conference in Moscow
on Friday that any punitive action against Iran
is counterproductive.
Russia
on Friday joined China in calling for more diplomacy on Iran, warning
against imposing fresh sanctions against the country's nuclear energy
section for delays over a fuel exchange deal.
"If
our logic is to punish Iran, or if we take up the posture of the offended
... this will not be a sober approach," Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.
He
called on Tehran to work constructively to alleviate concerns over its
nuclear activities but cautioned that any punitive actions against Iran
will be counterproductive.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116781§ionid=351020104
Former Canadian envoy to Iran was covert CIA agent
Canada's former ambassador to Tehran, Kenneth Taylor, actively spied for
the Central Intelligence Agency and helped
the US plan a military incursion into the country during the Islamic
Revolution, according to new reports.
An arrangement was set up by then-US
President Jimmy Carter and Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark,
whereby Taylor would provide US intelligence with information from his
position at the Canadian Embassy in Tehran.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116897§ionid=351020101
FM:Int'l community
should act responsibly toward Israeli war crimes
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Manouchehr Mottaki in a gathering of
foreign ambassadors and representatives in Tehran said international
community should act in a responsible way toward Israeli regime
war crimes.
Mottaki made the
remarks in a gathering on the occasion of January 19 which marks
'Resistance Day'.
Mottaki said, "How
can we forget the painful scenes of horrible massacre of innocent women,
children and elderly people? These events cannot be removed from human
memory."
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=907725&IdLanguage=3
US powered
Israel's war on Gaza
Iranian Parliament Speaker
Ali Larijani delivers a speech at the
international seminar on "Gaza, Symbol of Resistance", Iran's parliament
speaker says the US and its European allies provided
Israel with behind-the-scenes support
during its 22-day war on Gaza.
"Israel
carried out a very barbaric attack against the Gazans. It took none of the
international norms and regulations into account," said Ali Larijani,
while addressing the international "Gaza, Symbol of Resistance" seminar in
Tehran on Tuesday
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=116514§ionid=351020101
Mohsen Rezaei
discusses regional developments with
Turkish envoy
Secretary of Expediency
Council ( EC), Mohsen Rezaei discussed regional developments with Turkish
ambassador to Tehran here Tuesday.
According to the EC
Office report, Rezaei told his Turkish visitor that
Iran and Turkey can play an important role
in regional developments and resistance against Israel.
He appreciated
Turkey’s stances concerning regional issues, especially Iran.
Turkish Ambassador
to Tehran Salim Kara Othman Oglu called Iran and Turkey as a connecting
ring between Asia and Europe.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=907755&idLanguage=3
External elements
creating unrest on Pak-Iran border
A senior Pakistani
political leader of major
opposition party here on Tuesday said that
some external elements are trying to destabilize region by creating unrest
on Pakistan-Iran border. Secretary General
Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz Senator (R) Iqbal Zafar Jhagra however hoped
that such elements will not be able to succeed in accomplishing their evil
designs against the two strong Muslim states of the region. “There are
some elements that are against the peace and stability of the area”, he
viewed.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=906786&idLanguage=3
FM Spokesman:
Failure of 5+1 meeting only natural
Spokesman for the Iranian
Foreign Ministry Ramin Mihman-Parast said the failure of 5+1 meeting which
took place in New York was only natural.
He said the only
way for the 5+1 members was to officially acknowledge
Iran’s right to
peaceful nuclear technology.
The latest round of talks
among 5+1 member states which focused on introducing even more
sanctions against Iran closed with no
results Saturday night in New York while
participants failed to get to any agreement.
Mihman-Parast said
the 5+1 programs and talks over Iran’s nuclear program are doomed to
failure as long as they fail to adopt a realistic approach towards the
issue by endorsing Iran’s rights to peaceful nuclear technology.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=902037&IdLanguage=3
Japanese
ambassador calls for expansion of Iran ties
Japanese Ambassador to
Tehran Akio Shirota conferred
on Sunday with Majlis Speaker
Ali Larijani on ways to expand relations
and cooperation between the two countries .The Japanese ambassador voiced
Japan's willingness to bolster Iran ties and develop cooperation between
the two nations.Akio Shirota highlighted Iran's significant role to help
restore security and tranquility in the region.
He said that
Iran and Japan share many common grounds and that enhanced cultural
cooperation will help deepen such historical ties.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=903092&IdLanguage=3
Iran seeks $1b
worth cooperation work with Uzbekistan
Iran’s minister of
commerce said Sunday Tehran is willing to increase trade cooperation with
Tashkent by one billion dollars.Mehdi
Ghazanfari made the remark while addressing tenth meeting of
Iran-Uzbekistan economic commission that started today.
Ghazanfari said
both private and public sectors in the two countries should make serious
efforts to promote trade exchange.
About the meeting,
the Iranian minister said the two-day economic talks would pave ways for
promotion of industrial and trade relations. Holding joint economic
meetings would have great impact on fostering bilateral cooperation, he
noted. He also hoped the meeting would bring about agreements on transit
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=902318&IdLanguage=3
Sanctions have
no impact on national economy
Head Chamber of Commerce,
Industries and Mines Mohammad Nahavandian said on Sunday that imposing
sanctions on Iran have no impact on national economy.
Referring to a
meeting the G5+1 held in New York to discuss a fourth round of sanctions
on Iran, he said that the former three series of sanctions proved no
impact on national economy.
Previous
experience indicated that such policies are ineffective and Iran is going
ahead with economic development, he said.
He made it clear
that new series of sanctions on Iran will not bear any political results,
instead, it will backfire.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=903000&IdLanguage=3
Iranian, Iraqi border
sheriffs to meet on Monday
The Iranian ambassador to
Baghdad, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, announced on Sunday that Iranian and Iraqi
border sheriffs will meet to exchange information on border issues and
coordinate their activities.
The meeting is
scheduled to be held on Monday morning in
the border town of Qasr-e-Shirin, western
Iran.
The meeting has
been arranged after the recent agreement made by Iranian
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and
his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari to
expand border cooperation.
Border
guards from
11 border districts will attend the meeting.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1019020
Countries at
COMEX 2010 expo
10
The 12th
international exhibition on computer and
e-commerce (COMEX 2010) will open tomorrow with participants from 10
foreign countries.Some 170 domestic companies and foreign firms from the
United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Germany,
Japan, France, South Korea, Canada,
Singapore, Taiwan, and
China will be showcasing their latest
products and achievements.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1018988
Ahmadinejad
warns of 'enemies plots'
Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
has called on the Islamic world to exercise vigilance against what he
called "the enemies' plots
In a meeting with a group
of Sunni Muslims
on Saturday, Ahmadinejad said that the enemies were trying to sow
discord among Muslims. He also urged Muslims to unite in the face of such
plots.The Iranian president added that issues such as human rights and
terrorism were pretexts used by the West to dominate Muslim countries.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116342§ionid=351020101
Anti-Iran
meeting in New York ends with no result
Five permanent members of
the UN Security Council and
Germany after negotiating for around four
hours about Iran nuclear program ended their meeting without any
result.The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, started here at
12:00 hour local time on Saturday and
ended at 16:00 hour.
Advisor to the
Chinese ambassador to the UN, as Beijing representative in the meeting, as
well as representatives from Germany and Britain left the meeting without
talking to reporters
The US Under Secretary of
State Bill Burns just said that the negotiation was constructive and
successful.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=901113&IdLanguage=3
Sistan
and Baluchestan province signs MoU on economic cooperation with Tanzania
A Memorandum of
Understanding ( MoU) on economic cooperation was signed here
on Saturday evening between head of
commerce organization of Sistan and Baluchestan province and deputy
minister for fishery and animal husbandry of
Tanzania.
In the
signing ceremony, the provincial official
Iraj Hassanpour said that the MoU is related to dispatching and receiving
trade delegations, joint economic cooperation in the field of fishery,
cement production, and processing industry, especially in the field of
meat production.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=901108&IdLanguage=3
Iran-Turkey
Ministers of Culture underline expansion of cultural ties
Ankara, Jan
17, IRNA – Iran’s
Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyed Mohammad Hosseini and his
Turkey’s counterpart Ertugrul Gunay underlined expansion of cultural ties
between the two countries on Saturday.Hosseini, who is in Ankara to attend
the ceremony to declare Istanbul as the
Europe Cultural Capital in the year of
2010, expressed pleasure with this issue and called it as an opportunity
for introducing Turkey’s traditions and customs to European and world
countries. Referring to the old several thousand years of ties and
cultural commonalities, Hosseini said that
the two countries have affected each others reciprocally for centuries.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=901087&IdLanguage=3
The Economist:
Iran GDP to rise $21.6b this year
The Economist while
reiterating its former forecast reported an over $21.6 billion rise in
Iran’s Gross Domesticl Product (GDP) in the current year. According to
ISNA news agency, The Economist’s December
2009 report indicated that Iran’s GDP in the next five years would reach
two-fold. In its report The Economist said Iran’s GDP in 2010 will be
$414 billion which is $55 billion more than last year. The report also
predicted a $75.5 billion growth for the 2011 figure to $489.5 billion.
According to the report, the growing trend of GDP in Iran will continue so
that the figure is expected to hit $587.7 billion in 2012 and $697.4
billion in 2013.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1010759
Iran-Saudi
Arabia come to blows over Yemen
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
addressing the people of Ahvaz in southern
Iran.Saudi Arabia has denied being involved in a military offensive
against Houthi fighters in Northern Yemen after Iran's president slammed
the country over the issue.Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at Saudi
Arabia for its violent military offensive against the civilians in
northern Yemen.Saudi Arabia was expected to mediate in Yemen's internal
conflict as an older brother and restore peace to the Muslim states,
rather than launching military strike[s] and pounding bombs on Muslim
civilians in the north of Yemen," said Ahmadinejad while addressing the
people of Ahvaz on Wednesday.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=116192§ionid=351020101
Iran
threatens to cut cultural ties with Britain over
Cyrus Cylinder
Iran’s Cultural Heritage,
Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) director, who is also a vice
president, said on Thursday that Iran
would cut cultural ties with Britain if they cannot come to an agreement
with the British Museum concerning the Cyrus Cylinder loan".
We are currently
talking to them about the issue and if the discussions produce the outcome
that Britain doesn’t want to fulfill the previous agreement, undoubtedly,
we will cut cultural ties with Britain due to our previous ultimatum,”
Hamid Baqaii told .
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1017662
Iran-Turkey sign MoU on border cooperation
Iranian and
Turkish delegations, at the end of the second meeting of border provinces
here on Tuesday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on developing
and deepening border cooperation. The MoU has also considered possibility
of opening new border points and consultation on locating a common
industrial town in border area. In the signing ceremony, Iran’s Ambassador
to Turkey Bahman Hosseinpour, Governor of Van, officials from both
countries' Foreign Ministry and Interior Ministry, parliament deputies,
local and border officials were present. The MoU was signed by West
Azerbaijan province deputy governor and governor of Igdir.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=893893&IdLanguage=3
Iranian,
Omani FMs discuss issues of mutual interest
Foreign
Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in a meeting with his Omani counterpart here
on Tuesday discussed with him issues of mutual interest.
Mottaki said
that for expansion and consolidation of cooperation between Iran and Oman
'we should use new plans to take new steps'. Yusuf bin Alawi, by
expressing pleasure with traveling to Iran, stressed that constant
consultations between the two countries in the field of bilateral and
regional issues have always been useful.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=893847&IdLanguage=3
'Iran will
find assassins who killed nuclear scientist'
The Iranian
cabinet has condemned the assassination of a nuclear scientist in Tehran
and declared that the Islamic Republic is determined to arrest the
culprits behind the terrorist attack."In line with the president's decree,
intelligence and security bodies are using all their capabilities to
identify and arrest those behind the crime and to reveal their foreign
supporters to world public opinion," IRNA quoted the cabinet as saying in
a statement issued on Tuesday, referring to a decree issued by President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.An Iranian nuclear physicist was killed by a
remote-controlled bomb attack in the Iranian capital on Tuesday.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=116015§ionid=351020101
Analyst
stresses to resolve Iran’s nuclear issue peacefully
Pakistani
political and defence analyst Maj Gen. (Retd.) Jamshed Ayaz Khan on
Tuesday demanded of the international community to resolve Iran’s nuclear
issue through dialogue.Talking to IRNA he said that attack on Iran is not
possible and the US is just giving threats to put pressure on Iran. “War
is not the answer of any issue, dialogue is the only way to resolve
different issues”, he suggested. Jamshed Ayaz Khan viewed that US is not
in position to bare the burden of war. “US is trapped in Afghanistan and
Iraq. How can it afford to open another front in Iran?”, he said.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=893063&idLanguage=3
Iran,
Comoros ties brotherly, idealogical
President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a telephone conversation with President of Comoros
called bilateral ties 'brotherly and idealogical' and underlined deepening
and strengthening mutual relations.According to the Presidential Office
website on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad in his conversation with Comoros President
Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, by referring to the Comoros activities in
the direction of progress, expressed hope that the Comoros nation could
continue its way to progress and honor.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=893820&IdLanguage=3
Hezbollah
censures Der Spiegel's slander
Lebanon's
Hezbollah resistance movement has denounced reports published by the
German magazine Der Spiegel that claim that the Shia party is trafficking
cocaine as 'fabrications aimed at distorting its image ."The
party categorically denies the accusations of Der Spiegel magazine against
Hezbollah," the Hezbollah media relations department said in a
statement.Hezbollah was not surprised by Der Spiegel's cheap fabrications
because for some time the… magazine has persisted in publishing lies and
spreading fabricated rumors in an attempt to distort the group's
delightful image," the statement read.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=116014§ionid=351020203
Syria,
Iran call for regional cooperation
Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad has called for additional consultations among
regional states to devise ways to counter
the plots of foreign powers.
During a meeting
with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
in Damascus on Monday,
Assad said that any cooperation between
Iran and Syria could be “constructive” for efforts to resolve the problems
facing the region.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115925§ionid=351020101
'US wants to turn
Yemen into another
Afghanistan'
Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki says the US, Britain,
and Israel are implementing a plan to turn
Yemen into another Afghanistan. Addressing a group of students at
Imam Sadeq University in
Tehran on Monday, Mottaki said the three
countries want to make Yemen the fourth Muslim country to be attacked
after Iraq,
Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115930§ionid=351020101
Congressman seeking to
bar Iranians from US
A US congressman has
announced his plans to reintroduce the Stop Terrorists Entry Program
(STEP) Act into Congress, which calls for the deportation of most Iranians
without permanent resident status.The STEP Act, a bill that was originally
presented in 2003, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to bar
citizens of Iran, Cuba,
Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the
United States.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115931§ionid=351020101
Discuss Iran nuclear
issue in New York
The five permanent members
of the UN Security Council plus Germany
will meet later this week to discuss Iran's nuclear program. The six
countries, which are known as the P5+1 group, will meet in New York to
hold discussions on whether to impose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear
program. "The P5+1 will reconvene in New York at the end of this week, and
they will be exploring the kind and degree of sanctions that we should be
pursuing," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters on her way
to Hawaii on Monday.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115927§ionid=351020104
Mottaki to attend
trilateral foreign ministers meeting in
Islamabad
Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki will attend a trilateral foreign ministers meeting in
Islamabad next week on regional peace and
security also involving Iran and
Afghanistan, Foreign Ministry and
diplomatic sources told on Sunday.The
meeting will discuss the rebuilding of war-hit Afghanistan and regional
security issues, with special focus on moot on Afghanistan in London, they
said.The meeting is likely to discuss agenda for the next trilateral
summit.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=889056&IdLanguage=3
Iran's Mottaki heads to
Syria for talks
Iranian
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
The Iranian Foreign
Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, has left Tehran
for Damascus on an official day-long visit to hold meetings with senior
Syrian authorities .Mottaki plans to exchange views with Syrian officials
on strategic, political, economic and cultural ties between the two
countries.he sides will also discuss the latest regional and international
developments.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115862§ionid=351020101
Iran will enrich
uranium to 20% if West balks
The chairman of the
Iranian Parliament's National Security and
Foreign Policy Committee,
Alaeddin Boroujerdi says that Iran will
enrich uranium up to 20 percent purity to power the Tehran
Research Reactor should Western countries
refuse to supply the country with the required nuclear fuel.The Tehran
reactor produces medicine for 800,000 people. The parties engaged in
negotiations with Iran to supply the 20
percent [enriched] fuel are advised to stop the procrastination.
Otherwise, Iran will begin 20 percent enrichment,” .Alaeddin Boroujerdi
rejected the allegations made by Western media outlets and officials that
Tehran is ready to swap uranium in a third country, such as Turkey.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115851§ionid=351020104
Iran, Bahrain call for
expansion of parliamentary cooperation
Visiting Bahraini
Parliament Speaker Khalifa al-Dhahrani conferred on Sunday with Majlis
Speaker Ali Larijani on expansion of
mutual relations and cooperation.According to the Information and Press
Bureau of Majlis, at the meeting, the two sides were of the view that
expansion of mutual cooperation would help attain common goals.At the end
of the meeting, the two sides issued a joint statement on expansion of
mutual economic, commercial, security and parliamentary cooperation to
meet the two sides' interests.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=889109&IdLanguage=3
Dialogue only solution
to Iran nuclear issue, China says
The Chinese ambassador to
Iran, Xie Xiaoyan, says all the parties involved in the discussions on
Iran's nuclear program should settle their differences in a constructive
manner through continued negotiations and should refrain from taking any
actions that might further complicate the situation. "The parties involved
in the Iranian nuclear issue should recognize the value of the enormous
efforts already exerted, which must be saved from being made in vain. The
continuation of negotiations is the most appropriate and realistic
approach for the resolution of the issue. Only through negotiations can a
solution be found that is in line with the interests of all the parties,"
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115849§ionid=351020104
'US
responsible for insecurity, extremism in Mideast'
Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki says US policies are responsible for the alarming surge
of extremism, insecurity, and drug production and trafficking in the
Middle East. The defective US policies of
former US President George W. Bush are the
basis of insecurity in the Mideast. The US forces marched into
Afghanistan about eight years ago by means
of grandiose schemes to establish security, eradicate radicalism and
terrorism, and also combat drug production and smuggling," Mottaki told
visiting Bahraini Parliament Speaker Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Dhahrani in
Tehran on Saturday.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115771§ionid=351020101
Netanyahu vows no
flexibility in Shalit talks
Israel says
it will not show any flexibility in the prisoner swap talks with the
Palestinians as tensions between the two sides grow amid Israeli air raids
on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the proposal to exchange soldier
Gilad Shalit, captured by resistance
fighters in Gaza in 2006, for hundreds of
Palestinian prisoners is the last of its kind.he premier said Israel would
no longer negotiate on the details of the proposed swap sent to Hamas via
a German mediator.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115651§ionid=351020202
Canadian, American
Muslims offended by terror attacks
Terrorist acts have
offended the 10 million Muslims living in America and Canada, a group of
imams living there said in a statement.The
National Post reported that Syed Soharwardy, an imam at the Al-Madinah
Calgary Islamic
Centre, organized the effort to issue a fatwa. One imam from the
United States and 19 from Canada joined him.We want Muslims around the
world who would dare to commit terrorism on our soil to know that we stand
together with all Canadians and Americans," Soharwardy said. "We are
asking Muslims here not only to condemn terrorism but to also see these
events as attacks on themselves."
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115738§ionid=351020701
Iran
strike could destabilize Middle East -
Pentagon
A strike on Iran could be
"very, very destabilizing" and have unintended consequences for the Middle
East, the top U.S. military officer said on
Thursday, stressing that diplomacy was crucial
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/8/worldupdates/2010-01-08t033309z_01_nootr_rtrmdnc_0_india-452330-2&sec=worldupdates
Hamas-organized
protest against delay of aid convoy
spearheaded by UK lawmaker
Convoy delayed
in the Egyptian port city of Al-Arish after being refused entry at another
Egyptian port
Organizers
accused Egypt of making the convoy pass
through an Israeli-controlled checkpoint
Palestinians
angry at what some call Cairo's complicity in helping
Israel maintain
Gaza blockade
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/06/gaza.egypt.clashes/index.html
George Galloway
deported from Egypt
Respect MP has spent past
month travelling from London to deliver
aid and supplies to Gaza Strip .George
Galloway was today deported from Egypt after plainclothes police officers
refused him re-entry into the Gaza Strip and bundled him on to a plane for
London. The Respect MP Galloway, declared "persona non grata" by the
Egyptian foreign ministry, arrived back in the UK at around
1pm. He had spent the past month
travelling from London to deliver 198 truckloads of aid and supplies to
Gaza in a challenge to Israel's economic blockade of the territory. The
supplies made it through to Rafah, but when Galloway and Ron McKay, his
aide, arrived at the crossing from Gaza to Egypt, they were confronted by
police officers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
politics/2010/jan/08/george-galloway-deported-from-egypt
Wednesday,
January 06,
2010
China
says UNSC won't discuss sanctions on Iran
this month
Beijing, Jan
6, IRNA – Chinese media quoting China
permanent representative to the UN said that the
Security Council will not discuss new
sanctions against Iran in January.China envoy in the United Nations
Zhang Yesui, whose country is the rotating chairman of the UN Security
Council in the month of January, has underlined diplomatic efforts to
solve Iran's nuclear issue.Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Jiang Yu underscored here
on Tuesday continuationo of dialogue and
diplomatic efforts to solve Iran's nuclear issue and said that there are
still ground for diplomatic solutions.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=880586&IdLanguage=3
Israeli air strike on
Gaza kills two, injures three
At least two Palestinian
resistance fighter have been killed and three others critically injured in
an Israeli airstrike on southern Gaza.Israeli warplanes struck the
Gaza Strip late on Tuesday near the
southern city of Khan Yunis, Reuters
reported.The Popular Resistance Committees
said its members had been targeted by the attack.The fatality appears to
be the first in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict this year, and the first
since Israel killed six Palestinians in
separate incidents in the West Bank and Gaza in late December.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115431§ionid=351020202
UK attorney general
visiting Israel over war crimes arrests
Britain's Attorney-General
Baroness Scotland is currently on a private visit to Israel but is also
due to discuss ways to stop Israeli leaders being arrested for alleged war
crimes while visiting the UK.
According to BICOM, the
pro-Israel media lobby in Britain,
Scotland will be holding talks with senior
justice officials on “changing the UK law to prevent the process of
issuing arrest charges against Israeli army
officials and politicians for war crimes.Her visit comes after a
diplomatic dispute erupted between Britain and Israel following the
issuing of a war crimes arrest warrant former
foreign minister Tzipi Livni that led her to cancel a visit to the
UK last month.The warrant led Foreign Secretary David Miliband to
apologise to his Israeli counterpart Avigdor
Lieberman and publicly declare that his government would review the
application of universal jurisdiction under which the warrant was issued.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=880350&idLanguage=3
Iraq
pursuing compensation for Israel nuke attack
Iraqi officials are
reportedly considering ways to force Israel to pay reparations for
launching air strikes on the country's nuclear
reactor near Baghdad.
"Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki
is looking into plans that would compel Tel Aviv to pay billions of
dollars in compensations for its 1981 attack on the Tammuz nuclear
reactor," an unnamed Iraqi parliament member told
Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) on Tuesday.He also noted, "Al-Maliki's
appeal follows an answer received from the UN Secretariat by the
government of Iraq on November 25, which says Iraq has a right to demand
compensation for the damage Israel did to it with the attack on the
reactor, through a neutral committee, which will assess the extent of the
damage."
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115454§ionid=351020201
US plan in
Afghanistan like 'fortune telling'
A top US
military intelligence officer says the
quality of the intelligence used by US-led forces in Afghanistan is
deplorable, citing the recent killing of seven CIA agents.Major General
Michael Flynn, the top
NATO and US
military intelligence chief in Afghanistan, said the roughly
113,000 foreign forces in the country are “so starved” of accurate
intelligence that “many say their jobs feel more like fortune telling,”
AFP reported on Tuesday.Flynn said radical changes are needed in
Afghanistan to help an intelligence-gathering operation which “still finds
itself unable to answer fundamental questions about the environment in
which we operate."The Taliban has
allegedly claimed responsibility for the blast that killed the seven CIA
operatives AND boasted about the incident.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115452§ionid=351020403
Tuesday,
January 05,
2010
Iran
president leaves Dushanbe for Ashkhabad
Iran’s
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wound up his
two-day visit to Tajikistan and left the
country for Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan, Tuesday
morning.Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, the
Iranian president arrived in Dushanbe
Monday morning on the first leg of his
two-nation Central Asian tour.President Ahmadinejad was seen off by his
Tajik counterpart Imomali Rakhmon.Iran and
Tajikistan inked three letters of understanding, two documents and one
joint statement on bilateral cooperation on
Monday. Two out of the three letters of understanding were related
to Tehran-Dushanbe cooperation in the field of constructing a dam and a
power plant as well as a tunnel in Tajikistan. The third letter was signed
on extradition of criminals between the two capitals.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=878677&IdLanguage=3
Majlis
backs administration’s ultimatum to the West
Majlis Deputy Speaker
Mohammad Hassan Abu Torabi has said that the Majlis supports the
administration’s in setting a deadline for the West to provide Iran with
the 20 percent enriched uranium.
“The message of the
Iranian Majlis to the West and the International
Atomic Energy Agency is that they should be serious in providing
the nuclear fuel for the Tehran medical
reactor,” he told the Mehr News Agency on
Monday.Abu Torabi added that the nation is determined to get the 20
percent enriched uranium.He also pointed out that if the West refrain from
providing the 20 percent enriched uranium, Iran will begin to enrich
uranium to the required level.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1011456
P.A. urges
Israel to drop controversial prisoners law
The Palestinian Authority
(PA) has urged Israel to cancel a controversial law that it uses to hold
prisoners without a trial.Israel also uses the law to keep prisoners in
jail after their terms are over.The PA "has raised this issue before
international circles and human rights groups
and resorted to the Israeli courts to drop the law, but the efforts were
fruitless,", Palestinian Minister of Prisoners Affairs Eissa Qaraqe told
Xinhua on Saturday.This law "violates the
Palestinian prisoners' rights and their
human values," he addedIsrael has ratified the "illegal warrior law" in
2002 and applied it to Palestinians held in its prisons."Those
prisoners are deprived of getting any aid from rights organizations and
their families are not allowed to visit them," he said.Abdul Nasser
Ferwana, a Palestinian prisoner rights activist
says Israel had arrested about 1,000 Palestinians during its offensive
against the Gaza Strip last year.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115234§ionid=351020202
Viva Palestina arrives
in Egypt to enter
Gaza
Viva Palestina
humanitarian aid convoy has arrived in the
Egyptian port city of El-Arish to pass thought the
Rafah border crossing into the Gaza
Strip.A Turkish ship, which carries the convoy from the Syrian port of
Lattakia to Egypt, arrived in El-Arish on Sunday
evening, said Gamal Abdel Maqsoud, head of El-Arish port.The ship
carrying the 250-vehicle convoy will be unloaded at the port and be
transferred to the Gaza Strip via Rafah crossing,
according to Egypt's official MENA news agencyAccording to the report, 528
activists from 17 countries who are onboard the convoy will also travel to
Gaza.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115350§ionid=351020202
President Ahmadinejad
arrives in Tajikistan
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
of Iran arrived here
Monday morning on the first leg of his
Central Asian tour.The president was welcomed at the airport by
Tajik Prime Minister
Oqil Oqilov as well as the country’s
Foreign Minister, Hamrokhon Zarifi, and a
number of Tajik officials.He was later officially welcomed by his Tajik
counterpart Emomali Rahmon. Immediately after the welcoming ceremony, the
two presidents started their private talks. Later
in the day, they are to sign a joint statementA number of agreements are
expected to be signed during the talks of the Iranian and Tajik officials
for bilateral cooperation in the fields of judicial, consular, mining,
tourism and dam construction activities.
President Ahmadinejad is
due to hold separate talks with Tajikistan’s Supreme Assembly Speaker
Mahmadsaid Ubaydulloyev and the mayor of the Tajik capital.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=876323&IdLanguage=3
Turkey renews call for
ending Gaza blockade
Palestinian
Ambassador to
Ankara Nabil Maarouf (R) speaks to reporters
on Monday during a visit by Turkish FM
Ahmet Davutoglu to the Palestinian Embassy.Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu has reiterated Ankara's call for an urgent halt to the crippling
Israeli blockade on the coastal sliver of Gaza.In a meeting with
Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey Nabil Maarouf in Ankara on Monday,
Davutoglu made a reference to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the
Gaza Strip and pledged Turkey will
maintain its humanitarian support to the besieged enclave,
Today's Zaman daily reported.The Turkish
foreign minister went on to note that the enduring tragedy in
Gaza is the obstacle in the way of
reconciliation among rival Palestinian groups as well as to the
improvement of peace processes in the
Middle East.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=114875§ionid=351020204
Karzai raps
civilian casualties in US operations
Afghan President Hamid Karzai
has condemned US-led forces for unpopular tactics which result in civilian
deaths, amid public anger across the country.
“We
strongly request foreign forces in Afghanistan
to stop irregular house searches and operations that are not coordinated
(with Afghan forces), especially airstrikes,” Karzai said
on Sunday during his surprise visit to the
southern Helmand province. Two deadly NATO
operations within less than a week have put Karzai and the Afghans at odds
with foreign troops.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115228§ionid=351020403
Syria
asks Christians to remember Gaza kids on Christmas eve
Palestinian children in
Gaza protest Israel's crippling siege on the Gaza Strip, April 2008. The
impoverished Palestinian sliver has been under a complete Israeli siege
for more than two years.
The announced the position
of Syria is that this war is a criminal war against people, and
….civilians, women and children. And the only thing we were able to do at
the popular level is to try and collect money and volunteer and donate
medicine and hospital beds, but unfortunately reaching the wounded in Gaza
was not easy at all. It was something very difficult and it was very
difficult for us to see people who are dying because we cannot bring
medicine to them, people, wounded, who bleed to death.
Israel not only perpetrated a criminal war
against Gaza but closed all crossing to the people who were so badly
affected by this war. We were all the time trying to do something to take
the wounded out, especially women and children. But unfortunately things
were extremely difficult.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=114570
Ahmadinejad wishes for
global justice in '10
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
has expressed hope that justice and peace will be established across the
world in the New Year 2010.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115203§ionid=351020101
Iran
waiting to reach agreement on Tehran Reactor fuel: Spokesman
Foreign Ministry Spokesman
said Iran is waiting to reach an agreement on
Tehran Research Reactor fuel with related sides.
http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=874254&idLanguage=3
Mottaki Blames
Britain for Supporting Rioters in Iran
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
blasted London's support for the rioters who staged wild demonstrations
and disrespected Islamic sanctities in the Iranian capital last Sunday.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8810121548
Foreign banks awaiting
Iran's green light
A senior Iranian official
says five foreign banks are awaiting approval of a law in the Majlis (Parliament)
to open branches in Iran.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115155§ionid=351020102
Indian consortium to
invest in Iran gas field
An Indian
Consortium led by
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is to finalize a
deal to invest in the development of an Iranian gas field, an Iranian
official says.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115227§ionid=351020103
Iran holds major
military defense drill next month
Iran plans to launch a
large-scale military exercise next month
to prepare its military forces to be able to repel any possible offensive
by the country's enemies, a top commander says.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115231§ionid=351020101
Peace activists
hold demo for Gaza
Over 1,000 Israeli, Arab,
and foreign activists have held a peace rally in Tel Aviv, calling for
"liberty and justice for Gaza" and the lifting of the Israeli-imposed
blockade on the Gaza Strip.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115213§ionid=351020202
Iraq
'regrets' US court ruling on Blackwater
The Iraqi government
on Friday expressed "regret" about a US
court decision to dismiss all charges against Blackwater guards who killed
17 Iraqi civilians in 2007.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115119§ionid=351020201
Karzai raps
civilian casualties in US operations
Afghan President Hamid Karzai
has condemned US-led forces for unpopular tactics which result in civilian
deaths, amid public anger across the country.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115228§ionid=351020403
US led strikes on
Al-Qaeda in Yemen,
report says
The United States, with
the full support of the Yemeni government, led the recent ground and air
strikes on suspected Al-Qaeda positions killing more than 60 militants, a
television report says.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115224§ionid=351020206
Threats and sanctions
have lost their efficiency: Mottaki
Foreign Minister
Manoucher Mottaki has stated that the era of threats and sanctions against
nations has elapsed, saying threatening Iran
with such tactics have proven futile. The U.S. defense secretary and the
British prime minister have called for an
intensification of sanctions against Iran
for its nuclear program. Mottaki said such statements are a legacy of the
Bush administration.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=999810
Iran plans to provide
Afghans with gasoline
Iran plans to set up a
gas station in its border with
Afghanistan to provide Afghans with
gasoline, an Iranian official says.Ali-Mohammad Azad, the governor general
of Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan Province, says the move is aimed at tackling
the problem of fuel smuggling into Afghanistan. Preparing the ground for
delivering fuel in the joint border in a legal way would ward off many
problems, he said. Azad noted that gasoline will be sold to Afghans in
"free prices" in Gorgori border region near Hirmand town.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115160§ionid=351020103
Israeli forces attack
Gaza Strip
Israeli warplanes
and tanks have carried out attacks across the Gaza Strip, damaging
residential areas and leaving four Palestinians
wounded.
The airstrikes which
targeted residential areas in northern and central Gaza Strip, caused
panic among children in the region, a Press TV correspondent reported
on Friday.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115141§ionid=351020202
7,500 Palestinians kept
in Israeli prisons
More than 7,500
Palestinians are being held in Israeli prisons, a report by the
Palestinian Authority's ministry of prisoners' affairs has said.
The ministry published the
number of the Palestinian detainees at the end of 2009.
According to the ministry,
the Palestinian detainees include 310 children.
The ministry further added
that over 300 others have also been jailed without trial.
Several Palestinian
parliamentarians and political leaders,
mostly from the Hamas Movement, are among the prisoners.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115153§ionid=351020202
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