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Prayer Time
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Dawn: 5:18
Sunrise: 6:47
Noon:13:02
Evening: 19:35
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Weather Guide
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SUN |
MON |
Tehran: |
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High: |
33oC |
31oC |
Low: |
23oC |
22oC |
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Athens |
17 |
18 |
Ankara |
0 |
1 |
Paris |
12 |
12 |
New Delhi |
25 |
25 |
Rome |
16 |
17 |
Riyadh |
25 |
24 |
Frankfurt |
11 |
9 |
Cairo |
20 |
21 |
Kuwait City |
25 |
21 |
Karachi |
24 |
24 |
Copenhagen |
11 |
12 |
London |
10 |
11 |
Moscow |
9 |
9 |
Madrid |
12 |
11 |
Vienna |
11 |
10 |
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Identification
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Published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Address:
Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #212 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran/Iran
Managing Director: Mohammad T. Roghaniha
Executive Editor: Amin Sabooni
Editorial Dept. Tel: 8755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 8761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 8753119, 8757702, 8733764
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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US Seeking Trigger Mechanism For Iran
IAEA Wants
To Visit Key Defense Site
VIENNA, Austria, Sept. 11--The United States now realizes that it does not have the majority it needs at the UN nuclear watchdog to bring Iran before the UN Security Council over Tehran's alleged atomic weapons program, a US official told AFP.
"We recognize we are not going to get majority support for a non-compliance finding (to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) in September" at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 35-nation Board of Governors meeting in Vienna that begins Monday, a US State Department official told AFP by phone from Washington.
The official said US Undersecretary of State for arms control and international security, John Bolton, was now talking in Geneva with European diplomats "about a trigger mechanism" to effectively set a deadline for Iran ahead of the following IAEA board meeting in November.
The trigger could be "to require that Iran suspend immediately and fully all uranium enrichment-related work" or "for Iran to grant complete, immediate, unrestricted access to whatever locations the IAEA deems necessary" or for Iran to provide by a certain date, such as October 31, "full information on all imported materials and components relevant to the P1 and P2 centrifuge program", the official said.
Europe's three main countries--Britain, France and Germany--are against taking Iran to the Security Council as they stress cooperation with Tehran to get it to come clean about its program.
Meanwhile, the UN atomic agency has asked to visit one of Iran's main military sites, Parchin near Tehran, but the Iranians have not agreed to the visit, diplomats said Friday, as an Iranian resistance group said Tehran planned to build a nuclear bomb by next year.
The visit would be part of the Vienna-based IAEA's investigation of Iran's nuclear program on US charges that Tehran is secretly developing nuclear weapons.
Parchin, 30 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of Tehran, is a site for a variety of defense projects, including Defense Industries Organization's work on chemical explosives, but the IAEA is wondering if Tehran is possibly doing nuclear weapons work there.
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"War on Terror" Counterproductive
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 11--The US-led "war on terror" will fail unless its rhetoric is complemented by attempts to clear up "cultural misunderstandings", participants in a Stockholm conference on terrorism warned Saturday.
"What has been a 'war on terrorism' is counterproductive," and has created resentment against the United States' government in many places in the world, Assia Alaoui Bensalah, co-Chair of the European Commission's High-Level Advisory Group on Dialogue Between Peoples and Cultures told the conference, organized three years after the September 11 attacks in the United States.
"Addressing the cultural misunderstandings is the base...Otherwise the war against terrorism will not succeed," she said, calling for a recognition of "root factors, aggravating factors and opportunism".
It was wrong to associate "all the Islamic world with a few extremist violent people", the Moroccan political scientist said, adding that there was a "long list of grievances across the world, not only in the Islamic world".
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja told the conference that European governments tried to avoid the "war on terrorism" label, "because it elevates the status of your opponent".
"Terrorism is a criminal act, and these people should be treated as criminals and brought to justice," he said.
Tuomioja said any policy of "eliminating terrorists" rather than bringing them to justice was actually helping extremist organizations to find new recruits, "so we are losing".
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Powerful Afghan Governor Dismissed
Ismail Khan
KABUL, Afghanistan,
Sept. 11--Powerful regional Afghan commander Ismail Khan was effectively dismissed as governor of Herat city on Saturday and declined a promotion to the cabinet of President Hamid Karzai.
The move is seen as sidelining a powerful regional rival to Karzai who is contesting the presidential elections next month, Reuters reported.
Karzai said Khan had been 'promoted' to Minister of Mines and Industry, despite the veteran mujahideen leader having declined similar offers in the past, and he named a replacement governor.
Residents of Herat said that since Friday, 400 newly trained Afghan policemen and several hundred US-led troops had been stationed at key positions in the city--including the airport--and had been peacefully disarming Khan's forces.
A Western diplomat said 1,000 national army troops would be in positions in the city by the evening.
While accepting his dismissal, Khan declined to take up the ministry position being offered--a move that would have forced him to Kabul from his western stronghold.
"I am an employee of the government and consider accepting government orders as my duty," Khan told Reuters.
"But as I am a military person, I do not see in my capacity the position (of mining minister) and so I do not accept. I apologize to the head of government and want to stay in my home."
The silver-bearded Khan, who earned the nickname "Lion of Herat" for his struggle against Soviet occupation in the 1980s, has resisted pressure to disarm his forces, saying it would destabilize a strategic region bordering Iran and Turkmenistan.
Khan's relations with Kabul soured in March when his eldest son, civil aviation minister Mirwais Sadiq, was killed in a clash with government troops.
Prosperous Herat was considered Afghanistan's most stable province until recently, when Khan surprisingly lost control of several key military positions to old rival Amanullah Khan.
"This is a good decision. It was our demand and that of the people of Herat," Amanullah told the Afghan Islamic Press. "Had this decision been taken two years ago, a lot of blood would not have spilled."
Ismail Khan is an ethnic Tajik, while Karzai and Amanullah Khan are both Pashtuns, Afghanistan's traditional rulers.
Khan's replacement will be Sayed Mohammad Khairkhwa, currently Afghanistan's ambassador to Ukraine.
Karzai is facing 17 rivals in what will be the country's first direct presidential elections on Oct 9.
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Killers Make Shocking Confessions
22 Children, 4 Adults Murdered
TEHRAN, Sept. 11--Two criminals confessed to killing 22 children (between the ages 8 and 11), three men and a streetwalker, the Persian daily Iran reported Saturday.
The killers, who worked at a brick factory in southern Tehran and had two Afghan associates, have been arrested two years after the first disappearance of a child was reported in Pakdasht's Khatoonabad and Qiamdasht (both in suburban Tehran).
Two children, who are still hospitalized, revealed the terrifying crimes of both men.
On August 31, 2004, when three boys left home in Qiamdasht for playing football and did not return, their parents reported disappearance of Milad Amnpour, Keyvan Khosravi and Ahmad Azimi to the local police station.
Renewed police investigations began shortly. The police came across a clue pertaining a group of criminals.
A 13-year-old boy in Pakdasht (near Varamin), who had narrowly escaped from a murderer's hands, survived after he was rushed to hospital. He told police that he was working in a cornfield when a young man forced him to accompany him.
"After I resisted, the man started to beat me and left after he thought I was dead," the boy said.
After a resident of Pakdasht and Qiamdasht informed the police that he saw a young man wandering suspiciously around a group of boys, the man was arrested. In the course of police interrogations, he and his accomplices confessed to the killings.
The killings by these two men are the most terrifying crimes reported in Iran.
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Occupiers Are Real "Axis of Evil"
Khatami in Tajikistan
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, Sept. 11--President Mohammad Khatami arrived here in the Tajik capital Saturday on the last leg of his three-nation tour of Armenia, Belarus and Tajikistan.
Officially welcomed on arrival by his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmonov, Khatami is due to hold talks with top Tajik officials on ways of bolstering Tehran-Dushanbe ties. He is also scheduled to meet the head of the Tajik National Parliament, intellectuals and Iranians expatriates.
During his four-day visit, Khatami will inspect Sangtudeh power plant and Anzab Tunnel.
Khatami will also address the 8th Summit Meeting of Economic Cooperation Organization.
The president's week-long tour is taking place at the official invitations of presidents Robert Kocharian of Armenia, Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus and Emomali Rakhmonov of Tajikistan.
Earlier on Friday, at a meeting with Chairman of the House of Representatives of Belarus National Assembly Vadim Popov, President Khatami said countries that prevent others from living in peace in their homelands and which flagrantly support or commit terrorist acts are the real "axis of evil".
Khatami, who arrived in Belarus on Thursday, referred to Tehran-Minsk cooperation to fight terrorism in different forms worldwide. He maintained that injustice and discrimination were some of the reasons encouraging others to commit terrorism.
The president further noted that Tehran and Minsk share common grievances and oppose any form of occupation, war, factional fighting or disagreements which encourage more acts of evil throughout the world.
Popov, for his part, said the visit of President Khatami to Belarus constituted a "turning point" for bilateral relations. He added that the new documents for mutual cooperation signed by the two sides during his visit would enhance bilateral political and economic cooperation in the future.
Comparing Minsk with Tehran, the Belarussian chairman said the two "oppose unilateralism and believe that countries which destructively label others as being part of an "axis of evil" are out to impose their own interests on these countries".
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IDB Experts Meeting in Tehran
By Sadeq Dehghan
TEHRAN, Sept. 11--The experts meeting of the 29th Conference of Islamic Development Bank opened in Tehran on Saturday with the inaugural speech by Economy Minister Safdar Hoseini.
Hoseini spoke about the activities of the International Endowment Foundation and noted that Muslim countries are able to adopt unified endowment-related policies.
Secretary of the conference, Mohammad Khazaei, told Iran Daily: "The presence of over 50 Muslim economy ministers and over 500 economic experts from all over the world in our country will convey a great message to the world about Iran's political and economic stability."
He noted that the conference will create an atmosphere wherein the economic officials of Muslim states would find the opportunity to become more familiar with the country's investment opportunities.
Asked about the type of facilities offered by Islamic Development Bank to its members, he said, "Every year the bank lends $4 billion to over 50 member-states as credit and Iran's share of this figure is $400 million. Iran is the bank's fourth largest shareholder after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Libya."
Khazaei noted that Iran has so far received $1.2 billion from the bank for implementing 160 development projects.
"With regard to the bank's facilities available to the private sector, it must be noted that the bank mainly focuses on development in the agro and irrigation network sectors, the construction of a combined cycle power plant and the health sector," he said.
The official also noted that local private banks can receive facilities from Islamic Development Bank in relation to their imports, exports and investment ventures.
Khazaei said the presence of foreign economic officials in the Tehran conference would help improve Iran's ties with other countries.
The annual conference, which convenes on Sept. 14, will be attended by economy ministers of 54 Muslim states as well as heads of banks and representatives of international economic institutions. It will mainly discuss socioeconomic progress and development in Muslim countries.
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First Saudi Election Set for Feb. 10
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 11--The first round of landmark municipal elections in Saudi Arabia will not take place before February 10, 2005, according to a timetable released Saturday by the ministry of municipal and rural affairs.
The first nationwide polls to elect half the members of 178 municipal councils had been expected to start in November and to be held in three stages into early 2005, according to an earlier announcement, AFP reported.
The new timetable shows, however, that only the registration of voters in Riyadh will take place in November while polling day will be February 10.
"The registration of voters (in the Riyadh region) will start on November 23. Candidates can register between December 26 and 30," said a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
"Voting (in Riyadh) will be on Thursday, February 10," the statement added.
The voting in the second round of local elections, which covers the eastern and southwestern regions, will occur on March 3, while electors in the western regions of Mecca and Medina, as well as northern regions will not be casting their vote before April 21.
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Beating Around the Bush
By Nawab Khan, Brussels
Swords have been unsheathed for another time as the International Atomic Energy Agency meets on Monday to discuss its latest report on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
Whenever the governing body of the Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog assembles to discuss Iran, the monotonous howling from Washington and Brussels gets louder.
The Americans are bent to hauling Iran before the UN Security Council in order to impose sanctions on the Islamic state on mere allegations that Tehran has a secret nuclear weapons program.
The EU continues to issue one declaration after the other calling on Iran to be "transparent and cooperate fully" with the IAEA.
Repeated assurances by Iran that its nuclear program is meant for peaceful purposes seems to be falling on deaf ears both in Washington and Brussels..
Hardliners in the White House and their European supporters caught in the quagmire in Iraq are desperately trying to find a scapegoat to distract world attention from the deepening crises in the Arab country.
In the meantime, Dr. Mohammad Elbaradei's reports on Iran are sending mixed "positive-negative" messages to all sides. These are apparently aimed at not offending the West and at the same time keep the Islamic Republic hooked to the bait.
After months of difficult negotiations, Iran in October agreed to sign the Additional Protocol to the NPT and suspend nuclear enrichment following a diplomatic initiative by the EU's big three, France, Germany and the UK, in exchange for access to advanced nuclear technology for civil use.
But as it turned out, the trio's commitments to Iran were full of holes.
In retrospect, was it really wise to engage the three European powers whose role in international relations historically is known to be unfair and dishonest?
Remember Palestine, Algeria, colonies in Africa and Asia? Besides, how on earth can
one expect Britain, the US' closest ally in Europe, to play an impartial role in the whole gambit?
Wouldn't it be better to work with the offices of the widely respected EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana who speaks on behalf of all the 25 members of the Union?
More responsible behavior and a fairer deal in foreign affairs is expected from 25 countries than just from three.
The right to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful use is enshrined in the IAEA charter. Iran will never give up this right, nor will it be intimidated by threats of sanctions or international isolation. Those who aim high, have to learn to walk alone when necessary.
Informed people in the developing world know well that the West generally resents the scientific and technological advancement of the so-called Third World.
India's president and father of that country's missile program, A.P. Zainulabadeen Abdul Kalam in his book "India 2020, a vision for the new millennium," writes:
"It is not just that the Indian nuclear tests are resented. If tomorrow Indian software export achieves a sizeable share in the global market, we should expect different types of reactions.
Similarly, if India becomes a large enough exporter of wheat or rice or agro-food products...various new issues would be raised couched in scientific and technical terms."
The curtain to the next scenery of the IAEA-Iran drama will be raised in November when the nuclear watchdog is expected to issue its next report on Iran.
It is in the same month that US presidential elections will be held while a new European Commission takes charge in Brussels. Is this a good or bad omen?
November will tell.
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