TEHRAN, Oct. 6--Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Wednesday expressed regret over the civilian casualties in Iraq and Palestine.
Speaking at the Police Academy's graduation ceremony, the leader referred to the massacre of children, women and innocent people in the name of fighting terrorism (a reference to the past five consecutive days of Israeli assaults on Gaza).
"Such massacres will not eradicate terrorism, but on the contrary will strengthen popular resistance and prompt a violent backlash in the region and the entire world," he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei also said that as long as the international community remains silent over continuing crimes in Iraq and Palestine, there will no support for human rights and no action can represent the war on terrorism.
Felicitating the Islamic Republic of Iran Police on the occasion of 'Police Week', the leader said restoring law and order is the main task of the police and the lawbreakers and criminals must be strongly dealt with. He advised police officers to respect people in their everyday interactions with them.
Ayatollah Khamenei appreciated the progress made by IRIP and said there should be scientific planning, strong administration and relentless efforts to get better results in the drive to reinforce law and order. He said the IRIP should help meet people's expectations.
"The people expect the police to carry out its task strongly, vigilantly, honestly and promptly with a sense of understanding," he said.
Prior to the leader's remarks, IRIP Commander Brigadier-General Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf presented a report on police programs and achievements.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6--The US government's most definitive account of Iraq's arms programs, which was released yesterday, will show that Saddam Hussein posed a diminishing threat at the time the United States invaded and did not possess, or have concrete plans to develop nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, US officials said.
The officials said the 1,000-page report by Charles A. Duelfer, the chief US weapons inspector in Iraq, concluded that Hussein had the desire but not the means to produce unconventional weapons that could threaten his neighbors or the West. President Bush has continued to assert in his campaign stump speech that Iraq had posed "a gathering threat".
The officials said Duelfer, an experienced former United Nations weapons inspector, found that the state of Hussein's weapons-development programs and knowledge base was less advanced in 2003, when the war began, than it was in 1998, when international inspectors left Iraq.
"They have not found anything yet," said one US official who had been briefed on the report.
A senior US government official said that the report includes comments Hussein made to debriefers after his capture that bolster administration assertions, including his statement that his past possession of weapons of mass destruction "was one of the reasons he had survived so long". He also maintained such weapons saved his government by halting Iranian ground offensives during the Iran-Iraq war and deterred coalition forces from pressing on to Baghdad during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the official said.
The official also said that Duelfer's Iraq Survey Group had uncovered Iraqi plans for ballistic missiles with ranges from 400 to 1,000 kilometers and for a 1,000-kilometer-range cruise missile, farther than the 150-kilometer range permitted by the United Nations, the senior official said.
Rep. Jane Harman, vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said she had not read Duelfer's report but has been told that it thoroughly undercuts the administration's assertions that Iraq posed a serious threat.
"Intentions do not constitute a growing danger," Harman said. "It's hardly mushroom clouds, hardly stockpiles," she added, a reference to administration rhetoric used in the run-up to the war.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government and a radical Shiite militia said Wednesday they had reached no deal to end clashes in Baghdad's Sadr City slums.
Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said his government had responded positively to what he said was a request from people in Sadr City for a truce with the militia led by fiery cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr, but said no agreement had been reached.
"There is no ceasefire," he told reporters. Allawi said Sadr's fighters must hand over their weapons, dismantle any arms caches they have and allow police to return to the streets. They could then benefit from an amnesty. We are not negotiating, we are not signing anything," he said, but added he was confident a result could be achieved.
Sadr's chief spokesman Abdel-Hadi Al-Daraji told Reuters earlier talks were going on, but some of the cleric's conditions had not been met. "There's no deal yet," he said.

TEHRAN, Oct. 6--Iran's missile capability increased remarkably after the victory of the Islamic Revolution (1979), an Iranian official said Wednesday.
Deputy Defense Minister for Aerospace Affairs Nasser Maleki also told IRNA that the country is capable of producing tens of surface-to-surface, naval and aerial missiles, while it could not before 1979.
"In the arena of naval defense, we have produced missiles named Ra'd, Kosar and Nour. We can also refer to Shahab, Zelzal, Fateh and Toufan missiles," he said.
Maleki gave word of production of Fateh-110 missiles and said the ministry has been active in the production of cruise missiles.
"Our main objective in the missile industry is to pursue innovation and utilize the services of our experts. We also intend to keep pace with modern technological advances and the latest developments in the domain of management," he said.
Noting that the first Iranian satellite will be launched next year (to start March 21, 2005), the deputy defense minister said, "This small satellite will be moving at a low altitude of 100 km to 600 km. It has been built to prove the capabilities of the Islamic system. Currently, less than 10 countries are capable of launching such a satellite system and Iran can show its capability to launch this system to the world."

MUSCAT, Oman,
Oct. 6--President Mohammad Khatami arrived in the Omani capital city of Muscat Wednesday on the last leg of his three-nation tour that took him to Algeria and Sudan.
Talking to reporters at Khartoum airport before leaving for Oman, President Khatami said remaining Iranian issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency are getting solved. He added that Iran is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and has accepted the addition protocol voluntarily and cooperated with IAEA inspectors as well.
"We will not move toward possessing nuclear weapons. The issue is not in accordance with our rules. Moreover, security cannot be safeguarded by nuclear weapons," he said.
Stressing that all NPT signatories have the right to use peaceful nuclear technology, Khatami said, "We will carry out our program to generate electricity and provide fuels for our nuclear power plant. If there is any problem, it pertains to the agency and other states."
In Muscat, President Khatami was officially welcomed by Oman's Sultan Qaboos.
Iran-Oman ties are at a satisfactory level, despite several crises in the Persian Gulf region.
President Khatami's visit to Oman, taking place at the invitation of Omani Sultan Qaboos, will prepare the grounds for further bolstering bilateral relations.
The president is scheduled to discuss regional and international developments as well as ways of reinvigorating bilateral cooperation with senior Omani officials. He is also expected to meet with a number of Omani Muslim and Christian leaders.
Annual trade exchanges between Iran and Oman recently reached $220 million.

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 6--Top Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostam warned Wednesday that the government will not be legitimate unless he wins Saturday's presidential election.
Bringing his campaign to Kabul, northern strongman Dostam stopped short of saying he would not accept the result of the vote, AFP reported.
But he presented himself as the true representative of the people through years of war.
"Firstly I tell you that we will win. If not, the future government without us would have no legitimacy," Dostam told a crowd of fewer than 1,000 people, mainly from his minority Uzbek ethnic group.
The whisky-drinking warlord arrived in a black Mercedes at the Kabul football stadium, notorious for public executions under the Taliban, then mounted a horse after delivering his speech.
The horse is the symbol of Dostam's campaign. But after receiving the adulation of the crowd as the horse reared, the flamboyant politician dismounted and left by car.
"I have not come from abroad--Germany or Europe--I have been raised from amongst the people, I belong to the people," he said.
This was a dig at the frontrunner, incumbent President Hamid Karzai, who spent many years abroad while Afghanistan was racked by conflict over the past two decades.
Dostam, 50, changed sides frequently over Afghanistan's years of conflict. At first he fought for the Russians who invaded in 1979, before joining the Mujahideen (holy warriors) who eventually drove the Soviets out of the country.
The role of warlords, who use militias funded by drug money to control large swathes of country outside the capital Kabul, is one of the most worrying aspects of the election.
Human Rights Watch said in a report the warlords, ranging from some of Afghanistan's wealthiest men to local thugs, were more of a threat to the freedom of the vote than insurgents loyal to the former Taliban regime who have vowed to disrupt the election.

ABADAN, Khuzestan, Oct. 6--Over 7,000 illegal pilgrims were arrested near Abadan's coastline while trying to leave the country for visiting holy shrines in Iraq during Oct. 2003-Sept. 2004, an official said Wednesday.
Head of Public Relations Office of Abadab's Police and Border Security Command Captain Issa Maknali added that 25 members of five gangs responsible for smuggling these people have been arrested and are now in the custody of judicial officials, IRNA reported.
"The judiciary has set a fine of 50,000 rials for people attempting to illegally visit the holy shrines of Iraq," he said.
In the past year, several reports were received regarding Iranian pilgrims illegally leaving Iran via Abadan and Khorramshahr sea borders for Iraq.
Maknali further said that during the said period, some 24,472 people legally left the country via the Abadan sea border for visiting the Persian Gulf littoral states.

TEHRAN, Oct. 6--A prominent lawmaker here Wednesday said he looks forward to good ties between the next government and the parliament after the 2005 presidential election.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Majlis Security and Foreign Policy Commission, also told parliamentary correspondents that the first signs of widespread efforts by parties willing to take part in the next presidential election give tidings of a dynamic election, IRNA reported.
"The Iranian nation always elect the best," he said, when asked to predict the interaction between the next president and the Majlis.
On the possibility of Majlis deciding to opt out of the non-proliferation treaty (NPT), the MP said, "At present, there is no Majlis debate on the issue."
Questioned about Iran's peaceful nuclear technology, he stressed that Iran should produce its own nuclear fuel for producing atomic energy that could be used in various industries.
Commenting on Afghan presidential elections, he said, "We believe that holding presidential elections in an atmosphere free from tension in Afghanistan could help establish peace and security in our neighboring country."