TEHRAN, Oct. 31--A member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Sunday said 100 MPs have signed a proposal calling for conducting a probe into the performance of the Judiciary.
According to IRNA, Isfahan lawmaker Hassan Kamran told reporters on the sidelines of the Majlis open session, "The pivotal points of this probe include examining conditions of nationwide prisons, the issue of appointments and dismissals, the institutions functioning under the auspices of the judiciary, the costs of Article 215 and the pending cases related to economic corruption."
Asked whether the judiciary would collaborate with the Seventh Majlis or not given the unfavorable experience of the Sixth Majlis, he noted, "We cannot accuse the judiciary of not cooperating now before anything has happened. If the judiciary does not comply, we will take up the issue with the print media."
Meanwhile, Mashhad MP Teimur Ali Asgari also said Sunday the judicial branch of government enjoys a level of immunity.
Ali Asgari, who is a member of the Article 90 Commission of the parliament, added that given its structure and governing conditions the judiciary should not have any immunity.
The lawmaker who is one of the signatories of the proposal calling for the investigation into the performance of the judiciary, said according to the leader's decree, the Majlis can investigate the performance of all institutions functioning under the direct supervision of the leader, except military organizations.
"This obviously also includes the judiciary."

When insecurity is rife, there is little possibility of living a normal life. And Iraqis, who have suffered much under one of the world's worst dictatorships for almost three decades, continue to seek the light at the end of the tunnel.
Ambassador Mohammad Majed
Al-Shikh says his countrymen--despite the continuing violence and insecurity--are looking forward to a better life under an elected government after Jan. 2005.
The 54-year-old Iraqi diplomat, who graduated from University of Imam Sadeq (AS) in Tehran and attended diplomatic courses at Iran's Foreign Ministry in the 1990s, is of the opinion that outsiders are fanning the flames of violence in Iraq. He believes Saddam Hussein, who he describes as a "weapon of mass destruction" might have sold his WMDs before his ouster.

IRAN DAILY: According to a report published in the US on Friday, 100,000 Iraqis have died since the US invasion. Is Iraq safer today than it was before the Americans came in?

MOHAMMAD MAJED AL-SHIKH: We believe the situation now is better than before and that Iraqi people now are living a better life. We agree that the security situation is not ordinary, but the situation Iraqi people were living in during the Saddam Hussein regime was that of oppression, killing and destruction.
During Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraqis of all (social) classes, regardless of them being Shiite, Sunni, Muslim or Christian, suffered so much. Now Iraqi people are looking forward to freedom and stability. But they are now facing a brutal offensive from Saddam loyalists, who are terrorists coming to Iraq before the collapse of Saddam's regime.
Previously, when someone knocked on the door of Iraqi people's homes, they became horrified. All the people were fearful of the regime.
On figures you mentioned, we are not sure how many people have died over the period but we know it for sure the number of people killed by Saddam's regime was much more. Saddam killed as many of his opponents as he could.

War reparation from your country is one of the most important things for the Iranian public opinion. Has there been any progress in this area?
Iraq is now passing through a very difficult era. The Saddam Hussein regime is responsible for all crimes perpetrated against and damages caused to the Iranian and Iraqi nations. Today, our hope is that the Iranian government would not demand compensation due to the current situation of the Iraqi nation.
But Kuwait and some western companies received money in compensation for the second Persian Gulf War.
It was a decision made by the United Nations Security Council, which had passed a relevant resolution. We hope that we would manage to convince Kuwait to abandon its calls for war reparations through ongoing negotiations.

One crucial question about today's Iraq is where were all these combatants, most notably the Al-Mahdi Army, when Saddam Hussein's terror machine was in full swing for over two decade?
The entire Iraqi nation was against the regime. But because of the extreme fear of Saddam's killing machine and his dictatorship as well as the strictly state-controlled public communication means, the people did not receive much information about the opponents' practices. Major operations were conducted against Saddam's regime and mass graves are striking proof that opponents were active in the country.
The 1991 uprising of the Iraqi people is indicative of the fact that the people were against the regime.
What is referred to in Iraq today as 'resistance' is nothing but terrorism fed by remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime who have entered Iraq from outside the country. These groups do not care for Islam and only think of killing women, children and police forces to create insecurity. They do not want Iraq to become a stable country and the Iraqi nation is now suffering because of these groups.

Some liken the present situation of US forces in Iraq to that of the Vietnam War.
During the Vietnam War, the entire Vietnamese nation was fighting US forces. As you know some 50,000 Americans were killed in that war. But how many American soldiers have died in Iraq? Is Iraqi nation, too, fighting US troops?
Iraq and Vietnam cannot be compared at all.

Iraq is plunging further into turmoil. Where do you think the situation is heading on the eve of the general elections?
We face numerous security problems at present. The army, police and border security have been dissolved and Iraq's borders with neighboring countries turned into a hotbed of terrorism. Today we are trying to create and reinforce security forces.
The Iraqi nation now enjoys a relative stability, which is much better than before. Living conditions have improved and salaries increased by almost tenfold.
In the near future, we will establish our national parliament and government, our constitution will be formulated and the country will move toward lasting security, stability and justice.
Instabilities that followed the war are part of a natural process. What is important is that we are traveling on the path of democracy.

How do you assess the relationship between the ruling system in Iran and the Iraqi Shiite leadership?
This relationship does indeed exist between the two nations of Iran and Iraq and not merely related to Shiites. Iranian authorities have on different occasions stressed that the Islamic Republic will always be with Iraq and the Iraqi nation.
As to the Shiite leadership of supreme jurisprudents in Iraq and Iran, I must mention that the Shiite jurisprudents of both the countries are in touch with each other but are not coordinated (in their acts and decisions). There is no political link between the two.

It is said that Muqtada Al-Sadr is more a popular political, and not religious, leader for Iraqi Shiites than Ayatollah Sistani.
Iraqis do support the Shiite leadership of supreme jurisprudent and pay heed to their words and are in close contact with them--what happened in Najaf being a proof. When Mr. Sistani asked them (Al-Mahdi Army) to stop the war and withdraw from the holy shrine of Imam Ali (AS), all responded positively. He ordered them to observe the rule of law and everyone obeyed.

Do your officials who routinely accuse Tehran of interference represent the Iraqi public opinion?
The Iraqi government's strategy is to improve relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is difference of opinion among Iraqi officials but the main policy is to boost bilateral relations. For the same reason, I was appointed Iraqi ambassador to Tehran after 25 years.
After the collapse of Saddam's regime, many terrorists entered Iraq due to uncontrolled border areas. They came to Iraq without their governments knowing it and conducted terrorist operations against the Iraqi people.
But we do not want to talk about these things. We are trying to herald a new era of bilateral relations with Iran.

Did Saddam Hussein use all his WMDs against Iran, Kurds and Shiite Iraqis, or some were left unprotected? If so, why have the international forces not yet found them?
The Saddam Hussein regime always had weapons of mass destruction and used them against Kurds in the north, Shiites in the south and Iran during the 1980-88 war. He certainly had WMDs and posed a threat to the neighboring countries and the international community.
Despite the fact that the multinational forces have not yet found WMDs in Iraq, the more important point is that Saddam, himself, is a WMD. He fought two wars against Iran and Kuwait, and threatened the international community. Some say he has sold or granted WMDs to other countries and Saddam is now being interrogated to establish what he has done with them.

TEHRAN, Oct. 31--Majlis on Sunday approved with a clear majority the outlines of the bill on gaining access to peaceful nuclear technology.
Talking to foreign and domestic reporters, Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad-Adel said the bill will determine the framework for the Iranian delegation to hold future negotiations, IRNA reported.
"The ratification lightens the atmosphere for wise negotiations," he said.
Asked whether the bill would contradict agreements between the Iranian delegation and the EU trio (Germany, Britain and France), he said, "When we set the limits of a playground, we have not banned the game. If negotiators reach consensus that talks would freeze Iran's access to nuclear technology, it will be doomed to failure whether the bill is approved or not."
Haddad-Adel reiterated that the government is obliged not to ignore the Iranian nation's right in gaining access to peaceful nuclear energy.
"The bill is not new. This is what we have insisted since the start of negotiations," he said.
Asked about the costs Iran would probably have to pay, the speaker said, "To us, no cost is dearer than depriving a nation of its inalienable right."
The bill on gaining access to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes was discussed in the open Majlis session on Sunday following the request of 50 MPs.
About 238 members of the 290-seat parliament voted in favor of the bill.
Once approved, the bill will assist the government in mobilizing scientists, researchers and facilities to follow up its commitments to the International Atomic Energy Agency and also seeking the cooperation of countries which are members of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and which possess this technology.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 31--Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said on Sunday a showdown was imminent in the western city of Fallujah, where US marines are poised to assault insurgents and militants.
He said the government was still offering an olive branch, but told a news conference: "Our patience is running thin."
The government says Saddam Hussein loyalists and militants loyal to Al-Qaeda ally Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi are operating from Fallujah and Ramadi, another rebel city west of Baghdad, Reuters reported.
The aim is to crush Iraqi guerrillas and foreign militants in Fallujah and elsewhere before national elections in January.
Asked about on-off peace talks with Fallujah notables, Allawi said, "We have no negotiations with Fallujah because Fallujah is part of Iraq. We want to free this town from the grip of terrorists who came from abroad."
The government has repeatedly demanded that the people of Fallujah hand over Zarqawi militants and accept the return of Iraqi security forces or face military action.
Allawi said there could be no compromise with fighters loyal to Zarqawi, Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden.
Allawi said authorities had arrested 167 militants in the past few weeks, most of them non-Iraqi Arabs.
Allawi said a "few thousand" followers of Saddam's former deputy president Izzat Ibrahim had also been detained in the past few weeks, among them two of Ibrahim's top aides.
Lieutenant Colonel Buhl, speaking before Allawi's latest comments, said the prime minister's stance made military action likely.
Zarqawi's militants have claimed responsibility for some of Iraq's bloodiest suicide bombings and hostage decapitations.
About 25 foreigners from a dozen countries are believed held by kidnap groups in Iraq.

Cherie Blair

LONDON, Oct. 31--Cherie Blair, wife of the British Prime Minister, has criticized the policies of the US President George W. Bush, attacking his stance on terrorist prisoners and gay rights, according to media reports here Sunday.
Blair, a lawyer on a lecture tour of the United States, was condemned by supporters of the US President after a speech to Harvard law students in Massachusetts which contained a stinging rebuke to Bush, the Scotland newspaper on Sunday reported on its website, AFP reported.
"She attacked the manner in which the White House has dealt with the human rights of UK citizens detained at the US-run Camp X-Ray prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba," according to the report.
Blair said the decision by the US Supreme Court, fiercely opposed by Bush's government, to give legal protection to two of the Britons detained at the camp was "profoundly important" and a "significant victory for human rights and the international rule of law", the paper continued.
A majority in Britain believe the world will be safer if Democrat challenger John Kerry wins this week's US presidential election, suggests an opinion poll published Sunday.
Asked whether the world would be a safer place if US President George W. Bush rather than Kerry won Tuesday's poll, 24 percent said it would be, 56 percent disagreed and 20 percent did not know.
Asked whether Blair's support for Bush in Iraq has been good for Britain, 19 percent agreed, 74 percent did not agree, and 7 percent said they did not know.
Asked how they would vote if there were a general election tomorrow, 39 percent said Labour, a 7-percentage-point rise since the last equivalent poll a month ago.

RAMALLAH, Occupied Palestine, Oct. 31--Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon indicated Sunday he was ready to open negotiations with a new Palestinian leadership as the void left by Yasser Arafat's departure to Paris was filled by his top lieutenants.
With the Palestinians still struggling to absorb the shockwaves generated by their veteran leader's exit to France for life-saving treatment, Sharon was weighing his options should his archenemy's absence prove to be permanent, AFP reported.
Sharon has severed all contact with not only Arafat but also his more moderate Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei over what he regards as their failure to rein in armed Palestinian militants such as fighters from the Hamas movement.
But with former Palestinian premier Mahmud Abbas now at the helm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Arafat's Fatah faction, the prospect of a resumption of talks has grown sharply.
"If a new Palestinian leadership which is both serious and responsible emerges, it is possible that there can be a resumption of negotiations on the roadmap" peace plan, Sharon was quoted as telling the weekly cabinet meeting.
Abbas presided over a meeting of the PLO Executive Committee on Saturday--the first time anyone but Arafat had been in the chair.

TEHRAN, Oct. 31--Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi welcomed Europe's offer of nuclear fuel supplies but said it would not deter Tehran from pursuing its legitimate right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
At his weekly press briefing, Asefi told reporters the proposal is regarded by Iran as a positive measure, but would not make it abandon its legal right to produce nuclear energy for civilian purposes, IRNA reported.
In response to a reporter's question regarding Europe's proposal that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment activities for 10 years, he said the number of years does not figure in the European proposal.
He said the proposal wanted Iran to suspend uranium enrichment "for as long as nuclear talks are continuing".
Asked about the date of the Iraqi president's upcoming visit to Tehran, the spokesman said no date has yet been fixed for the visit and added that Iran considered such visits as beneficial for fostering understanding, stability and peace in the region.
Asefi also assessed the result of talks related to the Caspian Sea held in Moscow as 'positive', saying the talks focused on determining the contents of the pertinent convention, the agreements reached in the 16th Caspian meeting in Ashkhabad, shipping, laying of undersea pipelines and resolving differences.
On the result of the US presidential election and its probable impact on the Iran nuclear case, he said past experiences have taught us that the two parties are not really any different and both favor the imposition of pressures on Iran. Asefi expressed hope that the American parties have learnt their lessons from the past, that is, interaction and dialogue, and not pressure or threats, were the only ways to talk to Iran.