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Prayer Time (Tehran)
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Dawn: 5:42
Sunrise: 7:09
Noon: 12:16
Evening: 17:44
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Weather Guide
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TUE |
WED |
Tehran: |
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High: |
7oC |
9oC |
Low: |
-2oC |
-1oC |
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Athens |
-1 |
1 |
Ankara |
-8 |
-1 |
Paris |
-7 |
-4 |
New Delhi |
7 |
7 |
Rome |
-5 |
-2 |
Riyadh |
7 |
6 |
Frankfurt |
-7 |
-6 |
Cairo |
10 |
11 |
Kuwait City |
4 |
3 |
Karachi |
11 |
11 |
Copenhagen |
-8 |
-5 |
London |
-2 |
0 |
Moscow |
-8 |
-10 |
Madrid |
-8 |
-5 |
Vienna |
-8 |
-6 |
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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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Khatami, Aliyev Optimistic About Enhancing Cooperation
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President Mohammad Khatami officially welcomed his Azeri counterpart Elham Aliyev at Sadabad Complex in Tehran, Jan. 24. (ISNA Photo)
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TEHRAN, Jan. 24--Immediately after the formal ceremony to welcome Azeribaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, Iranian and Azeri presidents expressed their desire for expanding Tehran-Baku relations.
President Mohammad Khatami accompanied by President Ilham Aliyev told reporters at Sadabad Complex that Iran is keen on further development of relations with Azerbaijan Republic, IRNA reported.
Responding to an Azeri reporter about what Iran will do to help resolve Karabakh crisis, President Khatami said that Iran is among the few countries which supports Azerbaijan's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Iran believes that the Karabakh crisis would be resolved through logic and understanding between the two parties without resorting to force. I believe that Karabakh conflict will be resolved if the two sides seriously decide to do so," he said.
Khatami noted that Iran has friendly relations with both Azerbaijan and Armenia and is ready to mediate between them to help resolve the crisis at the earliest.
Another Azeri reporter asked Khatami whether there is similarity between the occupation of Arab lands by the Zionist Israeli regime and occupation of Karabakh by Armenia, the Iranian president said Iran condemns occupation and use of force by any country.
"Of course, there is a difference. I believe Israel has occupied the entire Palestine and established an illegitimate existence, but Armenia is a country itself. But at the same time, occupation and seizure of an inch of the other's territory is condemned and the international community should help end the occupation," Khatami said.
President Aliyev told reporters that his visit to Iran is aimed at developing relations in all fields, including the economy.
He pointed to the accords President Khatami signed during his visit to Baku and said Azerbaijan is keen on the implementation of these accords.
Aliyev further said Tehran-Baku relations are developing rapidly and political and economic cooperation is excellent.
"The exchange of visits by presidents of the two countries indicates the extent of relations enjoyed by the two countries," he said.
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No Chance Of US Ties
Ramezanzadeh Challenges Critics
TEHRAN, Jan. 24--Iran said on Monday it saw no major change in US policy towards Tehran as the Bush government gets ready to begin a new term in office.
Talking to reporters, Government Spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh then warned that Iran would use "the language of force" in response to the remarks of President George W. Bush last Monday he could not rule out using force against Tehran's nuclear program, IRNA reported.
"We will use the same language used to threaten us. But if they opt to engage in dialogue without any precondition on an equal footing, we will consider that," he said.
"Since the American government has started its new term with threats, it is clear that no major change has occurred in the Americans' policy."
Ramezanzadeh played down US threats, saying Iran is used to receiving American threats since last 26 years.
Ramezanzadeh took a sharp swipe at detractors of President Mohammad Khatami, distancing his administration from what he called a campaign being waged by an "inner circle" to intimidate critics.
He defended Khatami's two terms in office, saying "we are proud to repeat Mr. Khatami's own remarks that during his tenure, no government opponent ever felt insecure."
"If in the inner circle, power means to push the intelligentsia's bus into a canyon to silence others or clandestinely arrest few webloggers and consider this as a sign of putting fear in the opponents' hearts, we don't regard this as power and don't want it," he said.
Some 20 people were recently arrested in a crackdown on Internet sites and weblogs, and released after signing letters of repentance, according to media reports.
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Zanganeh:
American Threats Hike Oil Prices
By Azam Mohebbi
Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Sunday the US threats and bullying policies increase oil prices, but the stance of British companies toward Iran is only a political move based on America's long-term interests in Iran.
Zanganeh was responding to the recent US threats against Iran and comments made by the head of British Petroleum.
On BP's decision not to participate in Iranian projects, he said, "In the past eight years, BP did not play any role in Iranian oil undertakings and we never relied on its services either."
He also said that Iran will not forget the moves made by BP, following the harsh anti-Iran comments by US statesmen, and consider them unfriendly.
Commenting on the election of an acting secretary-general for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, he said, "If Adnan Shahabeddin wants to continue as acting OPEC secretary-general, he should resign from his current post in the secretariat."
The oil minister added that the increase in oil prices has led to sociopolitical pressure on OPEC members.
"A rise in oil price is based on the price of Brent sweet oil and West Texas Intermediate is not profitable for the Persian Gulf region, because this only increases the prices of sweet and sour oil price," he said.
Zanganeh noted that when the price of WTI oil reached $56 per barrel, the Persian Gulf states could not sell their oil for $40 per barrel for even one day.
"Due to refining problems and climatic conditions in the US, the prices of oil have gone up in New York Stock Exchange. But OPEC's real intention is to determine afair price," he sai US statesmen d.
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Straw to Discuss Iran, China in Washington
LONDON, Jan. 24--Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Monday began a visit to Washington amid reported tensions over a US hardline on Iran's nuclear program and British support for lifting the European arms embargo on China.
Straw, who was due to hold talks with secretary of state nominee, Condoleezza Rice, traveled to Washington late on Sunday and was expected to have arrived already, the Foreign Office said, AFP reported.
The Sunday Times newspaper reported that he has drawn up Britain's case against a military strike on Iran, amid fears US President George W. Bush may seek support for a new conflict.
Straw has produced a 200-page dossier that rules out military action and makes the case for a "negotiated solution" to thwart Iran's suspected ambition to produce nuclear weapons, the paper reported.
It says a peaceful solution led by Britain, France and Germany is "in the best interests of Iran and the international community," while referring to "safeguarding Iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear technology".
The Americans, meanwhile, have been angered by Britain's backing for moves by France and Germany to lift the European Union arms embargo on China, imposed after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
It has led to warnings that the United States will refuse to share sensitive military technology with Britain because of concerns that it could eventually be used against it by China.
The Foreign Office would only say the talks with Rice would involve "normal Foreign Secretary business".
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Israel Resumes Barrier Construction
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An elderly Palestinian man climbs the controversial security barrier, separating Beit-ul-Moqaddas from West Bank, Jan. 24. (Reuters Photo)
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BEIT-UL-MOQADDAS, Jan. 24--Israel resumed building one of the most controversial parts of its West Bank barrier, deep in occupied land, in a move Palestinians said on Monday clouded new President Mahmoud Abbas's efforts to revive peacemaking.
Israel's attorney general approved construction of the 4-km (2.5 mile) segment along a new route near the large Jewish settlement of Ariel after residents of the adjacent Palestinian village of Salfit petitioned a court against land expropriation, Reuters reported.
"How we are going to convince our people and factions that we are trying to end Israeli occupation while Israel is imposing facts on the ground," Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said.
"This will have a deep and negative impact on our efforts to reach a ceasefire."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wrapped up a week of truce talks with militants in Gaza on Monday without any formal agreement but with violence in the area sharply reduced.
Israel has built about a third of the planned 600-km (370-mile) barrier.
The International Court of Justice has said it is illegal to construct the network of razor wire-tipped electronic fences and concrete walls on occupied land. Palestinians call the project a land grab aimed at denying them a viable state.
An Israeli court had ordered work on the barrier around the Ariel enclave halted last June after the appeal was filed and then asked the sides to resolve the issue through negotiations.
Changes were subsequently made to the route--one of the most disputed because it dips deep into occupied territory--although Salfit's mayor denied on Monday reaching any deal with Israeli authorities.
Mushir Al-Masri, a spokesman for the militant Hamas group in Gaza, condemned the barrier but stopped short of saying the new construction work could disrupt ceasefire efforts.
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Chalabi Says Shaalan Transcended Authority
ILAM, Jan. 24--Leader of Iraqi National Congress Ahmad Chalabi said Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan has transcended his authority, IRNA reported on Sunday.
Chalabi was commenting on Shaalan's allegation that he helped disband the Iraqi army and police, and the threat to have him arrested.
"Instead of repeating his accusations, Shaalan should better answer the questions posed by the Iraqi nation," he said.
He stressed that the people of Iraq have suffered a great deal from the ideology of the former Baathist Party, which led to Saddam Hussein's rise to power and they can no longer tolerate the repetition of Baathist crimes. He urged the Iraqi people to cast votes for those who fought against Saddam and Baathist criminals for years.
Chalabi also said Shaalan has misappropriated $300 million during his six months as defense minister.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera TV network, Shaalan had threatened that he would arrest Chalabi for his role in disbanding the Iraqi army and police, which ultimately led to widespread insecurity in Iraq.
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Scientists Warn Of Man-Made Extinction
PARIS, Jan. 24--Scientists called on Monday for the creation of a global panel of experts on species loss, warning that the planet is racing toward a man-made extinction crisis.
"Biodiversity is being destroyed irreversibly by human activities," said the appeal, made by leading biologists and environmentalists at the start of a conference in Paris on wildlife loss, AFP reported. The proposal won the immediate endorsement of French President Jacques Chirac, who pledged to promote it at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), an offshoot of the landmark 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The fate of humanity was bound up with the fate of the environment, the scientists warned.
The millions of different species on Earth are the product of more than three billion years of evolution--"a natural heritage and a vital resource upon which humankind depends on so many different ways".
The appeal was launched at the first day of a conference gathering 1,200 experts and policymakers on species loss. The proposal is expected to be endorsed by the forum when it wraps up on Friday.
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New Designs
By Abdullah Jafari
Although Europeans and Russians tried to downplay the anti-Iran remarks of US officials, George W. Bush in his second term is expected to tread the same aggressive path. However, it is premature to forecast the new American approach toward Iran.
Recently Russian diplomats and European politicians implicitly assured Iran that there is no US plan to attack Iran. They also called for a collective global consensus on Iran to prevent more of the same unilateral lunacy from the US.
Despite the seriousness of their convictions and the illogicality of this presumption, the Islamic Republic cannot remain immune from mounting US pressures.
After his reelection, analysts thought Bush would pursue a moderate and conciliatory diplomacy to mobilize the support of European allies and stabilize the volatile Middle East. But neoconservatives have once again taken the political center-stage in the US. They are itching to prove the Bush administration's belligerency and odiousness.
The US officials want the world to believe that the Zionist brand of Middle East peace cannot be established without Iranian subjugation. Therefore, the US foreign policy is geared to exert more pressure on Iran. It will use the full range of accusations in its arsenal, including claims related to Iran's nuclear program, funding terrorism and racial discrimination, for exerting pressure on Iran.
In the face of the new round of war-mongering policies and propaganda warfare, Iran needs to adopt a comprehensive approach based on boosting transparency and international trust without compromising its national interests.
Iran has historically been able to thwart foreign plots. President Mohammad Khatami's prudence in dealing with European countries in the late 1990s is a case in point. He pursued dŽtente to neutralize the threats posed against the country at the time.
Once again it is crucial to fortify the legitimacy of the Islamic system and its support base so that foreigners fully grasp the high cost of conspiring and acting against Iran.
What can prevent the American hawks from flying in the Iranian skies is full-scale public participation on the political scene. This will only materialize when the people are assured that Iranian officials are committed to respect their rights and fulfill their demands.
During the Iraq-imposed 1980-88 war, people's support assured Iran victory and that alone will help defeat all evil designs against the country's sovereignty and integrity.
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