Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Hassan Rohani addresses the International Conference on Nuclear Technology and Sustainable Development in Tehran, March 5. (Photo by M. Khoshnevis)

TEHRAN, March 5--Iran will stop all confidence-building measures if its nuclear case were sent to the United Nations Security Council, Iran’s nuclear chief said on Saturday.
Addressing the International Conference on Nuclear Technology and Sustainable Development, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Hassan Rohani added Iran will reach agreement with the Europeans if the US were to stop pressures, IRNA reported.
“We think the European countries do not intend to deprive Iran of its absolute rights. Europeans know that if Iran is deprived of its absolute rights, it will lose its international standing. As a result, Europe’s prestige will be undermined,“ he said.
Stressing continuation of talks with Europe, the nuclear chief said, “Europe will make efforts to behave wisely in this international experience. We are optimistic about the outcomes of talks with Europe.“
Rohani further said any success in negotiations with Europe would be in the interests of the region and the world.
“If such talks fail due to the US pressure and Iran’s nuclear case is sent to the UN Security Council, regional security will face problems,“ he said.
He also added that contrary to Iran’s expectations, nuclear talks with the Europeans are moving slowly.
“The suspension (of uranium enrichment) will continue as long as talks go ahead. Continuation of suspension is subject to continuation of talks,“ he said.
“Till today, the Americans have not requested to be present in nuclear talks between Iran and Europe,“ he said regarding the possible presence of the US in Iran-Europe nuclear talks and direct talks between Iran and America.
Speaking in a press conference later attended by domestic and foreign reporters, Rohani said Iran will make no deal on uranium enrichment.
“Iran does not accept permanent suspension of uranium enrichment and will surely resume the same. The suspension will be temporary,“ he said.
Pointing to the proposal offering economic incentives to Iran in exchange of its uranium enrichment suspension, Rohani said, “We will make no deal over enrichment. Economic incentives, including purchase of Airbus and joining the World Trade Organization, will not compensate for relinquishing enrichment.“

TEHRAN, March 5--A member of the Fundamentalists Faction on Saturday said six presidential aspirants have agreed to the selection of a single candidate through public opinion polls by May and the withdrawal of others.
According to IRNA, Mohammad Reza Mir-Tajeddini also told reporters, “The six fundamentalist candidates, namely Leader’s Representative in Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, Tehran MP Ahmad Tavakkoli, Secretary of State Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei, Leader’s Advisor Ali Akbar Velayati, Tehran Police Chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have agreed that whoever tops the opinion polls should be selected as the final candidate and all others will endorse his candidacy.“
Mir-Tajeddini further said the main criterion for selecting a single candidate will be popular support.

Saudi men cast their ballots March 3 in the Saudi oil-rich eastern city of Damman. (AFP Photo)

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 5--Shiite candidates triumphed in parts of eastern Saudi Arabia in the second round of the Muslim kingdom’s elections to local councils, according to results published on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province is home to most of its marginalized minority Shiite community, estimated at around 10 percent of the total population, adding a sectarian edge to the first nationwide election in the predominantly Sunni kingdom, Reuters reported.
The men-only elections, for just half the seats on municipal councils which will have limited power, are part of Saudi Arabia’s modest political reforms. The absolute monarchy has come under strong US pressure to change after the Sept. 11 attacks which were carried out by mainly Saudi hijackers.
Many Shiites complain of second-class treatment in Saudi Arabia, whose rulers follow the austere Wahhabi school of Islam which has traditionally been hostile to them.
Despite sitting on the world’s biggest oil reserves, Shiites say their area gets far less investment than the capital Riyadh.
Shiites swept the board in the Shiite town of Qatif and won five out of six seats in the mixed Sunni-Shiite area of Al-Hasa. But in the urban centers of Dammam, Dhahran and Al-Khobar where a significant Shiite minority lives, Sunni candidates won with apparent backing from hardline clerics.
Victorious Qatif candidate Jaafar al-Shayeb said the results of Thursday’s election showed that the Shiite community wanted better services and “regulations and laws applied like everywhere else in the kingdom“.
Thursday’s election for councils in eastern and southern areas of the huge desert kingdom followed last month’s vote in the central Riyadh region.

Mohsen Rahami

Mohsen Rahami is one of the presidential candidates affiliated to the reformist camp. He currently teaches political science in Tehran University. He was Majlis deputy for two terms and also served as deputy minister of science, research and technology. He
Rahami believes mass media in Iran are mouthpieces of certain political groups. He is of the opinion that currently the people are uninterested in the presidential race. In an exclusive interview with Iran Daily, Rahami talked about numerous issues, excerpts of which follow:

IRAN DAILY: What are your plans for the country as a presidential candidate?
RAHAMI: Our main concern is the non-fulfillment of the rights of different social strata within the framework of the rule of law. My first priority is that I remain committed to the rule of law and public demands. The most important point is to remember that in our country administrators have been people with technical or medical backgrounds. I do not reject this concept, but running a country requires a lawful and law-abiding mindset. So far, the country has not been administered on the basis of the rule of law, as it should have been. Currently, nepotism and factional interests dominate the scene while laws and regulations are set for the vulnerable and low-income strata.

As a reformist candidate, how could you be successful while President Mohammad Khatami has failed to implement macro strategies?
The Khatami administration did a good job in certain domains such as establishing cordial ties with European and regional countries. Perhaps the reason why Khatami was not very successful with some strategies is that a powerful segment of the ruling establishment did not cooperate with him. It is quite obvious that Khatami’s government was incapable of implementing the rule of law. Therefore, parallel state institutions were established and Khatami employed the approach of political discourse and pursuit of expedience in dealing with violations of the rule of law. I personally believe that pursuit of expedience is not the correct approach in running state affairs. There is no single formula for administering state affairs. However, we must use the experience of other countries in promulgating democracy.

Where does the reformist current stand today?
If we view the reformist current as a movement, I must say that I have contributed to creating this movement, but I am not a reformer affiliated to the government. The reform movement is government-oriented and depends on people who held key posts in Khatami’s cabinet. It is therefore natural that with the end of Khatami’s tenure as president, the reform movement will not remain popular. I am not optimistic about the future of the reform movement. However, I can be optimistic about the future of the reform movement, if it does not connect itself to the rulership and acts independently.
How do you view the issue of reestablishing ties with the US?
The important point here is that the US has in the past interfered in Iran’s internal affairs. This can be resolved through dialogue and by resorting to international laws. I must say that we will not benefit from the continuation of icy relations between Tehran and Washington. This is while the continuation of the present trend is not beneficial to the US either, because it will lose the market in the Middle East and Iran.
Iran needs to have bonds with the outside world and attract foreign investments because of the high unemployment rate. However, the point is how we resolve our problems. We must change the country’s overall climate and abandon our hostility vis-ˆ-vis the US and accept that the US is a legitimate system that has been founded on the basis of popular votes.
During the tenure of former US President Bill Clinton, who had a legal mindset, a good opportunity came our way to resolve our problems with the US. If back then we had not been overridden with sentiments and radicalism, our problems with the US could have been resolved. We had the upper-hand then, but we lost the opportunity.

ROME, March 5--The companion of freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena on Saturday leveled serious accusations at US troops who fired at her convoy as it was nearing Baghdad airport, saying the shooting had been deliberate.
“The Americans and Italians knew about (her) car coming,“ Pier Scolari said on leaving Rome’s Celio military hospital where Sgrena is to undergo surgery following her return home, AFP reported.
“They were 700 meters (yards) from the airport, which means that they had passed all checkpoints.“
The chief editor of Sgrena’s left-wing newspaper Il Manifesto Gabriele Polo, meanwhile, branded Calipari’s death a ’murder’. “He was hit in the head,“ he said.
The shooting late Friday was witnessed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s office which was on the phone with one of the secret service agents, said Scolari. “Then the US military silenced the cell phones,“ he charged.
When Sgrena was kidnapped on February 4 she was writing an article on refugees from Fallujah seeking shelter at a Baghdad mosque after US forces bombed the former Sunni rebel stronghold.
Sgrena told RaiNews24 television Saturday a “hail of bullets“ rained down on the car taking her to safety at Baghdad airport, along with three secret service agents, killing one of them.

TEHRAN, March 5--Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari said on Saturday maximum participation of the people in the next presidential race will be ensured if all officials pay due attention to the momentous undertaking.
Lari also told the nationwide meeting of police commanders that the president and the government are concerned about the electoral event while the Guardians Council should abide by the rule of law.
He referred to the leader’s recent remark about the participation of a majority of eligible voters in the presidential election and said fulfillment of the leader’s directive is contingent upon how related organizations perform.
“It has become clear that people would show up in large numbers to vote only when they trust that their votes count and that the rule of law is implemented. When related institutions put aside preferentialism, then people will develop more trust in the election,“ he said.
Lari noted that holding a healthy electoral race is of paramount importance.
“This requires respect for the rule of law, paying due attention to the duties of responsible institutions and procuring the security of polling stations,“ he said.
Lari called on Police Department to help ensure the security of polling stations by relying on its past experiences.