HAMBASTEGI: Expulsion of a parliamentary reporter from the daily Hambastegi by a member of Majlis Presiding Board received mixed reactions both in and outside the country. The main reason for such extensive reaction is the fact that it was illegal and unprecedented in the history of parliaments of the world. Even fundamentalist lawmakers objected to the manner in which the woman reporter was expelled from the Majlis. Iranian professor and journalist, Hashem Aghajari, was sentenced to death for delivering a speech in Hamedan three years ago. This is while he was eventually acquitted from the grave charges against him. Although some people may regard Aghajari’s acquittal as a defeat for the judiciary, it showed that the judiciary had eventually realized its mistake. The Majlis too can and should put an end to all hue and cry about the expulsion of the reporter by simply making a public apology.

MARDOMSALARI: It was pretty obvious that forging a consensus in the upcoming presidential election with regard to a single candidate would never be easy. The main reason being attributed to performance of fundamentalist candidates. The first presidential hopeful from fundamentalist camp who effectively prevented reaching a consensus was Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The second aspirant to do likewise was secretary of the State Expediency Council, Mohsen Rezaei. After them, former foreign minister, Ali Akbar Velayati also withdrew from the Coordination Council for Islamic Revolutionary Forces.

DONYA-YE EQTESAD: Political parties serve as a platform for increasing the awareness of the people and informing them about a broad spectrum of issues in various fields. Political parties are now competing to show people that they are better able and ready to administer the political and economic activities of the society and at lower cost. However, if they fail to deliver and perform contrary to their pledges, the people will realize that political groups and their leaders seek political power for the sake of power itself and not for improving the knowledge and awareness of the people.

AFTAB-E YAZD: The performance of many Iranian managers shows they are averse to fulfilling their duties under normal conditions and instead prefer to get involved in crisis management. This is while when a manager cannot succeed under normal conditions, how can he claim responsibility under extraordinary circumstances? The fact that some affairs reach a critical stage indicates the existence of too many mismanagers.

Iran insists that it is seeking enriched uranium facilities in order to produce peaceful energy output and has taken measures to reinforce this intention.ÊThe US, however, is trying to incite international hysteria by conjuring up the perception that Iran is seeking to build a nuclear bomb and that it has not complied with international guidelines on nuclear activity.Ê
Iran maintains the right to exploit nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and has demonstrated it is willing to do so in a responsible and accountable manner.
The US’s main argument against nuclear energy is that Iran has vast oil and natural gas reserves, and hence the country does not need nuclear energy.ÊYet, many countries that are rich in fossil energy resources, including Britain and Russia, rely on nuclear power for a significant portion of their energy needs.Ê
Iran’s case for nuclear energy is compelling, as a combination of economic, social and environmental factors has prompted the country to seek alternative sources of energy.Ê Since the early 1990s, Iranian oil consumption has been increasing at an alarming rate of 8 percent per year, and her total energy consumption has increased from 1.6 quadrillion Btu (quads) in 1980, to more than 5.5 quads--an increase of about 280 percent.ÊIf this trend persists, Iran could conceivably become an importer of oil by 2010.ÊThis would have disastrous implications for a country that relies on oil for 80 percent of its foreign currency.
Another consideration is that Iran’s present electrical capacity is more than the 27,000 megawatt that had been predicted for in 1990 by a group of Stanford specialists.Ê However, Iran’s annual growth in demand for electricity is 5 to 8 percent.Ê Hence, it is estimated that by the year 2010, Iran will need 7,000 megawatts of electricity, which cannot be produced by oil and gas alone.Ê
If we factor in social dynamics such as Iran’s enormous environmental troubles caused by oil and gas consumption (carbon emissions), depletion of resources, and population growth (estimated to reach 100 million by 2025), the need for diversification of energy resources becomes even more urgent.
It was these national considerations that prompted President Mohammad Khatami to announce February 9, 2003, the country’s program for constructing nuclear facilities at Natanz and several other cities that would eventually produce enriched uranium.Ê The announcement was accompanied with an invitation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit project sites.Ê
The US reacted by misleading the public into believing that a nefarious Iran was pursuing clandestine nuclear activities at undeclared locations with the goal of sponsoring worldwide terrorism.Ê
The fact is that Iran does have a nuclear program, but the country is acting lawfully and with regard for international concern.Ê In the language of Article IV of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which Iran has been a signatory since 1968, Iran has the inalienable right to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful proposes without discrimination, and acquire equipment, materials, and scientific and technological information.Ê To assure the international community that it is acting within the framework of this stipulation, Iran is willing to pledge firm guarantees that its nuclear objectives are strictly civilian.Ê
The country has initiated steps to cooperate with the United Nations, the IAEA, Britain, France and Germany in an effort to promote transparency and confidence.Ê In November 2004, following the Iranian invitation to the IAEA to inspect Iranian sites, it was concluded that there was nothing to suggest non-peaceful, military objectives.Ê
There are presently at least eight nuclear powers in the world, of which five have geographic proximity with Iran: Israel, India, Pakistan, Russia and China.Ê There is no moral reason why Iran is less entitled to nuclear energy than these countries.Ê
The US is thwarting diplomatic efforts to resolve a matter that is not intractable, as far as scientific and technological aspects are concerned.ÊClearly, the problem is of a geopolitical nature, particularly when one takes into account the fact that the Americans have given Pakistan the green light on nuclear development and helped Israel develop a broad range of nuclear weapons.ÊTo date, the US has not pressured Pakistan, India or Israel to sign the NPT.Ê
America’s allegations are dubious, especially when they are juxtaposed alongside the IAEA’s meticulous investigation results.ÊOf significance is that this sort of conjecture or guesswork can be catastrophic.ÊThere is no doubt that Saddam’s removal was important, but Iraq was invaded on the basis of its (non-existent) Weapons of Mass Destruction.Ê
The international community must recognize that Iran is determined to allay fears about the nature of its nuclear activities, but that it is not willing to discard its rightful duty to develop adequate energy resources.Ê