Abdollah Momeni

TEHRAN, April 20--Office to Consolidate Unity will, under no circumstances, endorse a candidate for the June 17 presidential election, but will not remain indifferent towards developments leading up to the crucial polls or its results.
OCU Secretary Abdollah Momeni also told ILNA on Wednesday that the body will monitor the developments as a supervisor and critic.
“We believe elections can be meaningful only if held democratically, i.e. all political factions are allowed to participate in the polls irrespective of their ideological and political predispositions and, more importantly, the president-elect is handed all legal and executive powers to fulfill public demands,“ he said.
Momeni said the present political situation in the country is not helpful to the democratization process.
“Some of these candidates are trying to present themselves as qualified to cover their past performance,“ he said. Momeni said the student movement will never forget the repressive measures during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s presidency when bookshops were set ablaze and a large number of liberal professors expelled from campuses.

TEHRAN, April 20--A lawmaker from Khomeinishahr in Isfahan province criticized the delay in holding sessions of the Headquarters for Combating Economic Corruption.
Speaking in an open Majlis session on Wednesday, Seyyed Mohammad Abtahi noted that these sessions should be held once every two months, IRNA reported.
Referring to the arrest of two officials of Iranian Tobacco Company, Abtahi said the headquarters should also hold extraordinary sessions. Another MP, Teymour Ali Asgari from Mashhad, called for following up allegations by Tehran MP, Hossein Nejabat, according to which fruit merchants had met in the home of one of their colleagues late February to coordinate a price hike.
Asqari claimed that the Intelligence Ministry should follow up this matter.
“Third-party insurance has increased by 100 percent, prices of certain commodities and services have also increased and fertilizers sent to Afghanistan have unfortunately been used for cultivating opium,“ he said.

Mohammad Salamati

TEHRAN, April 20--The delay in selecting a single rightist candidate is not unprecedented, secretary-general of the reformist Islamic Revolution’s Mujahideen Organization said.
Mohammad Salamati also told IRNA on Wednesday that the decision-making process only includes a few rightists while others listen to them.
He noted that recent incidents inside the rightist camp indicate that they have changed their strategy in the sense that they only make decisions when their factional interests are at stake.
“Under the prevailing conditions, the selection of a single candidate is very difficult for them because the rightist faction comprises a large number of political activists,“ he added.
Salamati pointed out that the presence of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will make the situation more difficult for rightists.

ISFAHAN, April 20--Isfahan Justice Department’s attempt to mediate between Isfahan Municipality and the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization for ending the dispute concerning the famous Jahan-Nama Tower failed and the case is now in court.
Isfahan governor general, head of Isfahan City Council, head of the provincial justice department, Isfahan mayor as well as deputy head of Isfahan Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization attended the meeting on Wednesday, ISNA reported.
The cultural organization’s demand that the tower’s height be lowered faced stiff opposition by the mayor and the officials left the meeting without reaching an agreement. The case was then filed in a court and head of Isfahan Justice Department promised to attend to the case at the earliest.
The municipality, head of the city council, the cultural organization and the governor general’s office had initially agreed to compromise over lowering the tower’s height, following which expert committees were formed to work out its operational procedures.

MOSCOW, April 20--Iran has no intention to get access to nuclear weapons while it will use its inalienable rights to use nuclear technology, the head of Supreme National Security Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Hossein Mousavian, said Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference, Mousavian noted that Iran is ready to cooperate with all international organizations within the framework of international regulations to this effect, IRNA reported. He further said Iran and Russia hold regular high-level consultations on bilateral cooperation and developments related to the two countries’ security, adding that mutual consultations would be very effective in peaceful settlement of the nuclear crisis.
The official assessed as very constructive and useful the outcome of his talks with Russia’s foreign minister and secretary of National Security Council as well as other senior officials on nuclear cooperation, developments in Afghanistan, Central Asia, Caucasus, Caspian Sea, and campaign against weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and organized crimes.
He noted that based on agreements reached between Iran and the EU trio (Germany, France, and Britain) in 2003 and 2004, Iran is obliged to render confidence-building cooperation while the EU is committed to support Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency and the country’s bid for membership in the World Trade Organization, but the United States opposed that issue.
He expressed hope that Iran’s membership in the WTO would be accepted during future talks between Iran and the European Union.
He pointed to “unfounded and biased concerns of the United States“ and said Iran is cooperating with the IAEA.
“In recent talks, the Russian officials once again stressed Iran’s legal right on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Russia is against international discrimination toward Iran’s nuclear program and activities. This country has proposed confidence-building on the fuel cycle,“ he said.
The official called for elimination of Israel’s weapons of mass destruction and said if the United States were not the Zionist regime’s partner, it would have pressured the regime to destroy its arsenal and clear the Middle East of such weapons.
Mousavian also said Russian President Vladimir Putin would pay an official visit to Iran in the near future.
Mousavian, who arrived here on Monday to hold talks with senior Russian officials, will return to Tehran on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi (r) talks with director of the Islamic, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Abbas Sadri, in Tehran on Tuesday. (IRNA Photo)

TEHRAN, April 20--Australia’s newly-appointed ambassador to Iran, Gregory Lawrence Moriarty, here late Tuesday submitted his credentials to Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi.
Referring to the growing ties between Iran and Australia in economic and political areas as well as international affairs such as arms control and regional stability, Kharrazi expressed hope that Australia’s new envoy to Tehran would be able to prepare the grounds for further enhancement of bilateral ties, IRNA reported.
He referred to ’dialogue’ as the best means for promoting relations between countries and resolving international disputes, including those on nuclear technology, adding that the Islamic Republic favors the Middle East to be free from weapons of mass destruction.
“We believe nuclear weapons do not bring security to different countries, including Iran,“ he said.
Australia’s envoy, for his part, said Iran’s role in the establishment of regional security and stability, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq, is appreciable.
Pointing to areas of cooperation between Iran and Australia, the ambassador said his country favors Iran-EU3 nuclear talks.
“I hope to prepare the grounds for promoting bilateral ties during my tenure within the framework of common views and interests,“ he said.
Also in a meeting with Kharrazi on Tuesday, the newly-appointed director of the Islamic, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Abbas Sadri, submitted his credentials.
During the meeting, Kharrazi welcomed Sadri’s appointment and said the activities of ISESCO’s Tehran Regional Office are in line with the interests of the member-states.
Declaring Iran’s support for the measures taken by ISESCO’s regional office in Tehran, Kharrazi pointed out the country’s high potentials in various educational, technical, arts and university fields.
For his part, Sadri briefed the foreign minister on the plans of ISESCO’s regional office in Tehran to present scientific, cultural and educational services to the 12 states regulated by the Tehran office.
Commenting on Iran’s crucial role in boosting the level of activity of Tehran office and the need to strengthen its scientific and cultural efforts, Sadri called for assistance in this regard.

ILAM, April 20--Political and security officials in this western province bordering Iraq met on Wednesday to discuss the late Tuesday’s explosion that left five dead and more than 15 injured.
There have been no reports on what caused the explosion yet which according to eyewitness accounts shattered glasses of nearby homes, ISNA reported.
The news agency said the situation in the city is normal and officials have asked the locals to ignore rumors and remain calm.
The explosion occurred around 20:30 pm near a mosque where a number of youngsters were playing football. The explosive was used to mark the goalpost and went off when one of the boys hurled it toward another player. Some reports say the explosive was left from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.