Hamid Reza Tarraqi

Ahmad Shirzad

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--A reformist activist said adopting a security approach with regard to political affairs will impose restrictions over party activities and promote the attitude of looking at all incidents as conspiracies.
A former lawmaker and member of Islamic Iran Participation Front, Ahmad Shirzad, also told ISNA on Monday that a political manager should not be chosen from among intelligence personnel because the latter should only focus on safeguarding national stability rather than engaging in politics.
“Those who treat politics from an intelligence perspective will tend to impose restrictions on party activities and expose them to intelligence activities such as eavesdropping and tapping telephone lines,“ he said.
Shirzad said if security and military organizations do not sidestep the social and political stage, and not limit their activities to intelligence missions, they will eventually infiltrate into all social and political aspects of the people’s lives at the expense of democracy as well as social and political freedoms.
A conservative politician, on the other hand, defended appointing people with intelligence background to political posts.
A member of Islamic Coalition Party, Hamid Reza Tarraqi, told the news agency the same day that approaching political issue from a security and intelligence point of view has become a necessity, in the absence of which the country would suffer irreparable damage.
“Today, foreign and domestic threats leave no choice but to have a security approach to political issues,“ he said.
Tarraqi said in jobs such as those of interior minister, a lack of intelligence experience could expose him to untimely and even harmful decisions in the wake of a crisis.
“The responsibility of the Interior Ministry is to ensure political, social and cultural security, which duty lies with governor generals and disciplinary forces who can best handle the job due to their intelligence and political background,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Monday for allocating provincial funds based on the region’s level of development.
In separate meetings with lawmakers from Kermanshah, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari and North Khorasan provinces, Ahmadinejad said resources should be disbursed in accordance with the potentials of each region and the extent of infrastructural development needed, ISNA reported.
“An overhaul is needed in the banking system to nurture provincial capabilities and potentials,“ he said, referring to it as the key strategy to promote national justice.
Ahmadinejad noted that justice can be materialized by extending banking facilities and allocating funds through forex resources, the supervision of which should be brought under the jurisdiction of provincial bodies.
The MPs briefed the president on the development situation in their constituencies, enumerating on the problems prevailing in those areas.

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Monday expressed condolences to his Pakistani and Indian counterparts for the thousands of lives lost in a devastating earthquake that hit South Asia Saturday morning.
The quake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, was epicentered 95 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of the Pakistani capital Islamabad, IRNA reported.
The quake left more than 20,000 people dead and buried thousands alive in rubble.
In a message to his Pakistani counterpart, Khursheed Kasuri, Mottaki prayed for God’s forgiveness for the victims and forbearance for the bereaved families.
He expressed the Iranian government’s readiness to help the quake-stricken victims.
In his message to Indian counterpart Natwar Singh, Mottaki expressed condolences for the large number of Indian lives lost in the tragedy.
Almost 1,000 people are known to have been killed in Indian-held Kashmir.

BAGHDAD, Iraq,
Oct. 10--The United Nations plans to resettle thousands of Kurds who left Iran for Iraq.
UN officials said the world body intends to move Iranian Kurds from a refugee camp in Ramadi to Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported. They said deteriorating security at Ramadi, a Sunni Muslim city, could not ensure the safety of the Kurdish refugees.
“We have called for a special status to be given to the Iranian Kurds,“ UN official Amin Awad said.
Awad, responsible for Kurdish refugees in Iraq, reported a sharp increase in the number of people who escaped Iran.

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--A key member of the Majlis rightist faction said on Sunday the Coordinating Council of the Islamic Revolution Forces will be renamed as “Rightist United Front“.
Mohammad Reza Mir-Tajeddini, also an MP from Tabriz, added that the coordinating council will not become a political party because it comprises several parties and political groups.
He rejected all rumors about transforming the council into a political party.
“Rightists are determined to continue their activities in an organized manner and adopt new strategies,“ he said.
Mir-Tajeddini also said rightists are determined to become more united and active in future.

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--New Australian ambassador to Iran, Gregory Lorens Moriarty, conferred on Monday with first Majlis Vice Speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar.
Referring to Iran’s 20-Year Strategy and the start of the fourth economic development plan (2005-2010), Bahonar elaborated on the effective role of Majlis in approving the country’s development programs, IRNA reported.
Commenting on the significance of parliamentary relations and its impact on relations with different countries, Bahonar noted that relations help familiarize different nations with each other’s cultures and forge closer scientific and cultural collaboration.
Moriarty voiced the willingness of the Australian government and parliament in improving ties with Iran in different fields. He called for exchanging experiences in privatization, cultural and religious fields.
Moriarty also underscored the importance of holding dialogue between different religions and parliaments.

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--The 18th meeting of Caspian Sea working group was held in the presence of special representatives of five Caspian Sea states in Baku during October 6-7.
The Iranian delegation to the meeting was led by Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia, Pacific and Commonwealth of Independent States,) and special envoy for Caspian Sea affairs, Mehdi Safari, IRNA reported.
Negotiations were held in a cordial atmosphere and the neighboring states moved forward to make their stance closer.
The Iranian team expressed satisfied with the 18 rounds of five-party talks, referring to it as “a step forward“.
The meeting discussed topics included in the draft convention such as ways of dividing seabed and undersea resources, defining national and fishing rights, clarification of common marine areas, military status of the Caspian Sea, free transit from Caspian waterways and canals, status of shipping, establishment of pipelines on seabed, ways to settle differences, location of secretariat and board of trustee of the convention.
The Iranian delegation said Iran believes the neighboring states should form a regional security arrangement for the Caspian Sea without the interference of alien forces and avoid military competition or arms race due to the atmosphere of understanding and confidence prevailing among the five Caspian Sea states.
Iran made it clear that the draft on Caspian Sea legal status should be fair and in accordance with international regulations.
Representatives of the five littoral states issued a statement at the end of the Baku meeting expressing their resolve to proceed with negotiations to reach a settlement on the Caspian issues.
They agreed to hold the next round of talks in Astana, Kazakhstan in the near future. Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, which have ratified the Convention on Caspian Sea Environment, called on the Republic of Azerbaijan to speed up the ratification of the convention to expedite enforcement of the convention and prevent degradation of the Caspian Sea environment.

VIENNA, Austria, Oct. 10--A delegation, comprising senior envoys of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will arrive here this week for talks with Iranian officials. A western diplomat told IRNA on Monday the delegation is expected to hold talks with Iranian officials on developments related to Iran’s nuclear activities and find a way out of the current stalemate.
The diplomat, who requested anonymity, declined to reveal further details about the composition of the delegation, duration of its stay in Iran or other issues to be discussed during the team’s meetings with Iranian officials.

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--An earthquake measuring 3.2 on the Richter scale hit the city of Lamerd in the southern province of Fars on Monday.
According to the Fars Seismological Network, affiliated to Tehran University’s Geophysics Institute, the quake occurred at 00:15 hours local time (20.45 GMT Sunday), IRNA reported.
No damage to property has been reported yet.
Quakes of varying magnitudes often occur in Iran, which is situated on some of the world’s most active seismic fault-lines.