State Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (r) talks with CubaÕs new Ambassador in Tehran Fernando N. Garcia, January 2. (IRNA Photo)

TEHRAN, Jan. 2--State Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani here Monday urged further expansion of Tehran-Havana relations in the economic, commercial and cultural fields.
In a meeting with Cuba’s new Ambassador in Tehran Fernando N. Garcia, Rafsanjani said the commonalities and independent foreign policies of Iran and Cuba are reasons for the two countries’ willingness to expand relations, IRNA reported.
“Constructive and effective cooperation between Iran and Cuba at the international level can help the two sides confront unilateralism of the big powers,“ he said.
He further said the growing anti-American sentiments in Latin America are a sign of the revolutionary and anti-arrogance spirit of people in the region, noting that people in Latin America are moving towards their former anti-imperialist sentiments and Cuba is not alone in the continent.
Rafsanjani stressed that Iran can play a key role in meeting the requirements of Cuba and other Latin American states in the industrial, technical and engineering sectors.
Garcia, referring to Iran’s peaceful nuclear programs, said Cuba will resist the illegal strategies of certain countries and support Iran’s right to nuclear energy.
“Tehran and Havana enjoy high capacity for expanding relations,“ he said, adding that pressures of the arrogant powers, especially the US, will help expansion of bilateral relations.

TEHRAN, Jan. 2--Leader of Iranian Armenians, Archbishop Sibveh Sarkisyan, conferred with former President Mohammad Khatami on Monday.
Archbishop Sarkisyan delivered the invitation of the spiritual leader of world Armenians, Archbishop Jasliq Aram I Keshishian to represent Islam in the International Council for Dialogue Among Religions, IRNA reported.
While thanking Khatami for felicitating the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ (AS) and the New Year, Sarkisyan noted that Archbishop Keshishian plans to establish an international center for Dialogue Among Religions with financial support from the International Council of Churches.
Sarkisyan told Khatami that his presence among Christian scholars and elites in the religious center of Armenians located in Lebanon will have a positive impact and the Lebanese media will extensively cover Khatami’s presence.
“Archbishop Aram I Keshishian believes Khatami is the best choice for an Islamic representative in the International Council for Dialogue Among Religions,“ he said.
Archbishop Keshishian has visited Iran three times before.
Khatami, for his part, said the main problem today is that people have distanced themselves from God.
“My first visit to Europe was to Vatican when I met with Pope John Paul II. I remember this visit as one of most memorable foreign visits,“ he said.
The population of Armenians around the world stands at 15 million and they number 300,000 in Iran.

ISFAHAN, Jan. 2--The government plans to repatriate all Afghan refugees living in Iran, an official said on Sunday.
Ahmad Hosseini, director general of Interior Ministry’s Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrant Affairs, also told IRNA that the government has launched a plan to identify, estimate, classify and repatriate Afghan refugees voluntarily in the next Iranian year (starting March 21, 2006).
Hosseini further said representatives of Iran, Afghanistan and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will hold a meeting in Tehran in March to discuss the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Iran.
Asked to give a figure on Afghan nationals staying in Iran illegally, he said there is no precise figure on Afghan refugees yet, adding that the capacity of refugee camps should be increased to accommodate Afghan nationals living illegally in Iran.
The official urged the Islamic Republic of Iran Police to reinforce the country’s eastern borders to prevent the entry of Afghan nationals on the one hand and also called on the Labor Ministry to require employers not to recruit Afghan nationals on the other.
He said the number of Afghan nationals living in Iran legally will be compiled by the end of January.
Hosseini noted that 650,000 Afghan nationals already possess permits to stay in Iran until the end of the first half of the next Iranian year.
“The police arrested and deported about 200,000 Afghan nationals who had entered Iran illegally in the past nine months,“ he said.
Hosseini pointed out that in addition to Afghan refugees, nearly 100,000 Iraqi refugees and 5,000 people of other nationality are also in Iran.

Mohammad Ali Rahmani

TEHRAN, Jan. 2--A police official said on Monday no officer is entitled to show disrespect to people.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mohammad Ali Rahmani, the head of Republic of Iran Police’s Theological-Political Department, added that police forces can only detain and deliver offenders to judicial officials, IRNA reported.
“We do not have the right to insult a criminal. Police personnel should not act in a way that people think they are acting against Islamic and professional ethics,“ he added. Rahmani further said violators would be reprimanded, noting that 50,000 personnel were warned this year.
“We expelled five officers who had committed assault and battery last week,“ he said, stressing that ethical security is of great significance for police personnel.
Stating that ensuring security is the main duty of the police, Rahmani said new technologies, religious beliefs and an increased desire to help people have helped improve police performance.
Commenting on the smuggling of goods, alcohols, guns and narcotics as the main anti-security factors, the official said police personnel are making round-the-clock efforts to provide border security.
Rahimi, who is also the leader’s representative in Police, pointed out that 24 million phone calls were made to Police 110 in the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2005), which indicate the wide presence and popularity of police.

TEHRAN, Jan. 2--Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad-Adel said on Monday he is ready to declare his assets following the meritorious example set by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
According to a list of assets of government officials provided by the local press, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has an empty bank account, a house and a 30-year-old car, IRNA reported.
“The Majlis will likely approve a plan to require government officials to declare their assets,“ he said.
Haddad-Adel noted that the Majlis has been following up the issue of requiring authorities to divulge their assets to the judiciary and the people.
The constitution empowers the judiciary chief to examine the assets of top officials before and after their tenure.

TEHRAN, Jan. 2--A Health Ministry official announced 50 percent of cigarettes have entered Iranian markets illegally, IRNA reported on Monday. Hassan Azaripour, a member of Health Ministry’s Committee to Combat Smoking, added that cigarettes without the hologram of Iranian Tobacco Company have been smuggled into the country.
Azaripour maintained that they include 50 percent of cigarettes currently sold in the domestic market.

TEHRAN, Jan. 2--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed regret on Monday over the high death toll in road accidents and ordered ministers to devise programs for reducing the death toll.
Ahmadinejad’s directives to the ministers of road, health, interior and education followed the death of six schoolchildren in an accident between a pickup and a minibus on Dihuk-Tabas Road (in Khorasan province) on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, since important people have not been among those killed in road accidents, sufficient attention has not been paid to this issue,“ he said.
Noting that the high road death toll should be taken into account, Ahmadinejad requested Roads and Transport Minister Mohammad Rahmati to devise a mechanism to increase traffic control on such roads.
He also asked the Health Ministry to reinforce medical emergency services on roads.
Ahmadinejad also asked ministries of education and interior to investigate the conditions of schools in rural areas.

TEHRAN, Jan. 2--An official said the fiber optic cable between Iran and the United Arab Emirates was severed on Thursday by an anchor.
Naser Yousefpour, managing director of Communications Infrastructure Organization, also told IRNA on Monday that the anchor of a large ship got entangled with the cable and carried it for about four kilometers which resulted in its severance.
Officials had earlier predicted that an anchor could sever fiber optic wires lying undersea between Jask Port in Iran’s Hormuzgan province and UAE’s Fujairah.
The cable’s severance disrupted 90 percent of Internet access and 80 percent of voice connections temporarily.
Currently, 50 percent of Internet access and about 80 percent of the voice connections are linked via the satellite and Iran-Turkey fiber optic network.
According to Yousefpour, an Iranian ship has been dispatched to the area to repair the damage and the problems will be solved by Tuesday.

ATHENS, Greece, Jan. 2--Greek authorities have arrested three Iranians attempting to sell three ancient Greek coins for 17,000 euros ($20,000), the finance ministry’s inspection squad said on Monday.
The inspectors who conducted the arrest also confiscated pictures of hundreds of similar coins from the detainees, a ministry statement said, AFP reported.
Two of the Iranians were found to be in possession of an army knife, a hatchet and a small quantity of hashish.
The Iranians were taken to the Athens prosecutor, the statement said.
With an archeological wealth dating back to prehistoric times, Greece has long been a target of smugglers attempting to remove valuable items for sale abroad.

TEHRAN, Jan. 2--An earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale hit the city of Bojnourd and its nearby villages in North Khorasan province late Sunday.
According to Qouchan seismological base, affiliated to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University, the quake occurred at 22:59 hours local time (1929 GMT), IRNA reported.
Meanwhile, another earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale hit suburbs of the city of Bardeskan in northeastern Khorasan Razavi province on Monday.
According to Mashhad Seismological base, also affiliated to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University, the quake occurred at 12:39 hours local time (0909 GMT).
Quakes of varying magnitudes often occur in Iran, which is situated on some of the world’s most active seismic fault-lines.