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Prayer Time (Tehran)
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Dawn: 5:34
Sunrise: 7:00
Noon: 12:18
Evening: 17:57
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Weather Guide
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TUE |
WED |
Tehran: |
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High: |
11oC |
11oC |
Low: |
4oC |
8oC |
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Athens |
4 |
6 |
Ankara |
0 |
0 |
Paris |
7 |
6 |
New Delhi |
27 |
27 |
Rome |
11 |
13 |
Riyadh |
27 |
29 |
Frankfurt |
3 |
2 |
Cairo |
21 |
16 |
Kuwait City |
20 |
23 |
Karachi |
28 |
31 |
Copenhagen |
3 |
1 |
London |
10 |
7 |
Moscow |
-18 |
-18 |
Madrid |
13 |
13 |
Vienna |
1 |
4 |
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Identification
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Published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Address:
Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #212 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran/Iran
Managing Director: Mohammad T. Roghaniha
Executive Editor: Amin Sabooni
Editorial Dept. Tel: 8755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 8761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 8753119, 8757702, 8733764
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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Calls for Participating In Bahman 22 Rallies
Nation to Demonstrate Nuclear Will
TEHRAN, Feb. 6--Different institutions and organizations on Monday called on Iranians to take part in the Bahman 22 rallies marking the anniversary of the 1979 victory of the Islamic Revolution to largely voice support for the government’s peaceful nuclear program.
Meanwhile, a lawmaker said on Monday that the Iranian nation is ready to demonstrate its strong will to pursue peaceful nuclear energy.
The IAEA Board of Governors’ vote against Iran coincided with the anniversary of the 1979 victory of the Islamic Revolution and reveals the fact that western governments cannot tolerate the Islamic system, Mussa Qorbani also told IRNA. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors on Saturday voted to report Iran’s nuclear program to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Iranians participating in nationwide rallies on Feb. 11 are expected to reiterate their support for the country’s nuclear program and defy the western pressures on Iran.
“The Board of Governors’ resolution proved that the members were influenced by western politicians and did not perform their duties,“ he said.
Qorbani noted that although the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) made a mockery of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) with the anti-Iran resolution, the country will continue to resist all pressures.
“Countries opposed to Iran’s nuclear programs blatantly overlooked the chemical and nuclear weapons or arsenals of some countries and effectively sold their votes on the Iran nuclear issue which is an injustice committed to a legitimate member,“ he said.
Of the 35 IAEA member-states, 27 voted for the resolution, five abstained and three voted against.
In a statement issued on Sunday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the nation to defend Iran’s nuclear programs.
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Ahmadinejad:
West Not Improving Status by Insulting Islam
TEHRAN, Feb. 6--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday those who are defeated on the political scene try to compensate for their defeat by attacking the image of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Addressing the 23rd Annual Book Prize ceremony, the president said, “Unfortunately the world has to suffer people who do not know anything about monotheism, spirituality or ethics.“
The president noted that divine prophets belong to the entire human race.
“Prophets are respected by human beings. Imam Mahdi (May God Hasten His Reappearance), Moses (PBUH), Noah (PBUH) and Muhammad (PBUH) do not belong to a specific social group,“ he said.
Ahmadinejad emphasized that insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will not improve the status of westerners.
“I recommend that you return to the culture of prophets,“ he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said writing requires creativity, courage and effort.
“Before you write, you must be creative. You should also be courageous enough to express your innovative findings. In many cases, lofty ideas cannot be expressed openly due to the absence of courage among writers,“ he said.
Ahmadinejad urged the public to pay more attention to reading books.
“Civilizations are assessed in terms of the culture of their founders and not walls and stones,“ he said.
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IAEA Inspectors Awaited
For Starting Uranium Enrichment
TEHRAN, Feb. 6--Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani said on Monday nuclear negotiations with Europe were expected to give Iran the right to master nuclear fuel cycle, adding that the IAEA has been informed of the date for starting uranium enrichment.
“However, Europe shunned its responsibility and put the dossier in another direction and practically declared that diplomatic conditions should change in the future,“ he told reporters on the sidelines of the closed Majlis session, ISNA reported.
Asked about the date for resuming uranium enrichment, he said, “In a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, we have announced this date. Inspectors should come to Iran for this and it will be done within the next few days.“
Commenting on the Russian proposal, Larijani said, “The Russian proposal can still be examined. The point is that when a plan is proposed to us by another country, it must be carefully examined by our diplomats and Iran’s rights must be considered. The process of examining the plan will not be over in a single meeting. The Russian proposal is negotiable and since he current conditions have changed, we must pursue a different approach.“
Commenting on the consequences of the UN Security Council referral, Larijani said the extreme case should not be considered at this point of time.
“Initially, Iran may be obligated to implement the resolution issued by the Board of Governors. Of course, I must say that they are not in a vulnerable position, but they surely consider their costs. When the issue of imposing sanctions comes to the fore, they will immediately announce that in case sanctions are imposed, the price of oil will hike and the West will therefore suffer. In fact, we should not be nervous about this matter.“
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Students Protest Near Austrian, Danish Embassies
TEHRAN, Feb. 6--Police tightened security around the Austrian and Danish embassies in Tehran on Monday as a group of university students protested the appearance of blasphemous cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in European publications.
Austria currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, IRNA reported.
Cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), first published in a Danish newspaper in September and reprinted by other European print media, have instigated the anger of Muslims worldwide.
Some 200 Basij university students threw stones and firebombs at the Austrian Embassy in Tehran, smashing windows and setting fire to some paintings.
Meanwhile, Afghan security forces opened fire on demonstrators Monday, leaving at least four dead, as increasingly violent protests erupted over the cartoons. European and Muslim politicians have appealed for calm.
“The worst of the violence was outside Bagram, the main US base in Afghanistan, with Afghan police firing on some 2,000 protestors as they tried to break into the heavily guarded facility,“ said Kabir Ahmed, the local government chief.
Ahmed said two demonstrators were killed and five were injured, while eight police were also hurt.
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85% Support Continuation of Nuclear Activities
TEHRAN, Feb. 6--Some 85.4 percent of Iranians believe the best choice for Iran under the present circumstances is continuation of nuclear activities, according to the results of the latest opinion poll.
The polling, conducted by Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA), indicates that only 12.7 percent of those polled called for Iran to show flexibility, IRNA reported.
The poll, conducted during January 29-30, involved 1,019 people above 18 years.
Some 74.3 percent also called for expansion of nuclear technology even if Iran’s nuclear case is sent to the UN Security Council.
Asked about the need to access nuclear technology, the poll results showed more than 80 percent said the country must get access to nuclear energy while only 4 percent considered it as less important.
Some 70 percent also maintained that the attitude of European states toward Iran’s nuclear case is ’illogical’.
Furthermore, 38.1 percent were ’much’ or ’very much’ interested in following up the nuclear energy reports, while 23.5 percent were ’little’ or ’very little’ interested in doing so.
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Clash of Civilizations Emerging
TEHRAN, Feb. 6--An official castigated the West’s double standards and warned against the emergence of a clash of civilizations.
In a message to the members of the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union, Kazem Jalali, who heads the Iranian Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Executive Council, also said on Monday that publishing contemptuous cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in some sections of the Western print media led to large waves of protests among Muslims and followers of other religions.
“The West had also launched similar moves under the pretext of freedom of expression. This reasoning, especially at a time when commenting against the Zionist viewpoints, including the holocaust of Jews in WWII, in the European print media is forbidden. This is not understandable and convincing.“
The message noted that the West justifies the Zionist regime’s occupation of Palestine and its violation of human rights under the pretext of democracy, but pursues double standards with regard to the Palestinian cause.
It pointed out the contradictions in the Western attitude toward the nuclear programs of different countries and warned against the threats posed to global peace and security.
Jalali concluded the message by urging the members of the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union to actively participate in the 104th meeting scheduled for May in Nairobi.
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Lavrov Warns Against Threatening Iran
ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 6--Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday warned world powers against threatening Iran and said the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program must be resolved through negotiations.
“I think that at the current stage, it is important not to make guesses about what will happen and even more important not to make threats,“ Lavrov said at the start of a two-day visit to Athens, AP reported.
Lavrov was responding to a request for his reaction to US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s comments to a German newspaper that a military option for dealing with Tehran should be kept open.
“What we must underline is that there are the decisions of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN Security Council has been informed and will not take any action in the immediate future,“ Lavrov said after talks with Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis.
“There is cooperation with Iran which must continue“ so that drastic measures can be avoided, Lavrov said.
Lavrov said the use of force would be possible only on the basis of the United Nations Charter.
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Salutations to Imam Hussein (AS)
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Iranians commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and of his companions by participating in mourning ceremonies nationwide.
We express our condolences to our Muslim
readers on this sad occasion.
Our next issue will be out after the public holidays on Feb. 12.
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Inflationary Prices
By M. P. Zamani
The issue of inflation and rising prices of basic goods is a daunting challenge to the national economy requiring some daring action from the government at the earliest.
As we have been witnessing for a long time now, the consumer price index is perpetually gravitating upwards to a point of no return.
Economy Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari admits that Iran has one of the highest inflation rates in the region, while urging the government and parliament to join hands to control the trend.
It is regrettable that Iran, the fourth largest producer of oil in the world ranks 13th from the top (in a list of 212 countries) with inflation rate for consumer prices at 15.5% (World Fact Book, 2005) sandwiched between Nigeria (16.5 %) and Liberia (15%). Even countries like Egypt, Turkey, Yemen, DR Congo, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kenya, which do not have fossil fuels like Iran, have lower inflation rates (consumer prices) of 9.5, 9.3, 12.2, 14, 6, 3.1, and 9 percent respectively.
And if we compare Iran’s position with other oil rich nations, the less said the better. Saudi Arabia has a 0.8 % inflation rate, while UAE has 3.2 % and Qatar 3%.
Over the past six months since the new government took office, prices of essential goods have surged by 20 to 25 percent, reports say, adding that inflation is in the range of 15.7 percent.
So where does the fault lie: the economic policies of the government or lack of financial discipline?
Experts warn that if the inflation rate is not reduced through appropriate polices, other economic objectives like reducing bank rates will not be achieved.
Economists say high oil prices, lax fiscal policy and lack of private sector competition have pushed up prices in the country.
The International Monetary Fund urged Iran in December to pay greater attention to reducing inflation and called on authorities to reduce current spending from surplus oil revenues that have been saved in the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund. The fund is meant to protect the economy from future oil price falls, but unfortunately the government has been regularly drawing from the reserves to meet its current expenses.
Central Bank Governor Ebrahim Sheibani has also acknowledged that lax fiscal discipline was causing liquidity growth to accelerate, impeding efforts to lower the annual inflation rate to a single digit.
Senior bank officials maintain that inflation rate will come down to 7% or 8% by the closing year of the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2005-2010), if the Ahmadinejad administration implements the plan precisely.
An ambitious target indeed! But possible only if the administration walks strictly on the track shown by economic experts.
For the ordinary masses, the high inflation rate for consumer prices translates into lower purchasing power or less for more. If the price rises of essential goods and services are commensurate with the increase in consumers’ buying capacity, that is, if they are somehow compensated through financial or other means, there would have been no room for grouse. But the fact of the matter is that the government’s promise of economic justice is to remain on record for, perhaps, a long time to come.
Regrettably this has been the gift of successive governments to the Iranian people. In the absence of effective government measures to control the various causes responsible for the spiraling prices and inflation rate, the current situation may even extend into the new Iranian year (March 21).
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