|
Identification
|
|
Published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Address:
Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #212 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran/Iran
Executive Editor: Amin Sabooni
Editorial Dept. Tel: 88755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 88761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 88501499, 88737250
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
|
|
|
|
Int’l Approach Based
On Dialogue
Need to Find
Root Cause of Problems
|
|
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
(r) talks with President of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union Pier Ferdinando Casini in Tehran, Sept. 9. (Mehr Photo)
|
TEHRAN, Sept. 10--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said problems can be solved and agreement reached through talks, unless some parties are determined to promote injustice and pursue cruelty.
Speaking in a meeting with President of Inter-Parliamentary Union Pier Ferdinando Casini on Sunday, the chief executive noted that Iran’s approach to international issues is based on dialogue, IRNA reported.
Referring to Iran as a country that has suffered great losses in the Middle East wars, he said it has created neither crisis nor insecurity.
The president further said peace and tranquility can only be established by solving the root causes of problems, which require an approach based on justice and respect for human dignity.
“By continuing their post-World War II relations, the US and Britain intend to sow seeds of discord among independent countries such as European and Middle East states. They aim to protect their own illegitimate interests from any harm. Being neighbors, European and Middle East countries have had historical ties. Besides, they have many common interests, one of which is security,“ he said.
Stating that international relations are unfavorable, Ahmadinejad stressed the need to strengthen the United Nations to promote justice across the world.
For his part, Casini underlined Iran’s decisive role in the Middle East and said, “The international community needs Iran for promotion of peace and tranquility. Resolving Middle East problems without Iran’s role can hardly be imagined.“
The Inter-Parliamentary Union’s president pointed to multilateralism and said strengthening the UN is one way to eliminate the current difficulties.
“The US has accepted that unilateralism, for instance, in Iraq did not lead to any positive outcome, given its failure to establish stability and security in that country,“ he said.
|
|
|
EU Talks Progressing
Larijani, ElBaradei Confer
VIENNA, Austria, Sept. 10--Iran’s nuclear negotiator and the EU foreign policy chief said on Sunday misunderstandings had been removed and progress made during talks on Iran’s nuclear program and they would meet again next week.
Their upbeat verdicts could slow Washington’s push for swift UN Security Council action to impose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear fuel program despite European misgivings about isolating the world’s No. 4 oil supplier, Reuters reported.
“The meetings...have been productive. We clarified some of the misunderstandings we had before“ about Iran’s 21-page reply to six world powers’ offer of trade inducements to halt nuclear fuel work, Solana told reporters.
“We have made progress and we want to continue in that line and for that purpose we are going to meet again next week. These (talks) have been worth it,“ he said.
Larijani, standing beside Solana, said, “We have made constructive progress. We have reached common points of view on a number of issues. And as mentioned by Dr. Solana, many of the misunderstandings were removed. Our meetings will continue.“
Both sides declined to elaborate on the progress made, but an EU diplomat said earlier the crucial issue of timing for a suspension of uranium enrichment was addressed at the talks.
Meanwhile, Larijani on Sunday briefed Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei on his negotiations with Solana.
IRNA’s reporter in Vienna said Larijani’s meeting with ElBaradei focused on the outcome of his negotiations with Solana and the Iranian nuclear program designed for civilian utility. Larijani was expected to leave Vienna for home later in the day.
The six powers--the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China--have publicly insisted Iran suspend its enrichment program before negotiations.
Fearing the repercussions of ostracizing a strategic and economic giant in the Middle East, many in the EU prefer a compromise that might lie in getting Tehran to curb enrichment during any talks on the inducements.
Russia and China, heavy trade partners with Iran, see no security threat from its nuclear work, oppose sanctions and could veto them in the council. Both believe there is room for a diplomatic solution despite the violated deadline.
|
|
|
Arabs Want Nuclear Technology
KUWAIT CITY,
Sept. 10--Secretary-General of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council Abdulrahman Al-Attiya on Sunday stressed the need for Arabs to gain access to peaceful nuclear technology.
Addressing a congress themed “Dangers and Consequences of Expansion of Nuclear Activities“ in Manama, Attiya said it is high time Arabs had a peaceful nuclear program so that the Arab world could confront this scientific challenge through the spirit of cooperation, IRNA reported.
Al-Attiya noted that a peaceful nuclear program has applications in scientific, medical, agricultural and industrial domains.
“We are not pleased with being sidelined and away from scientific advancement, especially in the nuclear arena,“ he said.
The Arab official lambasted the West for ignoring Israel’s military-oriented nuclear program and considering Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities as a threat to the world.
Al-Attiya stressed that the commotion raised over Iran’s nuclear program should not hinder PGCC member-states from collaborating with the Islamic Republic.
|
|
|
100 Taliban Killed
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Sept. 10--NATO and Afghan troops killed 94 Taliban rebels in a major insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan while a respected provincial governor died in a suicide blast Sunday, officials said.
The violence underscored the precarious situation in Afghanistan on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks--the atrocity that prompted the toppling of the fundamentalist Taliban, AFP reported.
The insurgents died during Operation Medusa, which was launched on September 2 and is the biggest anti-Taliban offensive involving NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
The fierce battles take to over 450 the number of rebels killed in the operation focused on the Panjwayi district which is 35 kilometers (19 miles) west of the Taliban birthplace of Kandahar.
Medusa is the biggest operation in the south since ISAF took over the area on July 31 from a US-led coalition that had driven the Taliban from power in 2001.
“One of the key tasks of the offensive is to stop more Taliban infiltrating the area where some 700 rebels were initially assessed as hiding out,“ said another ISAF spokesman, Major Quentin Innis.
Meanwhile, Hakim Taniwal, the governor of Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan, his nephew and chief bodyguard were killed Sunday in a suicide attack claimed by the Taliban.
Taniwal, in his 60s, was a former sociology professor who previously lived in exile in Melbourne, Australia. He had also served as minister in the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Taliban Spokesman Mohammad Hanif said one of the movement’s fighters had carried out the attack, which follows several assassination attempts on other provincial governors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Lost Cause
By Amin Sabooni
Save for some few exceptions, in the post 9/11 world people see the proof of decay that is sapping American strength and will.
In the view of a fast growing number of informed observers, Bush’s America made two serious mistakes in the international war against terrorism. Entering the war as commander and losing it. A lot has been said, written and argued about the barbaric attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Political pundits, peace activists and social scientists have since then constantly called on rulers and the ruled to draw proper lessons from the terror raids that were roundly condemned by the comity of nations, irrespective of their love or hatred for American rulers. Five years on, it is not difficult to imagine that the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Rice crusade to “wipe out terror“ has not only not solved the problem but also made it worse.
Leaving most of the post-9/11 mess created by the Whitehouse to crisis managers, it would do some good to focus on occupied Iraq and remind the baffled world that the war-weary nation is being undone systematically by Bush and his Pentagon in the name of fighting terror. According to reliable sources, the US under King George is directly or otherwise responsible for the deaths of over 100,000 Iraqis after the March 2003 Anglo-American invasion brought down one of the most brutal pro-western despots in recent history.
Iraq lies in ruins and could fall apart anytime thanks to Bush and Tony Blair who turn into dust everything they touch. Death, destruction and kidnapping have become a growth industry in the Arab country where Bush has put close to 130,000 troops in harm’s way to keep law and order and make America “safer“ for Americans.
For all practical purposes, he has failed on both fronts.
All the Whitehouse nonsense and layers of deceit aside, one thing is certain. What the US is sowing in Iraq it will reap in the regional states whose rulers have a long history of obediently serving US interests and often mistake loyalty for legitimacy.
People who identify closely with western values and have also unequivocally condemned the killing of nearly 3,000 innocent people on 9/11, want to ask the American people two questions.
How many more civilians outside the US must be killed because of the actions of your government and its false claims to make America safer?
What makes your life more precious than that of Arabs and Afghans, hundreds of whom are being killed everyday with US bombs and missiles because they have different value systems and do not want to think like you?
The world today is as much confused as it was on that ill-fated day when commercial airliners turned into flying bombs and rammed into the heart of America. The prestige and credibility of the sole superpower were badly hurt. It was rightly expected that America’s best minds would get together to see what led to the carnage and rectify the errors.
Unfortunately little has happened on that wavelength while the neocons and fear-mongers in Washington have done a terrible job in deception and window-dressing. This has effectively reduced the much-needed genuine war on terror to a dangerous conflict between the US-led West and the Muslim-Arab world.
It would not be farfetched to claim that under the present climate of fear, hate, illusions, misconceptions and wishful thinking created so generously by the rogue Bush regime, the ongoing conflict will produce more misery and suffering that cannot be contained by military might, including that of the superpower.
On yet another remembrance of 9/11, America is in despair and disrepair, which is a direct result of the arrogance and ignorance of its present and past rulers who believe more in money and military power than moral values.
Long divorced from reality, the US and its allies of different shades have miserably failed in their self-fulfilling mission to solve the problems of the world on their own terms. Most of them need to realize that they have to change the way they do things.
It is clear they do not have much leeway. Maybe they could solve some of their pressing problems by learning to treat other nations with honor and respect.
|
|
|
|
|
|
