Ali Larijani

TEHRAN, Nov. 13--Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani stressed that Tehran’s policies toward Washington will not change with the political changes in the United States.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Larijani noted that Americans will not change their strategic stances with the change in their political ambience.
He, however, added that if Americans adopt a new approach toward Iran, it can have an impact on Tehran-Washington ties, IRNA reported.
“We have not seen any change other than some statements so far. Democrats and Republicans have common stances concerning some issues,“ he said, adding that Republicans have also acknowledged that their behavior in the Middle East is wrong and it would be logical to analyze results instead of focusing on issues.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator also said that the US unilateral policies have failed, stating that results of the recent Congress elections indicated that US officials should deal with other nations respectfully and logically.
“It’s commonsense that under the present circumstances, US officials should stop being stubborn in dealing with Iran’s nuclear issue,“ he said.
Commenting on his trip to Russia and talks with President Vladimir Putin, the Iranian official also said the Russian government insists on the settlement of Iran’s nuclear issue through negotiations.
Larijani maintained that the key issue about Iran’s nuclear program is the rights of the Iranian nation, adding that nothing is more important than Iran’s right to uranium enrichment.

TEHRAN, Nov. 13--Iran reserves the right to take an appropriate response to any attempt to deprive its rights, Government Spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said on Monday.
Elham made the remark at his weekly press conference when asked to comment on a draft resolution that could be adopted by the United Nations Security Council against Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, IRNA reported.
“If the UN Security Council passes a resolution that would deprive Iran of its rights, the country is entitled to respond appropriately,“ he said.
He added that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has responsibilities which it should carry out as an international, independent and legal body.
Asked how Iran would react to a possible Security Council resolution that imposes sanctions, the spokesman said, “Iran will make the decision and take the necessary steps to restore its rights while observing various aspects (of its international rights and obligations).“
He stressed that the government has plans for every condition and has drawn specific plans to confront any restrictions.
“We are well prepared to deal with sanctions while we do not look forward to difficult conditions,“ he said.
Elham added that a delay in taking the decision by Group 5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) on adopting an anti-Iran resolution showed problems among member-states of the group.
“A decision on imposing sanctions against Iran will also threaten Group 5+1,“ he said.
The spokesman hoped the group would take an appropriate decision and continue negotiations with Iran.
“Iran seeks all-out ties with all countries of the world,“ he said.
On a possible negotiation between Iran and the US on Iraq, Elham hoped that the United States would revise its anti-Iran attitude.
“We hope the US will withdraw from the region, abandon its hegemonic policies, end its support for terrorist groups and Israeli terrorism and give a positive response to the demand of regional nations for peace and justice in the international community,“ he said.
Elham maintained that if the US officials decided on a policy shift, all problems would be settled.

TEHRAN, Nov. 13--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday the era of dominating over independent and brave nations has ended.
In a telephone conversation with Nicaragua’s president-elect Daniel Ortega, the Iranian president expressed his felicitations to Ortega over his victory in the last week’s elections, IRNA reported.
“The present time is the era of awareness and rule of free nations to administer justice and spirituality in the world,“ he said.
Ahmadinejad added that the Iranian government and nation support the free and revolutionary people of the world, particularly the Nicaraguan nation.
“Tehran is ready to transfer its valuable experiences and achievements to Nicaragua,“ he said.
Ortega, for his part, said Latin American states, including Nicaragua, have chosen the path of progress.
“Nicaragua’s nation, along with free and independent peoples, would strive toward establishment of peace, justice and spirituality in the world,“ he said.
Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist revolutionary who fought off a US-backed insurgency in the 1980s, won back the Nicaraguan presidency last Tuesday and promised to work to eliminate poverty and reassure investors.
After near-complete results showed Ortega with a 9-percentage point lead, chief rival Eduardo Montealegre conceded defeat.
With 91 percent of the votes tallied, Ortega had 38 percent of the votes from Sunday’s election compared to 29 percent for Montealegre. Under Nicaraguan law, the winner of Sunday’s election must have 35 percent of the vote and a 5 percentage-point lead to avoid a runoff.

ORUMIEH, West Azarbaijan, Nov. 13--Vehicles transporting illegal foreigners will be impounded, said head of West Azerbaijan Police Information Center on Monday.
Major Shahnam Rezaei also told IRNA that according to the ratification of Supreme National Security Council, the police will confront offenders.
He noted that the vehicles will be kept in the pound for six months, if buses carry more than ten persons, minibuses more than five and cars more than two.
Referring to threats posed by illegal foreigners, Rezaei added that 105 of them were detained along Iran-Turkey border last week.
Some 800,000 illegal foreigners are working in Iran, ISNA reported.
According to the latest statistics, illegal foreign workers, who earn $1.3 billion annually, mostly hail from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
Illegal laborers usually work without a contract in Iran, which excludes them from all social security and health benefits.

KHOY, West Azarbaijan, Nov. 13--Police arrested four foreign-affiliated agents who planned to bomb the Iran-Europe railroad in Qatour area near the northwestern city of Khoy.
Commander of Khoy Border Police Mohammad Ali Zaker said the four agents were carrying 20 kilos of explosives to attack the railroad, Fars News Agency reported.
“Based on public reports, our officers discovered 20 kilos of TNT along with electronic detonators and a large amount of anti-clot medicine,“ he said, adding that the detainees have confessed to their crime.
Zaker noted that the four detainees have been handed over to the judiciary for further investigations.

A view of Arak nuclear plant, Markazi province (Mehr File Photo)

TEHRAN, Nov. 13--Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) has requested assistance for implementing safety measures at its Arak nuclear plant to produce isotopes for hospitals.
According to the charter of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency is obliged to offer technical assistance to member-states for their nuclear reactors, IRNA reported.
The signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) usually request safety assistance from the specialized agency and Iran has made such a request for its research reactor in Arak.
An informed source said Iran sought IAEA technical assistance for the protection of environment.
Asked whether it is possible for IAEA to withhold such technical assistance, the source noted that a major part of IAEA’s annual budget is provided by the member-states and safety assistance is part of the technical assistance the agency should provide to those who have signed the NPT and the agency’s Safeguards Agreement.

TEHRAN, Nov. 13--A blizzard of protest by Iranians compelled the US-based search engine Google to amend its provocative mistake in an entry on its video website, in which the Iranian city of Tabriz, East Azarbaijan province, was introduced as a city of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
According to ISNA, the site on Sunday revised its mistake and named Tabriz as a city in northwest Iran due to the protests of Iranian people.
In a move tailor-made to hurt Iranians, the Azari provincial capital, Tabriz, was located “in southern Azerbaijan, currently in the territory of Iran“ by Google.
In fact, Tabriz and Azerbaijan belonged to Iran for more than 6,000 years.
The text of a tourist film on the site has drawn accusations that the American website is deliberately trying to undermine Iran’s territorial integrity by fomenting separatist sentiments in the mainly Turkish-speaking province.
Valiollah Azarvash, an Iranian MP, said, “An Iranian will never accept such a slight. Since the 2nd millennium BC, East Azerbaijan and Tabriz have never been separated from the body of Iran. How can they now belong somewhere else?“
The reformist Persian newspaper Etemad accused the site of a “strange, suspicious and dubious act“.
The row echoes a controversy two years ago when the US-based magazine National Geographic was swamped by protests after labeling the Persian Gulf as Arabian, that triggered Iranian protest and forced the magazine to modify the error.

LARESTAN, Fars, Nov. 13--A sedan hit a camel and another vehicle in Larestan’s Ouz late on Sunday, leading to the death of five passengers.
A Toyota diverged from its route after hitting the camel and then crashed into a coming Paykan sedan in Hirom-Ouz Road.
Driver of the Toyota, Abdolhamid Monfared, 26, and four passengers of Paykan died on the spot while three other passengers of the two sedans, including a man, a woman and a child, were severely injured.
The injured were transferred to a hospital in Ouz. Police officials said they are investigating the issue.
Over 4,000 accidents occur on 175,000 kilometers of Iranian roads annually, killing more than 30,000 people and inflicting 40,000 billion rials in losses--equivalent to about 4 percent of the gross domestic product--on the country’s economy.