Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad Adel is welcomed by an Indonesian parliamentarian upon his arrival in Jakarta on Wednesday.

TEHRAN, Feb. 14--Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad Adel began a six-day visit to Indonesia and Turkey on Wednesday.
He is expected in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday evening on the first leg of his two-nation tour.
Speaking to IRNA at Mehrabad International Airport before his departure, the speaker said he will review issues of mutual interest as well as bilateral political and economic ties with senior Indonesian and Turkish officials.
He said he was visiting Indonesia and Turkey because these “two great Muslim states in Asia enjoy good relations with Iran“.
Haddad was optimistic his visits would help promote ties with Jakarta and Ankara.
Asked if he would discuss Iran’s nuclear issue with officials of the two states, the speaker said he will brief them on the peaceful nature and goals of Iran’s nuclear activities.
Haddad’s retinue includes a number of lawmakers and Foreign Ministry officials.

STRASBOURG, France, Feb. 14--The European parliament on Wednesday condemned EU member-states who had turned a “blind eye“ to secret CIA flights used to transport terror suspects.
The parliament approved a report that implicated 13 EU members, including Britain, Germany and Sweden, and called for an “independent inquiry“ to be considered, AFP reported.
The Euro deputies regretted “that European countries have been relinquishing their control over their airspace and airports by turning a blind eye or admitting flights operated by the CIA“.
The report was endorsed, after sifting through the 270 proposed amendments, by 382 MEPs, with 256 voting against and 74 abstentions.
As well as condemning “the acceptance and concealing“ of the clandestine prisoner transfers by the secret services and governments of certain European countries, it expressed grave doubts over assertions by nations that they were unaware of the practice.
The parliament, the only directly elected European body, called for pressure to be put on the concerned EU governments “to give full and true information“ about the operations and “where necessary to start hearings and commission an independent investigation without delay“.
The US administration acknowledged last September that the Central Intelligence Agency was operating a secret detention program outside the United States.
The program was begun in late 2001, following the September 11 terror attacks, and continued, according to the report, until late 2005, when questions began to be asked in the press and elsewhere.
Rapporteur Giovanni Fava, who headed the parliamentary inquiry, cited 1,245 CIA “extraordinary rendition“ flights to and from European airports, or over European airspace.
With almost half the total EU members implicated, there were reports of pressure from national governments on the MEPs ahead of the vote, as well as splits within the parliamentary groupings.
The report named 13 EU nations--Austria, Britain, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden--along with non-EU countries Bosnia, Macedonia and Turkey.
Over six months, the parliamentary commission took evidence from 130 people, including government officials, secret service agents, judges, lawyers, journalists and NGO representatives.
EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini urged member-states to hold national inquiries into the matter.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 14--Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Wednesday.
According to informed sources in Saudi Arabia, Larijani will exchange views with Saudi political and security officials on Iran’s nuclear case and the latest regional developments, IRNA reported.
The unofficial visit will conclude later this afternoon, said the source.
This is the fourth time in the past two months that Larijani has conferred with Saudi officials.
According to Saudi sources, Larijani will also discuss the significant role of Iran and Saudi Arabia in resolving the Lebanese crisis as well as other Middle East problems.

ZAHEDAN,
Sistan-Baluchestan,
Feb. 14--At least 11 people were martyred and many injured in a terrorist bombing in Zahedan, capital of this southeastern province, early Wednesday.
Local Police Commander Colonel Qasem Rezaei told IRNA that the terrorist attack was perpetrated by saboteurs who detonated a car bomb near a bus belonging to Zahedan’s Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC), IRNA reported.
The bomb was placed in a car parked on the side of a road. Armed men in two motorcycles opened fire on the moving IRGC bus as it approached the car and set off the bomb, according to an eyewitness.
The bus was used to transport IRGC staff.
Soltan-Ali Mir, director general for political affairs at the provincial Governor’s Office, told IRNA that two of the five suspects were arrested with the help of pedestrians who tipped the police.
Several hand grenades and a video camera were seized from the two terrorists, he added.
Three other suspects were arrested hours ago, the official added.
The Interior Ministry earlier reported that one suspect was arrested.
Mir further said that one of the main elements behind the recent unrest in Sistan-Baluchestan province and a member of a terrorist group was killed during armed clashes with police forces yesterday.
Hosseinali Shahriyari, an MP from Zahedan, condemned the bomb explosion in the city and said a number of colonial agents have not yet stopped committing crimes.
The lawmaker noted that the insecurity in the Middle East is entirely caused by the arrogant world powers headed by the US.
Another official, who was not identified by IRNA, said the explosion is believed to have been perpetrated by a group supported by the US. He said that a group, which has been in the spotlight of the US media propaganda, was responsible for the blast.

TEHRAN, Feb. 14--Supporters of cultural heritage from different walks of life and ethnic groups, as well as several non-governmental organizations, gathered in front of Majlis to protest against the water-collection operation at Sivand Dam in the southern Fars province.
Weathering a rainfall, more than 250 protestors stood with placards denouncing the move and called on the government to stop the project due to its negative impact on the region’s historical monuments.
One of the placards said, “Ancient monuments are the ID of all Iranians“.
Protestors shouted, “Construction Yes, Destruction No“.
A protestor said that if Sivand Dam is filled with water, edifices such as Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rostam will submerge. He noted that 10,000 trees that are more than 100 years old will be destroyed.
A number of Bakhtiari tribesmen from Fars province also participated in the demonstration.
Experts say the humidity emanating from the dam will damage the Cyrus Tomb located five kilometers away from the dam, which lies 100 kilometers north of Shiraz on Sivand River.
Meanwhile, three lawmakers notified President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Energy Minister Parviz Fattah over the Sivand Dam controversy.
The lawmakers were Kourosh Niknam, representing Zoroastrians, Dariush Qanbari, from Ilam, and Ali Akbar Qobadi from Marvdasht-Arsanjan.

TEHRAN, Feb. 14--Twenty-eight entry points to Iraq will be controlled and a house-to-house search will be conducted in Baghdad based on the new security plan, the political advisor of United Iraq Coalition said on Wednesday.
Mohsen Hakim also told Fars News Agency that the Iraqi army and police have been stationed in Baghdad since last six days.
He noted that although the plan has not been officially announced, it is taking effect in Baghdad.
Noting that 85,000 forces are participating in Baghdad’s security plan, Hakim pointed out that the city is divided into 10 security zones.
Referring to the fact that all weapons of terrorists will be seized in the house-to-house search, he said all the families recently driven out of Baghdad will return. He noted that curfew is being imposed in Baghdad from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
Hakim further said Iraq’s borders with Iran and Syria will be closed for 72 hours.
Four border checkpoints of Shalamcheh, Mehran, Bashmakh and Haj Ebrahim will be opened on Saturday for official purposes.

Carla Del Ponte

BRUSSELS, Belgium, Feb. 14--The chief prosecutor of the UN war crimes tribunal criticized the EU and NATO on Wednesday for allowing Serbia to edge closer to membership despite its failure to apprehend suspects responsible for the bloodshed in former Yugoslavia.
“The tribunal must close down by 2010, while the two most wanted suspects for genocide in Europe remain free (because) the international community is no longer very interested in helping us,“ Carla Del Ponte, the tribunal’s longest serving chief prosecutor, said, AP reported.
“Belgrade does not only not cooperate fully with (the court), it does not cooperate at all,“ she said.
Del Ponte noted that EU foreign ministers this week hinted for the first time that Serbia could be allowed to resume suspended negotiations on a Stabilization and Association Agreement--the first step toward EU membership--without achieving “concrete results“ in apprehending Gen. Ratko Mladic, an indicted war criminal from the 1992-95 war in Bosnia.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers said they welcomed moves to resume negotiations on an accord if Belgrade only “shows a clear commitment“ to cooperating closely with the war crimes court. For the first time in two years, the arrest of Mladic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was not specifically mentioned as an essential precondition for a resumption of talks.
The change comes as the United States and the European Union are striving to persuade Belgrade to accept a UN plan that would allow its breakaway province of Kosovo to break free from Serbia.
Speaking with Del Ponte at a press conference, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said some EU members were seeking a compromise with Belgrade, which has already rejected the roadmap for Kosovo saying it was a matter of safeguarding Serbia’s territorial integrity.
“A lot of people are convinced that loosening the demands of the (tribunal) would be helpful with resolving Kosovo,“ De Gucht said.
Del Ponte also attacked NATO for allowing Serbia to join the Partnership for Peace (PFP)--also seen as the first step in achieving alliance membership. Serbia was inducted into the PFP in December, along with its neighbors Bosnia and Montenegro.
“This was a gift to Serbia for nothing,“ she said. “Now Belgrade is probably expecting another gift (from the EU) for doing nothing.“

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 14--Saudi Arabia confirmed on Wednesday it was in talks with Russia over the possible purchase of Russian weapons for the first time and welcomed Moscow’s offer to help develop nuclear energy.
“There are no obstacles to cooperation between the two countries in all fields pertaining to... armament and nuclear energy,“ Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told reporters two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh, a close US ally in the Middle East, has traditionally used western defense systems, but is seeking to diversify its sources of weaponry, AFP reported.
“On the armament front, there have been discussions between the two countries. They are taking place in accordance with the kingdom’s requirements in terms of armament and with what Russia can provide of the kingdom’s needs for such equipment,“ Prince Faisal said.
He did not give details, but a diplomatic source had earlier said Putin’s talks during his first visit to Saudi Arabia were expected to lead to a “verbal understanding“ on the sale of about 150 Russian T-90 battle tanks to the oil-rich kingdom.
The source said that tests were carried out on the T-90 in Saudi Arabia last year to determine the tank’s suitability for harsh desert conditions, and Russia is also looking to sell Mi-17 helicopters. Putin held a one-on-one meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz before leaving Riyadh on Monday for Qatar on the second leg of a Middle East tour that also took in Jordan.
In remarks to a Saudi-Russian business forum, Putin also offered to help Saudi Arabia develop civilian nuclear energy.
“On the nuclear issue, there was a contact with the kingdom and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council during the visit,“ Prince Faisal said.
He recalled that the six oil-rich PGCC states had decided during a summit in Riyadh two months ago to pursue nuclear energy technology in accordance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and other international protocols “without going into the issue of weapons“.