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Speaker:
Iran-US Talks Positive
TEHRAN, July 25--Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad Adel described as positive the second round of talks between Iran and the United States on Iraq.
“The talks were held on the basis of supporting the government of (Prime Minister) Nuri Al-Maliki,“ Haddad told a press conference, IRNA reported.
He added that the talks were also aimed at helping establish security in Iraq.
“We regard the presence of occupiers in Iraq as the root cause of insecurity in the country,“ he said.
The speaker also said some US actions run counter to their efforts to strengthen Maliki’s government such as the arrest of the Iranian diplomats in the Iraqi city of Irbil.
He cited the occupiers’ support for the terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization as another indication of the weakening of the Iraqi government.
Asked about talks between Deputy Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for International Affairs Javad Vaeedi and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Safeguards Chief Olli Heinonen, held in Vienna on Tuesday, the speaker said, “In Vienna, we managed to follow up talks based on a logical trend.“
He said the victory of the Islamic AK Party in Turkey’s recent parliamentary elections was further proof of the vigilance throughout the Muslim world.
Haddad felicitated Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the nation over the victory.
“The Turkish people voted in favor of the Islamic culture,“ he said.
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Iranians Respect
Rights of Minorities
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Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki (foreground-3rd r) is seen among the representatives of Assyrians who came from 14 countries in Tehran on Wednesday.
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TEHRAN, July 25--Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran has always respected the rights of minorities and its history is proof of this claim.
Speaking at a meeting with the representatives of Assyrians who came from 14 countries to Iran, Mottaki added that Assyrians played an important role in promoting sciences around the world, IRIB’s website reported.
“What threatens the region and culture of its minorities, especially Assyrians and Chaldeans, is the instability and insecurity resulted from the attack of the US and its allies on Iraq,“ he said.
He noted that the US intends to change the cultural structure of the region and its occupied countries by a big lie, which is establishing democracy.
He said western democracy was witnessed in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons and the damage to the Iraqi people was more brutal than the crimes of the executed dictator Saddam Hussein.
The minister pointed out that the Islamic Republic is based on a religious democracy which respects the rights of minorities, stressing that the participation of minorities on the national scene is a good proof of this claim.
“Assyrians have a representative in Majlis and politically participate in the country,“ he said.
Yonathan Bet-Kolia, the representative of Assyrians in Majlis, also said in the meeting that the minority can freely perform their rituals in Iran.
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C-130 Crash Suspects Acquitted
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Iranian Air Forces C-130 plane crashed on December 6 into a ten-floor apartment building in a
residential area of Tehran.
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TEHRAN, July 25--Armed Forces’ Judicial Organization said in a statement on Wednesday all persons charged of complicity in the crash of C-130 plane have been acquitted by the court.
The investigating court released a report on the incident and declared all the accused people innocent, Fars reported.
“Public Prosecutor’s Office had filed complaints against four staff members of Mehrabad airport and four employees of Mehrabad Air Base. All the accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence,“ the statement said.
The organization noted that the verdict can be sent to an appeals court in 20 days, but the documents presented to the court said the plane’s technical problem caused the crash.
Iranian Air Force’s C-130 plane crashed on December 6 into a ten-floor apartment building in a residential area of Tehran.
The plane, bound for Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf, was carrying 10 crew and 84 passengers of whom 68 were reportedly journalists en route to watch a series of military exercises off the country’s southern coast.
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Jet Gifted to Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 25--An Iraqi government spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that his country received an A-300 Airbus jet as a gift from Iran.
“This was a gift from the Iranian government to the Iraqi people,“ Ali Al-Dabbagh said about the plane, which was delivered to Baghdad last week and will be used by Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki for official travel, AFP reported.
“The Iraqi government thanks the Iranian government for that gift,“ Dabbagh added, calling it a “goodwill initiative“.
The delivery of the jet, first reported last week by local media, is a measure of the close ties between Maliki’s Shiite-led government and Iran.
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Intelligence Minister: New Arrests
Over US-Iranians’ Case
TEHRAN, July 25--Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said several people linked to the case of US-Iranians Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh have been arrested.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Ejei added that some agents working in the media also helped the US-backed plot, IRNA reported.
“The Intelligence Ministry has detained new people linked to the dossier of US-Iranians. The judge of the case will later decide whether they should remain in custody or not,“ he said.
Asked about the effect of the TV program that aired the statements of Esfandiari and Tajbakhsh, he said according to the law, any cooperation during the investigation will help reduce the punishment.
“The case of the two US-Iranians has not been forwarded to the court, but they will get a reduced sentence whenever their verdict is issued,“ he said.
Ejei also referred to the case of Shahram Jazayeri--charged with economic corruption--and said many of the people who helped him escape are now in custody
“The case is being currently investigated by the judiciary,“ he said.
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Tehran, Paris Discuss Lebanon
TEHRAN, July 25--Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki discussed the latest developments in Lebanon in a telephone conversation with his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner.
The Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Bureau reported that on Tuesday the two discussed results of a recent meeting held in Paris by Lebanese groups, IRNA reported.
Mottaki stressed on the necessity of national unity in Lebanon and making efforts to find “fair and balanced solutions“ for the present crisis in Lebanon. Stressing the determining role Tehran and Paris played in solving the political crisis in Lebanon, Mottaki welcomed consultations between the two capitals to settle regional problems.
Kouchner, for his part, appreciated Tehran’s “productive role“ in helping Paris convene the meeting.
He stressed that negotiations and cooperation among all Lebanese groups were the only way to end the country’s internal crisis.
Kouchner also called for continuation of Iran’s cooperation with France to restore peace and stability to Lebanon.
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Call for Another Caspian Confab
21 Rounds of Talks Held So Far
TEHRAN, July 25--An Iranian Foreign Ministry official said Iran will continue efforts to set a date for a conference on the Caspian Sea legal regime.
“The Caspian Sea’s current legal regime is based on previous Iran-Soviet agreements that do not address a number of current issues“, IRNA quoted Mehdi Safari, the Foreign Ministry’s special representative for Caspian affairs, as saying.
Safari expressed hope that a conference to be attended by representatives of the Caspian Sea littoral states--Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan--will be held in Tehran by the year-end.
The Caspian Sea legal regime is based on two agreements signed between Iran and the former USSR in 1921 and 1940. The three new littoral states established after the collapse of the Soviet Union do not recognize those treaties, triggering a debate on the future status of the world’s largest lake.
“The current legal regime does not cover current realities of the region, including the rules governing the exploitation of seabed resources,“ he said.
Safari noted that the littoral states’ foreign ministers have held 21 rounds of talks so far for drafting a new legal regime.
Kazakhstan, which has the largest Caspian coastline, wants the sea to be divided into five parts based on the length of the coastlines of littoral countries. But Iran says the sea should be regarded as a single entity and be jointly managed, developed and defended by the states.
The Caspian Sea is said to contain about 12 percent of the world’s oil reserves as well as huge deposits of natural gas.
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Harandi Elaborates
On Newspapers’ Performance
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Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi
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TEHRAN, July 25--Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi said organizational interests prevent some newspapers from undertaking fair information dissemination.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Harandi added that such newspapers hide the truth sometimes because of their organizational interests, IRNA reported.
He noted that the media and newspapers are obliged to report the truth and operate in a just manner, pointing out that many newspapers stick to the truth when publishing news.
“If a newspaper is connected to an organization, it cannot claim that it’s independent,“ he said.
The minister pointed out that the Supervisory Council on Newspapers issues the license of newspapers and the culture minister is only heads the council.
He explained that although the council is headed by the minister, there are other members who vote on the need to issue a publishing permit to a newspaper.
“I have defended my ideas in the council and I will continue to do that,“ he said.
Harandi further advised newspapers to stick to the leader’s guidelines and inform people about the true aspect of events.
“Newspapers should follow the leader’s guidelines and let people know the truth. Knowing the true aspect of events is the people’s right,“ he said.
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Pilgrims Attacked Near Karbala
TEHRAN, July 25--At least six Iranian Pilgrims were severely wounded when terrorists attacked their bus in Iraq.
A local police official told Fars, unknown gunmen opened fire on an Iranian pilgrimage bus in Al-Mahdieh district near the city of Karbala on Wednesday.
The official said the attack took place when the bus passed the fake checkpoint set up by the terrorists.
The wounded pilgrims were transferred to hospital, police said.
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Lebanese Resistance
ETEMAD-E MELLI: The new round of media battle between the Zionist Israeli regime and Lebanon’s Hezbollah began after the Zionist regime faced domestic and foreign heat following the release of the Winograd report on its humiliating defeat. Apart from the report, a series of political scandals and resignations of Israeli officials also placed the Zionist prime minister, Ehud Olmert, in a very bad and difficult situation. While it seems that Israel’s military strength is undisputable, the 33-day resistance put up by Hezbollah against the Israeli Army reversed the situation completely. The Zionist regime’s former war minister, Amir Peretz, resigned and was replaced by Ehud Barak. Olmert’s government also met with more pressure from the Israeli public opinion. But the most important achievement was that the defeat shattered the faade of Israeli invincibility and the Arabs are currently in a better position in negotiating with the officials of the Zionist occupation regime. However, Hezbollah’s supremacy was not confined to its military capabilities, as the Israeli people listened to Hezbollah’s radio and watched its television because they felt the Israeli media was spreading lies. They now realize that when Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the resistance movement, says Hezbollah is capable of targeting every spot in Israel, he is telling the truth.
Economic Performance
KHORASAN: Economic growth index is of great importance in the country’s macroeconomic system. It marks the increase in value of goods and services produced by an economy and is conventionally measured as the percentage of increase in real gross domestic product. It can have a significant impact on the social and economic conditions of people. Economic experts are concerned about the poor materialization of economic growth envisaged in the Fourth National Development Plan (2005-10). This was discussed in the recent meeting between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the more than 50 economists critical of the government’s economic performance. The government’s economic team, however, disagreed with their criticism.
Banking Problems
KARGOZARAN: The Central Bank of Iran recently announced that liquidity has increased to 800 trillion rials, which keeps on growing every year due to a variety of reasons. The liquidity volume fluctuates with changes in the investment trend. The government cannot make people change their investment patterns. Moreover, figures and expert analyses indicate that bank policies related to the lending rate, facilities and capital distribution have not improved their conditions. This is a reality that cannot be denied. The CBI should be more transparent about the banking status quo. It recently instructed managers of state banks and credit institutions not to obey the orders of executive organizations unless they have been verified by the CBI. This indicates that executive organizations are interfering in the country’s banking affairs. The public should be informed which executive organizations are creating problems for the country’s banking system.
Unconvinced
AFARINESH: Recently, we heard conflicting news about the probable distribution of non-subsidized gasoline. Some lawmakers are calling for the distribution of gasoline at the free-market price. They believe this will make any public dismay disappear and remove concerns about gasoline shortage. However, other parliamentarians are of the opinion that the government should not distribute non-subsidized petrol because of its inflationary effects. The second view, however, has apparently more supporters, particularly after some lawmakers met with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to discuss the gasoline rationing plan. These lawmakers said they were satisfied that gasoline should not be distributed at the free-market price. This is while the public is not yet convinced about the means used for gasoline rationing.
Political Ethics
TEHRAN-E EMROUZ: Politics encompasses a wide variety of activities, from government elections and policymaking to implementation of projects. For each of these actions, there are ethical considerations and consequences. Discussions about politics and ethics require a new approach. We are accustomed to undervaluing social, political and cultural relations and entities. And this is a great disadvantage. The reality is that if we want politicians to adhere to ethics and moralities, we should develop public entities such as councils that ensure the ethical performance of political parties.
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