ALGIERS, Algeria,
Aug. 7--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad outlined Iran’s policies on regional and global developments.
Speaking in a press conference in Algiers on Tuesday, the president said Iran is keen on developing economic, political and international cooperation with Algeria, IRNA reported.
“The common potentials, views and interests have led the two countries to further broaden cooperation for promoting development, peace, security and stability,“ he said.
He said both Iran and Algeria are determined to broaden all-out ties.
On terrorism, he said, “Terrorism is the ugliest phenomenon rooted in discrimination, pressure, occupation and violation of rights, deviation from the lofty humanitarian values and mismanagement of certain powers who seek to meet their own interests by imposing their policies on the world and plundering the wealth of other nations.“
Ahmadinejad pointed out that under the slogan of war on terrorism, countries have occupied Iraq and promoted terrorism in the war-torn country, stressing that both Iran and Algeria are victims of terrorism
He also said that the Zionist Israeli regime is now committing the worst act of terrorism by suppressing women, children, the youth and the elderly.
Commenting on the country’s peaceful nuclear activities, he said Iran totally abides by international rules and regulations, and is determined to defend its legitimate right.
“Since the bullying powers seek to monopolize science, wealth, technological know-how and industries, they oppose Iran’s progress in the nuclear energy field,“ he said.
Asked about the formation of an OPEC-style organization of gas producing countries, he said the major suppliers of gas and oil should collectively administer production, distribution and consumption of these energies.
“Since Iran and Algeria have fossil energy resources, it would be natural to broaden extensive cooperation in the sector,“ he said. On Iraq, Ahmadinejad said Iran cannot remain indifferent toward the fate of Iraq and will use all its capabilities to help restore security to the war-torn country.
“All Iraqi political groups, its government and parliament have called on Iran to hold talks with the occupiers to help restore security and tranquility to the country,“ he said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki (r) shakes hands with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a ceremony in Ankara, Aug. 7.

ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 7--Turkey and Iraq are negotiating a document on the fight against terrorism, which will include hot pursuit right to the Turkish border, during a two-day visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki.
“There is a proposal from the Turkish side for signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) but we are still working on the issue,“ said the Iraqi prime minister’s spokesperson, Ali Dabbagh, to the Turkish Daily News.
Maliki started his regional tour in Ankara on Tuesday and will depart for Tehran on Wednesday with a delegation of more than 30 high-level officials, including ministers.
Dabbagh said the MoU needs further negotiation during today’s talks between Maliki and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“The agreement on terrorism is almost complete. There are only two articles still being negotiated. Al-Maliki will decide to sign it,“ said a reputable source from the ministry of foreign affairs.
The agreement will cover Turkey and Iraq’s determination to fight against internal and external terrorists together, learned the TDN. The agreement is a document setting in detail Turkey’s expectations, diplomatic sources said.
It will include intelligence sharing, extradition of terrorists, taking security measures at the borders, combating the illegal arms traffic, preventive measures against the actions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists and depriving the PKK of communication and logistic sources all over Iraq.
Dabbagh added that the prime ministers will make a joint statement at the end of the visit.
“It will call on both sides to take measures in order to combat the PKK and the terrorist activities,“ said the spokesman, confirming the TDN’s report published last week and Maliki will condemn the PKK as a terrorist organization during his visit.
Maliki arrived in Ankara in response to Erdogan’s invitation issued before the elections.
After threatening Iraq to resort to Turkey’s right to self-defense in April by issuing a note to force Baghdad to take measures against the PKK, Maliki’s visit will pave the way for a fresh start in strategic relations.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 7--Some 190,000 assault rifles and pistols supplied by the US to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005 have gone missing, according to a report issued on Monday, and may have fallen into the possession of insurgents.
The embarrassing disclosure, by the watchdog Government Accountability office (GAO), means that the Pentagon does not know what happened to roughly a third of the arms it has provided to train and equip Iraqi forces--an effort whose success is crucial to restoring some semblance of order in the country, The Independent reported.
A recent Amnesty International report claims that, in 2004 and 2005, more than 350,000 AK-47s and similar weapons were removed from Bosnia and Serbia by private contractors working for the Pentagon and sent to Iraq, with the approval of local NATO and European commanders.
The affair could be even more problematic for the White House, given that, during the two years under scrutiny, the program was headed by General David Petraeus, now the top US commander in Iraq, in charge of the current troop “surge“.
The GAO arrived at its figures by comparing the property records of the Multinational Security Transition Command for Iraq against records kept by General Petraeus of the arms and equipment he ordered.
Meanwhile, a poll conducted in Iraq has found a majority of Iraqis opposing plans to open the country’s oilfields to foreign investment by a factor of two to one.
The poll, conducted in June and July by KA Research, and coordinated and analyzed by Custom Strategic Research, was based on face-to-face interviews with 2,200 Iraqis in all 18 provinces.
Iraqis are united in this view: there are no ethnic, sectarian or geographical groups that prefer foreign companies.
The US government is pressing Baghdad to pass the oil law by September, as one of its ’benchmarks’.
At the center of the oil law is a proposal to give multinational oil companies such as Conoco, Chevron and Exxon the primary role in developing Iraq’s oilfields, under contracts of up to 30 years.
Yet 63% of poll respondents said they would prefer Iraq’s oil to be developed and produced by Iraqi public sector companies rather than foreign companies.

The statue of martyred journalist, Mahmoud Saremi, was unveiled in his birthplace in Boroujerd on Monday.

KASHAN, Isfahan, Aug. 7--Vice President Mohammad Aliabadi hailed the role of journalists in the society, referring to them as a link between the people and officials.
Speaking in a ceremony held on the eve of ’Journalist Day’ (August 8) in Kashan on Monday, Aliabadi added that journalists should be honest and powerful, and create a safe climate in the society, IRNA reported.
“Honest journalists will make the society unsafe for those who try to endanger it,“ he said, noting that journalists are the open eyes of the people.
Meanwhile, the presidential advisor for media affairs, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, said the mass media and journalists should move in pace with the nation, praising journalists for playing a significant role in society.
“The role of journalists and those working in media is determining,“ he said, adding that people’s confidence is the main asset of the mass media.
Javanfekr urged the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance as well as the Iranian media to help overcome problems in the field of press activities.
“The promotion of the present status of Iranian media to reach the point where it would have the last word in the international arena is crucial,“ he said.
August 8 is the martyrdom anniversary of Mahmoud Saremi, IRNA’s bureau chief in Afghanistan who was killed along with six Iranian diplomats in 1998 when the Iranian Consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif Afghanistan, was occupied by Taliban militants. The day is marked as ’Journalist Day’ in Iran.

TEHRAN, Aug. 7--A UNHCR official paid a two-day visit to refugee camps in Bardsir in Kerman province on Aug. 5-7.
Judy Cheng-Hopkins, assistant UN High Commissioner for Refugees, listened to the problems of refugees in Bardsir and also met with senior Iranian and Afghan officials, as well as representatives of Afghan and Iraqi refugees.
Refugees discussed their concerns regarding different issues, including housing, employment, health and education.
Cheng-Hopkins said in a press conference that the main objectives of her visit to Iran were to study the status of refugees, their return home and monitoring the performance of UNHCR’s backup department in Tehran.
Commenting on the number of Afghan refugees residing in Iran, she pointed out that five million Afghan refugees have left Iran and Pakistan as of 2002.
“Three million Afghan refugees are still in Iran,“ she said.
Noting that the exodus of refugees from Iran has declined since 2005, she said the UNHCR and Iran are doing their best to pave the way for the return of remaining refugees to their countries.
“Since the beginning of the voluntary repatriation plan for Afghan refugees, until 2007 a total of 1.64 million Afghans have returned to their country,“ she said.
Commenting on the number of Iraqi refugees returning to Iraq, Cheng-Hopkins said about 692,146 Iraqis returned to Iraq between November 2003 and December 2005.
Asked how she evaluates the status of refugees in Iran, she noted that during her visit to refugee camps in Kerman, Afghan refugees were satisfied with basic facilities such as school and accommodation.
The UNHCR official also said Iran and the UN have agreed that Iran will issue a one-year residence and work permits for a member of family that agrees to voluntarily return to Afghanistan.
Cheng-Hopkins noted that Afghan government has agreed to provide land to Afghan refugees who voluntarily return.

TEHRAN, Aug. 7--Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Amal Movement issued a joint statement on the occasion of the anniversary of the victory of Lebanon’s resistance movement in July 2006 against the Zionist enemy.
They said that the victory of Lebanese resistance foiled the joint plots of Israel and US in Lebanon, ISNA reported.
The Arabic-language daily ’As-Safir’ cited Hezbollah and Amal leaders as saying that the Lebanese resistance movement after Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon in July 2006 closed all doors to the Zionist enemy trying to weaken the Lebanese government. It added that supporting the Lebanese resistance movement is necessary for guaranteeing Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The statement noted that the weapon of resistance is a key element in Lebanon’s defense strategy.
Hezbollah and Amal called the government of the incumbent Prime Minister Fuad Siniora illegitimate and reiterated the necessity of establishing a national unity government.
Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, responsible for Hezbollah’s southern sector, in a ceremony marking the anniversary, noted that the Lebanese resistance’s victory helped prevent the materialization of the so-called Greater Middle East Initiative.

MOSCOW, Aug. 7--Russia has agreed to a deal that cancels 90 percent of Afghanistan’s Soviet-era debt, worth about $10 billion (£4.9 billion).
Correspondents say the agreement is a significant boost for war-ravaged and poverty-stricken Afghanistan, BBC reported.
Russia is by far the biggest creditor nation for Afghanistan, mostly for weapon sales during the Soviet era.
The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan resulted in the death of about one million Afghans and lasted from 1979 to 1989, when the Red Army withdrew.
The agreement between Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and his Afghan counterpart, Anwar-ul Haq Ahadi, was signed in Moscow.
Correspondents say that the move is a major gesture of support for the Afghan government, which is trying to assert its authority--with the help of NATO and US-led forces--over Taliban rebels.
Kudrin said Russia wanted to “support the government of Afghanistan in building a new life and stabilizing the political and economic situation in the country“.
He said that Russia would actively participate in helping the economy of Afghanistan.
“This is a historic day for our two countries,“ he said. “Today we have drawn a line under many years of discussion on regulating the debts.“
The Afghan government has welcomed the debt relief, which it said would help “the stabilization of Afghanistan“.
“I look forward to greater cooperation with Russia. We would like further economic cooperation with Russia,“ Ahadi said.
“We think Russian companies have the competitive advantage and that they can compete in Afghanistan’s market.“