LONDON, Sept. 16--Top US commander in Iraq General David Petraeus will press UK’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown to increase the number of British troops patrolling the Iraqi border with Iran when he meets him this week.
The US commander in Iraq wants Britain to move a significant proportion of the 5,000 troops garrisoned at Basra airport to cut off any infiltration from Iran to Iraq, The Daily Telegraph learned.
But British commanders fear that the move carries a serious risk of embroiling the UK in a war with Iran at a time when they want to withdraw from Iraq.
A former US undersecretary of defense who is now a Pentagon adviser told The Sunday Telegraph that Gen. Petraeus would use the meeting to brief Brown on Iran’s activities in Iraq.
“He will argue that action must be taken soon to stop or at least reduce these activities, and that Britain should be a part of this action,“ the official said.
“He will talk about the possibility of increasing security along the Iraqi border with Iran. While he will not make the request, he will present the argument that some British forces now being withdrawn from Basra should be transferred to the border security mission.“
Last week, at the Americans’ request, 350 British troops from 1 Mechanized Brigade began patrolling the border east of Basra and the Shatt Al-Arab waterway.
But The Daily Telegraph has revealed that in November about 2,500 of the Basra contingent could be moved out of harm’s way across the border into Kuwait, from where they will escort convoys and train Iraqi troops. The move will put Britain further at odds with US commanders.
An adviser to President George W Bush said Britain should think about sending far more troops to the Iranian border instead.
Dan Goure, a Pentagon consultant, said, “Petraeus will be looking for what the British can do to shore up the Iranian border. We are putting a new base there and it’s logical we would seek help from our allies.“
The move, in the words of an adviser to Brown, leaves the premier “spinning like a top between the Americans and Richard Dannatt“, the head of the Army, who secured a promise from Tony Blair’s government that it would not have to fight on two fronts, in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki (r) and his Belgian counterpart Karel de Gucht during a joint press conference in Tehran, September 15.

TEHRAN, Sept. 16--The fuel for Iran’s nuclear power plant in Bushehr, southern Iran, has been prepared for delivery by Russia, but is sealed by the UN nuclear watchdog.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki made the remark while speaking to reporters in the presence of his visiting Belgian counterpart Karel de Gucht at the Foreign Ministry’s Institute for Political and International Studies, IRNA reported.
He said that his talks with Russian officials during his September 12 visit to Moscow were mostly based on earlier agreements reached between Tehran and Moscow on expansion of economic cooperation, including the issue of the Bushehr nuclear plant.
The delayed Bushehr nuclear plant was to be completed in September 2007.
Mottaki also criticized the double standards of the European Union regarding the issue of terrorism.
He expressed hope that Europe would change its policy and adopt a clear and transparent stand regarding the issue of terrorism.
As to activities of the terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO) in the past several years, he said over 16,000 people, including one president, one prime minister, four ministers and several MPs, were killed in Iran during their terrorist operations.
He called for bilateral cooperation in the area of anti-drug campaign, stressing that production and smuggling of narcotics in Afghanistan have created concerns for both Iran and Belgium as well as the whole international community.
On Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, he regretted that Iran’s nuclear case was sent to the UN Security Council on the basis of a wrong decision. He hoped that the ongoing cooperation would help settle the issue.
Mottaki also hoped that Iran’s concerns regarding the sacrilege of Muslim sanctities, violence against Muslims and Islamophobia in Europe would be removed soon.
De Gucht, for his part, said Belgium has allocated half a million euros to finance the UN anti-drug campaign and the fight against organized crimes in Iran.
De Gucht was in Tehran to receive a Belgian national, Stefaan Boeve, 28, who was released from the clutches of drug smugglers by Iranian forces.
“The donation is a sign of appreciation to Iran and for the campaign against drug trafficking,“ he said.
“This issue will have a very good effect on future relations between the two countries. I would like to convey the Belgian government’s appreciation to Iran’s extraordinary and tireless efforts to release Stefaan Boeve.“
The Belgian foreign minister underlined that the freedom of Belgian hostages has created an opportunity to discuss deepening of ties with Iran over international and regional, nuclear and human rights issues, and also to deliver a court order for an Iranian father to meet his child in Belgium.
“We welcome Iran’s readiness to negotiate with the European Union concerning human rights and nuclear program, and we know that it is a very difficult process,“ he said.
Asked about the presence of MKO members in Belgium, de Gucht said, “MKO is on the terrorist list of the EU and I criticized the Senate for holding a meeting between ringleader Maryam Rajavi and the former Senate speaker and I called it ’unacceptable’.“
The Belgian foreign minister arrived in Tehran on Saturday evening to hold talks with Iranian officials on ways to upgrade Tehran-Brussels cooperation.
Carla Van den Eeckhout, 37, was the other Belgian citizen taken hostage along with her companion Stefaan Boeve while traveling through the Sistan-Baluchestan province in August.

TEHRAN, Sept. 16--The Guardians Council has approved a law passed by parliament to restore the biannual time change in Iran, it was reported on Sunday.
The council’s Public Relations Office said in a statement that the body studied the plan and considers it to be in compliance with the constitution and the Islamic laws, IRNA reported.
Based on the plan approved by Majlis on August 21, Iranians will set their clocks forward by an hour on the first day of spring for saving the daylight and then pull them back at the beginning of autumn.
The switch from winter time to summer time will put Iran four and a half hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT or UTC).
The decision to employ the summer time was made by the Iranian cabinet in August 1991. But the incumbent government abolished the time change in March 2006, arguing that there was no evidence to show that the annual shift had any effect on saving energy.
Since then, Iran’s time has stayed the same in both summer and winter at GMT plus 3.5 hours.
Earlier, government spokesman, Gholamhossein Elham, had said that changing the time created problems for performing religious rituals and also for schoolchildren.
However, the decision to keep the same time throughout the year was criticized by parliament, which then approved a bill to restore the time change.

TEHRAN, Sept. 16--Majlis Research Center has stressed Iran’s purposeful defense and security cooperation with Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
“Iran’s positive cooperation with the SCO will enhance Iran’s power in nuclear diplomacy and strengthen the country’s strategic role in security development of Middle East,“ the center announced.
The center added that it will also weaken the psychological warfare of US media that tries to isolate Iran and impose resolutions against the country, Presstv reported.
Referring to the potential of SCO member-states and its observers, the center said the strengthening of economic and security cooperation and implementation of energy plans would help devise strategies to make utmost use of the organization.
As a political, economic and security body, the SCO has six main members, including Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China and Uzbekistan, while Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan and India have observer status.

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 16--Afghan President Hamed Karzai awarded the highest state order, the Ahmad Shah Massoud Medal of Honor, to Iran’s Ambassador in Kabul Mohammad Reza Bahrami.
The award was presented to the ambassador for his great efforts to strengthen bilateral ties during a ceremony held on Saturday night to mark the end of his four-year mission in Kabul.
First Afghan Vice President Ahmad Zia Massoud, Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta and National Security Advisor to Afghan President Zalmay Rassoul as well as staff members of Iran’s Embassy in Kabul were also present at the ceremony, Presstv reported.
Karzai praised Bahrami’s efforts to bring the Iranian and Afghan nations closer and expand bilateral relations. He said that in the past four years, the two countries have forged stronger friendship and understanding, and witnessed the consolidation of deep-rooted bonds.
The Afghan president conveyed a message of friendship to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Bahrami praised the courageous measures of the Afghan people to defend their land, saying the medal of honor indicates consolidated relations between Tehran and Kabul, and the two sides’ resolve to further promote ties.
Ahmad Shah Massoud was an Afghan engineering student, who became a military leader to lead the drive against the Soviet army out of Afghanistan. He was assassinated in Sept. 2001.

Mopping-up operations in Anzali PortÕs polluted areas in cooperation with the Ports and Shipping Organization are underway.

ANZALI, Gilan, Sept. 16--An official confirmed oil pollution in the western and eastern coasts of Anzali Port on Sunday, adding that experts are conducting operations to mop up the pollution.
Mohammad Reza Qaderi, managing director of Ports and Shipping Organization, also said the organization’s experts announced that there are many tarballs in the Anzali coasts, IRIBNews reported.
“The tarballs, which range between 10 mm and 200 mm, polluted the coasts following storms in the Caspian Sea in late August,“ he said.
The official noted that mopping-up operation is already underway in polluted areas with the cooperation of the Ports and Shipping Organization’s local centers.
He called on the residents of Gilan’s coastal areas to refrain from collecting the tarballs because it will increase the operation’s costs.
Qaderi stated that the Ports and Shipping Organization has asked pilots of airplanes flying over the area and captains of barges to inform the centers affiliated to the organization, if they notice any pollution.

YAZD, Sept. 16--More that 2.5 tons of drugs were seized in this central province over the past two days.
Brigadier Akbar Shahi told IRIB on Sunday that the police have confiscated the drugs in the cities of Yazd, Mehriz and Khatam, adding that 17 smugglers have also been arrested in this regard.
He noted that security forces have also confiscated six cars, 12 satellite telephones, a gun and some munitions from the smugglers.
Referring to the fact that the Yazd province’s police have seized 5.5 tons of drugs since late August, he said 113 drug traffickers and 270 addicts have been arrested in this regard.
Meanwhile, police seized one million bottles of alcohol and arrested hundreds of smugglers in a border province over the past five months, Fars News Agency said on Sunday.
The seizures and arrests came in West Azarbaijan province which borders Iraqi Kurdistan, one of the main sources of alcohol being illegally smuggled into the Islamic Republic.
“As part of the campaign, 53 gangs of alcohol traffickers have been busted, 943,000 bottles of alcohol seized and 435 people arrested,“ the provincial police chief, Kheybar Tiba, was quoted as saying.
The official added that this represented a rise of 25 percent compared with the corresponding figure of last year.