Iranian and American religious scholars discussed solidarity among religions to maintain global peace and justice in Tehran on Wednesday.

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--The Islamic Culture and Relations Organization organized a meeting to discuss various aspects of solidarity among religions to maintain global peace and justice.
Washington National Cathedral Bishop John Bryson Chane and his deputy John Peterson participated in the meeting on Wednesday entitled “Solidarity and Coexistence Among Monotheist Religions for Global Peace and Justice“.
ICRO Chief Mahmoud Mohammad Araqi, several Iranian scholars and a number of US Christian clerics also attended the meeting.
Araqi said monotheist religions have many commonalities.
“It’s time to revive the common principles among religions. Although the West is of the opinion that politics and religion should be separated, monotheist religions can play a significant role in politics,“ he said.
The ICRO chief said religions should not be indifferent toward obstacles to global peace and justice.
Referring to 30 rounds of talks held so far among religions at the international level, he said close interaction among different religions can help remove impediments in the way of solidarity.
“We do not expect statesmen such as Pope to create problems for us by making [false] comments regarding Islam, Qur’an and the prophet of Islam,“ he said.
Bishop Chane noted that nuclear bombs are serious threats to humanity.
“In my view as a bishop, the use of atomic weapons has no place in Christianity, though the United States was the first country to use atomic weapons against humans,“ he said.

After the collapse of the former USSR in 1991 and new developments in the international arena, Middle East again came into the global limelight.
Superpowers focused their attention on this oil-rich region due to its geopolitical, geo-economic and geo-cultural significance. The occupation of Afghanistan and execution of Saddam Hussein provided officials in the White House with the opportunity of plundering the national assets and resources of the two countries without any confrontation from any other superpower such as the former USSR.
Apart from Iraq and Afghanistan, developments in Palestine and Lebanon during the past decade are also of high significance. Neocons, with the support of their staunch allies, including Israel, launched a new Greater Middle East initiative for suppressing Palestinians and marginalizing Iran and Syria.
New developments such as the stance of Hamas in not recognizing Israel and seeking its destruction caused concerns among Zionists who then renewed their campaigns against Iran and Syria. Despite such efforts, the influence of Iran has not diminished in the region.
The Iraq war in September 2003, the victory of Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the 33-day war and the coming to power of Hamas through Palestinian elections increased Iran’s regional clout. The military supremacy of Israel was broken and the strength of resistance movement became evident to Muslims in the region.
Having faced failures in Palestine and Lebanon, the Zionist lobby tried to highlight Iran’s nuclear activities and make it an issue of global concern in order to distort Iran’s image.
Recently, one of the most important developments has been efforts by the US and the Israeli regime to create discord among Palestinian groups and among religious sects in Iraq.
Despite the partial success of the Zionist regime to bring Fatah movement in its fold and create discord among Palestinians, Hamas and other resistance groups remain committed to the values of the resistance movement and the cause of the Palestinian Intifada or uprising.
A look at these Middle East developments indicates that avoiding bloodshed, unrest and violence, and maintaining sustainable peace in the region depend on the following factors:
1- The Zionist regime should recognize the rights of Palestinians. And international organizations such as the United Nations should be taken out of the clutches of Zionists and their allies who veto every action against Israel.
2- The United States and European states should differentiate between legitimate defense and terrorist operations. Can we really denounce those who defend their homeland as terrorists?
3- The Zionist regime only pursues seditious acts and warmongering in the Middle East. Political and military pressures on this regime should be intensified so that it abandons these aggressive policies.
4- And lastly, Muslim Arab nations should avoid entering into peace treaties with the Zionist regime in order to end the domination of Israel on the region.

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei called on managing directors of news agencies and the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting to deepen trust between people and the media.
Mohseni-Ejei made the remark during a fast-breaking ceremony organized on Tuesday for managing directors of news agencies, IRIB and other mass media personnel, IRNA quoted the Intelligence Ministry’s Public Relations Office as saying.
Referring to the valuable status of media in the country, the intelligence minister said the most important characteristic of media is to disseminate comprehensible news and programs.
Mohseni-Ejei added that the media should adopt measures to publish news in line with national security interests.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--Experts Assembly Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani urged the domestic media on Tuesday to help strengthen national unity and reconciliation.
Addressing a group of media officials and staff, Rafsanjani said those working in the media should be careful “to avoid providing subjective reports“, IRNA reported.
“As public knowledge has increased, any decision made collectively will hardly be wrong,“ he said.
Stressing the freedom of criticism in the society, Rafsanjani said, “While making criticisms, the media should be careful about acting on the basis of justice.“

TEHRAN, Oct 10--Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad Adel felicitated his Muslim counterparts on the upcoming Eid Al-Fitr feast marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Majlis speaker cabled messages of felicitation on Wednesday to his counterparts in Muslim countries, Presstv reported.
He emphasized that the problems of Muslims across the world will be resolved through unity and solidarity.
Haddad expressed hope that Muslims will seize the opportunity to forge fraternal unity and solidarity, and endeavor to realize their goals.
Late Tuesday, Haddad arrived in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, at the end of his three-day visit to Switzerland where he attended the 117th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
During his two-day visit to Sarajevo, the Iranian official will hold talks with his Bosnian counterpart as well as other senior officials of the country, IRNA reported.
Immediately after his arrival in Sarajevo, Haddad met with a group of Iranian expatriates in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
He said preserving Islamic values and teachings was a major duty of all Muslims, particularly those living in Europe.
In Geneva, Haddad-Adel met with his counterparts and exchanged views on political and international issues.
Speaker of the Egyptian People’s Assembly, Ahmed Fathi Sorour, has said that Iran’s power favors all Muslims and the region.
Meeting with Haddad in Geneva on Tuesday, he urged all Muslim states to strengthen solidarity and to hold consultations, noting that superpowers interfere in Iran’s affairs and threaten the country.
Sorour stated that Iran’s firm stance concerning its right to use peaceful nuclear energy has provoked the anger of the United States.
The Egyptian speaker said Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria, as four leading countries of the region, should promote understanding and cooperation in different fields, including nuclear energy.
Haddad, for his part, said Iran and Egypt have the potential to play a vital role in promoting the Muslim world.

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--The US is disrupting signals from the Iranian satellite news channel Press TV to prevent Americans from watching its programs.
The United States and Western countries deny their people the right to see an unbiased picture of the world and become familiar with other cultures, an informed source told IRNA.
The source added that the move to intercept the satellite signals of Press TV in the United States indicates the weakness of US administration and its fears of facing the world realities.
Earlier, US troops in Afghanistan had arrested and tortured Faez Khurshid, a Press TV correspondent, in Kabul. He was released after an 18-hour ordeal.

TEHRAN, Oct. 10--Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations of an Israeli paper that Iran’s envoy to Chile held talks with an Israeli diplomat.
“It’s not the first time that the Zionist media is spreading such propaganda, which has never been confirmed,“ said an Iranian Foreign Ministry official on Wednesday, IRNA reported. Israeli website Ynet claimed on Monday that a senior Israeli diplomat in Chile’s capital Santiago visited Iranian Ambassador to the country Kambiz Jalali.
The report alleged that the meeting was held on the sidelines of an event marking the release of a new book dealing with a local branch of the Zionist youth movement Hashomer Hatzair.
“The event was coordinated by the Chilean Foreign Ministry and the Chilean Jewish community, which sent out invitations to foreign diplomats, apparently including the Iranian ambassador,“ claimed Ynet.

GENEVA, Oct. 10--The Iranian parliamentary delegation in Geneva has called on industrial countries to engage in constructive cooperation rather than animosity.
The Iranian delegation to the Supervisory Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva set forth its proposals, Presstv reported.
They called on industrial countries to pave the way for the immigration of laborers from developing nations, to provide them with job opportunities and to reduce the consequences of poverty.
Fatemeh Alia, a member of the Iranian delegation, put forward Iran’s proposals concerning foreign aid.
“The aid from international organizations and governments for the progress of underdeveloped societies has yielded no results. The gap between the developed and developing nations has not been plugged as expected,“ she said.
Alia added that now it is time for the developed nations to put an end to their limited and conditional aid, and remove obstacles to economic and industrial development of developing nations.
“Now it is time for the armies of the developed, industrial countries to leave the borders of nations they have occupied and start constructive cooperation rather than hostility and animosity,“ she said.