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Prayer Time (Tehran)
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Dawn: 5:06
Sunrise: 6:32
Noon: 11:48
Evening: 17:23
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Weather Guide
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WED |
THU |
Tehran: |
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High: |
23 oC |
24 oC |
Low: |
6 oC |
6 oC |
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Athens |
18 |
19 |
Ankara |
9 |
19 |
Cairo |
26 |
24 |
Copenhagen |
19 |
8 |
Frankfurt |
8 |
10 |
Karachi |
33 |
35 |
Kuwait City |
32 |
33 |
London |
14 |
15 |
Madrid |
19 |
19 |
Moscow |
-3 |
-4 |
New Delhi |
31 |
29 |
Paris |
12 |
12 |
Riyadh |
30 |
32 |
Rome |
17 |
18 |
Vienna |
7 |
10 |
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Identification
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Published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Address:
Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #212 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran/Iran
Executive Editor:
Editorial Dept. Tel: 88755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 88761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 88501499, 88737250
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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Afghan Blast Claims
50 Lives
5 MPs Killed
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, Nov. 6--A suicide attack on a parliamentary delegation killed at least 50 people in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a provincial official said, in the worst such blast in the country’s history.
Five members of the Afghan Parliament were among the dead and the toll was expected to rise among the delegates and schoolchildren who were among the victims.
“We have recorded 50 people dead so far, but there are still bodies on the streets we have not counted and some of the dead have already been taken away by their relatives,“ Baghlan provincial security chief Abdurrahman Sayedkhail told Reuters.
The attack took place as the parliamentary delegation was visiting a sugar factory in the town of Baghlan. Large crowds greeted the parliamentarians, who were on an economic fact-finding mission.
The bomber was on foot and blew himself up as the delegates entered the factory, Sayedkhail said. Many of the dead were schoolchildren who had lined up to greet them.
“I saw bodies lying in the streets and some of the people were stealing the weapons of the dead soldiers. Children are screaming for help. It’s like a nightmare,“ said local resident Mohammad Rahim. He said the blast had killed his two cousins, both schoolgirls.
Opposition spokesman and former commerce minister, Mostafa Kazemi, and four other parliamentary deputies were among the dead.
“The bomber got very close to the delegation as they were being greeted. He got very close to Mostafa Kazemi and blew himself up,“ Sayedkhail said. “He was carrying a massive amount of explosives.“
The hardline Taliban has killed more than 200 people in more than 130 suicide attacks this year in their campaign to overthrow the pro-Western Afghan government and eject the 50,000 foreign troops from the country.
But northern Afghanistan has escaped much of the violence which has wracked other parts of the country since the Taliban relaunched their insurgency two years ago.
The director of the hospital in Baghlan initially said 90 people had been killed in the attack, but later put the toll at between 60 and 90.
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Iran 5th Biggest Crude Exporter To EU
TEHRAN, Nov. 6--Iran supplied 6.5 percent of the European Union’s oil needs during the first half of 2007 by exporting 5.9 billion euros worth of crude, Eurostat announced.
This level of export is 0.3 percent lower than the corresponding figure of 2006, Fars News Agency reported.
Based on the report, Iran is the fifth biggest crude exporter to the 27 EU member-states during the first six months of 2007.
The total crude imports of the EU during the same period exceeded 91 billion euros.
The top exporter to EU in the same period is Russia with 28 billion euros worth of crude.
Norway, Libya and Saudi Arabia rank ahead of Iran with exports worth 15, 9 and 6 billion euros respectively. Kazakhstan, Algeria, Nigeria, Republic of Azerbaijan and Iraq rank after Iran with sales amounting to 4.6, 2.8, 2.7, 2.6 and 2.1 billion euros
respectively.
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US to Free
Iranian Hostages
2 Consulates Open in Iraq
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IranŐs Ambassador to Iraq Hassan Kazemi Qomi (r) hoists Iran's national flag, as prime minister of Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region, Nechirvan Barzani (2nd r), looks on at the opening ceremony of the Iranian Consulate in Irbil, Nov. 6.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 6--The US military said on Tuesday it will release nine Iranian hostages detained in Iraq in recent months on unproven accusation of aiding the anti-American insurgency.
US military spokesman, Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, told reporters that the hostages would be released in the coming days as they no longer posed a threat to security in Iraq, AFP reported.
Breaking international regulations, US forces detained five Iranian diplomats in January in a raid on a building in the Kurdish city of Irbil, accusing them of aiding the deadly insurgency in Iraq.
Another Iranian was seized by US forces in northern Iraq in September, suspected of being a member of the Quds Force, the covert operations arm of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.
Smith could not say whether he was among the nine, specifying only that two of the detainees were seized in Irbil in January and the other seven were detained at various other times.
Smith added that trilateral talks involving representatives of Iraq, Iran and the United States would be held shortly to discuss further ways to stabilize Iraq.
He did not elaborate on when the talks, the next in a series of ongoing meetings involving the three parties, would be held.
His announcements came as Iran opened two consulates in Irbil and Sulaimaniyah in a bid to improve ties with the Kurdish region, taking to four the number of consulates in Iraq, in addition to an embassy in Baghdad.
The Irbil mission was opened in a building that was targeted in the US raid in January and has been closed since then.
At the opening ceremony, Tehran’s ambassador to Baghdad, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, told reporters that the continued detention of the five was an “illegal act against Iraqi sovereignty“.
“They are still in custody. We hope they would be released,“ he said.
Turning to ties between northern Iraq and Iran, Qomi said, “Through these two consulates, Iran can play a bigger role in the economy of Kurdistan.“
He said trade between Tehran and Baghdad was worth $2 billion a year, while nearly a million Iraqis visited Iran annually and half a million Iranians visit Iraq, mostly pilgrims to Shiite holy sites and traders.
Qomi also urged neighboring Arab countries to follow Tehran’s example in opening consulates in the war-ravaged country.
Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq’s northern Kurdish administration, vowed to support Tehran in its efforts to boost relations between the two countries.
“This is a significant step and from our side we will take all efforts for the successful working of the consulates,“ he said.
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Army, IRGC Commanders
Hail Capabilities
TEHRAN, Nov. 6--Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army Chief Ataollah Salehi said world arrogant powers, despite their access to advanced weapons, have faced defeat in confronting the piety and iron will of Iranian combatants.
Addressing the 31st Army Officers’ Graduation Ceremony on Monday, Major General Salehi added that the importance of strengthening armed forces spiritually is no less important than fortifying their physical, technical and tactical capabilities, IRNA reported.
“Our armed forces, particularly the IRI Army, by rely on their spiritual and temporal strengths, bravely resisted the threats posed by the world arrogant powers, particularly those of the United States, during the course of the (Iraq-) imposed war.“
Major General Salehi hailed the Iranian spirit of resistance, bravery and strong belief in God.
“Iran’s armed forces are ready for confronting any possible threats against Iran’s international borders,“ he said.
Meanwhile, commander of the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC) said the main weapon of IRGC is faith, spirituality and its devotion to the principles of the Islamic Revolution.
Addressing the morning ceremony of IRGC’s Air Force on Tuesday, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari added that in addition to being equipped with financial resources, IRGC is equipped with a weapon that only a handful of other armies may be equipped with.
“When faith and spirituality are combined with defense preparedness and military hardware, there arises a powerhouse that the largest army of the world cannot challenge,“ he said.
He noted that presently IRGC has such a military and defense might that it can even be considered among the strongest armies of the planet.
The commander stressed that IRGC possesses characteristics that distinguishes it from all other world military forces.
Jafari concluded by saying that what prevents the enemy threats is all-out defense preparedness.
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Gold $820
LONDON, Nov. 6--Gold hit 820 dollars an ounce on Tuesday, its highest reading since 1980, while the dollar plunged to a new all-time low against the euro on fears for the future of the US financial sector.
In early deals, the single European currency surged to an historic 1.45 dollars. It later traded at 1.4538 dollars, which compared with 1.44 in New York late on Monday, AFP reported.
The price of gold rose to $820 an ounce on Tuesday, its highest level since 1980, as the precious metal was lifted by the weak dollar and fears of inflation spurred by record high crude oil prices.
Gold is seen as a good store of value amid inflation.
Traders said the US unit came under heavy selling pressure by investors worried that US housing market weakness will eventually dampen consumer spending and cause a slowdown in the world’s largest economy.
The banking sector has been particularly hard hit, with Citigroup, the largest US bank, announcing huge losses stemming from a meltdown in the US high-risk--or subprime--mortgage market.
“The big imponderable remains the extent and valuation of subprime related losses and its impact on the economy,“ said Calyon analyst Mitul Kotecha.
Kotecha added the fact that these concerns have originated in the US, following announcements of losses at US banks, has meant that the US dollar has failed to benefit from safe haven buying.
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Ousted Pakistan Judge Urges Uprising
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 6--Pakistan’s deposed chief justice urged people to “rise up“ against President Pervez Musharraf’s emergency rule on Tuesday, as the government ignored a global outcry and cracked down on fresh protests.
Opposition leader and former premier Benazir Bhutto, meanwhile, flew to Islamabad for talks with political allies and said she had no plans to meet with the nuclear-armed nation’s military ruler, AFP
reported.
Sacked top judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry called on his countrymen to save the constitution, prompting authorities to sever mobile phone coverage in parts of Islamabad as he addressed a meeting of lawyers by telephone.
“I want lawyers to spread my message to the people of Pakistan,“ he said to cheers from supporters before all lines went dead. “The time for sacrifice has come, to rise up for the supremacy of the constitution.“
Musharraf brushed off calls from US President George W. Bush and other world leaders to end the state of emergency declared on Saturday, quit as army chief and hold elections due in January.
The general, who seized power in a coup in 1999 and has since become a key US ally in the “war on terror“, cited a meddling judiciary as one of the reasons for clamping down, along with spiraling militancy.
Pro-Taliban fighters took control of a northwestern town on Tuesday despite the emergency, flying flags from government buildings in the latest push by followers of a hardline cleric calling for Islamic law.
Pakistan’s cabinet met later to discuss the timetable for elections but made no decisions, amid reports of a split in the government about whether to hold them on schedule in early 2008.
“So far, no date has been set for elections,“ Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told AFP after the meeting. “Emergency will be for the shortest possible period of time and elections will be held as soon as possible.“
But Chaudhry, one of nine judges sacked for refusing to endorse the emergency order and now under effective house arrest, said Musharraf’s ’junta’ had cracked down because it was scared the verdict would go against him.
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Learning
From Iraq
By Armin Hedayati
Opposition to the contingent US attack on Iran has been rising across the world. Not only do European, Asian and African countries reject the harsh tone of US officials regarding Iran’s nuclear program as irresponsible and destructive, most Americans too are strongly opposed to any military action against the Islamic state.
A recent survey jointly conducted by ’USA Today’ and ’Gallop Poll’ found that 73 percent of the American public opposes any US attack on Iran. This is yet another indication that despite the extensive propaganda campaign and fear mongering about a “nuclear Iran“ almost two-thirds of Americans object to Washington’s attitude in demonizing Iran.
One may ask why has America been so frustrated in convincing its people about its Iran policy? The answer can be found in-between the level of public trust in George Bush and his embattled regime.
Given its systematic errors of judgment over key issues in the past seven years, the Bush White House has indeed developed a terrible image. Its popularity has sunk to record lows and even staunch supporters of the ruling Republican Party no longer blindly believe in the neocons and their policies.
Most Americans are concerned that the outgoing administration would drag them into another bloody military conflict by telling lies in the same way that it did in setting the stage for the 2003 war against Iraq.
They have not forgotten former secretary of state Colin Powell’s address to the Unite Nations Security Council on April 5, 2003. In that infamous speech he resorted to every trick in the book to convince the perplexed world that invading Iraq was a compulsion the self-appointed superpower could not avoid.
However, no state except Britain (the US’ permanent junior partner) supported the attack and the almost zero global support was not enough to change Bush’s mind.
Once over 60 percent of the Americans were deceived by the neocon enclave and were forced to pay an exorbitant price for their naivety.
For all that has transpired since the ill-fated attack of Iraq, the American public have drawn the proper lessons and refuse to trust the warmongers in Washington.
The Bush team is indeed a small minority these days. Of course, most Americans have bought the western argument for imposing economic sanctions on Iran largely due to the hysteria created by the media. Still 55 percent remain opposed to military action even if diplomatic efforts fail to resolve the nuclear issue.
One has to wait and see whether the radical neocons, like the majority of the US public, will learn the lessons from the devastation in Iraq or continue on the suicidal path of confrontation and conflict.
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