Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad Adel (r) and the Speaker of Senegal's Senate, Pape Diop, meet in Tehran on Saturday.

Compiled by Davood Baqeri

Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad Adel said Muslim states should reinforce unity to thwart enemy plots.
“Enemies intend to foment discord among Muslim countries to dominate over them,“ Haddad said in a meeting with the Speaker of Senegal’s Senate, Pape Diop, in Tehran on Saturday.
He added that Iran and Senegal enjoy amicable relations based on mutual respect and stressed the necessity of boosting bilateral cooperation in economic, industrial, political and parliamentary fields, IRNA reported.
Haddad stated that Iran’s Parliament is ready to enact laws that would contribute to the expansion of Tehran-Dakar ties.
Diop, for his part, said Iran is an important and powerful country in the region and the Muslim world, adding that Senegalese officials are resolved to bolster relations with Iran to strengthen global peace and stability, and defend Islamic values.
“Muslims should promote solidarity to prevent the enemies from achieving their goals,“ he said.

Strategic Countries
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran and Senegal are two strategic countries that enjoy good bilateral ties at all levels.
In a meeting with the visiting Senegalese speaker in Tehran on Saturday, Mottaki said, “Iran and Senegal have huge economic potentials. The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to participate in Senegal’s development projects, particularly in agriculture, auto manufacturing, dam building and construction of power plants.“
He also stressed the importance of boosting cooperation between the two countries’ private sectors.
Diop also said expansion of reciprocal relations is the wish of the Senegalese Muslim nation, adding that both sides share the same views on regional and international issues.
He expressed hope that Iran would play a role in the implementation of his country’s industrial and agricultural projects.

OIC Cooperation
In a meeting with Diop on Saturday, State Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani urged stronger cooperation among OIC members.
“Muslim nations should boost cooperation in various areas within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Conference,“ he said.
He pointed out that Senegal has always been a good friend and ally of the Islamic Republic.
Referring to Senegal’s rotating chairmanship of OIC, he stressed the country’s heavy responsibility regarding efforts to provide effective solutions to problems facing Muslim countries.
“Iran’s experiences in various fields can play an important role in the development of Senegal,“ Rafsanjani said.
Pape Diop, for his part, hoped for further expansion of diplomatic ties and economic cooperation between his country and Iran. He noted that Iran and Senegal have good relations in electricity and auto manufacturing sectors.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said countries located in Central Asia should collectively attain development to protect their nations’ interests.
Ahmadinejad made the remark in a message to a regional confab on Central Asia on Saturday, IRNA reported.
Given their cultural, historical and civilizational commonalities, the regional countries can easily attain development to benefit all regional nations.
“People in Central Asia are against tyranny and injustice,“ he said.
“After the collapse of ex-Soviet Union, the bullying powers have been trying to weaken regional nations to dominate over them through cultural inroads but to no avail.“
The president further said the world powers are trampling upon other nations’ rights, supporting the Zionist aggressors and sowing seeds of discords among regional countries to obstruct their development and progress.
Ahmadinejad noted that these nations can overcome the enemy plots and attain development by relying on their huge cultural, economic and historical assets.
“Since Iran has attained significant development and made great achievements in the fields of commerce, science and technology, the country is now ready to put all these achievements at the disposal of other regional countries,“ he said.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon has stressed the significance of unity among all Palestinian groups to confront the Zionist enemy.
In a meeting with Abbas Zaki, the representative of Palestinian Liberation Organization in Lebanon, Iran’s Mohammad Reza Sheibani opined that no weapon has the power of faith in confronting the enemy, Presstv reported.
“The Palestinian people have proved through their resistance to the Zionist regime that faith is stronger than any weapon,“ he said.
Referring to the recent visit of US President George W. Bush to occupied Palestine and his expression of support for the Zionist regime, Sheibani noted that Bush’s current visit, like earlier ones, was totally fruitless.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed relations between Iran and the PLO, and explored ways for further expansion of ties.
Zaki, for his part, thanked Iran over its spiritual support for the Palestinian nation.
Commenting on the state of Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, he said measures have been taken to counter any negative effect of the country’s recent developments on the conditions of Palestinian refugees.
“The Palestinian refugees in Lebanon should avoid supporting any Lebanese political groups,“ he said.

Iran’s foreign minister says Tehran sees no point in talking to Washington on Iraq’s security when US planes pound Iraqi cities everyday. “Iraq has faced a special situation in the last month and the multinational forces in the country have not made things easier,“ Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday, Presstv reported.
Mottaki also expressed Iran’s concern over the grim situation of Iraqi civilians, adding that Tehran will be willing to talk to Washington if it modifies its Iraq policies.
“There will be no talks with the US for the time being but let’s see on what basis the US anchors its policies in the future,“ he said.
Sporadic US military operations continue in Baghdad’s Sadr City, despite last week’s ceasefire agreement between the Iraqi government and Muqtada Al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army.
Since March 25, US air and ground raids on civilians in Baghdad’s Sadr City have left thousands of Iraqis, most of them women and children, dead and wounded.

Ahmed Abul Gheit

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has backed Iran’s nuclear right, saying all NPT members are entitled to peaceful nuclear technology.
In an interview with the Cairo-based weekly Al-Ahram, Abul Gheit stressed the desirability of diplomacy on Iran’s nuclear case and voiced his opposition to a military option in dealing with the issue.
The Egyptian foreign minister also emphasized that “Israel should join the Non-Proliferation Treaty“.
Commenting on a meeting between the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and US President George W. Bush, who was in Egypt on the last leg of his current Middle East tour, he said, “Israel’s nuclear capabilities and the need for it to join the NPT were among the issues discussed in the meeting between the two leaders.“
Commenting on Israel’s delaying tactics on the issue of Beit-ul-Moqaddas, Abul Gheit said Beit-ul-Moqaddas is a central topic in all talks related to the Palestinian issue.

A senior parliamentarian urged Germany to prevent the presence of terrorist groups on its territories.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, made the remark in a meeting with the head of Germany’s Social Christians parliamentary faction, Peter Ramsaver, on Sunday, Mehr News Agency reported.
Expressing his satisfaction over bilateral parliamentary ties, Boroujerdi said consolidation of two-way parliamentary relations can help cement other aspects of mutual relations.
Commenting on US efforts to influence the relations of other countries with Iran, he said, “Americans are exerting pressures on other countries for restricting their ties with Iran. This is while Americans themselves want to hold direct talks with Iran.“
The lawmaker also referred to Iran’s policy of fighting drug trafficking and said the international community must collaborate with Iran in this respect.
Boroujerdi noted that resolving the Iraqi dilemma requires regional cooperation and that Iran is prepared to do everything possible to restore security and stability to Iraq,
“Unlike America, Iran believes that a calm Lebanon will benefit the entire region,“ he said.
Ramsaver, for his part, emphasized that it is important for Germany to improve ties with Iran, given its pivotal role in regional developments.
He said Germany seeks to devise a transparent plan for preventing production and trafficking of drugs, and needs Iran’s cooperation for its materialization.
“Berlin will use all its means to prevent the activities of terrorist groups within its territories,“ he said.

Culture Minister Mohammad Hossein Saffar-Harandi (l) presents a decree to IRNAÕs new managing director, Mohammad Jafar Behdad, as former chief Jalal Fayyazi looks on in Tehran on Sunday.

Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi said the Islamic Republic News Agency faces a challenge in having a more successful presence in the field of information dissemination.
“Given its conditions and potentials, IRNA can overcome this challenge,“ he said during the induction ceremony of IRNA’s new managing director, Mohammad Jafar Behdad, on Sunday.
He emphasized that competing with new rivals requires means and facilities, which IRNA can acquire and continue to be the leading news agency in the country.
“Fulfillment of this task needs the efforts of all devoted staffers of IRNA. I am confident that it can be done. Our rivals used our experiences to upgrade their status. IRNA must be prudent and compile a plan to face this situation,“ he said.
The minister noted that the presence of Behdad as IRNA’s managing director is a good development.
“It is fortunate that the new chief of IRNA is himself a man of letters. He has good experience in the field of information dissemination,“ he said.
Harandi commended former IRNA managing director, Jalal Fayyazi, for his painstaking efforts to improve IRNA.

Iran has officially announced the replacement of its long-time governor to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Oil Ministry’s website Shana said on Sunday.
Oil Ministry sources last week told Reuters that senior Iranian energy official Mohammad Ali Khatibi would take over from Hossein Kazempour Ardebili as the representative of OPEC’s second largest producer to the 13-member oil exporting body.
Shana said Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari appointed Khatibi, previously deputy director of international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company, to the post in a decree but did not say when it was issued.
“In view of your commitment and experience in issues related to OPEC and global oil markets, you are appointed as the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the governing board of OPEC,“ Nozari wrote to Khatibi, according to Shana.
In a separate letter, he thanked Kazempour for his work. The Shana report did not say why Kazempour was replaced.
One industry insider last week said a change had long been expected, as Kazempour was a supporter of the candidate beaten by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in elections in 2005.
Kazempour served as Iran’s deputy foreign minister and deputy oil minister in the 1980s and was Iranian ambassador to Japan in the early 1990s, while at the same time serving as OPEC governor.

Pakistan’s Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro on Saturday testified to the warmth of relations between Pakistan and Iran, describing them as most enduring and time tested during the past 60 years.
The chairman made the remark while talking to Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the Iranian Guardians Council and his six-member delegation, currently visiting Pakistan at the invitation of the Pakistan Council of Islamic Ideology, the Pakistan Daily reported.
“Bilateral ties are rooted in the two countries, which desired peace and stability in the region as well as in the world. Ours is a people-to-people friendship and it is in our interest to cooperate in various fields and to benefit from this mutual sharing of experiences,“ he said.
The senior Iranian official also expressed gratitude over the hospitality extended to his delegation and said Pakistan was another home to him.
Praising the achievements of Pakistan, Jannati said, “Pakistan’s progress is a source of pride and joy for Iran.“
Noting that Iran was the first country to recognize Pakistan after its independence, he called for extended ties with Pakistan in the political, social, diplomatic and economic fields since the two countries have the ability to play a leading role in the Muslim world.
Ayatollah Jannati felicitated Chairman Soomro and Pakistan over the peaceful general elections and hoped the election would be a harbinger of greater prosperity for the country.
Soomro explained the function of the Senate and its composition of 100 members in the indirectly elected parliament chamber.
The Guardians Council is also a powerful body with a number of legislative and executive jurisdictions and forms a cornerstone of Iranian Constitution.
Iranian Ambassador Mashallah Shakeri was also present in the meeting.

Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi voiced Iran’s readiness to expand judicial relations with different countries, especially independent states.
Shahroudi was meeting with Cyprus Judiciary Chief Petros Clerides, who is also the country’s prosecutor general, on Sunday, IRNA reported.
The ayatollah noted that the sworn enemies of Iran perpetually launch propaganda warfare against the country.
“Improving bilateral bonds can help foil the enemies’ ill plotsÉand prove that the claims of colonial powers are false,“ he said.
He pointed out that the Iranian judicial system is based on genuine Islamic teachings and can help fulfill people’s rights even in other countries.
Shahroudi cited the judiciary’s accomplishments as enhanced public participation within the framework of arbitration councils, improvement of prisons’ conditions and respect for citizens.
Clerides, for his part, underlined his country’s readiness to expand judicial ties with Iran.
“You could be rest assured that we do not attach credence to the propaganda of your enemies about violation of human rights,“ Clerides told Shahroudi.
Meanwhile, Prosecutor General Qorbanali Dorri Najafabadi and his Cypriot counterpart discussed bilateral judicial ties in Tehran on Sunday.
Referring to Cyprus’ status in the European Union, the Iranian official said Nicosia also plays a key role in international and regional forums.
Najafabadi stressed the need for promoting bilateral cooperation in the judicial field, noting that Tehran and Nicosia could take important steps in connection with such major issues as human rights, anti-drug campaign and respect for public rights.
The official expressed hope that the two countries would also have further cooperation in extraditing criminals.
Clerides, for his part, expressed hope that Nicosia could link Iran to the EU and help further promote the country’s ties with European states.

Three Iranian diplomats and a local staff of Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, wounded in an attack on May 15, were transferred to Iran for continuing their medical treatment.
Iranian Embassy Spokesman Manouchehr Taslimi said on Saturday Mohammad Hashemi and Mojtaba Khodabandeh, hospitalized in Baghdad hospital, are in stable condition and have been transferred to Iran for further treatment along with Majid Jaberi and Behrouz Ramezanpour, IRNA reported.
A group of Iranian diplomats, who were on their way to a Shiite holy site in the Iraqi city of Kazemain on Thursday, were attacked by two armed men.
Iran said on Saturday it will not withhold support for the government of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki despite Thursday’s terror attack on Iranian diplomats in Baghdad.
“Tehran will continue to support the Iraqi government and will spare no effort to strengthen bilateral ties,“ the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad said in a statement released on Saturday.
It added that Iraqi security officials promised to arrest those involved in the terrorist operation and hand them over to Iraqi judiciary officials.
Meanwhile, a top Iranian official said terrorist attacks on Iranian diplomats in Baghdad will not dissuade Iran from supporting security in Iraq.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Sheikh-Attar condemned the recent terrorist attack on Iranian diplomats in Iraq.
“Those who support such attacks are trying to sow the seeds of discord between the Iranian and Iraqi nations,“ he said.
“The concurrence of terrorist attacks on Iranian diplomats with the improvement of ties between the two countries is very suspicious.“