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Weather Guide
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Tehran
High: 33 - Low: 17
Bandar Abbas
Bushehr
Hamedan
Orumih
Rasht
Baku
Bangkok
Kuwait City
Riyadh
Rome
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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
Chief Editor:
Amir Ali Abolfath
Editorial Dept. Tel: 88755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 88761869
Subscription Dept. Tel: 88329002-4
Advertising Dept. Tel: 88500616-7
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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Lebanese Talks A Step Forward
Compiled by Davood Baqeri
Iran says no date has yet been fixed for the visit by European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana to Tehran.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters on Monday in Tehran that talks were being held for a visit by Solana and representatives of the five UN veto powers plus Germany (5+1) to give ’refreshed’ incentives to the Iranian government.
Hosseini referred to an offer by 5+1 for persuading Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities.
There had been reports that Solana and deputy foreign ministers of the 5+1 would come to Tehran to present the package to Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last week that western incentives would not stop Iran’s nuclear projects, including uranium enrichment, but noted that Iran would, nevertheless, evaluate the package.
Referring to remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week that the 5+1 should offer Iran security guarantees, Hosseini said Iran does not need such guarantees and never demanded any.
The spokesman added that Iran had in return forwarded its own package of proposals to the western states and hopes Iran’s initiative would prepare the ground for constructive talks between Iran and the 5+1.
The Iranian package was last week sent by Mottaki to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and a copy of it to the foreign ministers of the five permanent member-states of the UN Security Council. Another copy was sent to Solana.
Hosseini also noted that the latest round of negotiations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency has been ’fruitful’.
“The recent visit to Tehran of the IAEA team was successful and had a fruitful outcome,“ he said.
An IAEA technical delegation, headed by Herman Nackaerts, director for regional department of Safeguards Operation, arrived in Tehran on May 12, 2008.
Support for Lebanon
The spokesman added that his country would support all efforts to bring the Lebanese political parties closer and forge national reconciliation.
Hosseini was commenting on the meeting of leaders of Lebanese political parties in Doha, Qatar.
The Lebanese political leaders gathered in the Arab state since Friday to find a solution for the protracted political crisis in Lebanon.
Describing the meeting sponsored by the Arab League as a “positive step forward“, Hosseini said, “The progressing trend can be positive and constructive, if the foreigners’ meddling does not derail the process.“
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Ahmadinejad:
No Barriers for Boosting Eritrea Ties
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the visit of his Eritrean counterpart, Isaias Afewerki, marks a huge step for boosting bilateral relations.
“The two countries face no barriers for expanding bilateral cooperation,“ the president was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Ahmadinejad, who was speaking to reporters after his meeting with Afewerki on Monday, said Eritrea is familiar to Iranians who remember the nation’s long years of resistance for achieving liberty and freedom.
The chief executive said, “We had constructive talks regarding bilateral ties and joint investments in the fields of agriculture, industry and energy as well as regional and international collaboration.“
Ahmadinejad emphasized that Iran and Eritrea have common stances vis-ˆ-vis regional and global issues, and also on ways of withstanding the hegemonic policies of arrogant world powers.
“The two countries defend each other’s rights and also the rights of other independent countries in international forums,“ he said. Afewerki, for his part, recalled that it was his first visit to Iran.
“The history of bilateral bonds dates back to decades and we hold common views on certain issues,“ he said.
The Eritrean president also said that his tour of Iran provides a good opportunity for fortifying economic and trade cooperation at the regional and global levels, which can help ensure regional peace and stability.
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Kouchner Confirms Contacts With Hamas
Abbas Threatens to Resign
France’s foreign minister says Paris has had informal contacts with the leaders of Hamas, the Islamic group that rules Gaza.
Bernard Kouchner says the contacts over the past few months do not amount to formal relations or negotiations, AFP reported.
Kouchner was speaking on Europe-1 radio after a report on Monday in the daily Le Figaro in which a retired French diplomat says he met with Hamas leaders a month ago.
According to the paper, the diplomat, Yves Aubin de la Messuziere, says Hamas told him they were ready to accept a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders.
Le Figaro also says the retired diplomat told it that Hamas is ready to stop suicide attacks and recognize the legitimacy of Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmud Abbas.
Meanwhile, an Israeli lawmaker said Abbas has threatened to resign if he does not reach a peace settlement with Israel within six months.
Abbas made the threat during a meeting on Sunday with lawmaker Yossi Beilin in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheik.
A statement issued by Beilin’s office quoted Abbas as saying he “would see no point in continuing in his position’’ if a deal is not reached.
“I didn’t take the presidency upon myself in order to serve the role of president but rather to pursue a mission, and I have no point in continuing in this capacity if it becomes apparent that we can’t reach peace,’’ the statement quoted Abbas as saying.
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Confab on Prophet (PBUH)
Iran’s Embassy in Norway held a one-day international conference on Muslim Prophet (PBUH) and Peace, which was attended by Muslim and western experts.
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Bush’s Egypt Visit
By Davood Ahmadzadeh
US President George W. Bush’s recent visit to Egypt and talks with President Hosni Mubarak can be scrutinized from different angles.
Cairo’s ties with Washington are aimed at restoring regional peace and stability, enhancing military and economic cooperation, spreading democracy and consolidating the Egypt-Israel peace agreement of 1979.
Egypt and the US share regional stances, including their support for Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s government, hostility toward Hezbollah and also explicit opposition to the policies of Sudan in developing cordial bonds with Iran.
Despite the objection of American human rights groups to Mubarak’s harsh domestic policies, the US continues to offer economic and military aid to Egypt.
It must be recalled that former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was the first Arab leader to visit the occupied Palestinian territories and break the taboo of forging ties with Israel. Ever since this visit, Egypt has received billions of dollars from the US within the framework of economic and military aid as a reward for making peace with Israel. The aid is meant to strengthen peace in the Middle East and encourage other Arab leaders to join the so-called Middle East peace process.
Egypt and the US also have extensive military and security relations. The two countries regularly hold joint military drills on different occasions. That’s why during the Operation Desert Storm for the liberation of Kuwait, Egyptian soldiers joined the coalition forces led by the US. Despite their common standpoints, Washington and Cairo have experienced fundamental challenges in recent years. America’s prolonged presence in Iraq and the spread of war in the region are disliked by Egyptian statesmen, who have urged the US to withdraw its troops from Iraq and let the Iraqis determine their own fate.
The Egyptian officialdom believes that the Zionist regime is the source of instability and escalating clashes in the occupied Palestinian territories and calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Though it has signed a peace accord with Israel, Egypt considers Israel’s refusal to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a blatant threat to the security of the volatile region. Interestingly, recent surveys reveal that Egyptians still consider the Zionist regime as their number one enemy and maintain that Israeli intelligence service is responsible for the internal rift between Muslims and Christians.
It should not be doubted that in addition to discussing regional developments, Mubarak and Bush also discussed Iran’s peaceful nuclear program. Bush claims that Iran interferes in Iraq’s internal affairs and renders military support to Hezbollah in Lebanon, describing Iran as a serious regional threat.
This is while Egypt considers peaceful nuclear activities as Iran’s legitimate right. Although the two countries do not have diplomatic ties, Iran and Egypt were the first countries to propose the plan for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons in 1982 and they still support the plan in the United Nations.
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