President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described relations with Senegal as “strong and expanding“.
In a meeting with visiting Senegalese Parliament Speaker Bob Diob on Tuesday, President Ahmadinejad said Iran and Senegal enjoy brotherly and friendly ties, based on mutual interests of the nations, IRNA reported.
“There are no limits to further expansion of such good ties,“ he said.
Referring to the good level of mutual cooperation within the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the president said, “The high-ranking officials of both countries are determined to have comprehensive expansion of bilateral ties.“
Ahmadinejad stressed the need to work for the two nations, for the entire Islamic nations, and for world peace and stability.
Ahmadinejad pointed out that expansion of parliamentary relations between the two countries is beneficial for the two sides, announcing Tehran’s readiness for further deepening of such ties and for the transfer of experience to Senegal in various fields.
Diob also conveyed the warm regards of President Abdoulaye Wade, the Senegalese government and nation to the Iranian president, government and nation, describing his talks with high-ranking Iranian officials as “good and constructive“.
“The main objective of his visit to Iran was expansion of bilateral cooperation, particularly for strengthening parliamentary relations in line with safeguarding the two nations’ interests,“ he said, adding that the Senegalese government and nation attach great importance to ties with the Islamic Republic.
Diob also voiced the Senegalese parliament’s support for expanding ties and cooperation with Iran, asking for transfer of Iran’s experience in various fields, particularly in the field of agricultural engineering.

Iran on Tuesday called on the United Nations to secure the interest of Afghan nation.
Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili told the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Kai Eide, that the Afghan nation is suffering from war and devastation over the past three decades, IRNA reported.
He outlined Iran’s humanitarian assistance to that war-torn country.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran enjoys the best possible relations with the Afghan government,“ he said, stressing that even during the 1980-88 Iraq-imposed war, Iran was hosting millions of Afghan refugees.
“If instead of dispatching tanks to Afghanistan, the NATO had sent tractors to that country, Afghanistan would have seen more stability and security,“ he said.
Jalili added that Afghanistan does not need tanks and weapons, but is in need of the humanitarian approach of big powers and the United Nations.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers Afghan stability and security as its own,“ he said, stressing that Tehran has fulfilled all its commitments toward Afghan reconstruction.
Jalili emphasized that Tehran would continue its constructive cooperation with the UN special representative for Afghanistan.
Eide briefed Jalili on his plans and programs in Afghanistan and lauded Iran’s stand in terms of Afghan stability and security.
“The UN is trying to leave the Afghan affairs, including the reconstruction operations, to the Afghan nation by strengthening the Kabul government,“ he said.
“Since the Afghan problems are first political and then economic and social, a military solution is not suitable for them,“ he said.
Praising Iran’s anti-drug campaign, the UN official appreciated the Islamic Republic’s readiness for cooperation with the United Nations.

The motion to impeach Commerce Minister Masoud Mir-Kazemi was cancelled again, an official said.
A member of Majlis Presiding Board said on Tuesday more than 100 members of parliament urged their colleagues, who favored the impeachment, to withdraw their motion, IRNA reported.
Qorbani noted that Mir-Kazemi was due to be impeached on May 21.
Mir-Kazemi was expected to attend the Majlis session to answer questions raised by deputies on the performance of his ministry.
The motion to impeach Mir-Kazemi was launched on May 6.
Another member of Majlis Presiding Board observed that since the outgoing Majlis is in its last days, the impeachment of commerce minister was not advisable.
Kazim Mirjalali noted that Mir-Kazemi’s impeachment should be decided by the eighth Majlis.
Criticism mounted about the Commerce Ministry’s performance over the dramatic rise in prices of rice and other consumer goods.

Secretary-General of Arab League Amr Moussa has called for negotiations with Iran in order to put an end to the Lebanese crisis.
“It is necessary to contact Iran on the matter because the country is not detached from the Arab world issues,“ Asharq Al-Awsat quoted Moussa as saying.
Referring to Syria’s influence on some Lebanese factions, Moussa said Syrian officials have been contacted to contribute to the resolution of the Lebanese crisis.
During the Doha session on the crisis, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani contacted Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to update him on the results of the talks and related issues, including reform of Lebanon’s Election Law, the formation of a national unity government and the weapons issue of the country’s resistance movement Hezbollah, the report said.
The Iranian and Syrian officials had earlier welcomed negotiations among the Lebanese groups over the ongoing political negotiations in Doha.

A leading London-based think-tank said on Tuesday oil-rich Arab states of the Persian Gulf recently planned to acquire nuclear technology, while Iran is a pioneer in the region.
“In the span of 11 months between February 2006 and January 2007, at least 13 countries in the Middle East announced new or revived plans to pursue or explore civilian nuclear energy,“ said the International Institute for Strategic Studies in a report, entitled “Nuclear Programs in the Middle East in the Shadow of Iran“, Reuters reported.
“This upsurge of interest is remarkable given both the abundance of traditional energy sources in the region and the low standing to date of nuclear energy there,“ the report said.
Iran’s plans to open a Russian-built nuclear power station at Bushehr would make it the first country in the region to develop nuclear power. Tehran says its program is solely for peaceful power generation.

Israeli Nukes
The IISS report also looked at Israel’s nuke program, concluding that the regime possesses nuclear weapons despite its refusal to confirm this publicly, and would be unlikely to give them up to secure a nuclear-free Middle East.
Iran’s plans should soon make it “the exception to the rule whereby the Middle East is the only region in the world without nuclear power“, the report said. “If the recent aspirations of Iran’s neighbors are ever realized, this exception would become the rule.“
It said the United Arab Emirates is likely to become the next country in the region after Iran with nuclear power.

NPT Signatories
Signatories to the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are allowed to pursue nuclear power but must agree to controls to prevent them from building atomic weapons.
The report said nuclear power programs in the Middle East could make it easier for countries to develop weapons programs if the NPT breaks down, stressing that treaty rules should be better enforced.
“Rules need to be rigorously enforced if the benefits of nuclear energy are to be enjoyed without proliferation risk; yet the international record on enforcement is poor.
“Violators of NPT-required safeguards agreements, export control regulations and UN Security Council mandates on non-proliferation have faced few real penalties. The problem is worst in the Middle East,“ it said.
Unlike other Middle Eastern countries, Israel has not signed the NPT. The report concluded that Israel has had atomic weapons for decades despite its official policy of “nuclear ambiguity“.
Israel is unlikely to give up its own bomb as part of a deal to make the Middle East a nuclear-free zone, the IISS report added. Ê“Under the present circumstances, if prevention fails, Israelis would not look to arms control as a solution.“

Mohamed ElBaradei

The international community has no evidence to confirm Iran’s nuclear program has military nature, the head of the UN nuclear agency Mohamed ElBaradei said on Monday.
Addressing the Middle East World Economic Forum in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik, ElBaradei said the international community should trust Iran’s commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, IRNA reported.
He also stressed the need for continued talks between Iran and critics of its nuclear program.
“We haven’t seen indications or any concrete evidence that Iran is building a nuclear weapon and I’ve been saying that consistently for the last five years,“ he asserted, noting that the issue of Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West is a problem of trust.
The IAEA chief referred to a December 3 joint assessment by 16 US spy agencies, which conceded that Tehran is not running a nuclear weapons program, and said the US intelligence report agreed with his agency’s assessment on Iran’s nuclear program.
ElBaradei also criticized US President George W. Bush’s remarks at the forum and suggested that the US hold direct talks with Iran to resolve the long drawn-out standoff over the country’s nuclear program.
“If you need to resolve an issue, you need to see where people are coming from,“ he said. “We should have learned from now that dialogue, not isolation, is the way to move forward.“
Iran has repeatedly stated that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is entitled to enriching uranium, which will provide fuel for the country’s under-construction nuclear power plant.
However, the US president’s flagrant disregard for international reports on Iran indicates his determination to drum up support for an act of aggression against the Islamic Republic.
“I have said Iran is dangerous, and the NIE estimate doesn’t do anything to change my opinion about the danger Iran poses to the world--quite the contrary,“ Bush said in response to the release of the US National Intelligence Estimate.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheith said in his address to the forum that no one even referred to the Israeli stockpile of nuclear arms while everyone kept talking about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.
“The presence of US and Israeli warships stationed in the sea near the Arab states have destabilized the region,“ Abul Gheith said.

The government is ready to cooperate with the upcoming Majlis, said the government spokesman on Tuesday.
“The government needs Majlis to help tackle problems,“ Gholamhossein Elham told reporters in Tehran, IRNA reported.
He added that the government will deal constructively with all MPs from different factions and parties.
Elham also said the arrest of six Bahais in Iran was for security reasons and not for their faith.
“Linking security issues to ideological matters is a mistake, although that is not an ideological issue either,“ he said.
He added that the detained Bahais were members of a group working “against the national interest“.
“The group is an organized establishment linked to foreigners, the Zionists in particular,“ he said. He added that putting emphasis on a sect called ’Bahaism’ was an “old and useless policy“.
“Every country must defend its security, and this has nothing to do with ideological issues,“ he said. Elham stressed that Iran’s security organ observed legalities when it arrested the six Bahais and would follow up the case carefully, regardless of their faith.

Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said all governments and nations should confront the lies spread by the US government.
Najjar made the statement during a visit to the Defense Ministry’s News Dissemination Network in Tehran on Tuesday, IRNA reported.
“In their eight years of wielding power in America, the neoconservatives have a track record full of lies, deceits, murders, insecurity, instability, unilateralism, spread of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction as well as violations of human rights and international norms and standards. For many years to come, the adverse consequences of this track record will hurt the people of the world, especially the Middle East,“ he said. The defense minister emphasized that the ruling neoconservatives are so tricky and deceitful that President George W Bush has admitted that he was disappointed with flawed information related to the alleged WMDs in Iraq before the start of the war on terror. The brigadier general also said that given its failure in Iraq, the US continues to spread lies against Iran and Syria, and intends to further prolong its illegitimate presence in the region by creating a tense atmosphere and insecurity.
“In his eight years in the Oval Office, Bush has endangered global peace, international security, regional stability and calm, and has been fanning the flames of dispute in the region by making controversial remarks,“ he said.
Najjar said the world will no longer be deceived by the lies of Bush and warmongers.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi

Lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi called for international cooperation for restricting terrorism worldwide.
Boroujerdi made the remark in the inaugural ceremony of the International Conference of Kalkan in Tehran on Tuesday, which is Interpol’s anti-terrorism initiative in Central Asia, IRNA reported.
Noting that unilateral or bilateral efforts by particular countries are not sufficient in this respect, the lawmaker said, “If the phenomenon of terrorism is considered an international challenge, political and governmental means needed for dealing with it.“
Kalkan is the name of a plan for fighting international terrorism and 20 to 22 countries from North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia participate in it. “Although there are efforts to fight international terrorism by governments and global organizations, the responses to the ominous phenomenon are insufficient,“ he said.
Pointing to the establishment of conventions for fighting terrorism, he mentioned that more efforts and planning are needed to confront the phenomenon in line with the growth of international terrorism and its role in the world.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a victim of terrorist acts, but the terrorist groups have been given safe haven in western countries,“ he said.
Boroujerdi further said current developments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan are obvious examples of terrorism and organized crimes, and that Israeli state terrorism targeted the Palestinian activists as well. “Terrorism is not limited to national and trans-national borders, because it has increased alongside globalization,“ he said, adding that no government or region is immune from the threat of sabotages and terrorist acts.