Manouchehr Mottaki

Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday expressed optimism about what he said was a ’new environment’ for talks with major powers over its nuclear program.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that recent discussions on a package of incentives from major powers were ’different from the previous discussions and negotiations’.
“I believe that we are now in a new environment with a new approaching perspective,“ Mottaki said in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.
The comments came two days after Iran delivered its response to the package of trade and other incentives proposed by the United States, China, Russia, Germany, Britain and France to Iran last month.
The six powers have told Iran that formal negotiations on the offer, which includes help to develop a civilian nuclear program, can start as soon as it suspends uranium enrichment.
Iran has thus far rejected that precondition, saying this violates its rights as a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Optimistic Note
In the interview, Mottaki also sounded an optimistic note about future relations with the United States. “We hear new voices in America. We see new approaches, and we think that the rational thinkers in America can, based on these new approaches, seek reality as it is. We are ready to help them in this endeavor,“ Mottaki said.
Asked specifically about Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, Mottaki declined to comment, saying Obama had run into trouble in the past for expressing a willingness to negotiate with Iran. “So by commenting on this we do not want to create further problems for US presidential candidates,“ Mottaki said.
Iran says its nuclear activities are only aimed at generating power so it can export more oil.
The UN Security Council has imposed three rounds of mild sanctions on Iran over its refusal to comply with demands to suspend the enrichment of nuclear fuel.
The row over Iran’s nuclear work has sparked fears of military confrontation and helped push oil prices to record highs.

Russia will push for dialogue with Iran on its nuclear program but expects reciprocal signals from Tehran, President Dmitry Medvedev told President Bush on Monday, according to a Russian official.
“Russia will do everything to stimulate dialogue with Iran and expects corresponding signals from leaders of Iran,“ Medvedev’s diplomatic advisor Sergei Prikhodko told journalists, AFP reported.
Iran last Friday delivered its response to an EU package of incentives to halt the enrichment of uranium which Tehran insists is peacefully oriented.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili has said his country submitted a ’constructive and creative’ response with ’a focus on common ground’, but he did not elaborate on the contents.
Just a day later, Tehran offered to negotiate on its nuclear drive but without giving up uranium enrichment.
The United States has said it would consult its allies before commenting on Iran’s response.

Ban Encouraged
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told AFP on Monday that he was encouraged by recent dialogue between Iran and the European Union.
Bush and Medvedev held their first face-to-face meeting Monday as the US leader got a chance to weigh up Vladimir Putin’s successor and address outstanding disputes between the two nations.
“I am concerned about the Iranian nuclear issue. At the same time, recently there has been some encouraging dialogue going on between the European Union and the Iranian government,“ Ban said.
“I hope this dialogue will continue and will bring some good resolution of this issue,“ he said aboard his plane headed to a Group of Eight summit in Japan.
However, Ban did not specify which particular aspects of the EU’s dialogue with Iran he found encouraging.
Iran handed the response, which has not been made public, to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Rapporteur of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazem Jalali on Monday said that Interior Ministry officials and commission members have underlined the need to revise presidential election laws.
Speaking to Fars News Agency, Jalali added, “We held a meeting with the caretaker of the Interior Ministry, Mehdi Hashemi and his deputies in which we underscored interaction between the commission and ministry. Hashemi put forward suitable and positive points to facilitate interaction between the commission and ministry.“
He recalled that one of the legal shortfalls in election laws of the country pertains to presidential election laws.
“Unfortunately, presidential election laws have not been revised and contain many flaws. However, in the meeting it was decided that the ministry and commission collaborate on changing and improving the laws,“ he pointed out.
Jalali concluded that Hashemi briefed the meeting on the border situation, domestic security and social security and the commission members raised their own viewpoints on various issues.

Families of four Iranian diplomats who were abducted in east Beirut by a pro-Israeli Lebanese group in 1982 have called for a follow-up on the issue, in a meeting with a Hezbollah official.
In the meeting with Nabil Farouq, the diplomats’ families thanked the Hezbollah for its efforts to retrieve the missing envoys and called for the continuation of the process, Presstv said.
Mohsen Mousavi, Ahmad Motevasselian, Kazem Akhavan and Taqi Rastegar-Moqaddam were kidnapped by Phalangists while on their way back from a mission in north Lebanon to Beirut on July 4, 1982.
The meeting followed the Zionist regime’s decision to provide detailed information on diplomats within the charter of a prisoner swap deal with Hezbollah.
“We are waiting for the exchange of information between Hezbollah and the Israelis, but I strictly believe that the diplomats are alive and held in Israeli custody,“ said Ra’ed Mousavi, the son of Mohsen Mousavi former Iranian charge d’affairŽs in Beirut.
“Reports by Palestinian and Lebanese detainees released from Israeli prisons, indicate that they are alive,“ he argued.
The Iranian diplomats, along with a photojournalist, went missing after they were detained by the Phalangist army on their way back from north Lebanon, before being handed over to Israeli forces.
Earlier the families met Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Lebanon’s top Shiite cleric, Allameh Seyyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.

Six IRGC artillery and missile groups are active in different provinces.

A commander of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC) on Monday said 50 brigades are being equipped with smart and cluster ammunition.
Brigadier General Mahmoud Chaharbaghi, who was addressing the ceremony for commemorating IRGC artillery and missile system veterans, added that if the enemy attacks, Iran will respond heavily in all parts of the country, Fars News Agency reported.
The general also said six IRGC artillery and missile groups are active in different provinces, except the units stationed in IRGC brigades and battalions.
“Two more groups in southeastern and western Iran will soon commence activities,“ he said.
He explained that rocket launchers Fajr-3 and Fajr-5, which have a high range, along with Zalal missiles with a range of 150 kilometers, are among the equipment available to IRGC.
“Our operation brigades are equipped with Katyusha rockets,“ he said.
Chaharbaghi also said IRGC has acquired smart ammunitions, which can hit small, moving targets, as well as 130 mm and 150 mm cluster bullets.
“By using the latest know-how, the system of navigation of artillery fire has been computerized and all systems are controlled via a device as large as a cellular phone. This will increase the precision of our projectiles,“ he said.

An Iranian victim of chemical weapons during the Iraq-imposed war (1980-8) is seen in this file photo.

Visiting head of Hiroshima Peace Group, Shizoko Tsuya, said in Shiraz on Monday the world do not yet know about the Iranian victims of chemical weapons.
“Effective measures should be taken to introduce the Iranian victims of chemical weapons to the world,“ she was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The peace activist said the group did not know about the Iranian catastrophe.
“Last year when we came to Iran to follow up another issue, we became acquainted with the victims of chemical weapons and the tragic incidents that happened to the Iranian people as a result of the deployment of chemical weapons during the Iraq-imposed war (1980-8),“ she said.
Tsuya noted that her group aims to establish a link for transferring the related experiences of Japanese doctors to their Iranian counterparts.
“Sixty years have gone by since the bombardment of Hiroshima and Japanese doctors have gained a great deal of experience in treating victims of chemical weapons,“ she said.
Tsuya also said on the occasion of the anniversary of Hiroshima’s bombardment every year, people from all over the world converge on Hiroshima to mark the tragic event.
“On this day, we will also invite a few Iranian victims of chemical weapons so that they can tell the world about the aftermath of the deployment of chemical weapons during the Iraq-imposed war,“ she said.

Deputy Head of Majlis Budget and Plan Commission Mohammad Hossein Farhangi on Monday introduced Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli to the parliament as its nominee to head State Audit Organization (SAO).
He added that the commission will also decide about the choice for SAO’s prosecutor, Fars News Agency reported.
“According to Majlis bylaws, after the commission selects the head and prosecutor of SAO, the nominees should be introduced to the Majlis Presiding Board for a parliamentary vote,“ he said.

Iranian border guards have killed a Kurdish gunman in a shootout in the northwest of the country.
A report by IRIB on Sunday said the suspect was part of a group planning to infiltrate into Iran. Another individual was detained while the rest of the group escaped.
The shootout occurred in the mountainous region where the Iraqi, Turkish and Iranian borders come together. The report did not name the group.
Iran has been carrying out strikes against a Kurdish separatist group, known as the PEJAK, based on Mount Qandil within Iraq, near the Iranian border. The group is the Iranian wing of Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey.

An Iranian US-made F5 fighter jet crashed in the southwestern Khuzestan province on Sunday, killing two pilots onboard.
The accident took place at 10 a.m. local time (0530 GMT) at the Omideh military base. No details were given on casualties or the circumstances of the incident, IRNA reported.
The Iranian air force has been hit hard by the US embargo on selling spare parts and new jets to Iran, which means the country must work intensely to find spare parts to keep its fleet in the air.
Many of Iran’s planes are of American origin like the F5 and were bought in a massive arms-buying spree by the pro-US shah who was ousted by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran also has Russian jets, but over the last years has been announcing what it says is the development of entirely home-produced fighter jets such as the Saeqeh and Azarakhsh.

While the controversial G8 Summit is being held in Hokkaido, Japan, leaders of the Group of Eight Islamic Developing Countries, known as D8, also convened a summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The founding philosophy of D8 is not only different from that of the bloc of industrialized nations, but there also exists a wide gap between the line of thought of D8 and of G8 member-states. Due to the crisis-stricken global economy, both developing and developed countries face common problems such has high food prices and unstable energy market.
The D8 Summit, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is participating, serves as an opportunity for Muslim states to take decisions about the governing recession and the rise in food prices. Although many parameters play a role in economic considerations, D8 can at least take effective measures for lowering inflation and overcoming recession among Muslim countries.
Nevertheless, D8 decisions should comply with the political and economic clout of its member-states.
D8 members have a total population of 900 million people, which account for about 14 percent of the world’s population and possess most of the global energy resources. This is why upgrading the role of D8 on the global level has been a priority of Iran’s diplomacy since the organization’s formation in 1997.
Given the potentials and capacities of its member-states, D8 can also be helpful for those who support the concept of indigenous development in Asia. The group should be considered the brainchild of the former Islamist prime minister of Turkey, Necmettin Erbakan, who has been currently sidelined because of the machinations of secular generals.
Although only 11 years have passed since the establishment of D8, any evaluation of the influence of its member-states should first focus on their geopolitical positions. Each D8 member is an important political and economic player in different parts of the world, including the three strategic regions of Middle East, Pacific and Indian subcontinent as well as Central Asia. It suffices to refer to the strategic positions of Indonesia in Far East, Egypt in North Africa, Turkey in the neighborhood of Iran as the gateway to Europe and Pakistan in the Sea of Oman.
Given its characteristics, the D8 bloc has the capacity of implementing plans for boosting trade among its members by forging successful regional accords. In line with this policy, Iran has put forth proposals such as facilitating the issuance of business visas to members, increasing trade transactions, reducing customs tariffs, bolstering cooperation in the industrial sector and improving cooperation among the members’ private sectors.

A senior Iraqi official expressed his opposition to using Iraq’s territory for any probable US attack on Iran, calling for dialogue between the two arch-foes.
Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), told Iraq’s Al-Savat news agency on Monday, “We do not like to see Iraq as a ground for battle between Iran and the US.“
As speculation grows over a possible US and Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the question arises whether Israel will use Iraqi airspace to launch such an attack, ISNA reported.
Hakim also called on Iranian and US officials to resume talks on mutual interests.
Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has said he will not allow the country’s territory to be used for an attack against Iran.
In a recent press conference, US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack claimed a possible Israeli strike against Iran was “not under our control“.
McCormack also declined to answer what he said was a “hypothetical question involving military planning“ when it was noted that Israeli warplanes would have to pass through US-controlled Iraqi airspace to attack Iran.
Maliki has taken a strong stance against the use of Iraq as a base for an attack on Iran.
In a closed-circuit video conference with US President George W. Bush on Friday, Maliki stressed that he would not permit the country’s soil, airspace or waters to be used in an attack on Iran.
“Iraq is no longer a launch-pad or pathway for regional military operations,“ he said.
Maliki also expressed concern over the use of force to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue and said he was worried over how another regional military conflict would affect his country.