President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks to reporters after the Cabinet meeting on Sunday. (Photo by Alireza Sotakbar)

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran does not need a mediator for holding negotiations with other countries.
“As I have said in the past, I am willing to hold talks with Mr. Bush directly. We do not need a mediator to negotiate with America and, whenever necessary, we will directly negotiate with them,“ he told reporters after the Cabinet meeting on Sunday, IRNA reported.
The US has no diplomatic presence in Iran and the Swiss Embassy in Tehran relays messages between the two countries’ foreign ministries and handles the affairs of US citizens in Iran.
Recent reports indicate that the Bush administration is considering opening an interests section in Tehran similar to its diplomatic outpost in Havana, Cuba.
“Iran favors actions that would result in enhanced ties between nations of the world,“ said the president when asked about the proposal, adding that Tehran has not received a formal request via the Swiss Embassy on the issue.
“We are ready to consider all proposals in this regard,“ he said.

No Invitation
The chief executive also welcomed negotiations with all nations.
“If Americans wish to come forward, they should do so. We have not sent them a letter of invitation to negotiate. If they want to enter into negotiations with us and if they invite themselves for this, they should not set preconditions,“ he said.
“Times have changed. We are the ones who should set preconditions.“
Asked about the recent comments of Iran’s government spokesman and foreign minister who said Americans are seeking wiser methods, he said, “You should ask them about this. But we like everybody to act prudently.“
“I must tell you that any government that wields power in the US after the presidential race is obliged to make fundamental changes in the US foreign policy to rescue America and should focus mostly on internal conditions. The US should withdraw its troops from the region and should approach Iran to maintain a balance in regional equations.“

Nuclear Responsibility
Referring to the reaction of western media to the recent article written by the leader’s foreign policy advisor, Ali Akbar Velayati, on the nuclear issue, the president said, “Mr. Velayati is a respectable personality. He has certain views and expresses them. All people in Iran are free to express their views. However, he does not interfere in decisions made about the nuclear issue,“ he said.
Ahmadinejad stressed that the path of nuclear diplomacy is clear and the government is responsible for it.
“We manage this diplomacy in line with the leader’s directives. Those who wanted to jubilate and say that Iran has retreated from its previous standpoint witnessed how they could not celebrate for long. The Iranian nation is firm on its demand and makes moves in compliance with international norms and standards,“ he said.

Confrontation
The president declared that the Iranian Armed Forces will strongly confront all aggressors.
“Before the enemies can put their fingers on the trigger, the armed forces will cut off their hands,“ he said.
Referring to the test-firing of Shahab-3 missiles by Iran on Wednesday, the president said the recent wargames displayed only a small part of Iran’s defense capabilities.
He added that other Iranian military and defense capabilities will be displayed in future, if necessary.
As to the psychological warfare waged against the Islamic Republic by the western media after the country’s wargames, he said the Iranian military personnel proved that all the threats of enemies were in vain and absurd.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the framework for negotiations between Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana should be based on a modality and working agenda.
Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Mottaki added that in the first round of negotiations, Solana and Jalili will discuss a modality and framework for the talks.
“We hope that a modality and framework would be set by the two sides and all terms and conditions would also be determined,“ ISNA reported.
Referring to the stoppage of negotiations between Iran and the US about Iraq, he offered to reexamine the issue when problems such as the attitude of American troops toward the Iraqi people are resolved.
Asked about the veto of the UN Security Council resolution against Zimbabwe by Russia and China, he said, “Previously, when I was representative of Asia in the Human Rights Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the UK raised the issue of Zimbabwe. We told them that the UK should resolve its problems with that country. We believe that the people of Zimbabwe should determine their own fate. It would have been better if the nominee of the opposition had also participated in the second round of elections. We must respect the wills of nations and do not over-politicize relations between countries.“
Commenting on the establishment of the Asian Parliament, the top Iranian diplomat said, “Regional parliaments have their own framework. Currently, different forms of convergence are being defined worldwide. We seek establishment of an Asian parliament, but the understanding needed does not exist due to structural shortfalls.

Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group will exchange prisoners on Wednesday under a UN-mediated deal, Israel’s Prisons Service said on Sunday.
Lebanese security sources said last week that under the agreement, Israel will release five Lebanese prisoners and Hezbollah will hand over two Israeli soldiers seized in a cross-border raid that triggered the 2006 war between Israel and the Iranian-backed group, AFP reported.
Hezbollah has given no word on the condition of the two soldiers, although they are widely presumed dead.
A spokesman for the Prisons Service said the exchange would take place on Wednesday, but he declined to say where along the Israel-Lebanon border. Previous exchanges were made at the coastal Naqoura frontier crossing.
The Lebanese prisoners include Samir Qantar, who is serving a life sentence for killing an Israeli policeman.
As part of the deal, which was negotiated by a German intelligence officer, Israel will also hand over the bodies of 200 Arabs killed while infiltrating northern Israel. Hezbollah is to return body parts of Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon in 2006.

Arad Believed Dead
Hezbollah has told Israel it does not know what happened to an airman missing for more than two decades but it believes he is dead, Israeli officials said on Saturday.
The report could clear the way for a prisoner swap between the two foes.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert received the Hezbollah report Saturday on the fate of Ron Arad, an airman missing since he was captured alive after his fighter jet went down over Lebanon in 1986.
Israel officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement was released, said Hezbollah told Israel in the report it did not know what happened to Arad but believes he is dead.

A Bahraini court on Sunday sentenced a group of Shiite opposition activists to jail terms over clashes with police in the Sunni-ruled Persian Gulf state last year.
Eleven defendants were sentenced to between one and seven years behind bars, while four were acquitted because of a lack of evidence at the high-security hearing in the capital Manama, a judicial source said.
Defense lawyers said they planned to appeal.
The 15 went on trial over clashes between police and protestors in Shiite-populated areas in December following the death of a demonstrator at an opposition rally to demand compensation for victims of alleged human rights violations.
They were charged with unlawful assembly, stealing weapons, burning a police vehicle and committing other acts of violence against police.
The Shiite majority in Sunni-ruled Bahrain has been campaigning for compensation for alleged human rights violations in the 1980s and 1990s.
During the trial, the defendants, rights groups and Bahraini opposition activists claimed that the accused had been tortured to extract confessions but the allegations were denied by Bahraini officials.