Saeed Jalili

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator said the common views of seven states at the Geneva talks will be the basis of future nuclear negotiations.
Making the remark during his meeting with Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kisliyak on Sunday in Geneva, Saeed Jalili stressed that Iran is serious about the 6+1 talks and has a strategic, rather than a tactical, approach.
Iranian and European officials, along with US Undersecretary of State William Burns, held talks at Geneva’s Town Hall as part of a bid to settle Tehran’s nuclear issue.
“Two plans were presented during the talks, the commonalities of which could be used as a good basis for future talks,“ he said, adding that differences in the plans could also be discussed.
Kisliyak, for his part, referred to Iran’s positive attitude toward these negotiations and said any measure beyond international regulations and conventions regarding Iran’s nuclear issue will damage confidence-building.
He expressed hope that negotiations will progress in the following two weeks to reach mutually-acceptable results.
Meanwhile, Jalili held a separate meeting with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi, who represented China at the Geneva meeting on Sunday.
Jieyi termed Geneva talks as positive and progressive, adding that all participants called for finding a rational way to reach a comprehensive solution.
The Chinese official also stressed that Beijing is against any action beyond the framework of international laws regarding Iran’s nuclear issue. On Saturday, Jalili referred to the Iranian stance as strategic.
“Iran’s approach vis-ˆ-vis its nuclear issue and the proposed package to world states isstrategic in nature and not tactical. Therefore, Tehran pursues a long-term rather than a short-term plan,“ Jalili told reporters in Geneva.

Western media outlets, mainly those in the United States, made a big deal out of the ’important’ visit of William Burns to Geneva to attend the 6+1 meeting on Iran’s nuclear program. However, since Burns failed to impose its position on other participants of Saturday’s gathering, they are now showing little interest in covering the results of discussions.
The Associated Press, Fox News, CNN, Reuters and major US newspapers ignored the contents of nuclear discussions, which welcomed the constructive views of the Iranian envoys. Instead, they reiterated the same old literature of suspension of uranium enrichment and Washington’s demands, Iran Daily reported.
Most political analysts believe the presence of US Undersecretary of State William Burns in nuclear talks between Iranian chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, and EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, in Geneva indicates that the West has accepted Iran’s right to continue its peaceful nuclear program and uranium enrichment.
However, the western media failure in paying closer attention to the demands of participants at Saturday’s negotiation in the Swiss city and their emphasis on previous views only indicate that the US does not trust other participants.
The correspondents accompanying Burns to Geneva also paid no attention to the fact that the negotiation was only aimed at determining a specific framework for future talks on the issue. Nevertheless, they were only, and still are, after one thing: to uncover news about Tehran’s position on suspending its enrichment program.
As things stand, these media outlets already know Tehran’s position. Desperate to disguise the failure of imposing their opinions on other participants at Saturday’s negotiation, they once again used the same old trick of insisting that Tehran is not answering calls to rein in its enrichment program!

Mostafa Mohammad Najjar

Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said that in an upcoming military maneuver, the Army’s Air Force will display its latest hardware.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Cabinet session on Sunday, Najjar said the Iranian Armed Forces will give a crushing response to foreign threats in proportion with the scale of aggressions.
Asked whether the Strait of Hormuz will be closed in case of an attack, he replied that it depends on the scale of attacks, Mehr News Agency reported.
“Iran produces military and defense hardware in proportion with the enemy’s possible attacks,“ he added.
Najjar pointed out that the recent maneuvers of the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps were successful and Iran used the defense hardware produced domestically by the Defense Ministry.
“Iran’s Armed Forces are fully prepared and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said Iran will give a crushing response to aggressors,“ he said.
Asked about the time for launching the satellite Omid, Najjar said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will decide about this issue.

Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei on Sunday ruled out rumors that Iranian nationals taken captive by an Iranian terrorist group to Pakistan are dead.
“God willing, all the hostages are safe. The reports that some of them have been martyred are not confirmed,“ Ejei told reporters on the sidelines of ceremonies marking the first death anniversary of former Experts Assembly Chief Ayatollah Ali Meshkini in Tehran, IRNA reported.
Sixteen police officers were abducted by the Jundollah terrorist group on June 12 at a checkpoint in the southeastern Iranian city of Saravan in the eastern Sistan-Baluchistan province. The hostages were later taken across the border to neighboring Pakistan.
The group has claimed that it has so far killed four hostages, but the Iranian officials have not confirmed it.
Ejei added that consultations and efforts are underway to secure the release of hostages.
“We hope the hostages will be released soon,“ he said.
Jundollah, which is widely known to be supported, armed and funded by the US intelligence agencies, has committed numerous acts of terrorism in the southeastern part of the country, resulting in the death and injury of many civilians. It is also known to be closely connected with international drug smuggling gangs in the region.
Iranian officials say no negotiation will take place for the freedom of 16 police officers being held by the Jundollah terrorist group.
Earlier, Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs Abbas Mohtaj said the Interior Ministry is doing its best to free the abductees through diplomatic means.

The new economy minister will be introduced to Majlis in the coming days, said vice president for legal and parliamentary affairs.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Cabinet session in Tehran on Sunday, Mohammad Reza Rahimi added that he cannot confirm that the ministry’s current caretaker, Hossein Samsami, will be named the new minister, ISNA reported.
Rumors circulated on some websites that First Vice President Parviz Davood is a strong contender for the key post.
After weeks of speculation, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad replaced former Economy Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari for reasons described by the latter as differences over monetary and banking policies.
Rahimi also said that following the order of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his office prepared a bill to send to Majlis in support of Iranian expatriates.
“The government is obliged to defend the rights of Iranians across the world,“ he said.

Iran’s former ambassador to Sweden, Hassan Qashqavi, is appointed the Foreign Ministry’s new spokesman, it was reported on Sunday.
Qashqavi will succeed Mohammad Ali Hosseini who is scheduled to take part in his last press conference with domestic and foreign reporters on Monday, IRNA reported.
The new spokesman was a Majlis deputy for two terms and previously served as Iran’s ambassador to Kazakhstan and Sweden.
Hosseini was last week appointed as the foreign minister’s deputy for legal and international affairs.

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani (r) shakes hands with IPU Secretary-General Anders B. Johnsson in Tehran on Saturday.

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has stressed that global problems can be resolved through the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (IPU) dedication to democracy.
“Iran’s Majlis fully supports the approach adopted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union regarding international peace and democracy. It seeks to further expand its cooperation with the union,“ Larijani said in a meeting with IPU Secretary-General Anders B. Johnsson in Tehran on Saturday, Presstv reported.
Larijani criticized approaches adopted by the US for promoting democracy in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The United States marched into the region under the pretext of “promoting democracy and waging the war on terror“, he said.
“Washington’s wrong polices, however, only deteriorated the situation in Iran’s neighboring states, as a result of its ignorance of regional developments.“
The speaker noted that America’s support for terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq give the lie to its rhetoric on the so-called war on terror.
He called on the Bush administration to respect the culture and religious beliefs of the Middle Eastern peoples and warned against attempts to change the region’s cultural structure through military adventurism.
“The Inter-Parliamentary Union can find a solution to the Palestinian issue. Peace can never be established in the occupied territories by neglecting the Palestinian-elect Hamas or slapping sanctions on defenseless Palestinians,“ he said.
Johnsson, for his part, praised Tehran’s cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
He referred to the union’s efforts to promote global democracy and peace, particularly in the Middle East, describing the recent Palestinian parliamentary elections as democratic and called on international community to respect its results.
“The Inter-Parliamentary Union intends to establish peace in the occupied Palestinian territories by converting Palestine’s observer status into full membership,“ he said.
Established in 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Union is an international organization with 143 national parliaments as its members and seven regional parliamentary assemblies as associate members.

Hamid Reza Taraqqi

The European Union’ decision to keep the Mujahideen Khalq Organization on its list of terrorist organizations is related to its package of proposals to Iran, deputy head of Islamic Coalition Party (ICP) on international affairs said on Saturday.
Hamid Reza Taraqqi added that the package of proposals refers to the war on terrorism in the region and the collaboration of the members of Group 5+1 with Iran on the issue.
“Therefore, one of the topics of discussion between Iran and the EU will be MKO,“ he said. He also said the European Union knows that any decision in this regard will affect upcoming relations between Iran and the EU.
Taraqqi said the EU measure to keep MKO on its terrorist list is a positive stance.
The MKO has claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks inside Iran and also assisted dictator Saddam Hussein in the massacre of Iraqi civilians.
Asked about the demand of the UK and France for removing MKO from the EU’s list of terrorism, he said the two countries are acting as the terrorist group’s host.
“They are accused of giving shelter to them and protecting them in their countries. But as we see, the EU does not act in favor of the British and French interests,“ he said.
The ICP official pointed out that currently some MKO members are in Iraq and protected by the US, but the Iraqi government is controlling them and making full efforts for the expulsion of MKO from its territory.
“The Mujahideen Khalq has tried for years to give false information to the US, Iraq, International Atomic Energy Agency and the EU, aiming to persuade them to take a strong stance against Iran,“ he said.
He noted that Iran is not concerned about MKO’s baseless threats against the country.
“If the MKO had not been protected by the US, the UK and France, their fate would have been sealed,“ he said.
Taraqqi pointed out that countries claiming to be opponents of terrorism should prove their claims by taking action on the basis of international regulations and handing over MKO members to Iran. “Iran and the EU are expected to reach understanding over the issue after Iran resolves its nuclear case within the framework of the package of proposals,“ he said.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki speaks to reporters at the end of a Cabinet session on Sunday in Tehran.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the presence of a US representative in the Geneva talks has given an opportunity to Washington for becoming aware of Iran’s views directly.
Talking to reporters at the end of a Cabinet session on Sunday, Mottaki said such a move by the US administration can be considered as positive, IRNA reported.
US Undersecretary of State William Burns attended the nuclear talks between Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, and the EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, on Saturday in Geneva.
“During his Tehran visit, Solana proposed a draft of modality plan for negotiations, which was studied by Tehran,“ he said.
“Tehran has also provided the EU with its own modality, which will be studied by the European states in the next few days.“
On the next round of nuclear talks, the foreign minister said the date and place of talks have not yet been determined.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili said during the next round of talks, the two sides should devise an action plan to resolve the dispute.
“A framework should be set up; then any kind of decision within that framework will be understandable,“ he told reporters in Geneva after meeting with representatives of six major world powers.
The American and Iranian envoys on Saturday had their highest-level diplomatic contact in 29 years, but the seven-nation gathering in Geneva on Tehran’s nuclear program did not make a breakthrough.
Burns, Solana and other diplomats encouraged Iran, represented by Saeed Jalili, to agree to a deal for negotiating an end to the Iranian nuclear issue.
Before the meeting, Iran’s ambassador to Switzerland, Keyvan Imani, said Tehran remains opposed to suspension of enrichment, which it says is allowed as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“It is not on Iran’s agenda to discuss this issue,“ Imani told reporters.
Jalili offered a more upbeat account of the meeting, saying afterward that the talks were “constructive and progressing“, and that “on the manner of continuing the negotiations, we have understood our mutual positions better“.
The US emphasized that by sending Burns, Washington had hoped to accomplish several goals, including provoking a new debate among Iranians about the advantages of accepting the package of incentives and increasing solidarity among the six world powers.
Mottaki also told reporters that Iran did not receive any message from French President Nicolas Sarkozy during his recent visit to Syria.
The minister noted that he briefed senior Syrian officials on latest developments over the country’s nuclear program.
Last week, Mottaki visited Oman, Syria and Turkey, and met with their senior officials.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Reza Baqeri met with officials of Southern African Development Community (SADC) member-states in Durban.
On the sidelines of the SADC foreign ministers’ meeting in South Africa on Saturday, Baqeri held separate talks with both the foreign and defense ministers of Angola and Botswana as well as the Swazi foreign minister on bilateral relations, IRNA said.
The two sides discussed the next foreign ministers’ meeting of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which will be held in Tehran later this month.
Baqeri termed the NAM meeting as important because of its agenda, calling on the member-states to play an active role in the upcoming event.
The official noted that Iran has strong determination to expand economic and political ties with the African countries, stressing that nothing can make the country overlook expansion of its relations with independent states.
In a meeting between Baqeri and South African Foreign Minister Dlamini Zuma, the two sides called for bilateral cooperation in the construction of power plants and refineries.
During the meeting, the two officials underscored the need for making joint investments in the industrial and oil fields.
Briefing the South African minister on latest developments in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East, Baqeri termed the outcome of the two countries’ joint working committee as positive.
The agenda of the next NAM foreign ministers’ meeting was also discussed by the two sides.
Baqeri expressed hope that Tehran would host the NAM meeting.