War Games Planned

Plans are underway to launch a major military exercise next month to prepare the armed forces to repel any possible aggression by the hostile powers, a senior commander said Saturday.
The joint drill, to be conducted by the Army and cooperation of some units of the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC), will help “improve the defense capabilities” of the troops, Army Commander Gen. Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan said.
It will also contribute to “the region’s security,” he told a meeting of servicemen in Tehran, Presstv reported.
Both the United States and its closest Middle East ally (Israel) have regularly and brazenly threatened to use military force to reverse Iran’s nuclear program, in particular take out its uranium enrichment facilities.
Israel claims Iran’s nuclear program is an ‘existential threat’ to its survival and security. This is while Iran’s nuclear activities have been scrutinized more than any other country by the IAEA and there has been indication so far that Tehran has diversified its civilian nuclear program for military use.
Moreover, Iran has not attacked any country in the pas t 250 years and has often called for a universal ban on nuclear arms.
Unlike Iran, Israel is home to a formidable nuclear arsenal – the only of its kind in the Middle East and has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Impartial observers and military analysts believe that Tel Aviv’s deep hostility toward Iran is rooted in a military doctrine that calls for Israel’s absolute military superiority in the strategic region.
“The maintenance of Israel’s qualitative military edge over any combination of its potential adversaries has been a cornerstone of US Middle East policy for more than a decade,” Shawn L. Twing, editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs says.

US Sincerity Subject to Proof

A member of the Parliament slammed Washington’s dishonesty towards Tehran and expressed doubt that a visit to Iran by US Senator John Kerry could resolve the existing problems between the two estranged powers.
“The problems between Iran and the US are not such that could be resolved through non-targeted visits,” rapporteur of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazem Jalali told Fars News Agency on Saturday.
His comments came days after Wall Street Journal reported that Kerry is considering a trip to Iran.
“Americans are more interested in exploiting the media and means of propaganda to gain an advantage,” Jalali stated.
He said requests for high-profile visits are nothing new, adding “A number of high-ranking officials in the current US administration sent letters for talks with Iranian officials when they were serving as Senators.”
The lawmaker was of the opinion that those calling for talks with Iran are either non-influential or in pursuit of conspiracies.
“The bills approved in the US legislatures against Iran are examples of paradoxical behavior that we are witnessing from American officials towards Iran.
This indicates that their Iran policies are not honest,” he stressed pointing to the recent bill ratified by the US House of Representatives to impose a gasoline embargo on Iran to pressure Tehran to abandon its nuclear program.
A legislator said Wednesday that a committee is studying US Senator John Kerry’s request.
“The commission will be informed of the committee’s decision,” Javad Jahangirzadeh, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee -- a subcommittee of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission-- told Fars News Agency.

Rapprochement Dismissed
Another member of the key commission, Zohreh Elahian, said Saturday that Tehran does not intend to hold rapprochement talks with the US.
“The Islamic Republic has no plans to negotiate with any American official, unless Washington changes its policy [towards Iran],” Fars News Agency quoted her as saying.
Considering the US administration’s support for the post-election unrest in Iran, she said no “change” can be seen in the US’ hostile policies.
She said Washington’s declared policy is different from its practical policy. “We see no room for negotiation with US officials.”

Visiting Seoul
Meanwhile an Iranian parliamentary delegation left for South Korea on Saturday.
Members of the Iran-South Korea Parliamentary Friendship Group left for Seoul to discuss with South Korean officials ways to expand ties between the two countries.
The delegation will meet high-ranking parliamentary and political officials, including National Assembly speaker, minister of Economy and Industry, deputy foreign minister, lawmakers and the head of joint friendship group.
The six-member delegation, presided by the head of the friendship group who doubles as head of the parliament’s Industries and mines commission, Hossein Hashemi, is on a 5-day tour of the important Southeast Asian country.

4 Policemen Succumb to Injuries

The law enforcement forces lost four more soldiers in calashes with drug traffickers in a desert area of eastern Iran, which lies on a major drug smuggling route from neighboring Afghanistan to Europe.
“In clashes between police and a drug convoy headed from the south to north, seven policemen were killed and four others were injured. The four died later due to injuries,” Colonel Seyyed Kazem Hashemabadi was quoted as saying by IRNA on Saturday.
On Friday shooting was reported when security officials detected a group of bandits trying to smuggle an estimated two tons of narcotics in South Khorasan province.
Four members of the drug gang were killed in the clashes and one sustained serious injuries. Some of the bandits fled the scene leaving behind an unknown number of vehicles, motorcycles and weapons.
In July Iran drafted a comprehensive plan to tighten security along its borders as part of its plan to curb organized crime.
Iran lies on a major drug transit corridor -- where militants, criminal organizations, and corrupt officials are involved in drug trafficking as a source of revenue and patronage.
War-torn Afghanistan, which straddles Iran’s eastern frontier, produces more than 90 percent of the world’s opium and suffers from rampant instability and insecurity.
Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has lost over 3,300 security personnel in its unending fight against illegal drugs.

Rafsanjani:

System Survives On People’s Power

Head of the State Expediency Council (SEC) Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Saturday hailed the “meaningful presence” of millions of people in rallies to denounce the desecration of Ashura mourning ceremonies.
“The Islamic establishment was victorious and continues its existence by relying on the people,” IRNA quoted Rafsanjani as saying. “I hope the desecrators will learn a lesson from the meaningful presence of the people on the street.”
He was referring to the large numbers of people who demonstrated on Wednesday across the country to denounce the unrests and it perpetrators on Ashura day (Dec. 27).
During the annual mourning ceremonies anti-government protesters in Tehran reportedly chanted slogans against senior state officials, vandalized public property and torched public trash bins forcing police to use tear gas and batons to disperse the crowds.
Rafsanjani said the Wednesday rallies had “rendered ineffective” plots against the Islamic establishment.
Iran has accused western countries for creating and orchestrating the unrests that have erupted at irregular intervals after the disputed presidential elections in mid-June.
The SEC chief and former president said the Islamic Republic has emerged victorious and appealed for unity and empathy between the authorities and the public to help ensure calm in the country.

Iman bin Laden’s Return Denied

Reports that the daughter of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has left Iran for Saudi Arabia have been rejected.
Zaina bin Laden, the wife of bin Laden’s fourth son, Omar, contacted Presstv on Saturday and said that Iman, Omar’s sister, has not returned to Saudi Arabia.
The report came after the Dubai-based Saudi-owned Al-Arabia TV network said Omar had thanked Manouchehr Mottaki, for preparing the ground for Iman’s return.
Iran has said that as soon as the identity of a woman reportedly staying at the Saudi Embassy in Tehran is confirmed, she could be free to leave the country.
Saudi Arabia said Saturday it was holding talks with Iran to repatriate bin Laden’s daughter to the kingdom after she took refuge in the Saudi Embassy in Iran.
“We consider this is a humanitarian issue,” Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told a news conference in Riyadh, AFP reported.
“We are negotiating with the Iranian government on this basis,” he said.
Iman bin Laden, 17, is said to have fled from a family compound near Tehran to the embassy in hopes of leaving Iran, where allegedly she, several siblings and one of Osama bin Laden’s wives have lived under house arrest for several years.
Prince Saud declined to give any details of the talks with Tehran, saying it could complicate the issue.

Awaiting Clarification
Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Dec 25 that the teenager would be free to leave Iran once her identity is confirmed.
“The Foreign Ministry has told the (Saudi) embassy that based on international conventions if her identity is confirmed she can leave Iran with passage documents,” he told state TV.
“We were not able to confirm her identity but the embassy says she is” the daughter of bin Laden, he added.
Speaking to Fars News Agency on Friday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast pointed to the issue and said the Saudi Embassy has yet not provided fresh information on the issue.
“The Saudis claim bin Laden’s daughter has taken refuge in the embassy but evidence to confirm her identity has not yet been shown to us,” he noted.
Earlier the spokesman had said that according to border officials no person with Iman’s identity had legally entered the country, suggesting that she may have entered illegally.

High-Profile Meeting

The heads of the three branches of power were to meet in the Parliament on Sunday afternoon.