Nuclear Stance Prudent, Steadfast

The secretary of the Supreme National Security Council said Iran will not retreat one step when it comes to defending the rights of the nation.
Saeed Jalili, who doubles as Iran's top nuclear negotiator, said Monday Iran is now “enjoying its full right to peaceful nuclear energy thanks to the country's dynamic foreign policy”, Presstv reported.
Addressing a group of students at a Qom theology school, he said the SNSC will defend the country's inalienable rights in all areas, including in the ongoing negotiations over buying nuclear fuel for a Tehran research reactor.
Following three days of negotiations in Geneva last month, the IAEA and big powers made a proposal to the effect that Iran ship about 70 percent of its low-enriched uranium stockpile out of the country in exchange for metal fuel rods for the Tehran medical research reactor, which manufactures medical radioisotopes.
Iran has said that it accepts the proposal in principal, but has also sought changes to the deal to accommodate its “economic and technological concerns.”
Jalili said Iran's steadfast stance on key international issues has challenged certain western governments and has raised serious questions regarding their policies.
He says the Islamic Republic has a vast capacity in all fields and is questioning the major powers conduct by challenging their claims about freedom of speech and other issues.
Iran has taken a “pro-active approach” in its nuclear talks, the students were told by the top security official.
“Measures have been taken to block the way for certain powers to make excuses regarding the (nuclear) issue,” he said without elaboration.
Regarding the differences with the United States he said “Iran's confrontation with the US is a paradigmatic confrontation.”
The Islamic Republic's “regional power, like the principle of the Islamic Revolution,is an undeniable reality and it has been established, irrespective of the wish and will of the domineering powers,” Jalili concluded.

Iran Envoy to UN:

Afghans Should Rule Afghanistan

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaei has called for a rapid withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
Addressing the UN General Assembly he said Tehran would continue its support for the Afghan government and nation “to help the country achieve sustainable and comprehensive security, stability and progress”.
Afghanistan should be ruled by an Afghan government elected by the Afghan people, IRNA quoted him as saying.
Praising the UN’s role in coordinating international assistance to the war-ravaged Muslim country, he said such “constructive work” is supported by the Islamic Republic. The envoy appreciated the turnout of Afghan people in the recent presidential elections that was largely disputed but brought Hamid Karzai to power for a second term.
Referring to security as the most challenging issue in Afghanistan, he expressed regret over the recent increase in terrorist attacks in certain parts of the country and the ongoing trade in illegal drugs across Afghan borders.
The visible deterioration of security in Afghanistan is yet another “indication of the failures of the big powers” in trying to fight terrorist and extremist groups, Khazaei said.

Narco Terror
On poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, he regretted that the country is still the biggest source of narcotics in the world and continuation of the disturbing trend will have a negative impact on Afghan security and stability.
A fresh UN report says that despite fall in heroin production in Afghanistan, the country still produces 92 percent of world opium, which threatens the entire world. The report released in October by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says Afghan opium crop dropped from 7,700 tons in 2008 to 6,900 tons this year, but because of massive overproduction there are now more than 12,000 tons of opium in stockpiles, "enough to meet world demand for more than two years."

Iranian Demystifies Dementia

An Iranian expert on aging has published a book on Alzheimer’s disease in cooperation with one of his patients, Ed Voris.

News Continued ...

Call to Pool Muslim Minds

Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed for closer trade ties with fellow Muslim
countries to help Afghanistan break its cycle of conflict.

News Continued ...

Houthis Report Gains Near Saudi Border

Yemeni Houthis said on Tuesday they had taken control of more territory on the border with Saudi Arabia, heightening concerns about growing instability so close to the world's top oil exporter.
"Full control was taken last night over Qatabar directorate and control of all supplies and ammunition as well as buildings and other military sites," a rebel statement said, Reuters reported.
Qatabar lies in the mountainous northern province of Saada where most recent fighting has taken place, and borders Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia on Sunday said it had regained control of Jabal Dukhan, which was seized by rebels last week in a cross-border incursion, after the kingdom launched air strikes on Houthis, also known as Zaidis, in northern Yemen.
Saudi Arabia has become increasingly anxious about instability in Yemen, which is facing a Shiite insurgency in the north.
The 1,500 km (930 miles) border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia is a security worry for the kingdom, which is building a high-tech border fence to prevent infiltration.
In the past few weeks Houthi fighters have accused Saudi Arabia of allowing Yemeni forces to use its territory as a base to launch attacks against them and threatened to respond.
Saudi Soldiers Flee
The fighters also released a footage of clashes with the Saudi military at the two countries' joint border.
The video shows the seizure of Saudi army vehicles by the Houthis. It also shows Saudi soldiers fleeing the scene of battles as Houthi fighters open fire on them.
The Saudi Arabian air force launched a deadly offensive against Houthis eight days ago, accusing the Shiite resistance fighters of killing two Saudi soldiers on the border. While Riyadh says that its offensive targeted Houthi positions on 'Saudi territory', the fighters say Yemeni villages, far from the battlefield, were being bombarded.
On several occasions, the Saudi air force has also attacked the areas of al-Malahaid and the border region of Jabal al-Dukhan with white phosphorous bombs, the fighters said.
According to AFP, two women were killed and a child was wounded on Tuesday in a Saudi air strike on a Yemeni village near the border, the Houthis said.
"The air strike hit a house, martyring two women and wounding a child," the Zaidis said in a statement on their website. Strikes also targeted a government building in the village of Shida, they said.

2 Koreas Clash at Sea

A South Korean warship has exchanged fire with a North Korean naval vessel, reports from both countries said on Monday.
Officials in Seoul said that the South Korean vessel opened fire when the Northern ship crossed a disputed sea border. The North Korean vessel then fired back.
North Korea insists its ship did not cross the border, and has demanded an apology, according to news agency KCNA.
The two navies have engaged in deadly exchanges twice along their western sea border in the past decade.
The incident comes days before US President Barack Obama visits Asia, with North Korea seeking direct talks on its nuclear program.

North’s Version
In the North's version of events, a patrol boat was on a mission to confirm "an unidentified object" on the North's side of the border, and while it was sailing back, South Korean ships chased it and opened fire in a "grave armed provocation".
The North Korean vessel "lost no time to deal a prompt retaliatory blow at the provokers", KCNA said. "Much flurried by this, the group of warships of the South Korean forces hastily took to flight to the waters of their side."
Seoul's military has also demanded an apology for the incident.
South Korean officials said none of their troops had been hurt, while the North's boat had been set ablaze before it sailed away.

Cooperation Call

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that Iran has proposed that it purchase highly enriched uranium for a research reactor to pave the way for more cooperation with the big powers. See Page 3

News Continued ...

New Satellite

Iran has drawn up a final schedule to launch a semi-domestic research satellite, the Mesbah, in 2011 as part of its effort to aquaria an independent space program.

News Continued ...

Gov't Formed

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate
Saad Hariri has formed a new
30-member unity government, ending five months of deadlock since the general election.

News Continued ...

Obama's Plea

US President Barack Obama urged Japan's new center-left government on Tuesday to keep a pact allowing US bases on its territory, as both sides laid the groundwork for his visit to Tokyo this week.

News Continued ...

Youshij Memorial

Cultural figures and poets will get together to commemorate the name and memory of Iran’s father of blank verse, Nima Youshij, in his birthplace of Yoush on November 12.

News Continued ...

IRAN DAILY

Number 3544● Wednesday November 11, 2009 ● Aban 20, 1388 ● Ziqadeh 23, 1430 ● Price 2,000 Rials ● 12 Pages