Mideast’s Largest Underground Gas Storage Inaugurated

Domestic Economy Desk

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran will double gas production in the giant South Pars gas field in the next few months.
“By the end of the tenure of the 10th government (summer 2013), the volume of gas extraction from the South Pars field will be doubled,” Ahmadinejad said in a ceremony to inaugurate the Middle-East’s largest underground gas storage facility in the country’s Central province of Qom, Fars News Agency reported.
Iran is currently producing 300 mcmpd of gas from South Pars.
Significant oil and gas investments have been made during the tenure of the past and present governments, said oil minister. Speaking in the ceremony, Rostam Qassemi said about 450 million cubic meters of gas are being consumed in the country per day in the country during the winter while the figure for the summer is 150 million cubic meters, IRNA reported.
He said that about 40 usable gas reserves have been identified across the country, adding related studies have been launched on them.
The minister said that the executive operations of Sarajeh gas storage project was lunched by National Iranian Gas Company since three years ago, adding that about 700 million cubic meters of gas have so far been reserved in the storage.
Qassemi went on to say that in the first phase about 10 million cubic meters of gas are being reserved in Sarajeh Gas Storage Facility per day, noting that the figure will increase to 3 billion cubic meters in the second phase.

Control Over Agricultural Products Sufficient

The quality and safety of agricultural crops are controlled by a number of supervisory organizations to prevent pesticide poisoning.

RIPI Sets Up Microbial Biotechnology Bank

Director of the microbiology and biotechnology department at the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) announced that...

Syria Captures Al-Qaeda Chief’s Brother

The brother of the head of Al-Qaeda has been reportedly captured by government forces in Syria. Mohamed al-Zawahiri is said to have been seized in Deraa in the southwest where he was meeting opposition militants.
Rebel fighters claimed Mohamed Al-Zawahiri was engaged on a humanitarian mission and had not been involved in violent acts. They also claimed that he had, in fact, proposed a local truce to enable aid to get through, Independent wrote.
However the Syrian government is likely to try to capitalize on Zawahiri’s presence in the country as proof of their repeated charge that the rebellion, has been taken over by “terrorists”.
Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who took over as Al-Qaeda leader following the killing of Osama bin Laden, has declared that it is the duty of Muslims to take part in a war against the government Bashar Al-Assad and warned the opposition against depending on the West for help. Jabhat Al-Nusra, an terrorist rebel group with links to Al-Qaeda, has become increasingly powerful in the conflict, overshadowing the more moderate fighters, and its leader, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, is said to be in personal contact with Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
There is also evidence of groups of foreign volunteers, albeit not in large numbers, joining the uprising. Mohamed Al-Zawahiri has, however, denied in the past that he wanted to get involved in the Syrian struggle.

Eurozone’s New Year Challenges

Economy Desk

It may be a new year, but there is little new hope for the eurozone.
Having headed off a break up--through Greece and maybe others dropping out--the currency bloc’s leaders now face a challenging year ahead as growth stagnates.
There was a return to recession while unemployment rose in 2012, Euro News reported.
The outlook for 2013 is darker with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development predicting weak growth for the region’s two biggest economies, Germany (0.6 percent) and France (0.3 ), and further contraction for the next two largest Italy (-1) and Spain (-1.4 percent).
Chancellor Angela Merkel faces difficult decisions about how much Germany can help the weaker eurozone countries.
In Frankfurt, economist Oliver Roth of Close Brothers Seydler said, Giving money to the countries they need in the eurozone will be continuously going on, so therefore I think that at the end of the road the policy will not change.
The biggest question of the early New Year is when--or perhaps whether--Spain will ask for a bailout.
Economists have warned Madrid’s delaying tactics are risky at a time when the Spanish economy is contracting sharply.

Queiroz Has No Magic Wand

Iran football coach Carlos Queiroz says he has no magic wand to create new players.
“There are horrible typhoons in front of us. We could have earned the better results in the previous matches but suffered two bitter defeats against Lebanon and Uzbekistan,” Queiroz said on Friday, Mehr News Agency wrote.
“I think if Persepolis would get better results, we could qualify for the 2014 World Cup directly. Our three strikers namely Karim Ansarifard, Ali Karimi and Mohammad Ghazi are playing for Persepolis and since the team is not on the course, these players are not well-prepared now. You know, each coach should select his players from the clubs and I cannot create the new players since I have no magic stick,” the 60-year-old coach added.
Having praised the Iranian people, Queiroz said, “Iranians are very kind to me. I have good friends here and I have enough time to visit to the museums. Also, Iran has so many appetizing foods and I have no problem about food.”
“We want to advance to the World Cup, that’s why I’ve chosen Iran. Hopefully, in the remaining matches we can defeat our opponents,” the former Real Madrid coach concluded.

China Censures New US Sanctions On Iran

China has censured the United States for the imposition of new sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing on Friday that her country “has consistently opposed” sanctions against Iran over its peaceful nuclear energy program, Xinhua reported.
She renewed China’s call for the resumption of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group--Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany --about Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program.
“We have always seen negotiations and cooperation as the best way to solve the Iranian nuclear issue,” Hua said.
The new sanctions are included in the $633-billion military bill for 2013, which US President Barack Obama signed into law on Wednesday night.
The United States, Israeli regime and some of their allies accuse Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program with Washington and the European Union using the false allegation as pretext to impose illegal unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
In the latest move, Washington last month imposed fresh sanctions on seven Iranian companies and five nuclear experts for contributing to the country’s nuclear energy program.
The bans prohibit all kinds of transactions by American entities with designated Iranian firms and persons.
Iran rejects the allegation over its nuclear energy program and argues that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

Sudan, South Sudan Meet to Push Security

The rival presidents of Sudan and South Sudan met for face-to-face talks Saturday to push forward stalled security, oil and border deals, and to discuss the fate of the contested Abyei region.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Southern counterpart Salva Kiir met alongside African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki, while tensions remain high after the latest in a string of accusations that Khartoum had bombed South Sudan.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who is hosting the talks, also attended the first meeting between the former civil war foes for over three months, when they signed a raft of key deals that have yet to be implemented, AFP reported.
Ahead of the meeting -- taking place in Ethiopia’s presidential palace -- Bashir, Kiir, Hailemariam and Mbeki were seen sitting together talking and laughing.
The talks were expected to carry into the afternoon, although while the leaders were set to leave later on Saturday, diplomats say talks could continue Sunday if an agreement is not reached. Delegations from Juba and Khartoum were also present, including defense ministers from both countries.
Bashir and Kiir arrived in Ethiopia on Friday, one day after South Sudan accused Khartoum of waging fresh attacks along their disputed border, but they first met separately only with mediators.

Iran Agrees to Talks With P5+1In January

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili says the Iran has agreed to resume talks with six major world powers about the country’s nuclear energy program this month.
“We have agreed to hold talks [with the P5+1] planned for January, but no agreement has been reached on the date and venue,” Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator told reporters in New Delhi on Friday.
“We welcome their return to talks and we hope that they would enter talks with a constructive approach and would not repeat their previous miscalculations,” Press TV quoted him as saying.
Jalili called on the P5+1 group -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany -- to keep in mind that Tehran would continue to determinedly defend the Iranian nation’s right to peaceful nuclear technology.
The SNSC secretary also stressed on Iran’s right to use nuclear energy, saying, “As an active member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran emphasizes on simultaneous fulfillment of duties and the full use of all its nuclear energy rights.” He added that Iran would not permit anyone to impose more duties on the country and reduce its rights in contradiction to international regulations.
Jalili noted that Iran has “constant and continual” cooperation with the IAEA “because we believe that strategies for peaceful nuclear cooperation and non-proliferation of atomic weapons should be developed.”

Sudan, South Sudan Meet to Push Security

The rival presidents of Sudan and South Sudan met for face-to-face talks Saturday to push forward stalled security, oil and border deals, and to discuss the fate of the contested Abyei region.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Southern counterpart Salva Kiir met alongside African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki, while tensions remain high after the latest in a string of accusations that Khartoum had bombed South Sudan.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who is hosting the talks, also attended the first meeting between the former civil war foes for over three months, when they signed a raft of key deals that have yet to be implemented, AFP reported.
Ahead of the meeting -- taking place in Ethiopia’s presidential palace -- Bashir, Kiir, Hailemariam and Mbeki were seen sitting together talking and laughing.
The talks were expected to carry into the afternoon, although while the leaders were set to leave later on Saturday, diplomats say talks could continue Sunday if an agreement is not reached. Delegations from Juba and Khartoum were also present, including defense ministers from both countries.
Bashir and Kiir arrived in Ethiopia on Friday, one day after South Sudan accused Khartoum of waging fresh attacks along their disputed border, but they first met separately only with mediators.

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