Ankara’s Help Sought in Freeing Syria Abductees

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani in a phone call to his Turkish counterpart Cemil Cicek asked for Ankara’s assistance in winning the release of 48 Iranians hostages in Syria.
During the phone talk, Larijani called for Turkey’s humanitarian efforts to release 48 Iranian pilgrims abducted by insurgents in Syria, Fars News Agency reported.
Cicek, for his part, said that Turkey considers its humanitarian duty to help release the abducted Iranian nationals and will spare no effort in this respect.
On August 4, 48 Iranian pilgrims traveling on a bus from the Damascus International Airport to the shrine of Hazrat Zainab (SA) on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, were abducted by foreign-backed members of the terrorist Free Syrian Army (FSA).
In a video aired by the Saudi-owned television network Al-Arabiya this week, the insurgents threatened to kill all of the Iranian abductees if the Syrian government did not release captured anti-government insurgents and if it did not stop operations against armed groups in the country within 48 hours.
It is the second time the rebels have issued such a threat against the Iranian pilgrims.

Syria Conflict Must End Promptly
Larijani also expressed the Islamic Republic’s concern over escalating tension between Syria and Turkey, urging an immediate end to the ongoing conflict.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is concerned about tension in relations between neighboring and Muslim states, including Turkey and Syria, and is ready to take major steps to restore the two countries’ relations,” Larijani said in the telephone conversation with Turkey’s parliament speaker. He added that the growing unrest in the region is detrimental to the interests of regional countries and the principle of unity among Muslim states.
Tensions between Ankara and Damascus escalated after a mortar shell fired from Syria killed five people in the southeastern Turkish town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa Province on Wednesday.
Syria said it had begun an investigation into the cause of the mortar attack on Turkish territory.
However on Thursday, several Syrian soldiers were reportedly killed in a retaliatory attack by Turkish forces on a military post near Syria’s border town of Tel Abyad.

3 States Pledge Help
Qatar, Turkey and Syria have promised to help stop Syrian insurgents from carrying out their threat to kill the Iranian nationals.
Deputy Foreign Minister for consular, parliamentary and expatriates affairs Hassan Qashqavi broke the news on Monday saying that Iran’s ‘diplomatic apparatus is still pursuing the fate of the abducted Iranian pilgrims in Syria’.
Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim
Al-Thani in an interview with Al Jazeera television urged the Syrian insurgents not to kill the Iranian pilgrims.
Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has called on Turkey and Qatar to seriously pursue the release of Iranian abductees in Syria.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister added that fortunately there has not been any news about abductors carrying out their threats against the Iranian pilgrims.
Thousands of people have been killed since the Syrian unrest started in March 2011.
Damascus says ‘outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists’ are the driving factor behind the unrest and deadly violence while the opposition accuses the security forces for the killings. The Syrian government says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country and accuses Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey of arming the opposition.

Enemies Seeking Discord In Tehran-Islamabad Ties

A senior Iranian legislator in a meeting with a Pakistani official underlined the need for vigilance by Tehran and Islamabad in the face of plots by certain foreign states to sow discord between the two neighbors.
“The interests of a number of trans-regional states shouldn’t be allowed to disrupt the path of progress in the brotherly cooperation between the two countries,” head of the Majlis’ National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said in a meeting with Law Minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province Rana Sana Ullah Khan in Tehran on Tuesday.
He stressed further development of ties and cooperation between the two countries, and said, “Iran and Pakistan enjoy great capacities in different fields and unity between the two countries can lead to the reinvigoration of security and tranquility in the region and reinforcement of the Muslim world’s standing in global interactions,” Fars News Agency reported.
Iranian and Pakistani officials have always reiterated their enthusiasm for the further development of bilateral relations.

President: Crushing Response Awaits Possible Aggression

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Iran has warned it would hit the US, Israel and their worldwide interests and close the strategic Strait of Hormuz if it became the target of a military attack over its nuclear program.

Youth Lauded
Addressing the 6th meeting of the Iranian Student Parliament on Tuesday, President Ahmadinejad said that the Iranian youth believe in themselves and this is why they have made great achievements.
The president said the Iranian youths are the most valuable assets of the Iranian nation, IRNA reported.
He also said the future can be built by the members of this parliament and global developments have no part to play in this respect.

NAM Supports Global Nuclear Disarmament

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has highlighted the need for global nuclear disarmament, endorsing the rights of each state to develop peaceful nuclear energy.
“The Non-Aligned Movement believes that the only certain guarantee for not using nuclear weapons or even threatening to use them is the wholesale destruction of the arms in the arsenals of the countries possessing nuclear weapons,” said a Monday NAM statement read out by Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaei before the UN Disarmament Commission, Press TV reported.
Khazaei, who was representing the NAM member states in the commission, underscored total disarmament as the main priority of the movement and expressed the movement’s concern over the slow process of denuclearization across the world.
He also voiced NAM’s support for research on and the production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Khazaei said the movement’s member states believe that threatening to attack nuclear facilities would not only endanger human lives and the environment, but also constitutes a ‘blatant violation’ of international laws.
NAM is an international organization with 120 member states that is not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. Nearly two-thirds of the countries of the UN are NAM members.
Iran assumed the rotating presidency of NAM for a three-year term in early September.

Iran, Cyprus InvestmentAccord Binding

An agreement signed by Iran and Cyprus for mutual support for investment is binding, said legal advisor to head of the Iran Investment Organization, Abolqassem Shahbazian.
Shahbazian said on Monday the agreement applies to Iranian and Cypriot investment in the territories of the other signatory, IRNA reported.
“Each of the signatories would encourage their investors to go ahead with implementing investment projects, preparing the ground for investment by nationals of the other country,” he added.
The agreement has been binding since May 2012 and would be in force for a period of 10 years.
The entrepreneurs would enjoy legal support during the investment period.

MP: Iranian Crude Supply Will Last 150 More Years

A senior lawmaker said oil-rich Iran can keep pumping crude oil to global markets for 150 years to come.
“Iran is the only state with exceptional conditions due to its [oil] reserves and production. Assume that our production capacity is four million [barrels per day] while our proven reserves exceed five billion barrels. [Hence] we can claim that we are the only country capable of supplying oil to the world for 150 years to come,” Massoud Mirkazemi, head of the Majlis Energy Committee, said on Tuesday, Press TV reported.
“Saudi Arabia’s proven oil reserves are more than Iran’s, with the difference that the Saudi government is producing over 10-11 million barrels. Russia’s [crude oil] reserves and production are also high. Therefore, these countries cannot live long in oil supply,” he said.
“Under current conditions, we must take the energy security into account. We believe that the United States is trying through its existing policy to strengthen its management on the world energy security,” said Mirkazemi added.
“We predict that some oil consuming countries like Japan, [South] Korea and China would face US threats in the energy sector. However, if the US [manages to] dominate the world’s energy resources, it would easily put pressure on the European economy and threaten the economies of China, Korea, Japan and Russia,” he noted.
Mirkazemi also stated that world oil production will reach its peak in 2020, while demand for black gold will keep rising.

IMF Forecasts Economic Growth for Iran

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Middle East Positive
High oil prices will support economic expansion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in 2012-2013, the IMF said.
The MENA region covered by the International Monetary Fund, which stretches from Iran to Mauritania, is expected to grow at 5.3 percent in 2012, compared with 3.3 percent last year, the IMF said in its annual World Economic Outlook.
Oil exporters will expand collectively at 6.6 percent, compared with 3.9 percent in 2011, thanks to a strong rebound by Libya after its economy came to a grinding halt during the 2011 revolt that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.
Oil importers, however, will see collective growth slow further to 1.2 percent, compared with 1.4 percent in 2011, as many countries face political and economic uncertainties as well as slowing growth in major trading partners.
In 2013, MENA economies should see growth slow down to 3.6 percent, with expansion in oil exporting economies dropping to 3.8 percent, while oil importing economies widen their pace of growth to 3.3 percent.
The IMF has excluded Syria from the regional aggregate due to its 19-month conflict.
“Higher government spending in most oil exporters has supported robust growth,” the Fund said.
“Elsewhere, uncertainties from political and economic change after the Arab Spring, slowing growth in major trading partners, and, in some cases, internal conflict have led to a marked weakening in activity.”
Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen have seen uprisings that ousted their longtime leaders. Other countries, including Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco and Oman had various levels of protests.
Risks for oil exporters in the short term ‘revolve primarily around oil prices and global growth’, the IMF said.
It warned public expenditure in those countries has ‘risen to such a degree that substantial declines in the price of oil could undermine fiscal positions’.
“Despite significant accrued financial buffers, such declines could put at risk ongoing infrastructure investment and growth,” it said.
Countries with little or no oil wealth have meanwhile suffered a drop in tourism and foreign direct investments due to uncertainty and unrest, the Fund said.
Those countries remain ‘vulnerable to trade spillovers if downside risks to growth in major economies materialize’, it said.
The IMF also warned an immediate concern over spikes in commodity prices would be the ‘strain on budgets and foreign exchange reserves’ in countries that have extensive food and fuel subsidies. “Meeting social demands when growth has slowed and political uncertainty has increased has resulted in higher budget deficits and declines in foreign exchange reserves,” it said.

UK Claims on Iran’s Nuclear Program Under Fire

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“If making such anti-Iranian claims reaches a level that national interests demand a reduction in or severance of political ties... (such a move) will be implemented after consultations with experts,” the spokesman told the parliamentary news website icana.ir.
The UAE insistence on these ‘baseless claims will have a negative effect on bilateral relations’, Mehmanparast stressed.
The islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb, and Abu Mousa have historically been part of Iran, proof of which can be found and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world. However, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid claim to the islands.
The islands came under British control in the 1800s but were returned to Iran on November 30, 1971 through a legal procedure that preceded the establishment of the UAE as an independent state.
Mehmanparast echoed Tehran’s line that the UAE stance has no ‘rational, logical, historical, or legal basis’.
He warned that the UAE could ‘suffer the fate of Britain’--alluding to Iran’s decision last year to downgrade diplomatic relations to Britain in anger over heightened western sanctions.
Britain eventually cut direct diplomatic ties with Iran in December 2011 after hundreds of Iranian students staged a protest outside the British Embassy in Tehran, pulling down the UK flag and demanding the expulsion of the British envoy on November 29.
The protest came days after lawmakers voted by a large majority to downgrade diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom.
The vote followed the UK’s decision to impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran over the allegation that Tehran’s nuclear program may consist of a covert military agenda.

Astana Media Forum

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, heading a media delegation, left Tehran for Astana, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday to take part in an international media forum.