At least 200,000 rundown residential units in rural and high risk areas are rebuilt annually.

TEHRAN, Oct. 15--At least 200,000 rundown residential units in rural and high risk areas are rebuilt annually, an Interior Ministry official said on Monday.
Director General for Natural Disasters Hossein Baqeri added that this figure is expected to reach one million houses per year, ISNA reported.
Baqeri was speaking in a meeting on natural disasters attended by United Nations’ representatives in Tehran.
He said $4 billion have been set aside for reinforcing and rebuilding schools across the country.
The official explained that 10 percent of the amount will be spent on prevention, 15 percent on preparedness and 20 percent on fighting natural disasters at schools.
Iran is a disaster-prone country. The country has experienced about than 1,400 earthquakes, 400 floods and 600 natural disasters since 1990.
He also said two regional centers will be set up in the northeastern city of Mashhad to reduce the risks of natural disasters in Asia.
“The two centers will operate within the framework of international standards to reduce natural disasters,“ he said.
Baqeri said human losses in natural disasters will decline from 288 to 234 in the year to March 2007.
“This is while the financial damage caused by natural disasters declined by 25 percent during the same period, despite a rise in natural disasters,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Oct. 15--Experts Assembly Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Monday the presence of political parties is a rational path toward democracy in any country.
Rafsanjani noted that rejecting political parties is akin to ignoring the people, Mehr News Agency reported.
In a meeting with officials of the Political Parties House and members of political parties, Rafsanjani elaborated on the history of formation of political parties in Iran.
“Those who attribute their opposition to the presence of political parties in the country to the late Imam Khomeini are actually undermining the noble ideas of the Imam,“ he said.
Reiterating on recent statements of the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, particularly those on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, Rafsanjani said all political currents and people should be aware that national unity cannot be achieved by violating the rights of others.
Commenting on the importance of people’s presence on the political scene, he said the Islamic system owes its development and success to people.
Asked about the importance of general elections, Rafsanjani said election is one way of seeking people’s opinions, which has been recommended in the Holy Qur’an.
“The Islamic system has shown over the past 28 years that it has had the highest frequency of seeking people’s opinions,“ he said.
The Experts Assembly chairman stressed that the smallest electoral offense contradicts the notion of justice.
“Political parties can inform people about their role in different social arenas. Rejecting the political parties can be a prelude to ignoring people and does not have any benefit for the people,“ he said.
Rafsanjani pointed out that holding general elections in a lively manner is the national and Islamic mandate.a

TEHRAN, Oct. 15--A prominent lawmaker said on Monday joint Iran-Japan efforts in the Asian Parliamentary Assembly would strengthen peace and stability in the Asian continent.
According to the Majlis Press Bureau, Mohammad Reza Bahonar made the remark in a farewell meeting with outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Tehran Hideaki Domichi, IRNA reported.
He added that Iran and Japan are two big countries with longstanding cultures in Asia.
Bahonar, who is the first deputy Majlis speaker, expressed hope that bilateral relations will increase more than ever.
Expressing congratulations on the election of the new Japanese prime minister and foreign minister, he called on the MPs of Iran-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Groups to pay an official visit to Iran.
The Japanese ambassador, for his part, said the two countries enjoy cultural and historical commonalities, hoping that closer cooperation between MPs of the two sides will pave the way for closer relations.
Domichi stressed that Japan gives priority to its ties with the Islamic Republic and that Tokyo is interested in expanding ties with Tehran.

Iranian and American scientific delegates are seen in a meeting hosted by Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Oct. 14.

TEHRAN, Oct. 15--Iran welcomes exchange of scientific information and cooperation between Iranian and American scientists, a senior Iranian official said on Monday.
Vice President for Science and Technology Sadeq Vaez-Zadeh made the remark in a meeting with eleven American scientists invited by Sharif University of Technology, ISNA reported.
“Science and technology should be at the service of peace and friendship among nations,“ he said, stressing that scientists ought to avoid working in areas that endanger global peace.
The two sides discussed developing cooperation in research on earthquakes, crisis management and ways to fight environmental degradation.
Joseph H. Taylor, the 1993 physics Nobel Prize laureate and a US Academy of Science board member, is part of the delegation on a weeklong visit to Iran.
The Nobel Prize winner met on Sunday with Vaez-Zadeh.
During the meeting, expansion of cooperation between Iranian and American scholars was also discussed.
The American scholars visited Tehran’s Pardis Technology Park that has been set up to encourage research, production and marketing cooperation at the international level.
Taylor, 66, is slated to address a gathering at Sharif University of Technology on Tuesday.

TEHRAN, Oct. 15--A diplomat said Iranians based in the United Arab Emirates symbolize scientific breakthroughs and economic prosperity.
Iran’s Consul in the UAE Mohammad Jafar Khatibzadeh said on Monday Iranian physicians, merchants, specialists and students in Dubai have contributed to the scientific and economic progress of the sheikhdom, IRNA reported.
Khatibzadeh said a conference will be held in Dubai to discuss the problems of Iranian expats and present solutions.
The conference will be held on October 17 with the participation of vice president and head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Esfandyar Rahim-Mashaei.
He said several working groups will be formed on the sidelines of the conference to follow up the issues of Iranian nationals.
“These working groups will deal with the problems of Iranians in economic, commerce, culture, science and education sectors,“ he said.
Khatibzadeh added that working groups will present results to the respective Iranian officials for further cooperation.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who paid a visit to the UAE in June, vowed to help remove problems of Iranian expats by cutting unnecessary bureaucracy in the trade sector.
Meanwhile, a senior economic official based in the UAE said the High Council of Iranian Expatriates can resolve the problems of Iranian nationals overseas.
Deputy head of the Commercial Council of UAE-Based Iranians, Nasser Hashemi, also told IRNA that the council has been greatly welcomed by Iranian expatriates.
Hashemi called for more information dissemination for expatriates, as many Iranians in Dubai are not familiar with rules and regulations there.
“Iranian merchants in Dubai have urged Ahmadinejad to set up a special committee to deal with their economic complications,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Oct. 15--Tehran and Moscow have common views on international issues and are against US unilateralism, said co-chair of Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Kazem Jalali, on Sunday.
Jalali, who is also rapporteur of Majlis Commission on National Security and Foreign Policy, said on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran that Russia is expected to take a firm stance on Iran’s civilian nuclear program in light of the ground reality.
He told IRNA that the US attempt to issue a new resolution at the UN Security Council to exert further pressure on Iran is not a wise move and is not in line with the interest of Russia.
“During President Putin’s stay in Tehran, fruitful talks will be held between the Russian president and senior Iranian officials. I hope the two parties would reach a satisfactory conclusion and Iran would enjoy Russian support for its civilian nuclear program,“ he said.
Jalali noted that the Russian government is aware that the US is not following a realistic approach regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
“The reality is that the US is pursuing a hostile approach toward Iran, irrespective of the legal and expert considerations about Iranian nuclear program,“ he said.
Elaborating on agenda of talks with President Putin, he said it includes the completion of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and support for Iran’s nuclear program under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The official said Iran believes Russia has an extensive capacity, on account of its regional and international clout, and can play a useful role in the international community.
Jalali hoped that Russian officials would impress upon the Iranian public opinion the efficiency of Russian executive firms in respecting their undertakings, especially with regard to the completion of Bushehr power plant.

TEHRAN, Oct. 15--Iraq released 53 Iranian pilgrims imprisoned in the Iraqi city of Kut’s prison.
Iraqi officials will deliver the prisoners to the Iranian police at Mehran’s border checkpoint, IRNA reported.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s Information and News Department, following the joint consular meeting between Iran and Iraq, and the meeting between Director General for Expatriates’ Affairs in Iran’s Foreign Ministry Seyyed Mohammad Javad Rasouli and Iraqi Judiciary Chief Medhat Fathollah, Iraqi officials agreed to release the Iranian pilgrims.
The prisoners had entered Iraq illegally last January to make a pilgrimage to the holy shrines.
Iraqi police forces had arrested them and sentenced them to 2 to 4 years in jail.