Alireza Afshar

TEHRAN, Nov. 3--An official said the takeover of the “Den of Spies“ (aka the former US embassy in Tehran) in 1979 represented the national will, denying the role of students’ collective decision as the motive behind the
incident.
Speaking on Saturday on the eve of the takeover’s anniversary, Alireza Afshar, deputy interior minister for political affairs, added that the takeover took place after that Imam Khomeini called on university and seminary students to intensify their campaign against the conspiracies, crimes and spying of bullying powers, especially the US, IRNA quoted the Interior Ministry’s Public Relations as reporting.
He noted that the students got the message of Imam Khomeini’s remarks and realized that the US was a major threat to the Islamic Revolution, therefore they decided to seize the US embassy and express their protest to the US.
Afshar, who was among the students during the embassy’s takeover, said the embassy was seized by Tehrani students, stating that Iranians backed the students by participating in demonstrations and showing their support after Imam Khomeini supported them officially.
“Imam Khomeini said the seizure of the US embassy was the second revolution in Iran and more important than the first one in 1979,“ he said.
The students understood the depth of their measure and its effect on preventing the US from interfering in Iranian affairs following Imam’s remarks.
The deputy interior minister also said the second revolution taught Iranians that they can foil the enemies’ conspiracies if they resist their attacks.
Afshar stressed that the US psychological war is aimed at deceiving the world public opinion about Iran, adding that opinion polls show that the US government is unpopular across the world.

Kazem Jalali

TEHRAN, Nov. 3--An official said any future decision about Iran’s nuclear case will depend on the reports that will be presented by IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei and EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana.
Talking to Iran Daily on Saturday, Kazem Jalali, spokesman of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, added that if these reports indicate Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency has been fruitful, then no further sanctions will be imposed on Iran.
Jalali noted that the Group 5+1 stands divided.
“China, Russia and Germany have expressed their satisfaction over Iran’s negotiations with the agency and believe that the case should be settled only through diplomatic means. But when the agency tends to express its satisfaction with the progress of negotiations, the Americans interfere and disturb the entire process,“ he said.
The parliamentarian emphasized that Washington tries to level accusations against Iran and resort to radicalism in its ill efforts to block a peaceful settlement of the case.
“In the wake of its unilateral attitude for imposing sanctions on Iran, the US hinders the efforts of other 5+1 members for any kind of improvement,“ he said.
Jalali concluded by forecasting that in their reports ElBaradei and Solana will underline that Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA has improved.
The London meeting of 5+1, which comprises the five veto powers plus Germany, ended on Friday after it decided to meet again on Nov. 19 to assess the reports of ElBaradei and Solana on Iran’s nuclear program.
Deputy foreign ministers of 5+1 agreed that if the reports do not mention improvement in Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA, they will prepare the third resolution of sanctions for approval in the UN Security Council. ElBaradei and Solana are expected to present their reports to the group by mid November.

TEHRAN, Nov. 3--A prominent lawmaker said only countries with nuclear technology could create centers for enriching uranium and Iran will agree with the proposal if it is established in its territory.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of Majlis Security and Foreign Policy Commission, made the remark on Saturday following a Saudi proposal for Arab states to help supply Iran with enriched uranium.
US-allied Persian Gulf Arab states are ready to set up a body to provide enriched uranium to Iran in a bid to defuse Tehran’s standoff with the West over its nuclear plan, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal had told the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED).
Boroujerdi also told Fars News Agency that earlier Iran itself proposed creating a center for enriching uranium in cooperation with countries that enjoy nuclear technology.
“I believe countries that have nuclear technology can participate in the plan,“ he said.
Referring to the high capacities of Iran in the nuclear energy field, the official noted that such a consortium should be established in the Islamic Republic.
Boroujerdi noted that Iran currently is part of a big uranium enrichment consortium in France’s Ordif Company with one-billion-dollar investment.
Russia’s nuclear chief also on Friday said only full nuclear powers should create centers for enriching uranium, in a swipe at the Saudi proposal.
When asked about the report, Sergei Kiriyenko said Russia had received no official information about the proposal, RIA news agency reported.
“In our opinion, there should be many such centers but it is obvious that such centers must be in countries which have the full technology for enrichment (of uranium) so that this technology doesn’t spread around the world,“ Kiriyenko said.
Prince Saud said Iran was considering the offer. He said the enrichment plant should be in a neutral country, such as Switzerland.
In late 2005 Russia offered to create a joint center with Iran to enrich uranium on Russian territory, but Iran insisted that it be based on Iranian territory.

TEHRAN, Nov. 3--A nuclear negotiator said Iran welcomes participation in uranium enrichment plans of other countries but will not accept halting all enrichment activities as a precondition.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Javad Vaeedi, deputy head of Supreme National Security Council for international security affairs, added that Iranian efforts have been focused on upholding the rights to carry out enrichment operations inside Iran, IRNA reported.
Referring to the proposal of Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal for forming an enrichment consortium in a neutral country, he said, “It is natural that we pursue our rights when we are carrying out all our international duties. Our specific policy is that we will not give up our peaceful nuclear activities. Putting forth ideas or proposals are no problem as long as they do not neglect our rights.“
Vaeedi stressed that Iran cannot be punished when it is fulfilling its international obligations.
Commenting on the attempts of some countries to pave the ground for imposing the third resolution on Iran, the official said, “Issuance of a resolution will entail adverse consequences. Countries that talk about the issue of imposing new sanctions on Iran are dissatisfied about Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cooperating effectively. It is strange to punish a country that is merely abiding by its international obligations.“
Asked whether negotiations have been successful in relation to P1 and P2 centrifuges, he said, “We have agreed that the agency should announce whether each round of talks on the action plan has been successful or not, so we will not make any prejudgments until the IAEA has presented its report É It must be remembered that first the agency poses its questions about each phase of the approved action plan and then Iran acts to remove the corresponding ambiguities.“
Vaeedi noted that Iran prefers the agency declare whether any of the six phases has been overcome or not.

BERLIN, Nov. 3--Two leading German opposition lawmakers have opposed American and Israeli call for further sanctions against Iran, while stressing the need for diplomatic talks to resolve the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Talking to the Suedwestrundfunk (SWR) broadcasting station on Friday, the deputy head of the Green faction, Juergen Trittin, said new sanctions were out of place at this time, IRNA reported.
The International Atomic Energy Agency verified only recently that Tehran was cooperating with the UN nuclear watchdog and there was no evidence of production of Iranian nuclear weapons, Trittin was quoted as saying.
Therefore, any accusations against Moscow and Beijing of being too lenient toward Iran were ’unjustified’, the Green legislator added.
Trittin clarified that the sanction pressure was merely an expression of US and Israeli plans.
He warned that any attempt to force Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment would lead to a “dead-end street.“
Meanwhile, spokesman of The Left (Die Linke) party, Paul Schaefer, lambasted US military and sanction threats against the Islamic Republic.
The leftist MP urged “de-escalation and a constructive factual relevance“ as prerequisites for continued negotiations to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute, Reuters reported.
Schaefer called for strongly supporting talks between the European Union and Iran, in addition to launching direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
He lashed out at US President George W. Bush for escalating the situation by leveling harsher sanctions and military threats against Iran.
Schaefer also criticized the German government for “nonchalantly ignoring IAEA reports and assessments“ on Iran, while urging Berlin to distance itself from America’s hardline anti-Iran policy.
Also on Friday, the US urged China and Russia to make a stronger effort toward agreeing a new set of sanctions on Iran, after what Washington said was a disappointing response by the two countries in major power talks in London.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns “was disappointed in China and in Russia“, State Department Spokesman Tom Casey said.
Burns attended the London talks on Friday among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council--Britain, France, the United States, Russia and China--plus Germany to discuss strengthened sanctions against Iran under a third UN resolution.
Russia and China have both said they opposed further punitive steps against Iran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium.

Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi (Photo by Ali Hassanpour)

TEHRAN, Nov. 3--Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has called on the government and parliament to double its budget.
Speaking to reporters in a news conference on Saturday, Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi said removing problems in cultural sectors requires the allocation of 5,000 billion rials in the annual budget.
The ministry’s budget for the current year amounted to 2,250 billion rials.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in a recent meeting with government officials said the cultural sector deserves more attention.
“Many problems of our society will be resolved by culture-building measures,“ Harandi said, adding that his ministry is currently engaged in many cultural programs. He said officials who are in charge of devising annual budgets for cultural sectors should revise their approach toward culture.
The minister also said some believe allocating a budget to the culture sector is not as profitable as in other sectors, stressing that “they should change their historical approach in this regard“.
The minister reiterated that the “culture sector is not a consumer-oriented sector“.
Harandi announced that several foreign companies will also participate in Imam Reza (AS) Cultural-Artistic Festival, which will be held concurrently in 30 provinces during November 12-22