Hassan Kazemi Qomi

TEHRAN, Nov. 4--Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Hassan Kazemi Qomi said on Sunday Iran has received no invitation from the Baghdad government to talk to the United States about the security situation in Iraq.
Qomi’s comment follows the remark of US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker at an international conference on Iraqi security in Istanbul on Saturday that he will meet his Iranian counterpart again in Baghdad “in the not-too-distant future.“
He also told ISNA that Iran would hold talks with Americans after receiving an official invitation from the Iraqi officials.
“Iran has said before that if there is to be another round of talks, it depends on the official request of the Iraqi government and so far no such request has been received,“ he said.
Qomi and Crocker have held two rounds of face-to-face talks over Iraqi security on May 28 and July 24 without any breakthrough.
The two sides also met at the experts’ level on August 6, but no meeting has been held since.
“On issues like this, it is worth exercising a little patience,“ Crocker said. “We haven’t talked with the Iranians for a rather long time.“
A diplomatic source said the meeting was expected to take place in a “couple of weeks“, adding that the agenda would be limited to security in Baghdad.
Qomi also rejected a report about the arrest of an Iranian bus driver and injuries suffered by some pilgrims in Baghdad, adding that Iran’s embassy officials are investigating the issues.
Qomi said Iran’s Consulate will be reopened in Irbil, north of Iraq, on Monday.

BUENOS
AIRES, Argentina, Nov. 4--Iran’s top diplomat in Argentina says the US and Israel are pressuring Interpol to put a handful of his countrymen on the international police agency’s most-wanted list for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center here.
Mohsen Baharvand, Iran’s top diplomat in Argentina, blames Washington and its allies-- mainly Israel--for the tension.
“They try to bother Iran for many reasons,“ Baharvand told The Associated Press.
“They try to politicize the technical organizations in every corner of the world against Iran.“
Iran’s Constitution does not allow citizens to be sent abroad in such cases, the diplomat said.
Instead, Iranian officials have proposed that Argentina agree to legal and judicial cooperation that would let Tehran share information on the case.
“There is no reason for us to fear providing information because we are sure Iranians have not engaged in this“ attack, he said. Argentina has turned down the proposal.
The lead prosecutor in Argentina’s worst terror attack, however, claims the case is not a political matter. He is calling for Interpol to take action at the 186-nation agency’s General Assembly that opens Monday in Marrakesh, Morocco.
“Iran has been permanently trying to politicize this,“ prosecutor Alberto Nisman claimed before flying to Marrakesh.
There have been no convictions 13 years after an explosives-laden van leveled the seven-story Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people.
The Argentinean officials claim they have sufficient evidence for Interpol member nations to approve “red notices“ for six suspects--five Iranians and one Lebanese. A red notice means a suspect is wanted for possible extradition.
In Marrakesh, Interpol is expected to outline to delegates arguments from both Argentina and Iran. If a simple majority decides in Argentina’s favor, notices will be issued. Iran has asked that the issue be delayed until next year, a request expected to be voted on first.

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Nov. 4--Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon.
In a meeting held on the sidelines of the foreign ministers meeting of Iraq’s neighbors in Istanbul on Saturday, the UN chief referred to Iran’s key role in the region and expressed hope that participants in the meeting would increase their cooperation on Iraq, IRNA reported.
Mottaki underlined the effective role of the UN chief in solving the regional crises and problems.
The Istanbul meeting kicked off on Saturday and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the UN chief delivered speeches. It concluded the same day by issuing a final statement. Meanwhile, Bahrain’s foreign minister criticized the British Daily Telegraph for distorting the statements of Bahrain’s crown prince about Iran.
In a meeting with Mottaki in Istanbul, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa rejected the words attributed to Bahrain’s crown prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, by Daily Telegraph, describing them as ’distorted’.
The Bahraini foreign minister noted that some media outlets aim to create pessimism and misunderstanding among the neighboring states.
“But Bahrain’s ties with Iran are too deep and strong to be marred by such efforts,“ he said.
For his part, Iran’s foreign minister asserted that countries with failed policies in this region are trying to make political capital by undermining relations between regional countries.
“Constant vigilance and attention to the region’s critical conditions can play an effective role in thwarting such policies,“ Mottaki said.

TEHRAN, Nov. 4--Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi said expansion of knowledge makes the public culture richer and healthier.
Harandi made the remark in the inauguration ceremony of the Fifth Meeting of Iran’s Public Culture, which was held at Shahid Bahonar Cultural Complex on Sunday, Fars News Agency reported.
The meeting was attended by Mohammad Reza Mokhber-Dezfuli, secretary of Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, Mansour Vaezi, secretary of Public Culture Council, top managers of sub-branches of the Culture Ministry in the country’s provinces and experts of the Public Culture Council.
Harandi pointed out that all the managers and experts of Public Culture Council have gathered at one place for the first time.
Referring to the mutual effects of public culture and development, he said public culture has a historical and spiritual background.
Harandi, who also heads the Public Culture Council, said expansion of knowledge and science makes the public culture richer and healthier.
The minister stressed that construction is another factor that shapes the public culture.
Harandi quoted Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as saying contentment promotes public culture.
Mokhber-Dezfuli, for his part, said, “We should pay special attention to culture in our plans. Our revolution is a cultural revolution, but we take political and economic approach while making plans.“

TEHRAN, Nov. 4--Head of Majlis Women’s Faction Fatemeh Aliya left for Berlin at the head of a delegation consisting of several parliamentarians.
The Iranian lawmakers left Tehran for Berlin early Saturday at the official invitation of Gernot Erler, minister of state at the German Foreign Ministry, to review means of promoting mutual relations in various fields, especially between the two countries’ parliaments, IRNA reported.
The Iranian delegation is due to meet Germany’s political, parliamentary and scientific officials to confer over family and women’s affairs.
Also, German Ambassador to Tehran Herbert Honsowitz met with the delegation in Majlis prior to their departure and expressed hope that the Iranian lawmakers’ visit to Germany would open new horizons for the expansion of bilateral cooperation.
The visiting Iranian Majlis delegation is scheduled to meet heads of the German Parliament’s interior and legal committees, and Foreign Policy Committee, as well as the German deputy foreign minister and justice minister.

Alireza Malekian

The 14th round of the Iranian Press Festival will be held November 7-13 in Tehran. This year’s event is different, as it will be held for the first time at the international level.
Alireza Malekian, deputy culture minister for press affairs, said Turkey, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan and Bahrain have expressed their willingness to attend the festival.
He said several other countries have also been invited.
“We have invited the foreign media to help forge constructive interaction with the domestic media,“ he said, adding that regional countries with cultural and historical commonalities with Iran have been given priority.
“This will be our first international experience. Therefore, we invited a limited number of countries with which we have cultural commonalities,“ he said.
The deputy minister noted that the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance welcomes the interaction of domestic media with foreign ones.
“We will support the domestic media if they conclude a memorandum of understanding with foreign counterparts to open branches,“ he said.
Referring to the festival’s subsidiary programs, he said three meetings will be held on political issues.
Malekian said 412 magazines will feature in this year’s festival.

TEHRAN, Nov. 4--Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar is to visit Armenia on Tuesday to discuss the latest regional and international developments.
The Iranian minister, who will head a high-ranking defense delegation, is scheduled to hold talks with Armenian President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, and Defense Minister Mikael Harutyunyan, IRNA reported.
The Defense Ministry said on Sunday Najjar will also discuss Tehran-Yerevan ties.
The Iranian official’s visit, scheduled for November 6, is taking place at the invitation of his Armenian counterpart.

TEHRAN, Nov. 4--Head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said currently an appropriate climate prevails over meetings of the Group 5+1.
“Unlike the past, the present climate at the meetings of Group 5+1 is agreeable and appropriate,“ the commissioner told IRNA on Saturday.
He said Tehran’s “good cooperation“ with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the past and present is “one of the main reasons for creating such an atmosphere.“
The commissioner argued that the US was attempting, with all its power, to wage a psychological war against all parties involved in Iran’s nuclear decision-making.
Boroujerdi added that all Iranian negotiating teams are “trying to reach a final and positive conclusion with the IAEA“ over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program.
“In order to reach a reasonable solution, Iran will answer all questions raised by the IAEA as long as there is any,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Nov. 4--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said enhanced scientific ties with Kyrgyzstan would favor both the nations.
In a meeting with Kyrgyz officials on Saturday, the president stressed that dissemination of science is a ’duty’ and slammed scientific monopoly, IRNA reported.
“Expansion of scientific cooperation prepares the ground for cultural, political and economic relations,“ he said.
Ahmadinejad, who also heads Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, stated that certain countries use science to produce weapons of mass destruction and dominate nations while science should be at the service of human society for welfare and peace.
The chief executive emphasized the significance of setting up a joint scientific and research committee with Kyrgyzstan.
Ahmadinejad expressed Iran’s readiness to transfer its experience in various fields to friendly countries.
The head of the Kyrgyz delegation voiced his country’s readiness to cooperate with Iranian scientists and academicians in various fields.