TEHRAN, Dec. 1--Iran said on Saturday it will defend its right to nuclear technology, regardless of what European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, reported about his latest talks with Tehran.
Solana said he was disappointed after a meeting on Friday in London with Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, Alalam.ir reported.
“If some people have become disappointed because they cannot deprive Iran of its natural rights, then that’s another issue,“ Jalili told reporters after returning to Tehran.
“The fact is that we defended the Iranian nation’s rights and stressed on fulfilling our duties, and that the Iranian nation will not accept anything that goes beyond the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).“
Asked how Iran would respond if Solana presented a negative report, Jalili said, “We expect a positive report but, in any case, we will react accordingly to safeguard our nation’s rights as a signatory to the NPT within the treaty’s framework.“
Earlier in London, Jalili had said it was unacceptable to expect Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment program.
Also on Saturday, a top Iranian diplomat said the carrot-and-stick approach and threats against Iran are ’non-constructive’.
Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh, added that recent breakthroughs in the nuclear case have been the results of Tehran’s close cooperation with the IAEA, IRNA reported.
He said Tehran has been conducting negotiations voluntarily with the agency and the EU, adding that his country has taken steps beyond the commitments outlined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Soltaniyeh urged Westerners and Europeans not to commit what he called a “historical mistake“ in Iran’s nuclear case, warning against any military action.
“China, Russia and the Non-Aligned Movement members are supporting Iran. They are satisfied with the development in our cooperation with the IAEA,“ he said.
Referring to the recent report of IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei, Soltaniyeh said Iran’s nuclear case should be considered closed.
Meanwhile, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former US national security adviser in an article in Washington Post newspaper on Friday wrote China could play a decisive role in resolving crisis over Iran’s nuclear activities.
“The Chinese strongly advocate that in dealing with Iran the United States be guided by strategic patience. Unlike the North Koreans, they note, the Iranians have denied any intent to acquire nuclear weapons,“ he said.
“In China’s view, the United States should avoid being drawn into tit-for-tat salvos with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, since that strengthens Ahmadinejad domestically. America should also stop insisting on preconditions for negotiations that effectively demand that the Iranians publicly concede that they have been lying.“
Brzezinski noted that instead of contesting the veracity of Iranian proclamations, the focus should be on jointly negotiating a formula that effectively forsakes the allegedly unwanted nuclear weapons option.
He added that once the US becomes more active in the negotiating process with Iran, China could help break the stalemate.

Mohammad Khazaei

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 1--Iran has reiterated solidarity with Palestinians in their tireless efforts and unwavering determination to pursue their national aspirations and defend their inalienable rights.
Addressing a UN General Assembly session on Palestine on Friday, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaei, said the recent United Nations’ reports regarding Palestine again reveal that in the past 12 months, the Zionist regime has continued its crimes against the defenseless Palestinian people, IRNA reported.
“The regime has been systematically altering the Palestinian map through its unlawful policies and practices, including construction of settlements and the wall in the West Bank,“ he said.
As the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People indicates, throughout the period under review, the Israeli regime has continued with its criminal practices against Palestinians.
The Iranian envoy referred to extra-judicial killings, house demolitions, unlawful detention of Palestinian officials, humiliating systems of checkpoints, expansion of the illegal settlements, construction of the unlawful wall in contravention of the International Court of Justice ruling and the sealing-off and destruction of Palestinian civilian infrastructure and agricultural lands in the Gaza Strip as measures taken by the Zionist regime against the Palestinians.
“These have resulted in unspeakable sufferings and losses for the Palestinian people, including the death and injury of hundreds of Palestinians, and have caused unprecedented humanitarian crises in the Palestinian society,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Dec. 1--A domestically-made destroyer dubbed Moj, which is ready to join the naval fleet, reflects the Islamic Republic’s defense capabilities.
“The vessel, made entirely by Iranian experts, will join the fleet of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Navy in the next few months,“ said project manager, Capitan Shah Karam, on Saturday, Presstv reported.
With the capability of attacking aerial, surface or underwater targets simultaneously, Moj can be used in electronic warfare due to the state-of-the-art enhancements and carry a military helicopter.
Moj is in its final stages of production, according to the captain, and can compete with today’s most modern and powerful destroyers.

TEHRAN, Dec. 1--The presence of occupying forces in Iraq is a big obstacle to restoring stability to Iraq, said a top judicial official.
In a meeting with the visiting Iraqi judicial delegation on Saturday, deputy judiciary chief, Seyyed Ebrahim Raeesi, said the Iraqi nation is entitled to determine its own destiny, IRNA reported.
He said the Iraqi government has been elected by the people and is capable of governing them.
“We hope to witness the end of Iraq’s occupation by foreigners, as we saw the execution of murderer Saddam,“ he said.
Referring to deep cultural and historical bonds between Iran and Iraq, Raeesi said economic and political ties are growing.
“Given the increasing cooperation between the two nations, it is necessary to deepen judicial and legal relations, and conclude treaties on extraditing criminals and bilateral judicial assistance,“ he said.
Raeesi called for the punishment of agents of terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization based in Iraq.
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council Chairman Madhat Mahmoud said his visit will boost judicial relations between the two nations.
More than 54 states will kick off the first meeting of judicial chiefs of Muslim countries in Tehran.

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 1--Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei arrived in Riyadh on Saturday to attend a security conference.
The four-day Conference on Information Technology and National Security opened the same day, IRNA reported.
More than 1,700 experts and officials are participating in the event, chaired by Saudi Defense Minister Sultan bin Abul Aziz.
Participants will discuss several topics, including the role of information technology in promoting political, social and economic security.

TEHRAN, Dec. 1--The British Embassy in Tehran refused to grant visa to a reporter of the Persian daily ’Iran’ who was scheduled to cover Friday’s talks between Iran and the European Union.
Despite having an introduction letter by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the reporter failed to get the visa.
The embassy said the refusal was due to a delay in submitting the visa application, ’Iran’ reported.
Jonathan Layfield, press attachŽ of the British Embassy in Tehran, said the application should have been submitted 10 days before the trip while the venue of negotiations was determined less than a week before the talks.
The Persian daily ’Iran’ is affiliated to Iran Cultural and Press Institute, which also brings out “Iran Daily“ and other publications.
Earlier in September, the British Embassy in Tehran refused to offer a UK visa to a staffer of “Iran Daily“ who had been officially invited to present a paper at an international conference in London.
The Persian daily has covered almost all previous rounds of nuclear talks. Embassies of Spain, Italy and Portugal in Iran had issued emergency visas for the paper’s reporters only a few days before the talks. This is while the British Embassy refused to cooperate.
“We understand the issue of emergency as other embassies did. But you [should] understand rules of the United Kingdom,“ Layfield said.

An Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane is seen in this file photo.

TBILISI, Georgia,
Dec. 1--Iranian passengers complained about the inappropriate behavior of the personnel of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), Iran’s Embassy in Tbilisi said on Saturday.
Gholamreza Hashemi, who is in charge of press affairs at the Iranian Embassy, said a group of Iranian merchants, exporters and corporate officials, who visited Tbilisi to attend an exhibition of industrial equipment and products, strongly complained about the behavior of the AZAL personnel, IRNA reported.
He stated that there is no direct flight between Iran and Georgia, therefore passengers have to go via Azerbaijan airlines.
Hashemi stressed that Iran expects Azeri authorities to stop such conduct.
The exhibition of industrial equipment and products was held during Nov. 28-30.

ALGIERS, Algeria, Dec. 1--Egyptian Foreign Ministry has welcomed Iran’s “positive and transparent nuclear stands“ and its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The remarks were made by Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossam Zaki, IRNA reported.
He added that in response to a letter from his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit has expressed hope Iran would continue its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Aboul Gheit also reportedly emphasized the right of the signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to pursue peaceful nuclear energy.
Mottaki, in a letter to his Egyptian counterpart, had briefed the latter on Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities and Iran-IAEA cooperation.

TEHRAN, Dec. 1--Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini expressed condolences on Saturday to the Turkish government, people and families of the victims of a deadly plane crash.
A Turkish domestic airliner crashed in the mountains in southwest Turkey on Friday, killing all 57 people on board. Officials said all on board were Turkish nationals, IRNA reported.
The 165-seat MD 83 plane, which crashed in the early hours of Friday before it was due to land in the city of Isparta, had been flying from Istanbul with 49 passengers and seven crew.
Hosseini expressed the deepest sympathy of the Iranian government and nation with the Turkish people and government, and wished patience for the bereaved relatives.