Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki (r) meets with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in Tehran, December 2.

TEHRAN, Dec. 2--Damascus sent an envoy to Tehran on Sunday to explain Syria’s attendance at the Middle East conference in Annapolis.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad arrived in Tehran and met with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, IRNA reported.
Mekdad said Syria will not allow anybody to damage cordial relations between Tehran and Damascus.
He also delivered a special message by President Bashar Al-Assad to his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and said ties between the two countries are strategic.
Mottaki also said resistance of Muslim and Arab countries against the Israeli occupying regime is the only way to achieve their goals and interests in the region.
He noted that vigilance of the leaders of the two nations made them keep the interests of the regional people in sight.
The Iranian government was angry with several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Syria, for having ignored Tehran’s call to boycott the Annapolis conference which the Iranian president had branded as a “venue of another Zionist (Israeli) plot against Palestine“.
Tehran denounced the US-hosted conference as “unimportant and just US propaganda for Zionists (Israel)“ and called its final declaration “a piece of useless torn paper“.

TOKYO, Dec. 2--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasted US-hosted Mideast peace talks in an interview aired here Sunday, saying Palestinians were not truly represented and peace is impossible because Washington continues to bankroll Israel.
“It is impossible for a country that provides Israel with billions of dollars in military weapons and equipment to bring peace to Palestine,“ Ahmadinejad said in an interview Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi conducted in Tehran.
“The conference’s hosts are refusing to acknowledge the fundamental reason behind the Palestinian problem ... that they are protecting the oppressors of the Palestinian people,“ Ahmadinejad said in comments translated into Japanese, AP quoted.
Ahmadinejad added that the real representatives of the Palestinian people did not participate in the talks and their interests were ignored.
He has referred to the Holocaust as a ’myth’ used to impose the state of Israel on the Arab world.
At the US-hosted Mideast conference last week in Annapolis, Maryland, the Zionist Israeli regime and the Palestinians from Fatah group announced that peace talks would resume after a violent seven-year hiatus.
The elected government of Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since June, opposes the resumption of peace talks, saying Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas does not represent all Palestinians.

TEHRAN, Dec. 2--Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini announced on Sunday Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili will travel to Moscow on Monday to hold talks with senior Russian officials on strategic issues.
Talking to reporters in a weekly press briefing, Hosseini also said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will also visit Moscow in the near future as the co-chair of Iran-Russia Economic Commission, Presstv reported.
He added that Mottaki will prepare the ground for agreements related to the fields of trade, economy and industry.
Referring to Iran-US talks on Iraq, the spokesman said Iran will deeply evaluate related issues before attending the fourth round of talks with the US on Iraq.
“When we arrive at conclusions from our surveys, we will announce the time of the new round of talks,“ he said.
He noted that Iraqi officials believe the three rounds of talks held between Tehran and Washington to date have been effective.
Hosseini stressed that only Iraq’s security will be discussed at these talks.

Many residents spent the night outdoors in Tabriz on Saturday.

TABRIZ, East Azarbaijan, Dec. 2--Tabriz in northwestern Iran was hit by a third consecutive quake early Sunday.
The earthquakes frightened residents when power and telephone lines were disrupted. Many people ran into the streets in panic, some taking to their cars and causing heavy traffic, IRNA reported.
A quake measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale jolted Tabriz and its vicinity at 06:23 hours local time (0253 GMT) Sunday.
The seismological base of Tabriz, affiliated to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University, said the quake was epicentered in an area near Kand-Rud, east of the provincial capital of Tabriz.
Two earthquakes measuring 3.9 and 4.6 on the Richter scale jolted Tabriz last night within 20 minutes.
Following the three quakes that hit the city Saturday evening and early Sunday morning, the provincial education department closed all primary schools on Sunday.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
Earthquakes regularly strike Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer which is crisis-crossed with fault-lines.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 2--A top UN official said on Sunday Iran is playing “a valuable role“ in Iraq’s political process.
In a meeting with Iran’s Ambassador in Baghdad Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Staffan de Mistura, United Nations special representative for Iraq, added that the Islamic Republic is playing an effective role in Iraq’s reconstruction, IRNA reported.
“Iran should have a greater share in the reconstruction of Iraq,“ he said.
Referring to the repatriation of Iraqi refugees, de Mistura called for Iran’s greater cooperation.
He further said Mujahideen Khalq Organization is a terrorist entity whose activities in Iraq are illegal.
Speaking in the same meeting, Qomi said his country is ready to help expedite the process of repatriation to Iraq.
He said the Iranian government will spare no effort in rebuilding Iraq.
“We believe that most problems in Iraq stem from terrorism and unemployment. And the Iraqi government and nation have the capability to tackle these problems and do not need the help of others,“ he said.
Qomi said the United States is not only making mistakes in managing the Iraqi affairs, but is also insisting on their mistakes.

TEHRAN, Dec. 2--An Omani military delegation arrived here on Sunday for the Sixth Joint Military Commission to boost mutual defense cooperation.
The delegation is headed by Brigadier Saud bin Sulaiman bin Nasser Al Habasi, assistant chief of staff of the Sultanate’s Armed Forces for operations and planning.
The group was welcomed by Iranian military officials at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, Mehr News Agency reported.
The Omani delegation is due to meet with Brigadier General Mohammad Hejazi, chief of staff of the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps, and Admiral Morteza Saffari, IRGC Navy’s commander.
The Omani military officials are scheduled to visit Iran’s defense industries and participate in the Sixth Joint Military Commission for three days.
Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Rahmani, deputy commander for information and operations of the Iranian Armed Forces, said the Islamic Republic and Oman have historical, cultural, political and military commonalities due to their location.
“Each is situated on one side of the Strait of Hormuz,“ he said, noting that due to the strait’s importance, expansion of bilateral military cooperation will help improve the region’s security and stability.

TEHRAN, Dec. 2--Iran’s judiciary chief said on Sunday legal and judicial convergence among Muslims can be a significant basis of unity against the plots of enemies.
In a meeting with the head of Iraq’s Supreme Judiciary Council Midhat Al-Mahmoud, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi referred to the upcoming First Conference of Judicial Chiefs of Muslim States in Tehran and said legal and judicial commonalities can help unite the Muslim states, Presstv reported.
“Iran will once again show the world its determination to expand cooperation among Muslims by sponsoring this conference,“ he said.
He also said the conference might evolve into a permanent union that could facilitate the exchange of judicial experience and expand cooperation among Muslim countries.
The Iraqi official expressed his satisfaction with the Iranian judiciary’s initiative in respect to the conference, saying the gathering will certainly be a great leap forward for devising common legal and judicial principles.

TEHRAN, Dec. 2--An official said oil from a tanker with a Hong Kong flag has leaked into Iran’s southern coast.
Seyyed Mohammad Baqer Nabavi, deputy head of Department of Environment for marine affairs, also said on Sunday oil from the tanker named Grand King destined for Indonesia spilled into the Oman Sea waters on Sunday, ISNA said.
“Initial reports said the oil leakage occurred 40 miles from Iran’s southern coasts and 60 miles from Muscat’s northern coasts,“ he said.
The official noted that a hole in the hull caused the spillage.
Nabavi said the extent of the oil spill has not been estimated yet.

TEHRAN, Dec. 2--An Iraqi aviation official announced on Sunday the first direct flight between Tehran and Baghdad will officially resume on Monday after 30 years.
Seyyed Shahabeddin Tabatabaei, director of the Iraqi Airline Office in Tehran, added that the flight will take place despite American opposition, IRNA reported.
Tabatabaei described the Tehran-Baghdad flight as another political success for Iran in Iraq.
According to a memorandum of understanding signed between Iranian and Iraqi aviation officials on November 17, Iran’s Mahan Airlines and Iraqi Airlines were designated for conducting these flights.
The two airlines are authorized to arrange flights to designated destinations through the common air routes.