Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (c) addresses judiciary chiefs of Muslim states who have gathered in Tehran, Dec. 5

TEHRAN, Dec. 5--Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the world is in dire need of justice and security.
The leader made the remarks on Wednesday in a meeting with judiciary chiefs of Muslim states who have gathered in Tehran, IRNA reported.
“The so-called civilized countries, who claim to advocate democracy in the West, are now humiliating Muslims while in Islamic countries such as Iran religious minorities live in peace and freedom, and continue their normal life and freely observe their rituals,“ he said.
“Islamic tenets are capable of meeting the demands of humanity in administering justice and attaining self-confidence and trust in God,“ he said, adding that judiciary organizations in Muslim countries should spare no effort to upgrade the Islamic judicial system.
The leader stressed that Islamic tenets are among the most advanced laws in the world while the West tries to insinuate that Islamic tenets cannot meet human needs in today’s world.
“It is unfortunate that judicial bodies in Islamic countries have been influenced by western law. Western culture and civilization are unable to administer justice or restore security to humanity,“ he said.
Referring to discrimination resulting from cultural, political and economic hegemony of the West, Ayatollah Khamenei cited the tyranny of Zionist Israelis against the defenseless Palestinian nation and the world’s silence as examples of such discriminations.

TEHRAN, Dec. 5--Creativity and innovation are required to form an Islamic-based economic system, a senior official said.
Addressing the annual conference on Islamic economics at Payam-e Nour University on Wednesday, Parviz Davoudi, first vice president, said the western theories of economics should not be imitated, IRNA reported.
He urged Muslim scholars to avoid replicating western theories.
Stressing the need to exchange experts and experience among Muslim states, Davoudi said westerners do want to witness the development and progress of Muslim countries.
Commenting on Iran’s right to access nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, Davoudi said enemy threats of sanctions cannot dissuade us from pursuing development.

TEHRAN, Dec. 5--Judiciary chiefs of Muslim states have agreed to set up an international union to boost judiciary cooperation among Muslim countries.
In a statement in Tehran, members of the Organization of Islamic Conference vowed to boost cooperation and solidarity, IRNA reported.
Muslim representatives also agreed to form the union to promote Islamic goals at the regional and international levels, particularly in promoting Islamic legal systems. They also agreed to follow up the issue in Tehran in future.
A team of international law experts and prosecutor generals will be introduced to discuss the union’s articles of association.
They decided to set up the secretariat of the judiciaries’ Cooperation Union of Muslim Countries in Tehran.
Judiciary chiefs of Muslim countries reached consensus to spare no efforts to promote legal and judicial ties, and exchange experience in related sectors.
The Tehran statement also highlighted the necessity of promoting human rights based on Islamic principles.

TEHRAN, Dec. 5--Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said he delivered the messages of Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to reporters upon his arrival at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, Saeed Jalili, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, also said that in addition to President Putin, he also met with his Russia counterpart, Valentin Sobolev.
Jalili returned home early Wednesday from his two-day visit to Russia which, he said, was in response to the earlier visit to Tehran of President Putin, IRNA reported.
“In the meeting with President Putin, various grounds for Tehran-Moscow cooperation as well as strategies related to bilateral relations were discussed,“ he said.
Jalili added that the two also discussed “major international, regional and bilateral issues, including the Middle East situation as well as Tehran-Moscow cooperation in the field of energy“.

TEHRAN, Dec. 5--Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said no country can ignore the status of Iran in the Middle East.
“And we expect our friends not to be affected by the wills and inclinations of others,“ Pour-Mohammadi said in a meeting with the visiting deputy foreign minister of Japan, Itsunori Onodera, on Wednesday, IRNA reported.
Pour-Mohammadi said allies of Iran should consider broadening cooperation with the country.
“Americans are looking to disrupt good relations between other countries. Iran and Japan, which consolidated ties in the economic sectors, should not be affected by obstructionist measures,“ he said.
Referring to the failure of the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan, the minister said opium production, poverty and misery have increased since 2001.
“The global community is responsible for fighting narcotics. This is while other countries are not fulfilling their obligation in this respect,“ he said, referring to the high costs of combating drugs.
Pour-Mohammadi called on the international community to make more efforts in the fight against drugs and terrorism.
Referring to the recent report by the National Intelligence Estimate of the United States, he said this is a proof Iran is not seeking atomic bombs.
Onodera hailed Iran’s efforts in combating drugs.
“Japan is interested in broadening ties with Iran as the world’s second largest possessor of oil resources,“ he said.
Onodera said there are many common grounds between Tokyo and Tehran, which can be a good basis for future cooperation.

VIENNA, Austria, Dec. 5--The Swiss Foreign Ministry said Berne favors a diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, it was reported on Wednesday.
A recent report released on Monday by the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), “supports the idea that a diplomatic solution must be found for this issue“, Swiss Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lars Knuchel told an Internet site, IRNA reported.
The NIE report, provided by 16 US security agencies, acknowledged that Iran has not been pursuing a nuclear weapons development program. It stressed that they do not “assume that Iran intends to acquire nuclear weapons“.
These assertions were made while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran has never had such a program.
The report contradicted White House claims that Iran was “determined to develop nuclear weapons“, said the Swiss website.
It added that unlike its European neighbors, including France, Switzerland has always promoted direct diplomatic dialogue to settle Iran’s nuclear row with the West.
Switzerland represents US interests in Iran and is used as a go-between by the two sides.
Also on Wednesday, Pakistan said it supports Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear technology.
“It has been Pakistan’s principled stand that Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear technology,“ Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said, IRNA reported.
The spokesman said that as a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has certain obligations but they do not prevent Iran from pursuing a peaceful nuclear program.
Asked about Iran’s nuclear program, Sadiq said different reports of intelligence agencies are issued from time to time. He referred to the latest US intelligence reports that Tehran had stopped all objectionable activities in 2003, although President George Bush made remarks contradicting those reports.

TEHRAN, Dec. 5--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran and Japan can symbolize interaction, friendship and logic in the world.
He made the remark on Tuesday while receiving the credentials of the new Japanese ambassador to Tehran, Akio Shirota, IRNA reported.
Referring to cultural commonalities between the two nations, Ahmadinejad termed Tehran-Tokyo relations as ’amicable’.
“There has been no dark point in the two countries’ relations up to now,“ he said.
Ahmadinejad underscored the need for resisting unilateral approaches, stressing that the era of continuing such approaches has ended.
Akio Shirota, for his part, called for expansion of Tehran-Tokyo relations and cooperation at the regional and international levels.

TEHRAN, Dec. 5--Officials will enforce the ban on smoking tobacco products and hubble-bubble in public places, according to a police communiquŽ issued on Wednesday.
The communiquŽ said the police and a few other organizations will confront violators as of Dec. 15 in Tehran and from Dec. 22 across the country, IRNA reported.
Smoking was banned in public places in line with the Majlis ratification on combating tobacco products, he said, adding that the law is aimed at preserving public health.
As per the communiquŽ, in case of violations, police will confront managers and employers administering public places.
Managers and employers in public outlets, including hotels, restaurants and inns, should install no-smoking signs in places that can be seen easily.

VIENNA, Austria,
Dec. 5--An official has called for the establishment of joint banks and insurance companies among developing nations.
Mohsen Shaterzadeh, deputy minister of mines and industries, was addressing a general conference on the United Nations Industrial Development Organization held here on Wednesday, IRNA reported.
He said lack of financial and insurance resources is a major challenge for developing states.
Shaterzadeh said establishing a unique banking and insurance system among developing countries can considerably improve their status.
“Economic monopoly is the main challenge for developed countries,“ he said.
Shaterzadeh said such countries should share know-how and technology, and improve economic ties so that they can address the needs of one another.
“Only in this case, we can help each other,“ he said.