Jafar Al-Mousavi

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--Iraq’s prosecutor general said an Iraqi judge has been assigned to deal with the case of the terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization.
Jafar Al-Mousavi also told Mehr News Agency on Wednesday that according to international law, MKO members should be extradited to Iraq.
He said Iraq’s judiciary will demand the extradition of MKO leaders wherever they are and a complaint is being filed against them.
“Some Iraqis have called for punishing MKO members and the judge is recording peoples’ testimonies and gathering required documents,“ he said.
Mousavi said MKO members will be prosecuted as soon as the judge issues summons.
Asked about the so-called “Baath Eradication“ law, he refused to comment and said, “I am a judge and not a politician. I do not belong to any political party in Iraq, so you’d better ask politicians about it.“
Mousavi, however, said the “Baath Eradication Law“ will be replaced with the “Impeachment and Justice Law“.
“But it needs parliamentary approval,“ he said.
Asked about the execution of Sultan Hashim, the defense minister of Saddam, he said the court has issued capital punishment for him.
“There are some discrepancies between the Presidential Office and the Council of Ministers over his execution,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--Experts Assembly Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Wednesday the report issued by 16 US intelligence agencies is neither against Tehran nor benefits Washington.
A report released on December 3 by the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) said they did not “assume that Iran intends to acquire nuclear weapons“, IRNA reported.
Addressing the 4th Congress of Moderation and Development Party, he commented on reasons for issuing the report.
“My primary assumption is that the report has been issued either by the Democrats or independent groups. The report might have been issued by experts since their investigation indicated that Iran has not been pursuing nuclear weapons in these years,“ he said.
Rafsanjani, who also heads the State Expediency Council, noted that the US president had already been informed of the report and as stated by the Israeli prime minister, the report was presented to him during the Annapolis conference by President Bush.
“They knew that if the White House opposed the report, they would face another defeat in the international arena,“ he said, adding that they knew that they had to respond to the public opinion, therefore the report had to be published.
Referring to the recent report of Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei, he said, “The two reports (by NIE and IAEA) changed the situation in a way that the White House is facing problems in issuing further sanctions against Iran and other issues such as launching a military invasion against the country,“ he said.
The Experts Assembly chairman also said that despite these reports, the US and its allies have intensified their anti-Iran efforts to show their hatred toward the Iranian nation.
Rafsanjani urged the nation to be vigilant and take advantage of the current situation through unity and solidarity.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--Shanghai Cooperation Organization said Iran plays a constructive role in devising the organization’s plans.
“As an observer state, Iran has promoted close and extensive economic, political, and cultural cooperation among the SCO members,“ the organization’s Secretary-General Bolat Nurgaliyev also told IRNA on Wednesday.
Nurgaliyev, who is currently in Ashkhabad to take part in the International Conference of the Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy, added that Iran’s level of cooperation is not lower than that of the organization’s permanent members.
Nurgaliyev welcomed the idea of Iran becoming a permanent member of the organization and said the issue was currently being studied by the SCO. Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental security organization founded by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran, India, Mongolia and Pakistan have joined the group as observer states.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--Prosecutor General Qorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi urged Muslim states to help fight corruption at the national and international levels.
In a meeting with a visiting delegation from Indonesia’s Anti-Corruption Committee on Wednesday, Dorri-Najafabadi called for bilateral judicial cooperation, transfer of judicial and legal experience and extradition of criminals.
He said politics in Islam has been based on justice, fairness and observance of the rights of people, IRNA reported.
“Islamic solidarity should turn into a fundamental strategy for Muslim nations and governments. In this way, Muslim states can play an influential role in international events,“ he said.
The prosecutor general said supervisory bodies can also play a great role in preventing and fighting corruption.
Criticizing the double standards of western countries with regard to human rights, he said some world powers are misusing concepts such as democracy, war on terror, peace and justice.
“Muslim countries should reach consensus over a comprehensive definition of terrorism. They should also help devise mechanisms to fight terrorism and safeguard human rights,“ he said.
Underlining the role of fighting corruption, Dorri-Najafabadi spotlighted Islamic principles as the most magnificent benchmark for defining prevention mechanisms.
Abdulrahman Rouki, the head of Indonesia’s Anti-Corruption Committee, highlighted the necessity of boosting bilateral relations in judicial and economic areas.
Rouki also called for mutual cooperation and an active role in international developments.

MASHHAD, Khorasan Razavi, Dec. 12--Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the US seeks to dominate energy resources of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf states.
Hosseini made the remark in a conference dubbed “Reviewing Iran-US Issues“ held in the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Islamic Azad University in Mashhad, IRNA reported.
“Providing security for the Zionist (Israeli) regime, escalating an arms race in the region and making regional countries suspicious of Iran’s policies are among the main goals of US policy in the Middle East,“ he said.
The spokesman noted that following the disintegration of the ex-Soviet Union and the September 11 incident which prepared the grounds for the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, the US sought to expand its hegemonic policies but faced the stiff resistance of Lebanese Hezbollah, Palestinians and Iran.
“The Americans tried to introduce a model of freedom and western-style democracy by occupying Iraq but this was doomed,“ he said.
“The US position in the region is becoming shaky day by day. Even the so-called peace conference in Annapolis failed to guarantee the security of the Zionist regime or bring further domination for the US in the region.“
Referring to Iraq’s insecurity, he said the presence of occupation forces and activities of terrorists groups in the country are among major reasons for Iraqi insecurity.
“If the US changes its policies on Iran, the grounds for expansion of political and economic relations between the two countries would be prepared,“ he said.

Brigadier Ahmad Miqani

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--Commander of the Air Force Brigadier Ahmad Miqani said his forces are designing the most advanced models of missiles, machine guns, radars and military planes.
Speaking to Fars News Agency on Wednesday, Miqani said the Air Force have conducted excellent research in recent months.
He announced that Air Force specialists and engineers are engaged in research projects for developing cutting-edge air defense systems.
“Some of these systems will be unveiled within the next six months and some others in the next few years,“ he said.
Miqani said Air Force equipment and technologies are being updated regularly.
“We intend to produce new generation equipment so that we can address the demands of our defense industries,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki expressed regret on Tuesday over two terrorist bombings in Algeria which killed dozens of people and injured many others.
“The people and government of Iran condemn such terrorist acts and sympathize with the Algerian nation and government,“ Mottaki said in a message to his Algerian counterpart Mourad Medelci, IRNA reported.
According to reports, at least 26 people were killed and 177 were injured when suspected Al-Qaeda militants detonated twin car bombs in the Algerian capital, Algiers, in one of the bloodiest attacks since civil strife in the 1990s.
The Al-Qaeda terrorist group claimed the bombings.
Algeria was rocked by a bloody decade-long insurgency, after the army intervened in 1992 to cancel elections that Islamic fundamentalists were poised to win.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12--A Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday Iran protested to Azerbaijan Republic’s press for accusing the country of backing a group of Islamic activists sentenced to prison terms by a court.
The official also told IRNA on condition of anonymity that this accusation has been fabricated with the aim of sabotaging Iran’s relations with the Azerbaijan Republic.
The official also said Tehran-Baku relations are at an excellent level and rumor-mongering by certain sections of the press cannot damage friendly ties between the two countries.
The allegation came after an Azerbaijan court on Monday convicted more than a dozen people of plotting a coup against the government.
The media claimed that the group had been cooperating with Iran’s special services to mount a coup against the government of President Ilham Aliyev.