Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi (c) inaugurates a research and technology exhibition in Tehran on Saturday.

TEHRAN, Dec. 15--Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi said Iran ranks 30th among leading scientific countries.
Speaking at the ceremony to commemorate research and technology at the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults on Saturday, Zahedi said last year patents have been issued for some 100 inventions by the Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Mehr News Agency reported.
The minister noted that at least 1 percent of the executive bodies’ budget will be allocated to research activities next year, adding that the Technology and Science Commission intends to allocate part of the budget to contracts signed by executive bodies with universities.
He stated that the commission, affiliated to the High Council of Science, Research and Technology, should manage research activities.
“Science Ministry’s goal is to make the studies of the members of universities’ scientific boards goal-oriented,“ he said, adding that ministers of energy, oil, industries and defense welcomed the proposals of the members of universities’ scientific boards.
Zahedi also said Iran should strengthen youth creativity and help them express their views.

LONDON, Dec. 15--The British government failed on Friday to keep an anti-Iran group on its list of proscribed terrorist organizations and would take the case to the Court of Appeal, the Home Office announced.
The Proscribed Organizations Appeal Commission (POAC) rejected an application by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith against its November 30 ruling that the Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO) should no longer be blacklisted, AFP reported.
The move came as the group is on the terror lists of the European Union and the United States for carrying out several deadly bombings against innocent Iranians.
Home Office Minister Tony McNulty claimed he was disappointed at the decision and would now seek to take the case to the Court of Appeal.
“The government adopted a cautious approach in relation to the de-proscription of the Mujahideen Khalq Organization,“ he said in a statement.
“I remain convinced that where terrorism is concerned, the rights of the law-abiding majority and the overriding need to protect the public, both in the UK and abroad, must lead us to take such a cautious approach. I firmly believe that we should be entitled to take this view.“
McNulty said those on the proscribed list were reviewed regularly but the department would look again at its processes to ensure such groups are treated fairly, proportionately and in accordance with the law.
The original case was taken to the MKO by a cross-party group of 35 British lawmakers, including a former home secretary and solicitor general plus senior ranking Scottish and European judges.
Chairman of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom, Robin Corbett, said Smith “should now admit to the mistake“ and implement the MKO ruling.

TEHRAN, Dec. 15--Defense Ministry specialists have produced the next generation of medium- and long-range radars.
According to Fars News Agency on Saturday, advanced radar systems have been developed through the know-how of Iranian engineers.
The radars have been developed in Iran’s Communications Industries Company (SaIran), which is affiliated to the Defense Ministry, after years of research.
They enjoy high capabilities of intercepting warplanes and missiles even at high altitudes.
Defense Ministry officials say only a few countries possess the technology of manufacturing such radars.

TEHRAN, Dec. 15--Azerbaijan Republic’s ambassador to Iran was summoned on Saturday by Foreign Ministry over recent claims by the country’s officials and media.
According to the ministry’s Information and Media Department, director general of Asia-Pacific and the Commonwealth of Independent States’ Office of the ministry, Morteza Saffari, urged the Azeri envoy Abbas Ali Hasanov to convey Iran’s official protest to the Azerbaijan government, IRNA reported.
Saffari also demanded an official apology from those who made the allegation.
On Saturday, Azerbaijan’s security agency claimed that 15 people convicted this week of treason and sedition had passed information on US, British and Israeli activities in the ex-Soviet republic to Iranian intelligence.
The Court for Grave Crimes on Monday sentenced members of the “Said Group“ to lengthy prison sentences in a case that highlighted Azerbaijan’s concern over the influence of neighboring Iran.
In a statement released on Saturday, the National Security Ministry revealed new details about the group, which allegedly passed to Iranian agents details on western embassies, companies, pipeline operations and employees operating in Azerbaijan during 2005-6.
Two members of the group met repeatedly with Iranian agents in Tehran and other cities where they received training, equipment, maps, instructions and more than $10,000 in funding, the ministry claimed.
The 15 were arrested in January on suspicion of crimes, including plotting to forcefully seize power, treason, organizing a criminal group, possession of weapons and drugs, and counterfeiting.

TEHRAN, Dec. 15--Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Dirar said his country supports Iran’s right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology.
In an interview with the Tehran-based Arabic Daily ’Al-Vefaq’ published on Saturday, he said Cairo would defend Tehran’s efforts in this regard.
Dirar announced that Cairo would resume its peaceful nuclear program soon, IRNA quoted.
Terming his meetings with Iranian officials as “positive and constructive“, he said the two countries have emphasized further expansion of cooperation.
Dirar arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for a two-day visit to confer with Iranian officials on expansion of mutual ties as well as regional and international developments.
While in Tehran, Dirar submitted a written letter from Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit to his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki on Tehran-Cairo ties.

NEW DELHI, India, Dec. 15--India’s Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon left for Tehran on Saturday to help strengthen age-old bilateral and civilizational relations.
Energy ties and the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline are expected to dominate talks between India and Iran over the next three days during the visit of Menon to Tehran, IRNA reported.
Iran’s standoff with the West over its nuclear program will also be discussed.
Citing its civilizational ties with Iran, India has opposed “coercion and threats“ against Tehran, saying these will not help resolve the problem.
New Delhi has been favoring a negotiated solution to the issue within the IAEA framework.
Menon is likely to call on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

TEHRAN, Dec. 15--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday congratulated Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa on the country’s national day.
In his message, Ahmadinejad expressed hope that Iran-Bahrain cooperation would expand further in line with the two nations’ mutual interests, IRNA reported.
President Ahmadinejad also felicitated the Bahraini government and nation on the National Day.
First Vice President Parviz Davoudi, in a separate message, congratulated Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa on the same occasion.
Also on Saturday, Ahmadinejad expressed felicitations to his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev on the country’s National Day.
In his message, Ahmadinejad said Iran and Kazakhstan enjoy deep historical and cultural bonds and added that such bonds have paved the way for further expansion of cooperation between the two countries in recent years.
Davoudi also congratulated the Kazakh government and nation on the auspicious occasion in a separate message to Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov.

Justice Minister Gholamhossein Elham (r) and Tanzanian Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Mary Michael Nagu exchange a document in Tehran on Saturday.

TEHRAN, Dec. 15--Justice Minister Gholamhossein Elham has called for the expansion of bilateral legal and judicial cooperation with Tanzania.
In a meeting with Tanzanian Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Mary Michael Nagu on Saturday, Elham said Iran’s Islamic judicial system is ready to share its experience with Tanzania in the fields of drafting laws, holding trials and fighting crime, Presstv reported.
“No obstacle can prevent the expansion of ties between the two countries. Dar Es Salaam and Tehran should promote legal and judicial cooperation in line with their good cultural and economic ties,“ he said.
Referring to Iran’s “important and strategic“ ties with African countries following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he said Iran and Tanzania have strengthened mutual ties thanks to their Islamic and common stances against injustice, poverty and racism.
The Iranian minister praised Tanzania’s stance in defense of the oppressed Palestinian people and its vote in support of Iran’s human rights situation at the United Nations.
The Tanzanian minister, for her part, called for strengthening legal and judicial cooperation with Iran.

ISFAHAN, Dec. 15--Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said on Friday great efforts have been made for the arrest of the murderer of a French national in this central city.
A French man, 24-year-old Julien van Waesberghe, was shot dead by a known criminal in the city of Isfahan, one of the country’s main tourist draws on Sunday, IRNA reported.
Talking to reporters, the Iranian minister expressed hope that the culprit will be arrested and handed over to the judiciary soon.
The city of Isfahan, in central Iran, is a former imperial capital which is home to a cluster of historically important palaces and mosques around the UNESCO-listed Naqsh-e Jahan Square, one of the largest in the world.
Visited by thousands of foreign tourists each year, the city is not considered a risky destination.
The police statement said the murderer was a 27-year-old man from the southern city of Shiraz and was on the run after police recently arrested members of his criminal group following an armed robbery. The murderer had also killed a member of the security forces earlier.