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Ahmadinejad, Abdullah
Discuss Muslim Issues
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Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (r) and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Mina near Mecca, December 20.
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MINA, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 21--King Abdullah held talks here Thursday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on major regional and international issues as well as ways of strengthening bilateral ties.
Ahmadinejad, the first Iranian president to perform Haj as guest of a Saudi king, arrived in the kingdom on Monday accompanied by top aides. Nearly three million pilgrims from different parts of the Islamic world including several thousands from Iran performed Haj this year, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
“In my discussion with King Abdullah we discussed different ways to consolidate the brotherly relations among Muslim nations,“ Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the Iranian media covering his trip. He described Tehran’s relations with Riyadh as “friendly,“ adding: “The message of my presence here is boosting ties among Islamic nations.“
Iranian pilgrims expressed hope that Ahmadinejad’s participation in the pilgrimage would help repair ties between the Islamic republic and its Arab neighbors.
“Ahmadinejad’s Haj, since it comes at the invitation of the Saudi king, shows that Muslim nations are supporting one another in times of need,“ an Iranian teacher said. “Having ties with big Arab nations is a sign of unity among Muslims, and the West will understand that it cannot divide Shiites and Sunnis,“ said Hossein, a trader from Mashhad in northeastern Iran.
Earlier this month, Ahmadinejad attended a summit of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council in Qatar, becoming the first Iranian president to attend a PGCC summit. Addressing the summit, the president tried to allay fears of his Persian Gulf neighbors and presented a 12-point program to promote relations between Tehran and the six-member PGCC.
In his speech at the summit, Ahmadinejad offered to sign a security pact with the PGCC that groups Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the UAE.
“I personally hope that President Ahmadinejad will be able to successfully implement his plans and improve Iran’s international situation (as a result of the pilgrimage),“ said university student Ali Rahmati. Ahmadinejad was elected president in 2005.
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US Interrogated Detainee For 42 Months
BAGHDAD, Iraq,
Dec. 21--Iran’s ambassador to Iraq said an Iranian citizen had been subjected to repeated interrogations while in the custody of US forces for 3.5 years.
“The Americans yesterday (Tuesday) released Mr. (Seyyed) Heydar Alavi, who spent more than three and half years in US custody,’’ Hassan Kazemi Qomi told AP on Wednesday.
“When they released him, he (Alavi) told us that the entire time he was in custody, he was interrogated repeatedly about what he was doing in Iraq,’’ Qomi noted.
The Iranian government had to ask Iraqis to get information about Alavi since the US officials refused to give information about his condition, Qomi stated.
“His business in Iraq was legitimate, official and conducted in cooperation with the Iraqi government,“ Qomi underlined referring to baseless American allegations that Iran is involved in Iraq’s violence.
The ambassador appreciated efforts by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani for helping free Alavi who was detained in Kurdistan in July 2004.
Five other Iranian diplomats and officials as well as 20 Iranian citizens are still in US detention, Qomi stated.
The detention of Iranians in Iraq is one of the issues that continues to mar ties with the US, which freed nine Iranian prisoners on Nov. 9.
A US military spokeswoman said US forces were still holding “approximately 10“Iranians after Tuesday’s release.
The two countries were expected to hold talks in Baghdad this week on Iraqi security, but the meeting was delayed following a scheduling conflict.
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Bushehr Launch Set for Late 2008
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Satellite image of the nuclear facility in Bushehr.
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MOSCOW, Dec. 21--Iran’s first Russian-built nuclear power plant will not start operating before late 2008, the head of the company in charge of its construction said Thursday.
``I can say with certainty that the plant won’t be launched before late 2008,’’ Sergei Shmatko, the head of the Atomstroiexport company building the nuclear plant in the southern port of Bushehr, said on a trip to China, AP quoted Russian news reports as saying.
Russia on Monday made its first shipment of nuclear fuel to the Bushehr plant, paving the way for the long-delayed startup of the 1,000-megawatt light-water reactor. Russian officials have said that fuel deliveries would begin about half a year before Bushehr was expected to go into service, but they remained coy about the precise launch date.
The US on Monday said it supports Russia providing enriched uranium to Iran so long as Moscow retrieves the used reactor fuel for reprocessing, as stipulated in an agreement between Russia and Iran.
A spokeswoman for the Russian contractor on the flagship project, Atomstroiexport, confirmed that it would take at least a year to start the power station.
“We can predict that the Bushehr station will be launched no earlier than the end of 2008 due to the current situation,“ Irina Yesipova told AFP.
On Tuesday the deputy head of Iran’s atomic energy organization, Mohammad Saeedi, said he hoped the 1,000 megawatt plant in the southern city of Bushehr could come on line within three months at up to 200 megawatts before being cranked up to full capacity nine months later.
Yesipova said the Russian timeframe was not a question of delays, but of the amount of time needed to deliver fuel and carry out tests on the station.
Yesipova also said it would take nearly two months to complete the delivery of nuclear fuel to Bushehr.
Six months after that, tests would start on launching the station itself, she said.
“Six months after the end of deliveries of fuel we will start tests with the fuel. When the tests are successfully completed we can launch the station. I can’t say how long the tests will last.
“A deviation from the schedule risks having a negative effect on the security of the power station,“ she said.
Referring to the Iranian side’s expectations of a faster launch, she said “the official who made this statement was probably not appraised of the technical issues. There is a technical schedule of work and we cannot deviate from it.“
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IRGC Produces Gun Simulator Technology
TEHRAN, Dec. 21 -- Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps have succeeded in producing a simulator for training troops on ways to use semi-heavy weapons.
This is the first time in the Middle East that experts of Hazrat-e Amir Al-Momenin (AS) have gained access to heavy machinegun simulator technology, ISNA reported.
Advantages of the IRGC’s new product called ’Fath-5’ are that it reduces in-training risks and reduces training costs.
The domestically-made simulator is currently being mass produced by the Defense Ministry and used in several military training centers.
Fath-5 is used while coaching troops on the use of weapons like heavy machineguns, mortars and the Dushka antiaircraft guns.
The simulator can be deployed under different weather conditions and also has night-vision capability.
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4 Jundollah
Members Taken Out
TEHRAN, Dec. 21 -- Police in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan dismantled a terrorist group killing four ringleaders.
Law enforcement authorities in the city of Iranshahr confirmed that the group, Jundollah, was involved in terrorist attacks and sabotage across the country, Presstv reported.
Four of its members were involved in the murder of 12 Iranians in a roadside attack last year in the province bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, state television said.
“Police and security forces jointly...killed four Jundollah ringleaders who played key roles in the group’s terror syndicate,“ a TV report said citing a statement from the Intelligence Ministry.
The terror outfit led by Abdul Malek Rigi, in February claimed responsibility for an attack on members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps that killed 11 people. In March 2006, the group said it was behind an attack that killed 22 others.
Iran’s porous southeast frontiers are a major smuggling route for narcotics and other contraband. More than 3,300 Iranian security personnel have died in the fight against illicit drugs and the ’merchants of death“ since the 1979 revolution.
Tourists have been advised not to travel in the area at night.
Police also confiscated explosives and weapons from the terrorist hideout, including 150 pounds of TNT, six remote-control devices and six electronic detonators.
In another recent operation police killed 12 men and arrested 10 others of a terrorist cell in the same city and confiscated a cache of explosives and bombs.
Iran has repeatedly charged that the Bush regime of financing, training and backing banned groups in Iran in the framework of Washington’s anti-Iran campaign for which the US Congress this year officially earmarked USD 75 million.
Regional experts and former US spies have been quoted as saying that the figure could be much higher.
The self-styled but increasingly marginalized superpower makes no secret of arming banned ethnic groups to destabilize the country and make up for some of its mounting humiliation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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MP Optimistic About Growth
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Mohammad Reza Bahonar
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TEHRAN, Dec. 21--Majlis First Vice Speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar said here Thursday the nation has paid a hefty price for its independence and dignity that were not gained only by sloganeering.
Addressing a conference “Role of Export in Development and Entrepreneurship“ in Kerman, the lawmaker said “Today US allegations against Iran are not restricted to the peaceful nuclear program. Issues such as biotechnology, human rights and support for terrorism are likely to be questioned in the future.“
Bahonar was of the opinion that the Iranian economy will be subjected to fundamental changes after implementing the renewed interpretation of Article 44 of the Constitution, IRNA reported. The key article calls for widespread privatization of important segments of the economy that were earlier considered the exclusive domain of the government.
Meanwhile, Governor General of Kerman province Mohammad Raoufinejad said the government has undertaken positive moves in supporting infrastructural investment in his province.
As a result new jobs are being created for the youth and the large numbers of unemployed in this southeastern region.
“In 2005 unemployment was about 14.8 percent. Now it is 11 percent.“
A refinery, two free zones, four petrochemical and three steel plants will soon be constructed in the province, the official said.
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Poor Publicity
SIYASAT-E ROUZ: Perhaps judicial officials are tired of criticisms by people, students and media about the leniency shown to those who are guilty of economic corruption. The judiciary can definitely boast of some achievements. However, the judiciary’s poor interaction with the public, media and students in particular, is a disadvantage. Its performance in disseminating information about economic corruption and providing inadequate clarification about the progress made in the anti-corruption campaign has marred the face of this branch of power. The tenure of Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi will end in less than two years, if he is not reinstated by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei for a third term. The judiciary should take initiatives in the remaining period to compensate for deficiencies. This pertains to not only the campaign against corruption but also initiatives to inform the people about its performance.
Conspiracy
QODS: Donors recently held a meeting in Paris to provide the Palestinian Authority with more funds. Representatives from 90 countries and international organizations pledged more than $5.6 billion in financial aid to PA Chief Mahmoud Abbas, bypassing the hapless Gaza residents who are facing a humanitarian crisis. The Zionist Israeli regime and the Untied States are bankrolling Abu Mazen to isolate Hamas in Gaza Strip. The so-called peace conference held in Annapolis was geared at legitimizing Israel. However, US President George W. Bush failed to persuade participants to toe the Israeli line. After the failure of the Annapolis conference, the meeting in Paris is also doomed. The new plan is to fund the Palestinian Authority and marginalize Hamas. It is actually a conspiracy to instigate a civil war in the occupied Palestinian territories by making things difficult for the Gaza government and residents.
Evident
HAMSHARI: The reasons behind high inflation in Iran are evident. The government is responsible for the growing inflation because of its inflationary policies that include: 1- Prevailing budget deficit and high government expenses, 2- Injecting billions of rials through bank facilities into businesses with quick returns, 3- Reducing bank lending rates, 4- Granting Justice Shares, 5- Overusing petrodollars from the Oil Stabilization Fund, and 6- Increasing imports. If the government is determined to cut inflation, it should revise policies in the abovementioned areas and implement efficient economic theories.
Building Bonds
TEHRAN-E EMROUZ: Hajj pilgrimage is undoubtedly one of the most magnificent rituals in Islam which helps foster unity and fraternity among the Ummah. Muslims around the globe flock to Mecca and Medina each year to perform the minor and major hajj. The former is arbitrary while the latter is mandatory for those who can afford it. Whatever kind of hajj Muslims may perform, the gesture manifests itself in political, social and religious terms to help strengthen bonds between the billion plus followers of the divine faith.
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