President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad receives the credentials of newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador to Iran Xie Xiaoyan in Tehran on Sunday.

TEHRAN, Dec. 23--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said expansion of Tehran-Beijing relations would benefit both the nations.
While receiving the credentials of Xie Xiaoyan, the newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador to Iran on Sunday, the president said, “Such relations will also benefit global peace and security,“ IRNA reported.
Ahmadinejad urged the two governments “to make use of existing potentials in both states to help further expand bilateral cooperation“.
Referring to bright prospects of Tehran-Beijing ties, he said, “The common enemies of the two nations are against progress and development of both Tehran and Beijing.“
Ahmadinejad voiced Tehran’s readiness to boost all-out ties with Beijing.
The Chinese ambassador, for his part, said, “The two countries share identical views regarding several regional and international issues. This approach would pave the way for further expansion of bilateral relations.“
As to Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, Xie said, “Pursuance of peaceful nuclear technology is the inalienable right of Iranian nation.“
He called for further expansion of scientific, cultural, educational, political and economic relations between the two states.
In a meeting with new Croatian Ambassador in Tehran, Esad Prohic, Ahmadinejad said on Sunday commonalties between Iran and Croatia have paved the way for expansion of bilateral ties, stressing that there is no restriction on expansion of ties with Croatia.
“The two nations share identical culture and history,“ he said, adding that such elements would help strengthen bilateral cooperation.
President Ahmadinejad voiced Tehran’s readiness to boost bilateral ties with Zagreb in the fields of technology, energy, industry, agriculture, and trade.
For his part, the Croatian envoy announced his satisfaction with the current level of bilateral relations and called for broadening all-out ties.
Prohic underscored the need for further expansion of economic cooperation between the two
capitals.

CAIRO, Egypt, Dec. 23--Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit has said Tehran and Cairo are holding negotiations to normalize relations.
Speaking to the satellite TV channel Al-Arabiya, the minister added that talks between Iran and Egypt have resumed but are not complete.
Aboul Gheit cautioned against the consequences of any military adventurism of the US and the Zionist Israeli regime against Iran, expressing Egypt’s opposition, Presstv reported.
“Any military attack on Iran would have a serious impact on the region’s stability and security,“ he said.
An Egyptian delegation, headed by Assistant Foreign Minister Hussein Drar, recently visited Tehran and held talks with Iranian officials on bilateral relations.

TEHRAN, Dec. 23--Achieving national consensus is key to ending political crisis in Lebanon, said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
Mottaki stated that Lebanese political factions have reached mutual understanding for electing a new president, raising hopes that the long-running crisis is about to end.
According to Foreign Ministry’s Media Department on Saturday, Mottaki added that the meddling of US President George W. Bush in Lebanon’s political affairs is an insult to the Lebanese nation and political leaders, Presstv reported.
“The Lebanese nation would never overlook the White House support for the Zionist regime during the 34-day war launched by Israel against Lebanon in 2007,“ he said.
He noted that Beirut opened a new chapter in Middle East history by standing up to the Zionists.
Mottaki reiterated the necessity of all Lebanese political parties uniting to overcome the country’s domestic political issues.
“The Islamic Republic believes the solution to the Lebanese issue calls for keeping the influence of Americans out of the country,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Dec. 23--International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has stressed the importance of using “Persian Gulf“ in its documents, maps and information network for the waters adjoining southern Iran.
In the recent meeting of IAPH in Malaysia, the correction of the term “Persian Gulf“ in the association’s documents, maps and information networks was emphasized, Presstv reported.
Mohsen Sadeqifar, director general of Iran’s Ports and Shipping Organization, announced that following the willful distortion of the geographical term “Persian Gulf“ by one of the IAPH participants in the association’s latest meeting and the objection of Iran’s representative, the association made an official apology.

MECCA,
Saudi Arabia,
Dec. 23--Iran’s Ambassador in Riyadh Mohammad Hosseini said amicable Tehran-Riyadh ties have been further bolstered in recent years.
Talking to reporters on Saturday, Hosseini said the official invitation of Saudi King Abdullah for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to perform this year’s Haj rituals indicates amicable relations between the two Muslim countries, IRNA reported.
He said bilateral talks between Ahmadinejad and King Abdullah were “very positive“.
The envoy noted that during the recent meetings held between the two countries’ officials both in Tehran and Riyadh, the solidarity of Muslim world was underscored.
He added that Iranian Haj pilgrims this year faced less problems compared to previous years.
“Tehran and Riyadh have close cooperation at regional and international levels,“ he said, adding that Iran and Saudi Arabia, as two major regional and Muslim states, shoulder heavy responsibility toward all Muslim nations.
Referring to Tehran-Riyadh economic ties, he regretted that bilateral trade stood at only $500 million in 2005 and reached $830 million this year.
He expressed hope that bilateral cooperation in all areas would witness growth in the near future.
President Ahmadinejad, who arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday to perform the Haj rituals, wound up his five-day visit and returned home on Saturday morning.
The Iranian president discussed issues of the Muslim world with the Saudi king on Friday.

The Oil Ministry has been ordered to allocate 1,200 billion rials of its budget to help build border roads and prepare the ground for fortifying borders.

TEHRAN, Dec. 23--Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said the budget allocated to increase border security and patrols is satisfactory.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Majlis session on Sunday, Pour-Mohammadi said any measure to increase security along eastern borders will help cut smuggling of drugs and fuel, IRNA reported.
Referring to the Oil Ministry’s cooperation in fortifying eastern borders, the minister said fuel smuggling accounts for 90 percent of the total smuggling from Iran.
According to Pour-Mohammadi, the Oil Ministry has been ordered to allocate 1,200 billion rials of its budget to promote e-governance, build border roads and prepare the ground for fortifying borders.

TEHRAN, Dec. 23--Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem supported Iran’s stance on acquiring peaceful nuclear technology, saying all nations have the right to access peaceful nuclear technology.
In a meeting with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari in Hanoi on Saturday, he said Vietnam will take steps to acquire nuclear technology in the near future to meet its development requirements, IRNA reported.
He stressed that Vietnam will continue to support Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.
Expressing his satisfaction with the upward trend of mutual ties, Khiem said Vietnam is willing to further expand economic and trade exchanges, and mutual cooperation in the field of gas and oil.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, for his part, voiced Iran’s readiness to expand political and economic ties with Vietnam.
He also conveyed Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki’s invitation to his Vietnamese counterpart to visit Iran.
Safari said the visit to Iran of Vietnamese trade, industries, oil and gas delegations early next year will open a new chapter in bilateral ties.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Dec. 23--Thailand’s Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram said nothing would prevent the expansion of his country’s ties with Iran.
In a meeting on Sunday with the outgoing Iranian Ambassador in Bangkok, Mohsen Pak-Ayeen, the minister added that Thailand welcomes promotion of cooperation with Iran in various areas, IRNA reported.
“Iran is a peace-loving country with an ancient civilization, which plays an important role on the international scene,“ he said, adding that Tehran and Bangkok have suitable grounds for further bolstering cooperation.
Pak-Ayeen, for his part, said expansion of ties with Asian countries is on the agenda of Iran’s foreign policy and expressed hope relations between Iran and Thailand would be further boosted in various political, economic and agricultural fields.
The envoy stressed that Iran’s nuclear activities have been carried out for peaceful purposes.
“Iran has had a very active and rational attitude toward the West with the aim of building confidence, but believes that confidence-building is a two-way street and both parties should be committed to their responsibilities,“ he said.
Pak-Ayeen stated that the West’s double standards would bear no results and urged a fair and peaceful approach in dealing with Iran’s nuclear case as well as other Middle East crises.