Mahnoud Ahmadinejad

TEHRAN, Jan. 1--President Mahnoud Ahmadinejad said expansion of ties with African nations tops Iran’s foreign policy agenda.
During a telephone conversation on Tuesday with Comoros’ President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, Ahmadinejad stressed on boosting mutual ties with this African island country, Fars News Agency reported.
“Iran is ready to transfer its invaluable experiences to African nations,“ he said.
Comoro’s president, for his part, briefed President Ahmadinejad on latest

Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi

developments in his country.
Comoros is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel between northern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique with a population of 798,000.
On Monday, President Ahmadinejad felicitated Guatemalan President-elect Alvaro Colom upon his election victory.
In his message cabled to Guatemala, Ahmadinejad expressed hope that bilateral relations would develop in view of the efforts of senior Iranian-Guatemalan officials.
Ahmadinejad called for exploring the two countries’ potentials to boost economic cooperation in light of the current friendly ties.

TEHRAN, Jan. 1--Former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss said Iran does not pose any threat to Middle East countries.
In an interview with Kuwait’s Al-Qabas newspaper published on Monday, Al-Hoss stressed that Iran is a supporter of Arab countries in the region, IRNA reported.
He added that those who claim Iran is a threat are pursuing their own political agenda.
“Those who are doubtful about Iran’s role in the region rely on the US as a superpower. They should know that the US is only a failed power,“ he said.
Al-Hoss pointed out that the US has launched many wars after World War II, but has not achieved complete victory in any of them.

QOM, Jan. 1--Following the implementation of the Social Security Plan, crimes have declined by 15 to 60 percent in different fields, an official said.
Addressing a gathering held in Dar-ul-Shafa Theological School in Qom province on Tuesday, Police Chief Brigadier General Esmaeel Ahmadi-Moqaddam added that the plan has played a key role in promoting the culture of Hijab (Islamic dress code) in the country, Mehr News Agency reported.
“The 21duties assigned to the police by Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution include enforcement of Hijab and the police forces are fulfilling their duties,“ he said.
Ahmadi-Moqaddam noted that promotion of social security calls for the cooperation of people and cultural institutes with the police.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said security coefficient has increased by 15 percent compared with last year.
Pour-Mohammadi made the remark in a meeting of Tehran’s administrative office on Tuesday.
“The government faced various problems in different sectors, including security, when it took office, but it solved them with the cooperation of people and executive bodies and now Iran enjoys a high level of security,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Jan. 1--Iran says it is willing to send a delegation to neighboring Pakistan to extend Tehran’s condolences on the demise of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto.
After signing the condolence book at the Pakistani Embassy in Tehran on Monday, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, “On behalf of the Iranian nation, I wish to express our solidarity with the people of Pakistan in this hour of grief.“
“The loss of Benazir Bhutto is a serious blow to the security and stability of Pakistan,“ he said, Presstv reported.
Bhutto was killed on Thursday when a gunman shot at her and then blew himself up as Bhutto was leaving a rally ahead of elections slated for January 8.
On Monday, Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said that Iran did not attend the funeral procession of the assassinated Pakistani prime minister due to “the special situation in Pakistan“.
“Iran voiced its readiness to take part in the funeral but Pakistani officials did not agree with it due to the special situation in the country“ resulting from Bhutto’s assassination.
Referring to the late Bhutto’s assassination as “a tragic event“, Hosseini expressed hope that peace would be restore to Pakistan as soon as
possible.

Jafar Edrisi (l) and Nasim Yousefi started their trip in July 2007 from Iran.

PHILADELPHIA, USA, Jan. 1--An Iranian couple, who had embarked on a 20,000-km journey around the world to promote peace and environment conservation, arrived in the US.
Jafar Edrisi and Nasim Yousefi started their trip in July 2007 from Iran and pedaled through Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada before arriving in the US, Presstv reported.
During their short stop in the US, they planted six ’peace trees’ in different states, bringing the total number of trees so far planted on their way to 18.
In addition to promoting peace in the world, the planting of trees are intended to raise public awareness of the world’s critical environmental situation.
“We believe in a close connection between peace and the environment. Without a sustainable environment we, as a species, have little chance of surviving longer on this planet. On the other hand, without peace no one will believe in the indispensability of a robust environment,“ the couple said.
The cyclist couple is planning to continue on their way to Japan, China, Nepal, India and Pakistan, before bringing their long journey full circle to Iran.

TEHRAN, Jan. 1--China’s new Ambassador to Iran Xie Xiaoyan held talks on Tuesday with Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini on bilateral and international issues.
The ambassador outlined his diplomatic mission and political experiences in other countries, noting that the new mission in Iran is important, IRNA reported.
He expressed hope that the two friendly nations will seize all opportunities to expand mutual cooperation.
Referring to his plans in Iran, he added that if the mass media play their role appropriately, the people of the two countries will find an opportunity to get acquainted with each other in line with growing bilateral cooperation.
Hosseini, for his part, pointed to longstanding cooperation between the two countries, wishing the new Chinese ambassador all success in Iran.
Underlining the necessity of precise information dissemination by the media, Hosseini said the enhancement of media exchanges between Iran and China will counter biased western media plots.

TEHRAN, Jan. 1--An official highlighted Iran’s role in strengthening the globalization process.
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei,, the newly-appointed head of National Globalization Research Center who is also in charge of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, also told IRNA on Tuesday that globalization process is of great interest to scientists and academics, therefore Iran should make more investment in this important area of research and development.
“Globalization would bring nations closer,“ he said.
“There are numerous difficulties and crises in the path of globalization, which makes the process especially crucial and in need of ever greater attention,“ he said.
The National Globalization Research Center was launched to encourage scientific and research projects by Iranian experts in cooperation with academics from around the world.
Mashaei was appointed to the post by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on December 30.

TEHRAN, Jan. 1--The Judiciary Complex for Economic Affairs disclosed on Tuesday the identity of a major fuel smuggler.
The complex announced that Parviz Nasirvand, 38, has been found guilty of illegally transferring 30,000 liters of diesel. He was fined 1.5 billion rials, Fars News Agency reported.
The government implemented the gasoline rationing plan as part of its efforts to organize fuel consumption last June leading to a considerable decline in gasoline trafficking, according to officials.

The number of legal Afghans with a residential permits is 925,000.

TEHRAN, Jan. 1--The total number of Afghans legally or illegally residing in Iran is 2.5 million.
Seyyed Taqi Qaemi, the Interior Ministry’s director general of the Bureau of Aliens and Foreign Immigrant Affairs, noted that the Interior Ministry will soon launch the third phase of computation for foreign nationals and refugees, IRNA reported.
He noted that it will include collection of data of foreign nationals who received the identity card in the second phase and are considered legal immigrants.
“For the first time, this program is being carried out via the Internet. Foreign nationals can register for the third phase by visiting the website at www.amayesh.ir,“ he said.
The official pointed out that the third phase will be held during Jan. 5-March 5.
“Residents of Isfahan, Bushehr, Tehran, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, Khuzestan, Semnan, Fars, Qazvin, Qom, Kerman, Golestan, Mazandaran, Markazi, Hormuzgan and Yazd can take part in the third phase of spatial planning for Afghans,“ he said.
Qaemi declared that the number of legal Afghans who have a residential permit is 925,000 and some 1.5 million illegal foreign nationals remain in the country.