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Prayer Time (Tehran)
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Dawn: 5:45
Sunrise: 7:14
Noon: 12:14
Evening: 17:33
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Weather Guide
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TUE |
WED |
Tehran: |
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High: |
-8 oC |
-10oC |
Low: |
-11 oC |
-20oC |
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Athens |
13 |
14 |
Ankara |
-10 |
-6 |
Cairo |
16 |
17 |
Copenhagen |
6 |
6 |
Frankfurt |
8 |
9 |
Karachi |
23 |
21 |
Kuwait City |
8 |
9 |
London |
11 |
9 |
Madrid |
11 |
14 |
Moscow |
-3 |
-3 |
New Delhi |
22 |
23 |
Paris |
9 |
8 |
Riyadh |
6 |
8 |
Rome |
10 |
13 |
Vienna |
3 |
6 |
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Identification
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Published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Address:
Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #212 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran/Iran
Executive Editor:
Editorial Dept. Tel: 88755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 88761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 88500616,88500617
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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Bush’s Mideast Mission Doomed
Arab Papers Slam US
TEHRAN, Jan. 14--US President George W. Bush has failed in his mission to the Middle East, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday evening.
Speaking to Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV network, the minister said Bush tried to cause tension in the Persian Gulf by talking about the fabricated story of a naval standoff in the strategic Strait of Hormuz between Iranian speedboats and a US warship, IRNA reported.
Referring to the increasing trend of bilateral cooperation between Iran and its neighbors in the region, Mottaki said the US officials could not appreciate the historical, religious and cultural commonalities between Iran and other regional countries.
Pointing to baseless accusations leveled against Iran by the US president in his speech in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Sunday, Mottaki said the US was the main cause of extremism in the region as it has been supporting terrorist and extremist groups during the past six years.
“US policies have led to strengthening extremist groups in the region,“ he said.
Mottaki stressed that regional extremism will not benefit any person, country or nation, adding that fanning the fuel of Iranophobia was the objective of Bush’s visit to the region.
Meanwhile, Arab newspapers on Monday accused Bush of trotting out the “old, old story“ of democracy and threatening Iran with the same rhetoric that preceded the Iraq invasion.
“The part about (Iran) intimidating neighbors with alarming rhetoric sounds suspiciously like the US these days, though the Bush administration uses its alarming rhetoric--followed by invasion--to intimidate countries,“ said the Saudi Gazette.
It added: “And still, despite the heightened rhetoric, accusations and threats, the US refuses to hold direct talks with a country in which it has meddled for half a century.
If this is the Bush definition of diplomacy, he needs to pick up a dictionary.“
The United Arab Emirates newspaper, Gulf News, was equally unimpressed with Bush’s Middle East tour on the final year of his eight-year presidency. Its editorial was headlined: “Bush tells us the old, old story.“
Bush’s search for regime change in Iran was in stark contrast to the “more measured Arab approach“ which attempts to “engage Iran in dialogue and work to find a mutual solution to differences“, it said.
Syrian newspapers also slammed Bush for his attempts to rally Arab allies around his policy of hostility toward Tehran.
“In asserting the security of Israel and trying to mobilize Arab hostility against Iran, Bush is drawing up a project of war,“ said the official daily Ath-Thawra.
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Call for Closing Gitmo Prison
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Presidential Message for Persian Gulf States
TEHRAN, Jan. 14--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a message to the six heads of Persian Gulf littoral states on Sunday.
The president’s message was handed over to Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Mohammad Reza Baqeri on Sunday, IRNA reported.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Bureau, in his message, President Ahmadinejad referred to the proposal presented to heads of Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) in Doha which was welcomed by the heads of states.
The president voiced Iran’s readiness to materialize the proposals, which underlined the importance of continued political, security, economic and cultural cooperation between the regional states and called for continuation of such joint meetings.
During the Iranian president’s visit to Doha on Dec. 2, 2007, ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain described the Iranian president’s proposals as “very significant“ and voiced their countries’ determination to broaden relations and cooperation with Iran. They acknowledged that such collective cooperation will benefit all people and help forge regional peace and security.
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No Delay in Turkmen Gas Payment
LONDON, Jan. 14--Iran said on Monday it was up to date with gas payments to Turkmenistan, which cut supplies to Iran last month citing technical issues and has since said Tehran’s failure to meet some payments was delaying repairs.
Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday repeated that supplies were disrupted due to technical problems on the pipeline and said repairs were being hindered by lack of cash.
Iranian officials say Ashkhabad wants to hike the gas price. Asked if Iran had delayed payments for gas it had received as suggested by Turkmenistan, a spokesman for National Iranian Gas Company, Ebadollah Qanbari, told Reuters, “Not at all. Nowhere in our exchange of letters has this been mentioned. We have the same interaction with Turkey. We do not have any delayed payments. We have acted based on the contract.“
Iran has cut its own gas flows to Turkey as a result of the halt in supplies from Turkmenistan.
The statement from Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry read: “It should be noted that a failure by the Iranian side to meet its obligations concerning payments for already received gas from Turkmenistan does not allow to complete repairs on time.“
Iran, a small importer of gas despite its own huge reserves, gets about 5 percent of its needs from Turkmenistan. The supply disruption caused shortages in some northern areas of Iran. The row with Turkmenistan comes at a sensitive time as Iran has been experiencing some of its coldest winter temperatures in decades.
An Iranian TV report and a senior member of parliament have said Turkmenistan wants to double the price of gas it supplies to Iran to $140 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said Turkmenistan must resume gas supplies before any talks over price can start. A news agency quoted him as warning Ashkhabad that Iran would stop buying Turkmen gas if supplies did not resume.
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Leader’s Condolences Over Death of Senior Cleric
TEHRAN, Jan. 14--Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei condoled the nation on the demise of senior cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Ahmad Mojtahedi-Tehrani.
Ayatollah Mojtahedi-Tehrani died on Saturday at the age of 85 after being hospitalized in a Tehran hospital, IRNA reported.
He was the founder of Mojtahedi Theological School in Tehran.
Ayatollah Khamenei said in his message that Ayatollah Mojtahedi-Tehrani had taken “unforgettable efforts“ in extending religious services.
People from different walks of life, including ministers of culture and interior, religious personalities and members of parliament participated in the senior cleric’s funeral ceremony.
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Iraq Sunni Bloc Returning
To Gov’t
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 14--Iraq’s main Sunni Arab bloc said on Monday it was ready to return to Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s Shiite-led administration in an effort to revive the national unity government that collapsed last year.
Sunni Arab Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi, leader of the largest political party in the Accordance Front, appeared to signal a new readiness to strike a deal after parliament on Saturday voted to allow members of Saddam Hussein’s notorious Baath party to return to government jobs, a long-time Sunni Arab demand.
The walkout by the Accordance Front in August left Maliki’s cabinet without any Sunni Arab representation and hurt efforts to draw the minority sect, who were dominant under Saddam, closer into the political process.
“The Front is ready to return to government, but as I said previously we have some demands and we are going to meet the prime minister today to listen to what has been achieved regarding these demands. We are flexible,“ Hashemi said.
He was speaking at a news conference in Baghdad with Abdul Aziz Hakim, leader of Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), Iraq’s most powerful Shiite party.
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Minister Expects
High Voter Turnout
TEHRAN, Jan. 14--Registration of candidates in high numbers for the March 14 parliamentary elections promises a high turnout at the polls, Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi has predicted.
Speaking to Alalam, Pour-Mohammadi said the registered candidates came from a wide range of political and cultural spectrum.
The Interior Ministry said on Saturday that 7,200 people--including 590 women--have registered to participate in the election. Candidates will compete for 290 parliamentary seats.
The interior minister said “the candidates’ political affiliation was not a factor in determining their qualification and they only had to bear the general requirements“ stipulated in the Islamic Republic’s Constitution.
He said the objective of the Interior Ministry was to “pave the ground for free and fair elections“.
The interior minister also tacitly dismissed foreign observers for the elections, stressing that public supervision would guarantee free elections.
Pour-Mohammadi said the role of the media and political parties in the elections is pivotal in the upcoming elections, stressing that they can act as “the primary civic observers“.
He also said the executive, legislative and judiciary branches in Iran are elected by popular suffrage, which in turn can boost the chances of holding an election free of fraud.
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Hezbollah Honored to Be US Enemy
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Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah
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BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 14--The head of Hezbollah has criticized George Bush for calling the resistance group ’terrorist’, saying he is honored to be an enemy of “the Great Satan“.
Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah’s comments came in a speech he made Sunday night in Beirut, which was broadcast on a giant screen in front of thousands of supporters, Alalam.ir reported.
It followed remarks critical of Iran and Hezbollah made by Bush during his visit to the United Arab Emirates.
“I won’t hide it. I felt honored when Bush spoke about Hezbollah and resistance movements because when the Pharaoh and the Great Satan accuse us and considers us enemies...it is an honor for us.“
Earlier in the day in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Bush accused Tehran of undermining peace by supporting the Hezbollah resistance group in Lebanon and Palestinian group Hamas.
Nasrallah noted that since Bush could say nothing about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program he accused the Islamic Republic of supporting ’terrorism’ in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Wherever there is resistance, Iran is accused of supporting resistance movements, and these movements, in Bush’s point of view are terrorists,“ the popular Lebanese resistance leader said.
Nasrallah stressed that Bush himself supports terrorism, killing and wars, referring to the Israeli occupying regime.
“When a country like Iran or Syria supports resistance movements that are defending their children, women, land, homes and holy places against the strongest country in the region, then it is a terrorist state that supports terrorism,“ he said.
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Full of Holes
By Armin Hedayati
George Bush once again displayed lack of depth, intelligence and vision about Iran and its growing influence in the Muslim-Arab world.
In his ongoing 8-day tour of the region, the embattled US ruler indicated in no small measure that he considers all resistance movements like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Lebanon’s Hezbollah organizationÉ as “terrorist groups“. He went out of his way to claim that Iran’s political and moral support for the oppressed Palestinian and Lebanese people and their legitimate cause is tantamount to supporting terrorism.
Visibly disturbed about his own legacy of war and destruction, and the clouded future of its strongest ally that doubles as an outlaw state in the Muslim region (Israel), Bush decided to play the old record.
Trying to hide his desperation over growing calls for his and Dick Cheney’s trial for war crimes, Bush told a weekend meeting in the UAE that “Iran’s actions threaten the security of nations everywhere“.
It goes without saying that his main idea from repeating pretty obsolete stories about Iran is to conceal his miserable failures in this part of the world.
Before he came to the Iranian neighborhood last week, one of America’s most unpopular presidents had said the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, Iran’s nuclear program, and Tehran’s regional policies will to the agenda of his talks with leaders in the strategic region.
However, so far Bush’s stops in several regional capitals have failed to produce anything positive for the fearmonger from Washington and his vastly unpopular administration that dragged the US into two foreign military conflicts in less than three years.
Bush made no secret of his plan to cajole his Arab hosts to forge some sort of consensus against Iran. How far was he successful is anybody’s guess.
What Bush is looking for in his controversial Mideast tour (informed Arab sources believe he invited himself) is not much different than what his secretary of state, Condi Rice, and defense chief Robert Gates tried to make during their visits to the oil-rich region last month.
However, both his top aides returned home empty handed.
One need not be a rocket scientist to understand that none of the Arab leaders who hosted Bush and company believe in the US charges that “Iran is a threat“.
Before his visit, The Chicago Tribune made clear in a write up that Bush is not welcome in the Arab capitals because Arab leaders are deeply concerned about (1) his unequivocal support for Israeli atrocities, (2) US blunders in Iraq and, (3) the Bush White House policy toward Iran.
The London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi in an editorial said Bush II will step on a red carpet in the Middle East that is tainted with the blood of millions of victims of US policies.
Unlike Bush and his aides, regional Arab rulers are not only not worried about Iran, they are steadily moving to improve relations with Tehran.
Arab peoples and their rulers have lost the little confidence they may have had in Bush’s peace plans, thanks to his disturbing support for the occupying power.
The Persian Gulf Arab states also see no apparent reason to invest whatever in the embattled Bush who has less than a year in office and his Mideast policies are full of holes.
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