Mohammad Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian (Photo by Ali Hassanpour)

TEHRAN, Jan. 15--The Asian Parliamentary Association is planning to set up a joint energy market to promote regional cooperation in different energy sectors.
Mohammad Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian, secretary-general of APA, told reporters on Tuesday a joint Asian energy market will help boost relations among the regional states in the energy sector.
He said an energy market will help balance supply and demand for energy in the region, boost investments and reduce the transport costs.
“A joint energy market system in Asia will help boost cooperation in transferring energy, attracting investments and expediting energy projects,“ he said.
Nejad-Hosseinian said six Asian states, namely Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Indonesia, Kuwait and Russia, have expressed their readiness to form the core of this energy market.
He said the joint energy market will be formulated as an organization and aim to meet the energy demands of member-states.
Commenting on APA, Nejad-Hosseinian said he aims to turn it into an Asian Union to facilitate measures to eradicate poverty and corruption, and promote peace, friendship and cooperation through dissemination of new technologies among Asian nations.
Of the 56 Asian states, 40 are members of APA. More than 70 percent of the world’s oil resources are in Asia that has a population of more than four billion.
Asian countries undertake 40 percent of the world’s total trade.

TEHRAN, Jan 15--Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema has dismissed US President George W. Bush’s fresh vitriol against Iran, saying Rome does not consider Iran a threat to world security.
In an interview with the Channel 3 of the Italian TV, D’Alema said the harsh remark by the president of the world’s most powerful country that Iran threatens the security of all countries is overblown, Alalam.ir reported.
Bush claimed on Sunday in the United Arab Emirates that Iran is threatening the security of the world and that the US and Arab allies must join hands to confront the danger “before it’s too late“.
“Iran’s actions threaten the security of nations everywhere,“ Bush claimed.
“So the United States is strengthening our longstanding security commitments with our friends in the (Persian) Gulf, and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late.“
Italy is one of Iran’s largest trading partners and the head of Italian oil major ENI said in November it will not abandon its contracts in the Islamic Republic.
Last Wednesday, the National Iranian Oil Company and Italian power utility Edison signed a $107-million contract on Wednesday to help develop an oil exploration block in the Persian Gulf.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki (r) in talks with the chairman of the German Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Ruprecht Polenz, in Tehran on Tuesday.

TEHRAN, Jan. 15--Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the United Nations Security Council should return Iran’s nuclear case to the UN nuclear watchdog.
In a meeting with the visiting chairman of the German Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Ruprecht Polenz, in Tehran on Tuesday, Mottaki added that Iran has carried out its nuclear activities in a transparent manner and remains committed to continue cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), IRNA reported.
“Iran has proved that imposition of sanctions will have no impact on its economy and not make it relinquish the nation’s inalienable rights,“ he said. He noted that Iran has no hesitation in continuing bilateral and international cooperation with Germany, but has made it a point to pursue its ties with Europe, Germany in particular, with the greatest possible care.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is in the process of formulating comprehensive plans for the new round of cooperation with its economic and trade partners,“ he said.
Polenz, for his part, said the continuation of Iran-IAEA cooperation would lead to positive results.
The German official also said Berlin believes Iran has significant potential for expansion of ties with the EU and Germany, stressing that Germany could become an excellent partner for Iran in implementing its development projects in the energy sector.
Polenz arrived to Tehran late on Monday and is expected to discuss global issues with Iranian officials. He is accompanied by Michael Fuchs, another senior member of the German Bundestag.
He is scheduled to attend a press conference with the head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, on the final day of his two-day visit to the Iranian capital.

TEHRAN, Jan. 15--Iran’s prosecutor general called on Tuesday for the trial of US President George W. Bush and his allies for making threats and launching psychological campaigns against other countries.
Qorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi also told IRNA that Bush’s psychological campaign against Iran is not a serious issue, as threats have always been part of Washington’s strategies.
He noted that the US president intended to undermine Iran in his Abu Dhabi address in order to give the green light to the Zionists to launch incursions into Gaza.
“Bush has been callous against Iran in the name of democracy, makes negative propaganda and opposes Iran instead of addressing the problems of his own country,“ he said.
He pointed out that Bush should bear in mind that the Muslim states of the region have coexisted peacefully for hundreds of years and that the security of the region can only be secured by the people of the region.
Dorri-Najafabadi underlined that Muslims will not be deceived by professional criminals, warning the White House officials that they cannot proceed with their conspiracies.

Alireza Jamshidi

TEHRAN, Jan. 15--Judiciary Spokesman Alireza Jamshidi said inefficiency in information dissemination has led to some reports against Iran in the international community.
Speaking to domestic and foreign reporters on Tuesday, Jamshidi called on the Foreign Ministry to reflect Iran’s achievements in the field of human rights, IRNA reported.
Referring to the Amnesty International report on stoning to death in Iran, parts of which were published recently, he said, “We cannot inform other countries about our judicial system’s key achievements because of inefficiency in information dissemination.“
The official noted that some of the ill-intentioned and untrue reports against Iran are made by Mujahideen Khalq Organization
Noting that Iran has made great achievements in the field of human rights, Jamshidi expressed hope that such reports will not appear in future due to a comprehensive information dissemination.
The judiciary spokesman announced that 11 university students, arrested in the past few months, would be released soon.
“The initial investigation of the cases is being completed and they will be released on bail in the coming days,“ he said, without elaborating further.
Jamshidi also said a court has sentenced three state gas company managers to 10 years in jail and 74 lashes each for taking bribes totaling 23 billion rials ($2.45 million).
He said the three unnamed officials were also fined 8 billion rials each and the contractors who paid the bribes have been jailed for three years, IRIB quoted him as saying.
“These managers planned bids in a way that those contractors won them,“ he said.
Jamshidi did not specify the number of contractors involved.
The verdict can be appealed.

ATHENS, Greece, Jan. 15--Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri met with Greek Foreign minister Dora Bakuyianni on Monday.
The two sides exchanged views on bilateral ties and regional developments, particularly the ongoing crises in Iraq and Afghanistan, and progress observed in resolving problems related to Iran’s nuclear program, IRNA reported.
The Greek foreign minister said Tehran-Athens ties have historical roots, adding that Greek is determined to boost relations with Iran.
Bakuyianni noted that Greece’s respect for Iran’s right to access nuclear energy for peaceful purposes remains unchanged and expressed hope that Iran’s nuclear program would strengthen the foundations of peace and stability in the region.
She also hoped that relations between Iran and the EU would improve as a result of solving issues related to Iran’s nuclear program in the near future, which would lead to “further improvement in Tehran-Athens relations“.
“Greek is one of the EU members that has always favored continuation of comprehensive dialogue with Iran at all levels,“ she said.
Bakuyianni considered expansion of economic ties with Iran a necessity, expressing Athens’ interest in resumption of the activities of their joint economic commission, as well as the establishment of an Iran-Greek Chamber of Commerce.
In response to Baqeri’s invitation, the Greek foreign minister said she would be glad to visit Iran.