Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini expressed condolences to the people and government of Myanmar over the human tragedy caused by the devastating cyclone on Friday and Saturday.

The file photo shows Iranian residents in the US protesting against the anti-Iran movie Ô300Õ.

Iran’s ambassador in Malaysia, Mehdi Khandaq-Abadi, and a group of Iranian expatriates protested on Tuesday to the Malaysian government over a cable TV’s plan to screen an anti-Iran movie later this month.
In a meeting with Malaysia’s Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the Iranian ambassador strongly protested against the plan by Malaysia’s Astro cable channel, IRNA reported.
Iranians consider the film ’300’ an affront to their country’s civilization and identity.
The channel plans to show the disgraced movie on May 25.
Several Iranians were present in the meeting where a protest note was submitted to Shabery Cheek on behalf of over 10,000 Iranian residents in Malaysia about the offensive Hollywood movie.
The film is a Warner Bros. Pictures production based on a novel by Frank Miller. It has fabricated history by depicting a war between ancient Iran and Greece, depicting Iranians as demons, cultureless and without feeling or humanity, who think of nothing except attacking other nations and killing people.
It lacks historical credibility and portrays ancient Persians as cruel and blood-thirsty, despite the historical fact that they have been very modest, friendly and culturally rich.
Iranian officials have described the Hollywood’s insulting movie as “a hostile behavior resulting from its cultural and psychological warfare“.
A petition against the film on the Internet, which referred to the film as “irresponsible, unethical and unscientific“, was signed by over 35,000 visitors.

Iran’s IAEA envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh warned against efforts to blame states without nuclear weapons for ongoing proliferation concerns.
Addressing the NPT Review Conference and its Preparatory Committees in Geneva on Monday, Soltanieh said some countries are attempting to wrongly induce that proliferation concerns only pertain to non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS), IRNA reported.
“Through a false and misleading propaganda, they similarly try to describe nuclear energy as the synonym of nuclear weapons. This is while all nuclear activities of the NNWS that have signed the NPT are under the full-scope safeguards of the IAEA and they have already forgone the nuclear option and pose no threat to others,“ he said.
Soltanieh said the NPT Review Conference and its Preparatory Committees cannot easily overlook that certain NNWS, in contravention of their legal undertakings, promote nuclear weapons in their defense and security doctrines and sell these weapons to others.
The Iranian envoy also said non-compliance of Article I by the said NNWS and lack of any guarantee for the verification of such violations have seriously challenged the principles and purposes of the NPT.
He called for prioritizing the non-compliance of certain nuclear weapons states in the next NPT Review Conference.
Soltanieh highlighted the International Atomic Energy Agency’s efforts to improve the efficiency of the safeguards system.

Root Causes
“The root causes of non-confidence in the efficiency of the safeguards are as follows: Lack of balance between rights and obligation; Lack of balance between obligations of nuclear weapons states and non-nuclear weapons states; Discriminatory and double standard policies and approach; Engagement of the safeguards in activities beyond statutory legal obligations under the pretext of completeness and correctness, or politically-motivated decisions of the Board of Governors, has created serious concerns for the majority of member-states; and Non-adherence of the only non-party in the Middle East, namely the Zionist regime which has acknowledged the possession of nuclear weapons, conducting nuclear weapons activities and having facilities beyond any international surveillance, including the IAEA’s Comprehensive Safeguards,“ he said.
Soltanieh noted that the status quo cannot be sustained and no additional measure in strengthening safeguards can be accepted by non-nuclear weapons states unless these serious constraints and discriminations are removed.
“In the course of the meeting, unfortunately some western delegations, especially from the US, the UK, Australia, Japan and France, tried to poison the cooperative environment by repeating obsolete and baseless allegations against my country. They damaged their own credibility by not even reflecting the latest progress reports of the agency’s director general to the effect that after the most robust verification process, the IAEA concluded that all Iran’s declarations are consistent with the agency’s findings,“ he said.
The envoy pointed out that the director general has continuously reported that there is no evidence of diversion of Iranian nuclear materials and activities to prohibited purposes.
“I have presented comprehensive information, including facts and figures, on the exclusively peaceful nuclear program of my country, based on the agency’s document to NGOs, representatives of civil society, which I trust shall to a great extent disclose and reflect the facts, which their governments have covered up from their nations,“ he said.
Soltanieh further said that some of these countries seem to have a hidden agenda to damage the NPT by creating confrontations among member-states while totally ignoring the non-parties’ violations and even awarding them for rejecting the NPT.

A Jewish parliamentarian urged international human rights organizations to stop Israel from committing a systematic massacre in the Palestinian territories.
Addressing a Majlis session on Tuesday, the representative of the Jewish community in Iran’s Parliament, Maurice Motamed, expressed profound regret of Iran’s Jewish community and the real followers of Prophet Moses (PBUH) across the world over the Israeli atrocities in Gaza Strip, IRNA reported.
He added that the savage Israeli crimes in Gaza Strip, which are being committed under the pretext of establishing peace and order in the region, only lead to the killing of innocent people, destruction of cities and homelessness of the defenseless Palestinians.
Motamed appreciated the huge efforts made by the government and the support extended by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to solve the problems facing the Jewish community living in the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s Commander of Border Guards Qasem Rezaei conferred with Azerbaijan Republic’s President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Monday.
In the meeting, developments related to the border guards of the two countries were discussed, IRNA reported.
Expanding cooperation among border guards of Iran and Azerbaijan Republic to confront border violations and also exchange experiences were considered as an important and effective measure.
Rezaei arrived in Baku on Monday for a two-day visit at the head of a delegation.
The Iranian commander also met with his Azeri counterpart Alcin Qoliyev on Tuesday.

IranÕs funded ambulances are seen in Beirut.

The Iranian headquarters helping rebuild Lebanon underlined that all its activities are legal.
Reacting to a recent statement by some Lebanese officials who claimed Iran is interfering in Lebanon’s domestic affairs, the headquarters issued a statement on Monday, IRNA reported.
It declared that Iran has implemented more than 400 development projects in different areas of Lebanon after the Zionist regime’s 33-day war against the country.
The Islamic Republic has agreed to implement around 600 development projects in Lebanon, including construction of educational, religious and medical centers, bridges, electricity posts and other infrastructural projects, 70 percent of which projects have been completed, the statement continued.
In the 33-day war waged by the Zionist regime against Lebanon, Israeli forces killed more than 1,000 Lebanese and inflicted billions of dollars of damage on the country’s economy.

Iran on Tuesday advised Group 5+1 to give up the precondition for talks over Iran’s nuclear program.
Head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said members of Group 5+1 should withdraw their demand on suspension of uranium enrichment, if they wanted to make a breakthrough in nuclear talks, IRNA reported.
Boroujerdi was responding to a renewed call by the group to suspend uranium enrichment as a precondition to resume nuclear talks.
“The main problem with the package of incentives of the western countries put forward in London is that they still insist on the precondition which is not acceptable to Iran,“ he said.
Group 5+1 includes the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.
The MP added that the present deadlock on Iran nuclear talks with western states would end when they withdraw their precondition.
Asked about the tone of the London package, Borujerdi said there is no evidence of the West’s tougher attitude toward Iran.
Boroujerdi added that Iran has also presented a package of proposals that “includes nuclear and non-nuclear issues as well as major regional developments, economic cooperation and long-term projects that could be carried out by western countries in cooperation with the developing nations“.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei paid a visit to an exhibition of innovations and inventions in Shiraz, Fars province, on Tuesday.
The exhibition showcases the latest scientific achievements, innovations and inventions of experts and scientists of Shiraz University and Shiraz Medical Sciences University, as well as pavilions of industries and mines, agriculture, electricity, roads and transportation, defense industries, and a science and technology park, IRNA reported.
One section of the exhibition was devoted to nanotechnology of Shiraz University, which displays scientific researches and achievements in the related fields of electricity, biotechnology, chemistry, physics, materials and assessments.
Tabesh Research Center of Shiraz University, in cooperation with Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, also showcased its research achievements.
The leader also inspected the innovations and inventions of engineers from Fars province in the fields of petrochemicals, telecommunications and water-pipe manufacture.
Ayatollah Khamenei paid a visit to the special pavilion of the achievements in defense industries made by the Defense Ministry.
Leader’s representative in Fars province and Friday prayers’ leader in Shiraz Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi, Governor General Rezazadeh as well as Minister of Defense Mostafa Mohammad Najjar accompanied Ayatollah Khamenei during the visit.

Statements made by the UK foreign secretary following the talks of Group 5+1 in London on May 2 do not reflect the opinion of all the participants, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.
The group includes veto-wielding powers--the US, Britain, France, Russia and China, plus Germany--which agreed last Friday to offer new incentives to Tehran, RIA-Novosti reported.
Miliband did not reveal details of the new offer, but hoped Iran would “recognize the seriousness and sincerity“ of the new approach, declaring that Tehran’s uranium enrichment program still posed a serious threat.
“David Miliband’s statement reflects his own point of view rather than the collective opinion of the Iran-Six, at least it does not reflect our (Russia’s) position,“ the ministry said in a statement.
“There was no discussion of new threats allegedly posed by the Iranian nuclear program or new approaches toward Iran during the recent ministerial meeting.“

Later on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also accused some of his other colleagues of distorting the results of talks.
“Some of my colleagues at the talks in London surprised me today... by trying to say that we agreed on some tougher stance in relations with Iran,“ he said.
“Moscow has made it clear already that this is an absolute distortion of what was achieved in London.“
Lavrov said the London meeting yielded a package of “positive incentives“, which would be handed to Tehran in due time.
He did not reveal details of the new proposals, saying Iran should be the first to know their contents.
The international negotiators proposed to Tehran in June 2006 cooperation in civilian nuclear technology, trade and other spheres in a bid to persuade Tehran to give up uranium enrichment and resume talks with the group.
The Islamic Republic has rejected the 2006 incentives. It has also defied three rounds of UN Security Council sanctions imposed over its rejection of international demands to suspend uranium enrichment, saying that its civilian nuclear program is geared toward electricity generation.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Seyyed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reiterated on Sunday that the country would push ahead with its nuclear program despite pressure from the West.

Iran’s ambassador to Iraq said the members of Al-Qaeda terrorist group held in Iran have been extradited to their countries of origin.
Speaking to ISNA on Tuesday, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi also confirmed what he had recently told the reputable daily Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat that Iran has not kept any Al-Qaeda member in its custody.
Asked about a possible fourth round of talks between the US and Iran over Iraq, he said, “The Foreign Ministry spokesman has already given transparent comments on this issue.“
The diplomat also recalled that after an Iraqi delegation returned from Iran last week, a declaration lauding Iran’s positive role in upholding security in Iraq was issued.
Qomi noted that America’s claim about Iran interfering in Iraqi affairs has not been proven while the Iraqi government has also rejected the claim.
“This is an issue that the Iraqi government should examine and the comments of other entities are not credible to Baghdad,“ he said.