Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili (r) shakes hands with former Lebanese Premier Omar Karami in Tehran, Wednesday.

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili on Wednesday said that Lebanon has become a suitable model for many countries in the region and beyond because of its successes in dealing with the Zionist regime.
In a meeting with the former Lebanese Premier Omar Karami, he added, “The primary reason behind Lebanon’s success on the defense, international and political scenes is the unity of its people. All political groups in Lebanon should be careful that their diverse views do not harm the solidarity of people.“
He noted that the enemies of Lebanon are naturally unhappy with such solidarity and consider it against their special interests, Mehr News Agency reported..
“Lebanon is at the forefront of the fight against the Zionists. Its unity is of importance to all Mulsims and regional countries,“ the top security official was quoted as saying.
Karami, for his part, thanked Iran for helping uphold the rights of his people and underlined the need for the unity of all Lebanese groups.
“The Lebanese nation will resist the threats of the Zionist regime with full force and stand by the Army and resistance movements,“ he pointed out.
He also referred to Iran’s important role in regional developments.
“Iran obviously plays a great role in regional developments and the unity of Lebanon, and can play a significant part in Lebanon’s advancement,“ he concluded.

Misstep
The US sought to belittle Russia in the global community in the ongoing Caucasus conflict, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.
“In the past year, westerners provoked Georgia to attack on South Ossetia,“ he said in a meeting with Karami, Presstv reported.
Georgia’s military offensive into South Ossetia in early August to reclaim the de-facto region, prompted Russia to send troops into the area. The conflict resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and forced several thousand to flee the region.
Mottaki added that Tbilisi had miscalculated and resorted to military power which resulted in the regional crisis.
“We are in contact with different groups to help find a solution to the crisis,“ the foreign minister stated.
Earlier, Mottaki had said that recent developments in Georgia should have sounded alarm bells for regional states.
“Regional countries must realize that foreign powers, particularly the US and Israel, can never help settle problems in the region and they only worsen the crisis,“ he said.

Iran Air flight IR-811 made emergency landing at Sahar International Airport of Mumbai Tuesday night after one of its engines caught fire.
There were 291 passengers on-board when the aircraft made the emergency landing. All the passengers were reported are safe, IRNA reported.
The aircraft returned to Mumbai airport at 10:30 hours local time in an emergency landing after the pilot received fire signal. It had departed Mumbai airport at 21:30 hours local time on a scheduled flight for Tehran.
Few minutes after take-off the pilot requested emergency landing from the Sahar control tower after he received fire signal of the Boeing 747. Airport authorities said the plane landed safely and all the passengers and crew were safe.
According to local media and airport authorities the plane will be go back to Tehran after necessary repairs and receiving clearance from relevant technical officials.
The cause of the fire is yet not known.
Meanwhile another flight from the south Indian city of Cochin to Muscat also made an emergency landing at Mumbai airport due to a major problem.
The Indian Airlines jet carrying more than 400 passengers to Muscat sent a distress signal and was asked to land at Sahar.
It landed safely with all passengers and crew.

US Sanctions
A recent report by the International Civil Aviation Organization warned that US sanctions against Iran were placing civilian lives in danger by denying Iranian aviation necessary spare parts and aircraft repair.
The report, written by a Canadian contractor, had been requested and paid for by Iran, agency officials said, but Iran had no role in writing it. The report did not deal with military aircraft, but it said that the US government and major US companies were ignoring international treaties and taking actions that put passengers on Iranian commercial airlines at risk, including thousands of people from other countries traveling to and from Iran.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, a world body that oversees aviation rules around the world, checked the report for technical accuracy. Like other such reports, it was neither endorsed nor rejected by the agency. It received little attention until it recently reached officials in the aviation industry.
Iran Air and eight smaller Iranian airlines fly over much of Europe, often without the latest navigation charts, according to the report. In addition, although 23 foreign airlines land in Iran, many navigation aids are not being properly calibrated because one of the two Iranian aircraft equipped with special calibrating equipment is grounded for lack of parts, the report said.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has warned of “catastrophic consequences“ should Israel wage war on Iran over its nuclear program.
“We think that Israel could try to launch attacks against Iran, even against Lebanon or Syria,“ he said in an interview with the France 3 network.
Tel Aviv has threatened to launch air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities under the pretext that Tehran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has plans to develop nuclear weapons, Presstv reported.
According to the United Nations nuclear agency, Iran enriches uranium-235 to a level of 3.7 percent. This is while nuclear arms production requires enrichment level of above 90 percent.
“Any attack by Israel or by anyone else will have catastrophic results not only on the region but on the whole world,“ the Syrian president said. His remarks come soon after a senior Iranian military commander warned on Saturday that any attack on Iran would start a new world war.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commander, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said last week that Iran does not anticipate any Israeli aggression as Tel Aviv is aware of its vulnerability to Iran’s long-range missiles.
Iran possesses upgraded Shahab-3 missile equipped with a one-ton conventional warhead and capable of hitting targets within a 2,000-kilometer range.

Game-Changer
In related news, the Sunday Telegraph reported that US intelligence believes the crisis in the Caucasus is likely to prompt Russia to sell the advanced anti-aircraft S-300 system to Iran.
The S-300 is capable of simultaneously tracking 100 targets and fire on planes 75 miles (120 km) away.
According to a leading US private intelligence agency, once the S-300 system is operational in Iran, it would effectively rule out Israeli air raids and seriously complicate any US aerial bombings.
“If Tehran obtained the S-300, it would be a game-changer in military thinking for tackling Iran. That could be a catalyst for Israeli air attacks before it is operational,“ the Sunday Telegraph quoted long-time Pentagon advisor Dan Goure as saying.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country is not engaged in any covert arms supplies to Iran or any other country.
“As far as some covert supplies of Russian arms to Iran or to any other region are concerned, we do not indulge in this type of activity,“ ITAR-TASS quoted the Russian top diplomat as saying on Tuesday.
“Russia’s arms export is transparent from the standpoint of international law and Russian legislation,“ he added.
Lavrov pointed to certain violations committed by other countries, including countries that have supplied attack weapons to Georgia.
The Russian foreign minister noted that supplying arms to Georgia is continuing despite the fact that the EU and the OSCE -- Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe--have called for a halt of such arms supplies.
“If there have been any violations, they are committed not by the Russian side, but by those who had armed the Saakashvili regime, that is NATO member-states,“ Lavrov said.
Lavrov’s comment came after a Russian defense analyst said its likely Moscow will now go through with the planned delivery of an advanced air defense system to Iran.
Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in Moscow, said Russian leaders may have been holding off on the delivery of an S-300 air defense system to Iran while relations between Moscow and the West were good, but that has changed, RIA Novosti reported.
The advanced version of the S-300 missile system has a range of more than 100 miles and reportedly can intercept ballistic missiles and aircraft at low or high altitudes, which would give Iran a strategic boost against possible air strikes from Israel or the United States, the news agency said.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (r) is seen during a meeting with lawmakers from West Azarbaijan province in Tehran on Wednesday.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tuesday night said that the sooner the economic reform plan is implemented the faster development projects will be executed across the country.
“Every day of delay in implementing the reform plan means loss for the country,“ he noted in a meeting with lawmakers from West Azarbaijan province, Mehr News Agency reported.
He described West Azarbaijan as a region of high potential and called on its MPs to help the government in better serving the public interest.
The president took stock of the concerns of some legislators regarding shortfalls in their electoral districts and noted, “The government seeks to serve the people and remove shortcomings. É But, advancement of the country also needs funds apart from the firm will and plans. Majlis deputies can and should help the government in this endeavor.“
Expediting dam and road building projects, the drying up of the famous Urumieh Lake, the need for expanding state universities and constructing new hospitals were among the issues discussed at the meeting.

A group of students and scientists are seeking to sue the Dutch government for banning Iranians from courses related to nuclear technology.
According to the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, dozens of Iranian Dutch scholars held a demonstration at the University of Amsterdam on Monday over the politically motivated decision.
The move came after the Dutch government decided in July that all Iranians, even those with dual citizenship or those who are of Iranian decent but do not hold an Iranian passport, will be excluded from nine degree programs related to nuclear expertise.
The protestors handed the Dutch Education Minister, Ronald Plasterk, who was speaking at the opening of the academic year, a copy of Article 11 of the constitution.

A view of the University of Amsterdam

“The ban violates the Dutch constitution and various international treaties,“ an Iran Students’ action group statement read, adding that the ban is in breach of the right to education.
The Dutch government claims the decision was taken to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 1737 which requires countries to prevent the spread of nuclear technology to Iran.

Ultra-Secret Plot
The move came as the Dutch AIVD secret service had an ultra-secret operation underway in Iran in recent years that was halted in connection with plans for a US attack on Iran. The respected newspaper De Telegraaf reported recently the “ultra-secret operation“ had as its aim infiltration and sabotage of the weapons industry in the Islamic Republic.
“The operation, described as extremely successful, was halted recently in connection with plans for an impending US air attack on Iran. Along with this, targets would also be bombed which were connected with the Dutch espionage action,“ writes the Netherlands’ biggest newspaper.
“One of the agents involved, who was able to infiltrate the Iranian industry under the supervision of the AIVD, was recently recalled because the US was thought to be making a decision within weeks to attack Iran with unmanned aircraft.
Among the potential targets were said to be not only nuclear plants, but also military installations that have been brought to light partly by the agency of the AIVD,“ according to the newspaper.
“Information from the AIVD operation has in recent years been shared with the American CIA secret service,“ the paper continued. “Various supplies could also be sabotaged and stopped. These were parts for missiles and launching equipment.“

A group of lawmakers on Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach the education minister over problems plaguing the ministry during his tenure.
Eighty-two MPs in the 290-member chamber signed the motion to impeach Alireza Ali-Ahmadi, who was appointed to the post in February after his predecessor was sacked by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, , Fars News Agency reported
“The education ministry under Mr. Ali-Ahmadi is grappling with major challenges ... that could inflict irreparable damages to our education if the trend continues,“ the MPs said.
They accused the minister of “ignoring financial problems of teachers across the country and his incompetence had caused at least 90 percent of educators to be disappointed with him“.
Ali-Ahmadi’s ministry has failed to fully pay school budgets, teachers’ retirement bonuses, overtime and commuting and training expenses, the MPs complained.
Former education minister Mahmoud Farshidi survived impeachment last May before being sacked by Ahmadinejad in December in one of his several cabinet reshuffles.

The Iraqi government said it will deal with the banned terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO) based on international regulations.
Ali Al-Dabbagh, the government spokesman said his country is in the process of taking full control of Camp Ashraf from US forces, Presstv reported. The Iraqi military surrounded the camp on Wednesday night.
Ashraf Camp in Diyala province was the headquarters of the MKO members during the reign of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, but was converted to a training center for the terror outfit under US control since the 2003 invasion of the Arab country.
Dabbagh warned the anti-Iran group against any political activities.
“Iraq will support the voluntarily return of MKO members to Iran or any other country,“ he said.
Baghdad will not expel MKO members forcefully and will deal with the issue according to international rules and regulations, he stressed.
Along with at least six other sites in Iraq, Camp Ashraf was given to the MKO as their headquarters and training center by the former US-backed Iraqi dictator. For almost a quarter century the group enjoyed military, economic, and political backing from the former Baath Party boss.
It was from Ashraf that the MKO coordinated its terror attacks against Iran during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) and later assisted Saddam in violently suppressing the Iraqi Kurds and Shiites during the 1991 uprising.
The MKO is blacklisted in many countries including the EU as a terrorist organization. The group has claimed responsibility for hundreds of terror attacks inside Iran, including on civilian targets in cities and border regions.

Al-Qaeda Link
Meanwhile, a member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) said that the MKO had direct cooperation with Al-Qaeda over the past five years.
Seyed Ammar Hakim said MKO members in addition to direct cooperation with the Al-Qaeda was an accomplice in the brutal crimes of the Baathist regime had cooperated with other terrorists for the past five years, IRNA reported.
He rejected any claims on a link between the expulsion of MKO members and other domestic issues, stressing that the expulsion is due to the resolve of the Iraqi government and people.
By providing US officials with incorrect information, the MKO members engineered the arrest of many outstanding opposition figures active against Saddam’s tyranny, several of whom are still languishing in American prisons, Hakim complained.
According to the SIIC official, MKO agents were also active in protest marches against the newly-established Iraqi government(s) and tried to undermine the democratically elected administrations over the past few years.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi on Wednesday denounced a declaration by the foreign ministers of Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) and emphasized that the islands of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa will always remain inseparable parts of Iran.
He rejected fresh claims by the UAE about the islands as repetitive, baseless and doomed, IRNA reported.
“All the measures adopted by Iran in Abu Musa are completely legal and based on national sovereignty. The points outlined in the PGCC declaration are interference in Iran’s internal affairs,“ he said.
The spokesman castigated the attitude of some PGCC states that insist on baseless claims and seek to distort history to divert public opinion from important matters in the region and the Islamic world, including the Zionist regime.
He urged regional states to be realistic and adopt policies that help nurture convergence in the region and the Islamic world.
In a meeting in Jeddah, PGCC foreign ministers claimed that the three islands are indivisible parts of the UAE. They urged Iran to positively respond to the sincere efforts by the UAE and settle the problem through either direct negotiations or resorting to the international justice court.
The ministers also “condemned“ Iran for opening two administrative offices in Abu Musa and called on Iran to remove such installations from the island and respect the sovereignty of the UAE. The six-nation group in membered by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Director General of the Police Department’s Interpol Office Colonel Mohammad Reza Karimi Wednesday said pursuant to the follow up of his directorate a person accused of exchanging pornographic pictures of sexual abuse of children via the Internet was arrested.
“Some British nationals launched a website of pornographic pictures of children. Some quarters from other parts of the world visited the website to use the pictures and exchange some of their own. British police in a special operation identified and arrested the British nationals involved in this corruption and urged Interpol to identify other users of the website,“ Fars News Agency quoted him as saying.
The officer went on to note, “It was clarified that an Iranian national was also linked to the website and received and sent pornographic pictures.
So, the case was referred to my directorate. Upon technical examination of the Internet Protocol (IP) registered on the website’s server, it was revealed that a private company in Iran was in contact with the website. Consequently, we identified the local telephone number connected to the Internet and arrested the culprit.“
Karimi warned all Internet users against wrongdoing and abuse. “Police can easily identify and arrest the violators,“ he was quoted as saying.