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Prayer Time (Tehran)
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Dawn: 5:31
Sunrise: 7:01
Noon: 11:55
Evening: 17:11
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Weather Guide
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THU |
FRI |
Tehran: |
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High: |
8 oC |
10 oC |
Low: |
2 oC |
2 oC |
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Athens |
9 |
5 |
Ankara |
-7 |
-7 |
Paris |
0 |
0 |
New Delhi |
10 |
9 |
Rome |
8 |
5 |
Riyadh |
11 |
9 |
Frankfurt |
-1 |
-3 |
Cairo |
11 |
11 |
Kuwait City |
8 |
6 |
Karachi |
17 |
15 |
Copenhagen |
1 |
1 |
London |
3 |
1 |
Moscow |
-5 |
-7 |
Madrid |
1 |
2 |
Vienna |
-2 |
-2 |
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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
Managing Director: Mohammad T. Roghaniha
Executive Editor: Amin Sabooni
Editorial Dept. Tel: 8755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 8761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 8753119, 8757702, 8733764
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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Khatami:
Lack of Political Freedom Fuels Corruption
TEHRAN, Dec. 8--President Mohammad Khatami said here Tuesday corruption in various fields is more likely to appear in the absence of social and political freedom as well as lack of justice in getting equal opportunities.
Speaking at a gathering to mark the International Anti-Corruption Day, the president added that once a section of the society realizes that the political and administrative system is not concerned about its interests, it would resort to illegal ways which will eventually lead to corruption, IRNA reported.
"Low confidence and hope should be considered as a warning for corruption É Since political justice is linked to democracy and respect for the people's basic rights, the government should be expected to tackle corruption," he said.
The chief executive referred to corruption and reform as two opposing social phenomena and said when development is based on reform, the campaign against corruption would have a real meaning.
ÒBut in case corruption becomes organized and widespread, reform will be jeopardized. Fortunately, today the leader and government officials are determined to fight corruption and the Anti-Corruption Headquarters has already taken serious steps to this end,Ó he said.
President Khatami called on the ranian nation, experts, intellectuals and researchers for assistance in this respect.
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Knowledge, Perseverance Mark Military Maneuver
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The maneuver dubbed "Followers of Velayat" concluded in the west of the country, Dec. 8 (IRNA Photo)
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TEHRAN, Dec. 8--Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday knowledge and perseverance in the way of Almighty God are features marking military issues as well as the massive ÒFollowers of Velayat (Guardianship)Ó maneuver.
Addressing Army commanders and troops involved in the maneuver, Ayatollah Khamenei called on them to pursue knowledge and perseverance in their performance, IRNA reported.
The leader hailed the military exercise as ÔpraiseworthyÕ and said such a maneuver would further increase dynamism, joy and combat readiness of the troops and different regiments.
He said the Islamic RevolutionÕs Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Islamic Republic Army should put more such maneuvers on their agenda.
Ayatollah Khamenei inspected military equipment deployed in the area as well as a camp hospital, designed and set up by the Army's experts.
The last stage of the ÒFollowers of VelayatÓ maneuver was staged in one of the general operation zones south of the country on Wednesday.
In the last stage of the maneuver, the ArmyÕs rapid deployment forces went into action and carried out ambush and defense operations against the hypothetical enemy. The Army's air forces bombarded the positions of the enemy, as its positions, equipment and helicopters were targeted by missiles.
Many tactics of asymmetrical wars were employed and several surface-to-air missile and the Nazeat surface-to-surface missile were fired on enemy targets.
The maneuver, backed by C-130 tactical aircraft, was carried out in Kermanshah, Ilam, Hamedan, Lorestan and Khuzestan provinces, covering an area of 100,000 square kilometers (3,800 square miles).
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Karimi Asian Footballer of the Year
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Ali Karimi
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Dec. 8--Persian football's golden boy Ali Karimi was crowned Asian player of the year here Thursday, becoming the fourth Iranian player to lift the award since 1996.
The Iranian striker was handed the award after a string of superb displays in this year's Asian Cup in China, where he finished joint top-scorer with five goals as Iran reached the semifinals, AFP reported.
The 26-year-old, who also scored 27 goals in all United Arab Emirates competitions this season for his club Al-Ahli, piped Japan's Shunsuke Nakamura and Bahrain's A'ala Hubail for the award.
Karimi's honor was the highlight of the Asian Football Confederation awards for 2004.
Japan, who overcame the loss of several European-based stars to successfully retain their Asian Cup crown, were named national team of the year.
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Egypt Allegations Denied
TEHRAN, Dec. 8--Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi on Wednesday dismissed as "sheer lie" the Egyptian prosecutor general's claims against an Iranian national, alleging IranÕs involvement in plots against Egyptian officials.
Asefi expressed his strong protest against the allegations, saying the scenario is full of hostility and animosity, influenced by Iran's enemies, IRNA reported.
"Iran is itself a victim of terrorism and our stance against terrorism is clear and transparent," he said.
He stressed that the principled policies of Iran are based on observing the principle of mutual respect and non-intervention in other countries' affairs.
ÒSuch vain allegations serve the policies of the Zionist regime and are against public interests of regional states,Ó he said.
Asefi further said IranÕs Foreign Ministry would seriously follow up the case.
EgyptÕs Prosecutor General Maher Abdel Wahed told a press conference on Tuesday Egyptian citizen Mahmud Aid Dabbus had been under surveillance for planning the assassination of an Egyptian personality and providing an Iranian national with information about Egypt's national interests.
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King Abdullah Makes outrageous Claims
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King Abdullah
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TEHRAN, Dec. 8--King Abdullah of Jordan on Monday made an outrageous claim that one million Iranians have entered Iraq to participate in the Jan. 2005 elections in that country.
The monarch, who was speaking to the American daily The Washington Post after a meeting with US President George W. Bush, added, "I'm sure there's a lot of people, a lot of Iranians in there that will be used as part of the polls to influence the outcome."
The king also alleged that Iranians are paying salaries and providing welfare to unemployed Iraqis to promote pro-Iranian sentiments. ÒSome Iranians have been trained by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and are members of militias that could fuel trouble in Iraq after the election,Ó he said.
He did not, however, refer to any evidence for his outlandish claim, which is being made for the first time ever.
Abdullah did not clarify how it is possible to send one million Iranians to Iraq while over 150,000 American forces are stationed in that country.
Abdullah, a Sunni monarch, said the creation of a new Shiite triangle would particularly destabilize Persian Gulf countries with Shiite populations.
Some political analysts believe Abdullah has made the childish comment in a bid to cover for the weak controls along Jordan-Iraq borders.
These days it is clear that the terrorist network of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, who is of Jordanian origin, has accepted the responsibility for most terrorist attacks, murders and abductions in Iraq and that Al-Zarqawi controls the operations from inside Jordanian territories.
Iraqi President Ghazi Al-Yawar also made similar allegations against Iran after meeting Bush.
"Unfortunately, time is proving, and the situation is proving, beyond any doubt that Iran has very obvious interference in our business--a lot of money, a lot of intelligence activities and almost interfering daily...especially in the southeast side of Iraq," Yawar said.
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Pakistan Test-Fires nuclear-Capable Missile
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 8--Pakistan on Wednesday test-fired a medium range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead despite a continuing peace dialogue with India, but insisted it was not sending a signal to its regional rival.
The Hatf-IV (Shaheen-1) missile, which can hit targets up to 700 kilometers (437 miles) away, was launched from an undisclosed location, a military spokesman told AFP.
The test was the sixth this year and Pakistan's second in 10 days. Pakistan and India, who carried out tit-for-tat nuclear detonations in 1998, both conduct regular missile launches, AFP reported.
Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan said the test was not meant to send any message to India.
"It is not a signal to India. Maintaining our nuclear deterrence is a national priority," Khan said. "Such tests are conducted periodically to validate technical parameters of our missile tests."
Pakistan had informed its neighbors before launching the indigenously developed missile, the military said, adding that the test was ÔsuccessfulÕ.
The test was to validate "additional technical parameters" of the missile, which is already part of Pakistan's military inventory.
Pakistan tested a Ghaznavi short-range nuclear-capable missile on November 29.
The military said the recent tests were "indicative of the government resolve to consolidate and strengthen Pakistan's nuclear deterrence capability".
Khan insisted Islamabad did not want an open-ended arms race in South Asia in either the strategic or conventional spheres.
Analysts said the tests were meant to show that Pakistan's missile and nuclear program was alive and well, and becoming more sophisticated.
"These are solid fuel missiles, which essentially means that Pakistan's short-range missile program is acquiring a greater degree of sophistication," Riffat Hussain, who heads the Strategic Studies Department at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University, told AFP.
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Persian Gulf States Mull security Independence From US
MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 8--Persian Gulf countries are making noises about new security arrangements that would reduce their traditional alliance with the United States, a move whose feasibility was quickly questioned by observers.
The ideas were floated during a weekend conference organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, under the theme "security and dialogue in the (Persian) Gulf", and held in Bahrain, the base of the US Fifth Fleet, AFP reported.
Speaking at the meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal stressed the "urgency of global reforms in countries of the region".
Besides Saudi Arabia, the (P)GCC comprises Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Prince Faisal, who had criticized the US policy in Iraq, said "security in the Persian Gulf needs international guarantees which cannot be ensured by a single party, even by the sole world superpower".
His Iranian counterpart, Kamal Kharazi, underlined Tehran's position. He favored "the creation of a security system in the Persian Gulf with all the countries in the region taking part, on the basis of independence...and without proceeding to any agreement with foreign powers which may threaten, directly or indirectly, the security of all the countries" of the area.
"Collective security is not something which can be exported to the region," Kharazi told the conference, which was attended by Stephen Hadley, the new national security advisor to US President George W. Bush, and by the head of US Central Command, General John Abizaid.
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Saudi Bedlam
By Amin Sabooni
Saudi Arabia has a big problem, which is getting bigger and more dangerous due largely to America's ignorance and arrogance in this part of the world and the refusal of most Saudi rulers to revise their policies and face reality.
Remember, this is the same kingdom whose internal security apparatus was run by various US spy agencies for the better of the past two decades. Past and present Washingtonian officials of various stripes are on record as saying that for years they had staunchly supported Riyadh's internal policies of promoting radical Sunni theology with the aim of suppressing "Shiite fundamentalism" in the oil-rich country.
Today it is clear that the bedlam in Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with its minority Shiites. Ultra-orthodox Sunnis and Wahhabis angry at America's occupation of Iraq, and equally furious at the House of Saud for its pro-US policies, have seemingly declared war on westerners.
Monday's storming of the well-guarded US consulate in Jeddah was the 12th attack since May against foreigners and the first on a diplomatic mission. The attacks left 44 people dead, official reports say. But the real casualty toll is said to be much higher. The one name that appears and reappears in relation to these deadly attacks is Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network. It is also believed that the so-called Afghan Arabs are deeply involved in the anti-western attacks in which innocent lives are being cut short.
If we accept the generally-held notion that one attack is a fluke and two resembles a pattern, then an ugly situation is emerging in a country best known for its oil and alliance to the superpower. The latter is supposedly changing as more pragmatic and popular leaders emerge to take stock of the more than 70-year-old friendship with the US and its toxic internal effect on the Saudi leadership.
One such leader who is aware of the need to turn things around before the kingdom sinks further into the sand, is Crown Prince Abdullah. One of the top advocates of change in the country of 6,000 plus princes and whose rulers are fast losing prestige and power, the crown prince by many accounts is one of the few uncorrupted rulers and wants to change things for the better.
He, for instance, is not oblivious to the fact that the overwhelming majority (more than 90 percent) of the Saudis have an unfavorable view of the United States, and that his country and America have nothing in common. It is for his pragmatic and independent views that past and present US administrations are not well disposed to Abdullah and have been anxious to promote their own successor to the House of Saud.
Pro-western Saudi Arabia, once incredibly rich and stable, is under siege. Returning the country to the path of harmony and stability will require huge doses of realism in Riyadh and the courage to admit errors of judgment at the highest levels of power. Failure to do so will make a bad situation worse and push more deprived and degraded young Saudis into the open arms of religious extremists who make no secret of their hatred for all things western.
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