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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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26th Anniv. of Revolution Celebrated
Nation Will Confront Foreign Aggression
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Thousands of people gathered at TehranÕs Azadi Square to
celebrate the 26th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Feb. 10. (IRNA Photo)
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TEHRAN, Feb. 11--President Mohammad Khatami warned on Thursday that Iran would unleash hell if it were attacked.
Addressing thousands of demonstrators at the famous Azadi Square to mark the 26th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Khatami said if, God forbid, any aggressor puts its foot on this land, Iran will turn into a burning hell for them, IRNA reported.
"The Iranian nation is not pursuing a war, violence or clashes, but the world must know that Iranians will not tolerate any invasion," Khatami said to the chants of ÒDeath to AmericaÓ and ÒDeath to IsraelÓ.
He branded US threats as part of a psychological warfare being waged in accordance with the Òexpansionist policies of the American conservativesÓ.
The president also denounced Òthe slanders of American rulers against the Iranian nation and the establishmentÓ, saying they were aimed at Òputting a lid on the failures of the extremist US policyÓ.
"This ballyhoo is aimed at concealing their failures, and whenever their failures add up, they become more foul-mouthed," he said.
"They have no answer to the world public opinion for initiating the (Iraq) war; hence the Americans are becoming further enlightened about the warmongering policies of their rulers."
The 26th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran was also celebrated in different countries on Thursday.
Reports from Spain, Greece, Romania, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Lebanon and the Philippines indicate that Iranian diplomats, businessmen and residents in these countries celebrated the occasion at Iran's missions. These celebrations were also attended by senior officials of those countries.
It was reported that cultural, academic and scientific figures as well as ambassadors of other foreign countries in those countries also participated in the celebrations.
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EU-Iran Nuclear Talks Conclude
GENEVA, Feb. 11--Iranian and European Union negotiators wrapped up Friday in Geneva their latest round of talks on Tehran's nuclear program, a diplomat said.
"We have accomplished serious work, which is continuing. We are in a process," the diplomat close to the talks told AFP.
"We have dealt with the subjects we had to deal with," the diplomat said.
EU negotiators were to offer Friday to send a mission to help Iran obtain a nuclear light-water research reactor, in what would be the first concrete move towards rewarding Tehran for abandoning uranium enrichment, a diplomat said.
Negotiators from Britain, France and Germany met with Iranian officials for a fourth day in Geneva Friday to convince Tehran to dismantle a uranium enrichment program that the United States says is part of secret nuclear weapons development, diplomats said.
A diplomat close to the talks told AFP the two sides would discuss having the European trio send a mission to help Iran get a light-water research reactor that would be less of a proliferation risk than a heavy-water reactor the Iranians want to build. Heavy-water reactors use natural uranium and can produce significant amounts of plutonium, a prime nuclear weapons material.
Helping Iran get a light-water research reactor that would be small enough not to be a proliferation risk is one of the key parts of the EU's plan to help Tehran with peaceful nuclear technology in return for it abandoning technology, such as enriching uranium, which can be used to make atomic weapons.
Non-proliferation expert Gary Samore, of London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, told AFP by telephone that the Europeans wanted to send the mission "to demonstrate that progress is being made".
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Abbas Rallying MilitantsÕ Support
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Mahmud Abbas
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GAZA CITY, Occupied Palestine, Feb. 11--Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas arrived in Gaza City for key talks with militant leaders on Friday to secure their agreement to a ceasefire he declared at a peace summit earlier this week.
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat also met to discuss ways to jumpstart the peace process, in a bid to keep the momentum going after Tuesday's landmark meeting, AFP reported.
The talks come after a string of mortar and rocket attacks by the largest militant group Hamas prompted Israel to suspend negotiations on implementing agreements reached at the breakthrough summit in Egypt.
"President Abbas will stay a few days in Gaza to meet various factions, among them Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and try to consolidate a period of calm," a Palestinian official said.
Hamas military wing was willing "to respect quiet" but reserved the right to retaliate for "each and every Israeli aggression," said Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri.
He said Hamas leaders were waiting to be briefed by Abbas on his talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Egypt before deciding whether to sign up to a formal ceasefire.
"Our position is to observe quiet until we reach a final stance concerning a possible truce and this will not happen before we sit down with Abu Mazen (Abbas)," he said.
A leader of Hamas's smaller rival, Islamic Jihad, said it too was waiting for talks with Abbas before taking a decision on a formal ceasefire.
"We need to hold consultations within the movement, here and abroad," Khader Habib told AFP, in allusion to the group's leadership in exile in Damascus.
Hamas demands, among other things, the release of all 7,500 prisoners held behind Israeli bars. Israel has so far agreed to free 900 of them.
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22 Killed In Iraq Attacks
BAGHDAD, Iraq,
Feb. 11--A suicide car bomber killed 13 people outside a Shiite mosque northeast of Baghdad on Friday and gunmen shot dead nine people in a bakery in the capital in the latest sectarian attacks following the Jan. 30 election.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on an unannounced visit to Iraq, warned it would take time for Iraqi security forces to crush the country's bloody insurgency, Reuters reported.
Iraq's 60 percent Shiite majority, oppressed for decades under Saddam Hussein, are expected to dominate Iraqi politics following last month's historic polls. Insurgents, most of whom are Sunnis, have mounted repeated attacks on Shiites, sparking fears the country could slide towards civil war.
Rumsfeld, the highest-ranking American to visit since the election, landed before dawn in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. He told US soldiers the poll had been a good day for Iraq "but there are still challenges ahead".
Police said 13 people were killed and 40 wounded in Balad Ruz when a suicide car bomb exploded outside a mosque.
Four of the dead were soldiers, and children were among the wounded.
The worshippers had been leaving a Shiite ceremony linked to Ashura, one of the most holy events in the Shiite calendar that pays homage to the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in 680 AD. Gunmen earlier burst into a Shiite bakery in eastern Baghdad, opening fire on workers and killing at least nine.
Rumsfeld's trip was to see if progress has improved after earlier efforts failed to deliver results.
"Many should not be expected to behave and operate as if they were battle-hardened veterans. But one day soon, they will be," he said. "They'll have to be because it is the Iraqis that are going to have to, over time, defeat the insurgency."
Rumsfeld later told reporters after a meeting with Allawi the training was bearing fruit.
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Japan Confirms Iranian Commitment to IAEA Resolutions
TOKYO, Feb. 11--Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said on Wednesday Iran is observing the provisions of the International Atomic Energy AgencyÕs (IAEA) resolutions.
Machimura told a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi that Japan favors success of Iran-Europe talks and supports the stances of Europe in this regard, IRNA reported.
He referred to his talks with Kharrazi, saying that the two agreed in the meeting on improvement of security conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Referring to the Azadegan oil contract signed by Iran and Japan, Machimura said measures have been taken for boosting investments in Iran and Tokyo plans to take further steps in that connection.
Kharrazi, for his part, said Tehran supported elections in Iraq and is pleased with its success. He hoped elections would result in the establishment of a popular government in that country.
He added that he told his Japanese counterpart about Iran's peaceful nuclear program and that Iran has been cooperating with the IAEA.
ÒResults of IAEA inspections show that Iran's nuclear programs are peaceful and legal,Ó he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi described the trend of cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency as ÔpositiveÕ.
Koizumi also referred to Iran's important role in the region, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, and praised the Islamic Republic's constructive cooperation in Iraq's recent election.
Kharrazi arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he discussed regional and international issues with senior Malaysian officials during a two-day official visit.
Kharrazi left Tokyo for Tehran early Friday.
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Pak Dam Disaster Sweeps Villages Into Sea
QUETTA, Pakistan, Feb. 11--At least 50 people were killed and hundreds missing in Pakistan after a dam burst and swept whole villages into the sea, officials said Friday, as the death toll from a week of record rains hit 112.
A wall of melted snow and rainwater escaped from the ruptured Shadi Kor Dam near the coastal town of Pasni in southwestern Baluchistan province late Thursday, washing away people, houses, cars and buses in its path, AFP reported.
"It's a big disaster," provincial minister for coastal areas Sher Jan said. "About half a dozen villages have been submerged after the dam burst its embankment."
"We have recovered the bodies of 50 people," he said.
Residents in the disaster zone, which is about 600 kilometers (372 miles) from the provincial capital Quetta, also said many people were missing.
The military led a huge operation to search for survivors and provide aid. ÒAround 20,000 to 25,000 people in 35 villages were left homeless by the flood,Ó Sher Jan later told a news conference, while others lost crops and cattle.
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Tired Charges
By M. Mehrdad
The Bush administration is resorting to dangerous diplomacy and violent statements against Iran at a time when the Middle East is on the verge of important change, which demands tranquility not tension.
In fact, the oft-repeated and tired charges that Iran has been ÒinterferingÓ in Iraq and Òsupporting terrorismÓ clearly indicate the extent to which our sworn opponents worry about the importance of Iran in the strategic and oil-rich region.
In line with its hegemonic policies in key regions of the world, the US has floated, on behalf of Tel Aviv, the idea of a Greater Middle East. Their plan, among other things, is to weaken the regional powers, including Iran, in a bid to prolong their unwelcome presence in the region without new problems.
This long-term objective explains why the CIA has been extending financial support to banned Iranian groups that ultimately seek the disintegration of Iran. It is this move that has been a source of concern to all Iranian patriots.
Given IranÕs position in this part of the world, a few points are worth contemplating.
It cannot and should not be doubted that Iran plays a key role in the Middle East and no responsible country can afford to think otherwise.
Currently, America, which has ostensibly imposed its hegemony over pauperized Afghanistan and seeks to do likewise in war-battered Iraq, is in confrontation with the Islamic state. Iran is a country with over 10,000 years of history and has maintained its political and geopolitical clout over two centuries despite a variety of ups and downs.
IranÕs land and marine links to Central Asia, the Caucasus and South Asia, itÕs commonalities with Afghans, Tajiks, Kurds and also Iraqi Shiites are trump cards that can and will bolster IranÕs role and influence, which now remains hindered due to US pressures.
Throughout contemporary history Iran has been threatened with subversion, especially towards the end of the rule of the incompetent Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties.
However, almost always the brave and dedicated Iranians have shown resistance and succeeded in thwarting enemy plots and threats.
The plain truth is that weak and subservient countries are more fertile for the pursuit of hegemonic policies by the evil powers like the US compared to nations that refuse to compromise on freedom, independence and territorial integrity.
On the basis of what has been exposed so far from the so-called Greater Middle East initiative, the US and UK intend to change the geographic map of the region to help protect IsraelÕs security.
It is said that Israel, Washington and London are planning to house significant sections of the Palestinian diaspora in neighboring Jordan, while Kurds would form Òautonomous statesÓ in northern Iraq. JordanÕs Hashemite family known for its close links to the enemies of the Palestinian people would rule the rest of Iraq.
The non-stop mud slinging against Iran and its policies can be better understood in this context. It is the duty of all informed groups and patriots to refrain from acts that could endanger national interest or harm the spirit of solidarity. All those who care for the motherland should be vigilant and work more closely to cultivate understanding and unity against foreign intimidation.
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