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Prayer Time (Tehran)
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Dawn: 4:03
Sunrise: 5:49
Noon: 13:07
Evening: 20:45
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Weather Guide
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SAT |
SUN |
Tehran: |
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High: |
37oC |
36oC |
Low: |
25oC |
23oC |
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Athens |
30 |
31 |
Ankara |
21 |
25 |
Paris |
28 |
26 |
New Delhi |
41 |
41 |
Rome |
28 |
29 |
Riyadh |
42 |
43 |
Frankfurt |
30 |
22 |
Cairo |
33 |
33 |
Kuwait City |
46 |
47 |
Karachi |
35 |
35 |
Copenhagen |
20 |
19 |
London |
20 |
22 |
Moscow |
26 |
25 |
Madrid |
35 |
31 |
Vienna |
32 |
30 |
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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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Leader Urges People To Create "Another Epic"
Khatami: High Turnout Will Guarantee Democracy
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Voters participated heavily in the presidential runoff election on Friday.
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TEHRAN, June 24--Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei expressed hope on Friday people would turn out strongly in the presidential runoff election to create "another epic".
After casting his vote, Ayatollah Khamenei told reporters the people's presence in polling stations in the first round "was a source of national pride", IRNA reported.
"The winner of the election, which saw the participation of almost 30 million people, was the Iranian nation and the losers were those who tried to keep people away from the poll. The honor of some 30 million votes remains with the Iranian nation and no enemy plot can take away this dignity and honor from the Iranian nation," he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei described the people's strong turnout as "very important", and said a big vote for the president would promote the dignity of the Iranian nation and help them push forward with their goals.
He hoped the people would show a strong presence at the poll again on Friday.
"Whoever becomes president will be the president of all of us and we must all help him move ahead with his plans," he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the leader called on election officials to register the people's vote "without bias".
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that the first round election last week was "completely healthy," adding that this had been officially confirmed by the president, the Interior Ministry and the Guardians Council.
Also on Friday, President Mohammad Khatami said the people's high turnout in the runoff election will guarantee freedom and democracy for the country and foil enemies' conspiracies.
Making the remark after inspecting the Interior Ministry's Election Headquarters, Khatami urged all Iranians residing in foreign countries to enthusiastically participate in the election.
He said even a single vote could affect the whole electoral process.
Khatami termed cooperation with Iranian expatriates during his tenure as good and underlined the need to meet the spiritual demands of Iranian expatriates.
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Runoff Poll: Heavy Turnout And Tight Contest
Iranians packed polling stations on Friday in their first presidential runoff, the climax of a hard-fought campaign between a veteran politician and a surprise rival.
Turnout was heavy, leading to an extension of voting time by an hour.
Iran DailyÕs Sadeq Dehqan says queues at polling stations were the norm.
Election officials and observers said public participation was unprecedented and refused to make predictions about the possible winner since they considered the contest to be tight between the moderate cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
First results are expected early today.
More than 41,000 polling stations have been set up throughout Iran, in addition to 254 in more than 100 countries. A large number of foreign correspondents and reporters are covering the event.
About 63 percent of Iran's nearly 47 million voters cast ballots in the first round. However, none of the seven candidates managed to gain more than 50 percent of the votes needed to win the first round.
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Moscow Stresses Nuclear Cooperation
Blix: Concerns Over Bushehr Plant Exaggerated
MOSCOW, June 24--Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday his country's nuclear cooperation with Iran is fully transparent and within the framework of international regulations.
In an interview with the Russian newspaper `Trud', Lavrov said Russia's peaceful nuclear cooperation with Iran has no secret point, IRNA reported.
Russia believes Iran, as an IAEA member-state and signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, has the right to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
He reiterated that his country has good cooperation with regard to Iran's peaceful nuclear program, adding that Russia participated in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Iran based on the condition of a mandatory return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia.
Meanwhile, former chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq, Hans Blix, said in a Swedish public radio interview on Thursday that Iran is years away from achieving a nuclear capacity sufficient to create a bomb.
"They are many years away from being able to convert enriched uranium into a bomb," Blix told the Ekot news program.
Tehran, meanwhile, has claimed that its nuclear program is for civilian use only.
News on Wednesday that Iran could within months take delivery of Russian nuclear fuel to fire up its first nuclear power station has exacerbated international concerns that the new Bushehr plant in southern Iran could be a cover for weapons development.
Blix on Thursday, however, said concerns over that plant were exaggerated, pointing out that while the shell of the plant was built with German group Siemens before the Iran-Iraq war, Russia had stepped in after the war with only low-grade nuclear technology.
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Oil Hits Record $60
NEW YORK, June 24--Oil prices surged nearly $2 on Thursday to a record $60 a barrel as dealers worried that continued strong demand growth would strain global production capacity.
US crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.91 to $60 a barrel, bringing gains this year to nearly 40 percent. London Brent crude on the International Petroleum Exchange rose $1.80 to $58.38, Reuters reported.
"Where this cycle will end, we can all speculate on that, but I would suggest to you it will take a few years to sort out where it'll all end," Exxon Mobil CEO Lee Raymond said.
US government data on Wednesday showed ballooning energy costs had yet to dent demand, underscoring concerns about tight spare oil production and refining capacity.
Signs that US consumption is holding firm have encouraged many investors to keep betting on gains, though analysts say investment flows are becoming more cautious as the world tries to gauge the impact of record high prices.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is pumping virtually flat out, but has said repeatedly that it cannot solve the problem of a global lack of refining capacity.
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Daunting Task
By Mahmoud Sadri
The second round of presidential election on Friday pitted former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani against Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejhad in an exciting campaign.
President Mohammad KhatamiÕs successor will face a daunting task to break the spell over some of IranÕs long-standing dilemmas, which include poverty, unemployment and inflation.
One-fourth of the worldÕs rich live in Iran where per capita income has been put at $6,800, and the country is among the top 40 in the world. Nonetheless, almost 13 percent of Iranians live in acute poverty (earning less than 1,800,000 rials monthly, i.e. $200).
The next president should lead his team toward formulating policies to reduce poverty in the short run and secure higher sources of income in the long run most favorably through an all-inclusive social security scheme and attracting badly needed investments to spur economic growth.
These should complement efforts to cut down the size of the administration and a sprawling bureaucratic system as well as put an end to murky economic activities, stimulate private sector participation and build on the policy of dˇtente (a legacy of President Khatami) in foreign relations so as to draw investments from abroad.
Tehran has to settle a number of thorny issues with the international community, should it want to boost investor confidence. These include its nuclear activities, rapprochement with Washington, talks with European Union over Iran's nuclear program, as well as recurrent anti-Iran propaganda by regional governments.
The booming younger generation is more than ever yearning for greater civil liberties. The desire is so strong that none of the candidates could ignore it in their campaign mottos, including even the conservative faction that traditionally disapproved demands for greater freedom.
A new chapter will open in IranÕs political history as of today that could subsequently challenge long-standing and conventional political doctrines.
To succeed, the next president will have to invite members of the political divide to join hands for the sake of national reconciliation and prevent a further wedge between the rulers and the ruled.
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