TEHRAN, Nov. 1--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday the role of multifaceted cooperation among neighboring countries, especially through regional bodies and treaties, in the welfare, stability and peace of their nations is decisive.
According to a report released by the Presidential Office’s Media Department, Ahmadinejad made the remark in a meeting with cabinet members and representatives of the Economic Cooperation Organization’s (ECO) member-states, IRNA reported.
The chief executive criticized the unilateral approach dominating international relations and said unfortunately the interests of many nations are being trampled upon as a result of such inappropriate ties.
“Independent countries should prepare the ground for being released from the hegemony of world powers and unilateral ruling systems by strengthening multifaceted regional cooperation,“ he said.
Ahmadinejad said that given the cultural resources of the region and the history of friendly ties among regional states, they can meet their own demands through expansion of inter-regional cooperation.
Speaking at the same meeting, Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said terrorism threatens the region of ECO member-states and other territories as well.
“Achievement of economic goals in the ECO region is directly connected with solving the region’s security problems,“ he said.
Pour-Mohammadi referred to drug production and smuggling as one of the major problems.
“According to official international figures, poppy cultivation has considerably increased since 2001 and is predicted to exceed 6,100 tons in the current year. In practice, this paves the way for production and smuggling of 600 tons of heroin,“ he said.
The first meeting of interior ministers of ECO member-states dubbed “Security, Stability and Sustainable Development“ opened in Tehran on Monday.
Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are ECO’s member-states.

Yahya Rahim-Safavi

TEHRAN, Nov. 1--Commander of the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC), Yahya Rahim-Safavi, said on Wednesday the second round of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wargames by IRGC’s armed forces as well as Basij (volunteer forces) begins in the Persian Gulf waters on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference, Major General Rahim-Safavi noted that the main purpose of conducting the second round of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wargames is to show the Iranian people’s determination in defending Iran’s territorial integrity against foreign threats, IRNA reported.
The 10-day wargames will concurrently be held by ground forces in West Azarbaijan, Tehran, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, Fars, Qom, Qazvin, Kerman, Kermanshah, Kohkilouyeh-Boyerahmad, Golestan and Yazd provinces.
Rahim-Safavi noted that IRGC Air Force will deploy Shahab-II and Shahab-III missiles that have more than a 1,000-kilometer range, Fateh-110 and Zolfaqar-73 missiles, as well as rockets with more than 150-km range.
“IRGC will also use manned and unmanned reconnaissance airplanes, Sokho-25, heavy and light transportation aircrafts,“ he added.
Rahim-Safavi pointed out that MI-17 helicopters will take charge of IRGC’s Saberin military units in Hormuzgan province and some Persian Gulf islands in an area of 1,400 square kilometers.
“A total of 100 armored and mechanized brigades and special forces will use state-of-the-art technology in the wargames,“ he added.
Rahim-Safavi noted that special operations will be conducted in Hormuzgan and some regions of the Persian Gulf.
“Basij forces, including 788 battalions comprising 56 Ashura and 133 Al-Zahra battalions in 12 provinces, will take charge of defending sensitive centers, confronting any sort of instability and participating in relief operations,“ he said.
The commander also said that the IRGC Navy will use surface-to-surface and surface-to-sea missiles in an area covering the distance between Jask to Siri cities.
“Iran considers its neighbors as friends and their enemies as its enemies,“ he further added.
Rahim-Safavi pointed out that the wargames will show the preparedness of Iran’s military personnel in confronting any kind of threat.

TEHRAN, Nov. 1--State Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Tuesday Iraqi nomads are expected to play a more effective role, as they can voice their demands.
Speaking in a meeting with leaders of Iraqi Sunni and Shiite nomads, Rafsanjani noted that Iraqi people and nomads are distinguished by their Islamic and national morals, IRNA reported.
Lauding the Iraqi people’s deep understanding of current developments, the official said this also reveals the maturity and growth of the country and its people.
“If the Iraqi people fail to utilize the historical opportunity (of having a say in the government) currently available to them, they will lose such a chance forever,“ he said.
Regretting the present situation in Iraq, he said that at times actions of Iraqis are rooted in extreme prejudice.
Turning to the migration of intelligentsia from Iraq, he said, “Insecurity should not be intensified by igniting the flames of baseless conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis to make such individuals leave their motherland despite the dire need for them.“
Referring to Iraq as a rich country, Rafsanjani said that its manpower, history and natural reserves are potentials for turning it into an exemplary Third World country, adding that Iran will also benefit from a unified and advanced Iraq.
At the beginning of the session, the leaders of Iraqi Sunni and Shiite nomads presented a report on their areas and called for further attention of Iran to their country.

TEHRAN, Nov. 1--Leader’s representative in the Supreme National Security Council, Hassan Rohani, said on Wednesday a draft resolution prepared by Group 5+1 seeking to impose sanctions on Iran for its peaceful nuclear activities is ’oppressive’.
Speaking to reporters, Rohani expressed hope the resolution would not be passed by the UN Security Council because it would punish Iran unjustly for its peaceful nuclear activities, IRNA reported.
“Nonetheless, Iran is fully prepared to confront the situation. The draft resolution would most likely be ratified in a stronger form as insisted by US officials, but Russia believes it is too strongly worded,“ he said.
Rohani, who also heads the Strategic Research Center of State Expediency Council, believes there is still time to stop the passage of the draft resolution. Asked whether Iran would reduce its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if sanctions are imposed, the SEC member said, “A resolution against Iran will definitely not remain unanswered.“ Rohani further said that pursuing a nuclear program is difficult and urged the international community to help it achieve its goals.
Commenting on the military maneuvers to be staged by the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Australia and Bahrain in the Persian Gulf next week, he said Iran does not view them as a threat because currently no threat exists in the Persian Gulf that would be addressed by the US and Europe in these maneuvers.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 1--The chief of Hezbollah has said progress is being made toward freeing two Israeli soldiers, whose capture by the Shiite party in July sparked a devastating assault on Lebanon by the Zionist state.
In an interview late Tuesday with Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television, Hassan Nasrallah also took potshots at Lebanon’s leadership, AFP reported.
Calling the government weak and fearful, he demanded that Prime Minister Fuad Siniora agree to a national unity government and threatened to take his case to the streets if upcoming talks fail.
Referring to the issue that set off the devastating 34-day Israeli onslaught on Lebanon, Nasrallah said, “The UN mediator entrusted with the issue of the prisoners is meeting with Hezbollah and Israeli officials, and the negotiations are continuing. We are exchanging ideas and conditions...and the negotiations are on the right track and have achieved progress.“
On July 12, Hezbollah carried out a cross-border raid, capturing the two Israelis in a bid to secure a prisoner swap.
Israel retaliated with an offensive that ended in a truce on August 14.
Israel’s stated objective was to free the two soldiers and to destroy Hezbollah’s ability to fire rockets on the Jewish state. It failed on both counts.
But on August 27, Nasrallah confirmed that negotiations on a prisoner swap had recently begun.
Tuesday’s interview appeared to be an effort to turn up the heat on Siniora and to push him toward acceding to Hezbollah demands for a unity government.
Nasrallah accused the leadership of seeking the occupation of the country by the UN force policing a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.
The “party in power is seeking to make UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon)...occupy Lebanon and disarm the resistance,“ as Hezbollah is commonly known in Lebanon.
“This plan is dangerous and of the sort that could transform Lebanon into another Iraq and another Afghanistan,“ he said.
In mid-August, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1701, which led to a ceasefire and called for the country to be free of arms except those held by the Lebanese state.
The government, of which Hezbollah is a part, is dominated by anti-Syrian politicians who swept to power in parliamentary elections last year, partly as a result of a popular backlash against Damascus.
Hezbollah wants a government of national unity that will include other political groups, particularly its Christian ally, pro-Syrian former general Michel Aoun.

GAZA CITY, Occupied Palestine, Nov. 1--Israeli troops, backed by tanks and helicopter gunships, killed at least six Palestinian militants early Wednesday in one of the military’s largest strikes since reentering the Gaza Strip over the summer.
An Israeli soldier also was killed in the operation against rocket launchers in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, the army said, AP reported.
Despite its large-scale action in Beit Hanoun, Israel decided on Wednesday not to expand its 4-month-old military offensive in Gaza, even though Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had said earlier in the week that a broader operation was in the works.
Infantry, tanks and aircraft pummeled Beit Hanoun, which the military said was a staging ground for launching 300 rockets at Israel since the beginning of the year.
Palestinian hospital officials reported 33 wounded, most of them gunmen, but including a woman and an 11-year-old boy.
Israel, which evacuated Gaza in September 2005, reentered the coastal strip to try to recover a soldier captured in June by militants linked to the Palestinians’ ruling Hamas party. The soldier remains in captivity, but the military has since broadened its objectives in Gaza to crush militants’ rocket-launching capabilities.
The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement condemning Wednesday’s operation and urging the international community to take action to halt the incursion.
Hamas Government Spokesman Ghazi Hamad accused Israel of deliberately keeping Gaza mired in chaos to give itself “a green light in order to continue aggression against our people“.
Hamad also urged the international community “to take a serious step to stop this crazy attack from the Israeli side“.
The month-long war between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas dealt another setback, causing Olmert to shelve his plan to withdraw unilaterally from much of the West Bank. And the expansion of the Israeli government this week to include an ultra hawkish party made a new peace drive unlikely anytime soon.

TEHRAN, Nov. 1--A prominent lawmaker on Wednesday criticized the recent Majlis ratification concerning gasoline import.
Mohammad Khoshchehreh, who is also the head of Majlis Rightwing Economic Committee, urged the media to attack the populist views presently emerging in Majlis, ISNA reported.
“The populist views in Majlis are so strong that it is sufficient to include the name of a village, Imam Khomeini Relief Committee or State Welfare Organization in a Majlis plan to secure the vote of MPs,“ he said.
Khoshchehreh argued that although villages, the poor and deprived people are important, excessive reliance on populism would be harmful.
“Populism sacrifices long- and mid-term interests, as well as rational decisions for the sake of pleasing the people for a short period of time,“ he said. Khoshchehreh expressed regret over the fact that some lawmakers try to secure bigger budgets for their projects or their constituencies by overusing words such as ’village’ and Imam Khomeini Relief Committee.