Ali Larijani

TEHRAN, May 30--Iran on Wednesday voiced its readiness to hold talks without any preconditions to remove concerns about its peaceful nuclear program.
Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani made the remark while speaking to reporters prior to his departure for Spain, IRNA reported.
“Tehran is ready to remove the West’s concerns over its peaceful nuclear program, provided these concerns are not a pretext,“ he said.
Larijani rejected the suspension of its uranium enrichment program concurrent with negotiations, calling it an ’unprincipled’ offer.
“Suspension will not be a proper solution to the ongoing standoff over Iran’s peaceful nuclear case. As (former UN weapons inspector chief) Hans Blix has said, if Iran is asked to suspend its nuclear activities, there would be no topic for talks,“ he said.
Asked if the suspension could be the outcome of negotiations, he said, “The outcome of talks cannot be predicted. We intend to act in a way that our peaceful nuclear program continues and causes no concerns to others.“
The top nuclear negotiator, however, stressed that Iran does not intend to give up its peaceful nuclear program to remove the ’concerns’ of others. Questioned about the recent proposal of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief Mohamed ElBaradei on limited enrichment in Iran, Larijani said, “The remarks made by ElBaradei on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program were realistic.“
Larijani noted that those who believe talks should produce predetermined results are mistaken.
The SNSC secretary is to hold the second round of his talks with the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Madrid on Thursday.
Javad Vaeedi, SNSC’s deputy secretary for international affairs, and Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization for international affairs, are accompanying Larijani in his Spain visit.

TEHRAN, May 30--Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Wednesday Iran is determined to use its right of membership in the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Speaking in the First Meeting of Public Prosecutors of 35 Muslim Countries, Mottaki noted that Iran, with a record membership of 37 years in NPT, intends to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, IRNA reported.
“Countries using state-of-the-art nuclear weapons are not in a position to deprive other countries of peaceful nuclear technology,“ he said.
Referring to the two options of “interaction and confrontation“ in the nuclear field, the minister said Iran prefers interaction and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, is presently liaising with representatives of Group 5+1 in Madrid to materialize the country’s will on this issue.
Commenting on the Iraqi issue, Mottaki pointed out that Iraq is presently suffering from two substantial problems, which are insecurity and prolonged occupation.
“From Iran’s point of view, the most appropriate way for resolving these problems is by tackling these issues,“ he said.
The foreign minister pointed out that terrorists justify their vicious acts by referring to the presence of occupying forces in Iraq and the occupiers attribute their presence in the Arab country to the ongoing terrorist acts there.
Referring to recent meetings between Tehran and Washington on Iraq’s security, Mottaki opined that negotiations have been held on the hope that American officials will admit their past mistakes.
“Officials of the two countries are presently reviewing these negotiations,“ he said.
Also addressing the meeting of Muslim prosecutors, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi called on Muslim countries to form a judicial alliance.
He noted that Muslim countries need judicial alliance to manifest genuine human rights.
Shahroudi expressed optimism that judicial alliance will be one of the first achievements of prosecutors of Muslim countries.
“The structure is usually based on Shariah (religious law) or non-Shariah system in the judicial system of Muslim countries. Iran is the only country whose judicial system is based on Islam in terms of structure, laws and penal procedure,“ he said.
The two-day meeting opened in Tehran on Wednesday.
Topics such as rights of suspects, laws and regulations and security are on the agenda.

Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi

TEHRAN, May 30--An official announced on Wednesday parliamentary elections will take place on March 14, 2008.
Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi, deputy interior minister for political affairs, also told IRNA that the registration of candidates for the next Majlis elections will begin on January 5, 2008.
“According to Article 5 of the Majlis Election Law, executive managers who wish to become candidates should resign six months before the date of registration,“ he said.
Asked about the date of Majlis elections if the bill on concurrently holding Majlis and presidential elections is ratified, Samareh-Hashemi said the Interior Ministry will act according to the present Election Law.

SHANGHAI, China, May 30--The Chinese Cabinet convened an emergency meeting and its premier made hurried media appearances to reassure worried citizens.
Crisis has been in the air in China the past week--over pork. The price of the nation’s staple meat has risen more than 43 percent over the past year, making consumers anxious and unnerving Chinese leaders. There’s even talk of tapping into a national pork reserve.
The to-do over pork speaks volumes about politics in China today. The juggernaut economy has fueled a dizzying rise in the stock market and widened a rich-poor gap, a sensitive issue for the ruling Communist Party.
With an important party meeting later this year and the hotly anticipated Beijing Olympics the next, Chinese leaders want to keep the people satisfied.
“The Chinese leadership is a lot less confident these days than it might appear to the outside world,“ said Russell Leigh Moses, a Beijing-based analyst of Chinese politics.
“Beijing is beset by a whole host of problems that really challenge their legitimacy and their image as an increasingly modern administrative government.“
The crisis touches upon concerns embedded in the national psyche. Pork is the meat of choice for all but a small number of Chinese. The word for ’meat’ means ’pork’ to most Chinese, and urban Chinese ate an average of 19.2 kilograms (42 pounds) per person in 2006, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
Inflation has played a role in previous political upheavals--eroding support for the Nationalists who ruled 60 years ago and swelling the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement in 1989.
So Premier Wen Jiabao, who has made a reputation as a man of the people, signaled the degree of high-level concern with visits last weekend to farms and markets in the heartland province of Shaanxi. “The pork price hike should have a limit, because some urban residents can’t afford it,“ Wen told farmers in Sanqu village in scenes broadcast prominently on China Central Television.
The situation “needs a market adjustment“, Wen said, as hogs grunted in the background and farmers stood in a semicircle around him listening.

Uric Atynbayev

TEHRAN, May 30--Kazakhstan’s ambassador in Tehran said on Monday Iran is opposed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and intends to use nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes.
Speaking in a press conference, Uric Atynbayev added that Kazakhstan has made remarkable breakthroughs in the nuclear field and ranks second in the field of uranium extraction.
“During the former Soviet Union era, nuclear activities were taking place in Kazakhstan and in present-day Russia. Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia is still continuing in the field of uranium extraction after the disintegration of Soviet Union and independence of Kazakhstan. Uranium enrichment and establishment of nuclear plants are being implemented for producing electricity,“ he said.
Atynbayev pointed out that Kazakhstan, as an exporter of nuclear fuel, has jointly established a company for uranium enrichment in Russia.
“Iran is entitled to uranium enrichment under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),“ he said.
Commenting on Kazakhstan’s economy, Atynbayev opined that his country has an economic growth rate of 7 to 8 percent and financial institutions are obliged to help the country quit its reliance on oil revenues.
“Trade between Iran and Kazakhstan has reached $2.09 billion which is reasonable, as the same figure was $900 million two years ago,“ he said.
Atynbayev noted that more than 90 percent of Kazakhstan’s economy are handled by the private sector and Iran’s new policies for boosting privatization can make the private sectors of both the countries more active.
“We are planning to establish the Iran-Kazakhstan Trade Council to strengthen the private sectors of the two countries,“ he said.
Atynbayev pointed out that most economic collaborations between Iran and Kazakhstan have been in the oil sector, but both countries will try to increase their cooperation in the transportation sector as well.
“A company titled ’Caspian Silkway’ will be established to expedite cooperation in the transportation sector,“ he said.
Commenting on trade transactions with Iran, Atynbayev noted that Iran and Kazakhstan have oil and wheat swap cooperation and import petrochemicals and vegetables from Iran.
“Iran’s Sadr Shipping Company plans to manufacture vessels with capacities of two to three tons for shipping in the Caspian Sea,“ he said.
Referring to the visit of a delegation from Kazakhstan’s Mangistau province to Iran, Atynbayev said the delegation signed memoranda of understanding with officials from three provinces of Gilan, Golestan and Mazandaran for boosting cooperation among production units of the two countries.
“We have established sound cooperation in the field of metallurgy with Iranian companies. A protocol has been signed between Iran and Kazakhstan in the field of metallurgy.
A factory with a capacity of 800,000 tons in Aktobe and another with a capacity of 2.2 million tons in Kostanai will be built. Iranian engineers are in charge of establishing these factories,“ he said.
Atynbayev pointed out that a free trade zone has been set up in Aktau where Iranians can invest.
“We are also willing to invest in Iran’s free trade zones,“ he said.
The Kazakh diplomat noted that Kazakhstan wants to increase transactions between Aktau, Noshahr and Amirabad ports.
“Bandar Abbas will also be added to this route in order to gain access to international markets,“ he said.

TEHRAN, May 30--Ten terrorists were killed and dozens wounded in clashes along the mountainous western border of the country.
The incident took place near Salmas, West Azarbaijan province, 30 kilometers from Iran’s border with Turkey and 100 kilometers from Iraq.
According to a statement by Khatam-ul-Anbiya Operational Headquarters, border guards on their way back from a border cleansing operation clashed with armed terrorists late on Monday, IRNA reported.
“Operational units succeeded on Monday in killing 10 armed counter-revolutionaries in the Salmas region as part of a campaign to cleanse and secure the border region,“ the statement said, adding that the operation is continuing.
Early Wednesday, IRNA reported that seven Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps members and five terrorists were killed in clashes in the same area on Monday night.
Clashes occurred when insurgents ambushed a patrol of border guards. Several Iranian troops were injured and one of the insurgents was arrested, the report said, without giving further details.
The Intelligence Ministry has said that Iran has uncovered several spying networks working for “occupation forces in Iraq and certain Iraqi groups“.
The ministry said the spy networks comprised elements from the Iraq occupiers in western, southwestern and central Iran.

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 30--About 300 people marched through the Afghan capital Kabul Wednesday in the latest in a series of countrywide demonstrations against the parliament’s removal this month of an outspoken woman legislator.
Men and women--a handful of them wearing blue burqas--shouted slogans in support of Malalai Joya and praised her criticism of fellow MPs who played a role in the 1992-96 civil war that left 80,000 dead in Kabul alone, AFP reported.
Marchers chanted “Down with fundamentalists, down with criminals who are in parliament“ as they marched past offices of the United Nations and government ministries.
“She is the only person who is fighting against the warlords -- these people who had killed Afghan people during their war,“ said one protestor, a bearded and elderly farmer named Shah Hussein, from the southern province of Kandahar.
The lower house of parliament suspended Joya, 28, on May 21 until parliament is dissolved before the 2010 parliamentary elections after she was shown in a television interview comparing parliament to a stable.
Human Rights Watch said days later that while parliament’s rules forbid lawmakers from criticizing one another, MPs had regularly done so without anyone else having been suspended.
Many seats of the parliament elected in 2005 are filled by former heroes of the anti-Soviet resistance accused of rights abuses and war crimes in the subsequent civil war. They are still powerful.
“Some people in parliament are against peace in Afghanistan,“ said a young teacher, Aria Aahmad. “She says things as they are.“
A declaration distributed by organizers of the march said parliament’s “unjust action“ had caused “nationwide anger“.
Joya, who was elected in her home province of Farah in the 2005 parliamentary polls, was “the rightful representative of her people and no person or organization has the right to suspend her“, it said.
There have been a series of small demonstrations in support of Joya in a handful of towns across the country.