TEHRAN, Oct. 19--Government Spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said Friday that the Caspian littoral states have agreed on 14 out of 20 pending issues of the Caspian Sea.
It was not clear which of the key problems that have prevented a long-awaited agreement on the Caspian Sea legal regime had been addressed.
Speaking in the holy city of Qom, he noted that presidents of the five Caspian states signed a historic pact on the world’s largest inland lake during the second Caspian Summit held in Tehran on Tuesday.
Presidents of Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan also agreed not to allow their territory to be used for attacking another littoral state, he said in reference to a declaration signed by the five heads of government in Tehran on October 16.
Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s participation in the summit, Elham said no other Russian leader had visited Iran for many years and Putin’s visit opened a new chapter in two-way relations.
He pointed out that although Russia has veto power in the UN Security Council, Iran does not rely on any outside power.
Commenting on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York and his speech at the UN General Assembly, he opined that Ahmadinejad took the opportunity to announce his stance on the crucial global need for justice and righteousness, and oppose the arrogant powers trying to dominate the world.
On the issue of poverty in Iran, Elham pointed out that the campaign against poverty, seen as one of the oldest and most difficult struggles in the world, “is a cultural issue and not merely limited to“ money matters.
He attributed some of the country’s key problems to mismanagement and added that the government wants to make “optimum use of the people’s potentials without having to rely on political parties.“
Referring to the cultural conditions inside the country and emphasis by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei that the cultural climate must improve, Elham said the “attitude and performance of officials has a direct bearing on cultural issues.“

HERAT, Afghanistan, Oct. 19--Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta said Friday there was no evidence that Iran was supplying weapons to Taliban militants.
“Our government has no evidence to show Iran is giving weapons to the Taliban and we have never stated this,“ Spanta told reporters after meeting with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki in the western city of Herat, AFP reported.
US and British officials have alleged for months that weapons from Iran are going to the Taliban rebels fighting Kabul and its international allies, the main one being Washington with which Tehran has a strained relationship.
Iran has denied the allegations and Afghanistan has also said it has no proof.
Asked about the US claims, Mottaki said: “These are claims that they make. For us the motives behind these claims are clear.“
He did not elaborate but suggested there were contacts, which he did not make clear, between “terrorist groups in Afghanistan“ and “political circles and European capitals.“
Iran is fully behind the reconstruction of post-Taliban Afghanistan, both ministers said.
The Afghan and Iranian ministers met with their Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Kasuri in Herat ahead of a conference Saturday of foreign ministers from 10 regional countries in the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).
ECO incorporates Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Traders in the oil future pit work the floor at the New York Mercantile Exchange, Oct. 19.

SINGAPORE,
Oct. 19--Oil prices surpassed US$90 a barrel for the first time after-hours trading in New York on speculative buying before slipping back Friday in Asia.
Investors are being drawn to energy futures as a hedge against the weakening US dollar. That, plus worries over tensions between Turkey and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, has lifted crude oil prices to new records for five straight days, AP reported.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose to US$90.02 a barrel in Thursday evening electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. By midmorning Friday in Singapore, the contract retreated to US$89.54 a barrel.
While oil prices have risen sharply in recent days, the weak US dollar is seen as somewhat moderating the impact of high oil prices in other currencies. The greenback fell to a new low against the euro Thursday and also sagged against the yen.
Analysts said investors were also buying more oil to hedge further losses in the currency.
“The main way the weak US dollar is actually relevant to oil and possibly other commodities such as gold, is that you may have seen some investment in those commodities as a hedge against US dollar weakness and that has pushed up their price,“ said David Moore, commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
Data released in recent weeks shows speculative buying of oil futures is on the rise. Many analysts feel the underlying fundamentals of supply and demand do not support oil prices of US$90 a barrel. “While oil markets are tight, there is a question as to whether the current price is sustainable,“ Moore said.
In Thursday’s Nymex floor session, the November contract rose US$2.07 to a record close of US$89.47 a barrel.

TEHRAN, Oct. 19--Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said Tehran will use all the necessary means to defend the country against threats by the US-led arrogant powers.
Speaking in a meeting with senior officials and military commanders on Wednesday, Brigadier-General Najjar pointed out that Iran is a peaceful nation and a staunch supporter of diplomacy and dialogue to address major problems, IRNA reported
Referring to the a recent statement by US defense secretary, Robert Gates who said all options against Iran are on the table, Najjar said US rulers and their neocon patrons should know that Iran will give a crushing response to their unwise judgments and decisions which will be far beyond their imagination.
“The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the only international body that should address Iran’s nuclear issue and resolve the remaining ambiguities.“
Najjar reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program is geared to civilian use and the same has been established on more occasions than one.
The defense chief hailed the second Caspian Summit in Tehran this week and noted that the high-profile meeting will help promote sustainable peace and stability in the region.
“Iran showed that it is ready to interact with the regional countries at the highest level. Achievements of the summit can also be a model for future cooperation among the Persian Gulf states,“ he said.
With respect to the so-called Middle East peace conference to be held in the US next month, Najjar asserted that such gatherings can be effective only when rights of the Palestinian nation are fully restored.
Extra-territorial powers are not in a position to guarantee peace and security in this part of the world, he declared.
“Iran considers establishment of security by regional forces and non-interference of aliens in the affairs of
Middle East nations the most important criterion
for establishing peace and stability and eliminating terrorism in the region.“

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 19--Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto said Friday she would carry on her struggle for democracy, despite an attack on her motorcade that killed 133 people as she returned home after eight years of exile.
“We are prepared to risk our lives. We’re prepared to risk our liberty. But we’re not prepared to surrender this great nation to militants,“ Bhutto, wearing a black armband, told a news conference at the home of her parents-in-law in Karachi, Reuters reported.
“The attack was on what I represent. The attack was on democracy and the very unity and integrity of Pakistan.“
The 54-year-old former prime minister returned on Thursday to lead her Pakistan People’s Party into national elections due in January that are meant to mark a transition from military to civilian-led democracy.
Bhutto said she had known an attempt on her life was coming and she expected more. She also alluded to enemies in government who were spreading militancy and plotting against her.
“I am not accusing the government. I am accusing people, certain individuals who abuse their positions. Who abuse their powers,“ she said.
Traveling in a truck reinforced to withstand bomb attacks, Bhutto was unhurt by one of the deadliest bomb attacks in her country’s violent history. The Interior Ministry said 133 people had been killed and 290 wounded.
The grenade and suicide attack struck Bhutto’s motorcade as it edged through hundreds of thousands of well-wishers who had stayed up late into the night to welcome the two-time prime minister back to Pakistan after years of self-imposed exile.
There was no claim of responsibility.

LISBON, Portugal,
Oct. 19--EU leaders approved a new treaty early Friday to replace the aborted constitution, after overcoming last-ditch obstacles, the bloc’s Portuguese presidency said.
“It’s done, there’s an agreement,“ a spokesman for the presidency said after late-night summit talks in Lisbon to hammer out the Reform Treaty, aimed at streamlining the decision-making architecture of the expanding Union, AFP reported.
The treaty, which had been held up notably by wrangling over voting rights for Poland and Italian demands for more MEPs in the European parliament, will be signed on December 13, a diplomat added.
The announcement came after officials confirmed a deal to resolve the Polish and Italian problems.
The Italians were unhappy that under the new treaty they would lose parity in the European parliament with France and Britain.
Under their deal they would be given an extra seat, bringing them up to Britain’s level and one seat below France, a European diplomat said.
To avoid going above the 750-seat maximum ordained for the parliament, its president would lose the voting rights which he very rarely exercises.
Details of the Polish deal were not immediately available. Warsaw had threatened to veto a deal on the treaty if it did not give authority to the so-called “Ioannina“ mechanism, named after the Greek city where it was agreed upon, which allows a minority of nations to temporarily block EU decisions.
By endorsing the new treaty, the European Union would end the political impasse that has dogged the 27-nation bloc since French and Dutch voters rejected a proposed EU constitution in 2005 referendums.

Nicolas Sarkozy Cecilia Sarkozy

PARIS, Oct. 19--Cecilia Sarkozy says her marriage to French President Nicolas Sarkozy failed just five months after his election because she hated life in the limelight.
“For him, it’s like a violinist who has been given a Stradivarius, suddenly he has the chance to practice his art,“ she told L’Est Republicain regional daily in an interview published on Friday. “It’s not the same thing for me,“ Reuters reported.
Sarkozy’s office announced on Thursday the couple had ended their 11-year marriage, making Cecilia’s stint as “first lady“ the shortest in French history.
“We tried everything, I tried everything. But it just wasn’t possible anymore ... Public life doesn’t suit me,“ she said in remarks that were noticeably free of any trace of bitterness.
“I am someone who likes to be in the shadows, who likes serenity, tranquility.“
Sarkozy, who is still wearing his wedding ring, slapped down a question about his divorce during a news conference at the end of an EU summit in Portugal.
“I was elected by the French people to find solutions to their problems, not to comment on my private life,“ he said sharply. The French people were much less interested in his divorce than the media, he added.
The confirmation of their divorce, after months of marital strife, knocked a major transport strike off the nation’s front pages. The pair first separated in 2005 and Cecilia moved to New York to be with another man.
“In 2005, I met someone, I fell in love, I left,“ she said.