Alaeddin Boroujerdi

TEHRAN, June 30--A senior lawmaker said the time-out proposal is not new and unsuitable for resolving Iran’s nuclear case.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, also told IRNA that time-out was proposed by several governments before and each time it was rejected by Iran.
Meanwhile, the US and fellow permanent UN Security Council members have told Iran they will hold off on new sanctions if it stops expanding its uranium enrichment activities as they seek to restart talks over Tehran’s nuclear program, diplomats said.
They said the Iranian government had not yet responded to the proposal, which was made earlier this month by the six powers seeking to engage Tehran--the five permanent Security Council members and Germany, AP reported.
The public stance by Washington and its key backers remains that Iran should cease all enrichment, but the offer reflects a readiness to accept Tehran’s current program--at least initially--in hopes of reducing tensions and creating an atmosphere for negotiations.
It picks up on the idea raised by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency, who called for a time-out both on enrichment and on a third round of UN sanctions against Iran.
Iran’s enrichment work is intended only to produce fuel for nuclear reactors that would generate electricity.
Diplomats told AP earlier this month that Britain, France and Germany were studying the time-out proposal as a way to get talks going again to pursue the West’s goal of getting Iran to rein in its nuclear program and allay fears it is developing atomic weapons.
On Friday, the diplomats said Britain drafted the proposal that was submitted to Tehran earlier this month on behalf of the United States, the three European nations, China and Russia.
They said the offer was delivered by the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, to Ali Larijani, Tehran’s chief negotiator.
Officials told the AP last month that Iran had considered stopping some--but not all--of its enriched-uranium producing centrifuges last year in exchange for negotiations.
But the United States, Britain and France continued to insist on a full freeze.
Iran’s stated goal is to ultimately run 54,000 centrifuges to churn out enriched uranium. It now has more than 3,000 operating and producing small low-enriched quantities.

TEHRAN, June 30--Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday backed gasoline rationing and called it a courageous move on the government’s part.
In a meeting with Cabinet members and executive directors from across the country, the leader said the government has acted courageously in line with the objectives and values of the Islamic Revolution, IRNA reported.
Ayatollah Khamenei also appreciated the strong resolve of the government and the executive body to advance the priorities set in the 20-Year Vision for Economic, Social and Cultural Development.
The leader commended the government’s plan to select efficient directors with strong motivations to serve the people and said the efficient executive personnel would bring both material and spiritual progress for the nation.
“The current planning has given impetus to the lofty goals of the Islamic Revolution and the incumbent government has focused on the spirit of the Islamic Revolution and its agenda. It is an exceptional opportunity,“ he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei also said the opportunity should help render more services to the people, adding that certain individuals, who were even loyal to the Islamic Revolution, thought that the slogans of the Islamic Revolution have become irrelevant.
“Several people even became rude enough to say that the campaign to remove poverty did not work, but the Islamic Revolution’s aspiration to campaign for social justice was revived thanks to the election of the current government,“ he said.
The leader pointed out that Iran has had a long record of despotism during the Qajar and Pahlavi regimes which created chronic problems in the way of social progress.
“It is praiseworthy that the incumbent government is working hard by using the services of efficient and faithful personnel to remove the bottlenecks, which call for both bravery and adequate planning,“ he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the government will spend $4 billion saved in energy subsidies on development projects, including investments to create jobs. He advised the government to publicize its plans to administer social justice and distinguish constructive criticism from fault-finding ones.
Supporting the cabinet’s provincial tours, the leader said it was a good opportunity to become acquainted with the difficulties of people living in remote areas.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the government is responsible for the material needs and livelihood of people, and macro planning should support such a responsibility.

Ken Livingstone

LONDON, June 30--London Mayor Ken Livingstone called on Britons Saturday not to demonize Muslims after a double car bomb plot was foiled in the capital.
Livingstone also criticized Britain over its ties with Saudi Arabia, which he said had fuelled intolerance in the past through its Wahhabi form of reactionary Islam, creating a “major problem“, Alalam.ir reported.
“In this city, Muslims are more likely to be law-abiding than non-Muslims and less likely to support the use of violence to achieve political ends than non-Muslims,“ he told BBC Radio.
“They have played a good and active and growing role in creating a multicultural society.“
The mayor noted that terrorist acts had been carried out in London over the years by various groups, including for example far-right groups.
For years, the British capital was wracked by violence by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
“All I am interested in as mayor is that we try to prevent all acts of violence whether it is by a disaffected young member of the (far-right) BNP (British National Party), whether it is by an Islamist or a Wahhabi supporter,“ he said.It was crucial to understand “that that doesn’t mean that all white men are potentially a threat to society any more than all Muslims are,“ he added.
But the mayor criticized the British government’s ties with Saudi Arabia, saying it remained unclear if Riyadh had stemmed huge amounts of funding which he said flows from the country.
“We have got to understand that when we talk about the Wahhabi strand of Islam, which is very intolerant, our major problem in dealing with it is that it flows out of Saudi Arabia,“ he said.
Livingstone said Wahhabism was the official religion of the Saudi royal family, and noted that Riyadh was one of the main buyers of British arms.

Ramezan Abdullah

GAZA CITY, Occupied Palestine, June 30--Hamas rejected Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ call for the deployment of international troops in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, regarding the request as a threat to the unity of Palestinians.
The movement vowed to attack them like other “occupation forces“, Alalam.ir reported.
“We would regard such a force as an army of occupation and we would forcibly resist it,“ Hamas’s military wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said.
“We appeal to the international community and to Arab states to reject this request which could harm Palestinian unity.“
Abbas, who also leads the Fatah faction, told French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a visit to Paris on Friday that he wanted international peacekeepers to deploy in Gaza in order to ensure free elections can be held there.
“An international force is not acceptable to us,“ said Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian prime minister. “We are under (Israeli) occupation and we do not need more forces that will put more pressure on the Palestinian people.“
Farouq Al-Qaddoumi, head of the political wing of Palestinian
Liberation Organizatio, said the recent decision of Abbas to disarm Palestinian groups is illegal.

Ismail Haniyeh

He added that Palestinians now need unity and solidarity for fighting the Zionist regime of Israel more than ever, QODSNA reported.
“It is necessary to strengthen unity among Palestinian groups and use weapons for fighting Israelis,“ he said.
Qaddoumi noted that Palestinian fighters will not abandon their weapons, as long as the Zionist regime maintains its occupation.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad Movement Ramezan Abdullah said on Saturday Abbas should accept talks with Hamas leaders for breaking the political impasse.
Speaking on Almoheet TV Channel, Abdullah added that the Hamas request for talks with Abbas has remained unanswered and Abbas’ approach is surprising, QODSNA reported.
“Israel has adopted the most hostile policies against Palestinians. It has killed and arrested many Palestinians and Abbas agrees to negotiate with Israeli officials. This is surprising,“ he said.
Abdullah said Fatah and Hamas should give up some of their interests and come to an agreement, stressing that Islamic Jihad would never support the idea of Hamas giving up power as a Fatah precondition for talks.
“Islamic Jihad will always support Hamas,“ he said.

RIYADH,
Saudi Arabia,
June 30--Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Turki bin Mohammad said on Saturday Tehran and Riyadh play a very sensitive and vital role in the region.
Prince Turki was speaking to Iran’s Ambassador in Saudi Arabia Mohammad Hosseini, IRNA reported.
“Currently, the region is faced with very serious and dangerous challenges,“ he said, adding that continuation of such a trend would entail adverse consequences for the region and the Muslim world.
He said Saudi foreign policy is based on non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and establishment of stability and security in the region.
The Saudi official stressed Iran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes based on international regulations and called for resolving the nuclear dispute through political and diplomatic means.
Hosseini, for his part, pointed to commonalities between Iran and Saudi Arabia and said mutual relations have been established based on common interests to reinforce Islamic unity.
“We should expand our cooperation with goodwill and based on the interests of the region and the Islamic world to stabilize regional security,“ he said.
The Iranian envoy added that fanning the flames of religious strife means moving in line with the illegitimate interests of Islam’s enemies, the Zionists in particular.
Hosseini stressed the importance of reinforcing Muslim unity and solidarity more than before.