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West opposed to Iran-IAEA constructive cooperation

A move by the US, Britain and France on release of 10 pages of additional questions over Iran's peaceful nuclear program was aimed to counter the constructive cooperation between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog, a diplomat said here Thursday.
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Ahmadinejad:Iran Monitoring US Military Moves in Region

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Wednesday said his country is monitoring US military moves in the region very closely, stressing that Islamic Republic officials are ready for all possible conditions.

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Iran Starts Industrial Enrichment

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Wednesday said that his country has started uranium enrichment at an industrial scale since the beginning of the current Iranian year, (started March 21).

Ahmadinejad:

"Industrial enrichment started at the beginning of the year when I was in Natanz and it has continued since then,"

Iran's nuclear activities are at an industrial scale, carried out under the inspection of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA

Government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham :

"We are moving on a path which leads to industrial (enrichment) technology and we want to use this technology for our nuclear power plants in a peaceful way and within the regulations," Elham said in response to the question if Iran intends to increase the number of its centrifuges to over 3,000.
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USA soldiers in persian golf

Israel 's anger indicates ElBaradei’s report is positive

Harsh attacks against the IAEA and its Director General Mohamed ElBaradei by the Zionist officials indicates that the agency’s report is in favor of Iran, said MP Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh here on Monday.

“This position indicates that the International Atomic Energy Agency director general’s report will be in favor of Iran,” Falahatpisheh, a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told the Mehr News Agency. Iran and the IAEA agreed on a timetable in August for Tehran to provide answers to remaining questions over its nuclear program. The IAEA is set to release its report to the IAEA Board of Governors on November 23 and 24. On nuclear proposals by European foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal, he said the security committee plans to review both proposals so to “see what their nature is.” If the plans are intended to deprive Iran of its right to nuclear enrichment, they will be rejected, he explained. Saudi foreign minister said recently that his country and the other five members of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council had suggested setting up a consortium, possibly based in Switzerland, to provide enriched uranium to Iran to defuse its confrontation with the West over its nuclear plans. Asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin in his recent trip to Tehran carried any messages from the U.S. President George W. Bush to Iranian officials, the MP said, “Westerners had pressured him (Putin) to be Bush’s messenger, but Putin had not accepted.”

http://www.mehrnews.com/en

The lonesome cowboy of the Middle East

As the crises become more acute in the Middle East and South Asia and developments rapidly change in the region, the United States is on the precipice of a major foreign policy and security crisis.

The critical situation in Pakistan, the uncertain future of Pervez Musharraf’s government, the rise in bombings in Afghanistan, the fact that the Turkish army is on alert on the border of northern Iraq, the dispute over the presidential election in Lebanon, and the increased tension in the occupied territories of Palestine are giving rise to a situation that will shake the position of the U.S. in the region. Pakistan, a nuclear power which is regarded as an ally of the United States, is in a bleak political situation due to the current national crisis. If instability rises in Pakistan, the country’s nuclear arsenal could become a major security issue for the region and the world. U.S. officials are becoming worried because hardliners could take power if General Musharraf is not able to control the situation, and then the country’s nuclear arsenal could threaten U.S. interests in the region. Turkey, another military ally of the U.S. and an important member of NATO, is at a sensitive juncture. It has deployed its troops on Iraq’s northern border, and a protracted struggle between the Turkish army and the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) seems likely. Of course, recent developments in northern Iraq have raised concerns in the White House, and the U.S. is trying to prevent the Turkish army from attacking PKK hideouts in the impassable heights of Iraqi Kurdistan. This has caused problems for Turkey’s Islamist government and influenced the country’s relations with the U.S. If the PKK issue is not resolved in a way acceptable to the Turkish government, relations between Turkey and the United States will seriously deteriorate. In Afghanistan, the Taleban and Al-Qaeda are increasing their forces and expanding their operations against NATO and ISAF (the International Security Assistance Force), and this will intensify the crisis in the country. Events in Afghanistan will surely cause some differences among the United States’ military allies since it is becoming increasingly difficult for NATO and ISAF forces to deal with the current level of casualties. The increased violence in Palestine and the Zionist regime’s siege of Gaza City could cast a shadow over the Autumn Peace Conference and eventually lead to its failure. In Lebanon, the deadline for holding the presidential election is approaching and disputes between the March 14 and March 8 groups are rising, which will lead to unpredictable developments. In fact, it is the interference of the U.S. and France in the internal and electoral affairs of Lebanon which has led to the current political stalemate in the country. In Iraq, George W. Bush’s former allies are distancing themselves from him, the wave of violence is swelling, and U.S. forces are becoming more and more drained, making it more difficult for them to remain in the country. With the situation about to spin out of control in the Middle East and many of Washington’s close allies in the region experiencing internal crises, the United States is facing a major foreign policy crisis. Clearly, if the U.S. does not revise its Middle East policy and does not seek new allies in the region, it will face a political crisis that will influence the 2008 presidential election. Now many of Bush’s old associates blame him for his aggressive policies that have been implemented throughout the world and believe that the current situation is harmful to U.S. interests. Thus, it is not surprising that Bush’s friends have dubbed him the lonesome cowboy of the Middle East.

http://www.mehrnews.com/en

Ahmadinejad: Iran should get ready for its global missions

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday, "We should get ready to carry out our significant missions in the world." The president made the remark while addressing students, professors and officials of Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran.

"We should first resolve our geopolitical issues and then prepare ourselves for the next move," he said.

The enemies try to convince the world that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not capable of handling its own affairs, he said, adding that "In my belief the God Almighty will humiliate the big powers." The enemies try to create obstacles to deviate Iran from path of development and success, said the president. keep reading

Iran keen to boost ties with Africa

The seminar on Iran-Africa Trade Opportunities kicked off here on Monday, with high-ranking officials stressing the expansion of bilateral economic ties

Mas’ud Mirkazemi, the commerce minister, announced that Africa’s exports to Iran show a 165 percent rise during 2001-2007 while its imports from Iran was tripled in the period keep reading

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad :Arrogant world angry with Iran-Africa cooperation

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Monday that the arrogant world today is frowned over cooperation between Iran and Africa.

President Ahmadinejad told a group of ministers attending the Seminar of Iran-Africa Trade Opportunities that Iran and African states, which have abundant financial and human resources, are in today's world in need of very serious, all-out and close cooperation. keep reading

Anti-war activists do battle over intervention in Iran

An acrimonious war of words has broken out between notable luminaries within the anti-war movement after the Stop the War Coalition refused to allow a group that campaigns against military intervention in Iran to join its ranks.

The decision has prompted a number of prominent activists, including Peter Tatchell and Michael Mansfield QC, to accuse the coalition of being apologists for the Iranian government by "refusing to allow any criticism" of the Tehran regime.

Hands Off the People of Iran (Hopi), a small group of predominantly Iranian exiles who campaign for regime change in Iran but are against external military intervention, were told last month they could not be affiliated to the Stop the War Coalition after their application was rejected by a vote at the anti-war coalition's annual meeting. Members of Hopi said they have been "excommunicated" because of their vociferous opposition to the Tehran regime.

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Iran Has a Right to Seek N. Technology

Some call it "the nuclear double standard;" others, "nuclear apartheid;" still others, "America's nuclear hypocrisy." But it has rarely been expressed as baldly as it was during the last days of October 2007.

Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and Randall Forsberg, the genius behind the 1982 Central Park nuclear freeze rally, which the New York Times called the largest political demonstration in American history, both died - with exquisite irony, within a few days of each other.

As if that didn't illustrate enough the tensions of the nuclear age, two Bush administration officials - United Nations Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey - made simultaneous remarks that illuminated the nuclear double standard more starkly than ever. keep reading

British MPs Underline Iran's N. Rights

A group of British lawmakers, currently on a visit to Tehran, reiterated Iran's right to possess nuclear technology in a meeting with their Iranian counterparts, a prominent Iranian lawmaker said.

"The head of the British parliamentary delegation reiterated Iran's right to possess nuclear technology several times during the meeting," rapporteur of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazem Jalali told FNA following a meeting between the two sides here in Tehran on Monday . keep reading

Mofaz’s shameful and arrogant suggestions

Since Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency signed a deal on August 21 to clear up the remaining questions about Iran’s nuclear activities Israel and U.S. became too angry and started leveling charges against the IAEA and its director Mohamed ElBaradei.

This angriness and impudence is becoming more and more naked as Iran and the IAEA are actually succeeding to resolve all differences one by one, especially after ElBaradei stressed in an interview with CNN on October 28 that there is no evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons keep reading

US Will Not Win Iran War

VIENNA, Austria, Nov. 10--

The US will not win if it opts for a new war with Iran, Germany’s former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said on Saturday. Any US attack on Iran would be a ’nightmare’, said Fischer during a discussion at Vienna’s Institute for Human Sciences, IRNA reported. He described as ’shocking’ comments on the issue made by Rudolph Giuliani, who is one of the Republican candidates for the 2008 presidential election. Giuliani said last month: “If I become president of the United States, I guarantee you, we will never find out what they will do if they get nuclear weapons, because they are not going to get a nuclear weapon.““The military option is not off the table.“Fischer said the upcoming elections in Iran and the US could heighten tensions between the two countries over Tehran’s nuclear program. He warned the US not to start another war that could not be won. The United States is spearheading international efforts to thwart Iran’s atomic work, but Iran denies western charges that it is trying to build atomic weapons. source

Bush extends Iranian asset freeze

President George W. Bush on Friday extended by one year a freeze of Iranian government assets in the United States that has been in place since the 1979 Islamic revolution, the White House said.
The measure was ordered by then president Jimmy Carter on November 14, 1979, 10 days after students took over the U.S. embassy in Tehran where they eventually held about 60 hostages for 444 days. The crisis led to the end of U.S.-Iranian diplomatic relations in 1980. The asset freeze, which has been renewed every year, is a source of resentment in Iran. Washington has since reinforced a sanctions regime on the Islamic Republic. The United States is also pushing for UN sanctions to punish Iran for its refusal to halt its nuclear program.source

The 5+1 Has Accepted 3.000 Centrifuges for Iran”

• Russian Foreign Affairs Minister was the last high-ranking personality who met Mr. Ahmadinejad on 30 October


• Iran had put into operation more than 3,000 centrifuges and every week we install a new series, Mr. Ahmadinejad had said last month.

Paris, 7 Nov. (IPS) The United States has sent a message to Iran, saying they are ready for talks in case Iran “stops its nuclear activities at 3.000 centrifuges“, the fanatic Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed Wednesday.

“The Big Ill-humoured (the new name Ahmadinejad is bestowing to the United States) has sent a message to the Islamic Republic, saying if you stop at the level of 3.000 centrifuges, we are ready to talk (to you) “, the President told people at Birjand, the capital city of the Southern Khorasan Province, bordering with Afghanistan.

“On behalf of the Iranian people, I told those who brought the message that we had not asked anybody to talk to put conditions for us”, Mr. Ahmadinejad said. keep reading

The Iranian Challenge

• Although the ruling clergy in Iran are very unpopular, they are not going anywhere anytime soon.



• Iran often conceals its real objectives behind layers of ideological rhetoric, with the aim of confusing potential enemies



• Intrusive inspections is the best tool to ensure that Iran doesn't divert its civilian program into a military one.

Iran will be the top foreign policy challenge for the United States in the coming years. Washington’s failure to understand Iran is partly because it for a long time could afford to ignore that country – and adopt self-serving and ultimately false assumptions about Tehran.

Today, Washington can no longer afford to be in the dark about the realities of Iran. For the next President of the United States to be successful in dealing with Iran, he or she must first reassess these assumptions before a new policy can be adopted.

In the piece below, published in a special edition of The Nation Magazine, he discusses these assumptions and describes how Washington can change Iran’s behavior by modifying its own.keep reading

IRGC Commander Highlights Iran's Security

Commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari :

Despite enemies' plots and threats, our Islamic country enjoys tranquility and security, but sustainable peace and security requires vigilance and preparedness of the armed forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in particular.