TEHRAN, Aug. 8--Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said on Monday that his ministry has called on official bodies to delay the elections of the Experts Assembly as well as city and village councils.
Speaking on the sidelines of the first seminar of cultural and clerical advisors to governors general offices, Pour-Mohammadi told reporters that in a letter to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Interior Ministry announced that the concurrent holding of two elections and census is difficult, IRNA reported.
“The Interior Ministry has not announced a precise date for holding the elections and the Guardians Council has not asked the ministry to announce a date either,“ he said.
Asked who will replace the outgoing Deputy Interior Minister Ali Jannati, Pour-Mohammadi said no one has been named for the post as yet.

Gholamali Haddad-Adel

TEHRAN, Aug. 8--Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad-Adel said on Monday the sacrificing spirit of the Lebanese combatants has thwarted Israel’s savage attacks.
Addressing a gathering of university students, Haddad-Adel stressed that members of University Jihad should maintain their spirit of defensive readiness, IRNA reported.
“The high morale of the Iranian people led to the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and the blood of thousands of people helped them infuse the spirit of jihad into the country,“ he said, noting that this spirit has helped defeat Israel’s acts of savagery being perpetrated with the support of the US and the West.
“We are able to overcome all difficulties through the jihad-oriented spirit and reliance on Almighty God,“ he said.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

TEHRAN, Aug. 8--Chairman of State Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Monday the Constitutional Movement was the savior of the Iranian nation and a landmark social event.
In his message to the conference marking the 100th anniversary of Mozaffareddin Shah’s signing of the constitution drawn up by the first constituent assembly elected by public votes in 1906, Rafsanjani noted that the conference provides a good opportunity to study different aspects of the Constitutional Movement that ended despotism and opened a new chapter for democracy and respect for people’s votes, IRNA reported.
Rafsanjani honored the memory of the great personalities who played an effective role in the national campaign against despotism and said the history of Constitutional Movement should be explained to the youth.
“History is the scene of trial and error of human being so the accuracy and inaccuracy of thought of activists involved in the national movement against despotism can be tested from their practices that have been recorded,“ he said. He further said the Constitutional Movement put an end to thousands of years of despotism and was a landmark social event.
Rafsanjani noted that the Constitutional Movement brought about an opportunity for freedom of expression and contrast of thoughts.
He said that Azarbaijan province had been a pioneer of the national campaign for democracy and religious leaders also played a role in the Constitutional Movement.
“Azarbaijan province remains the cradle of civilization, culture and resistance. The intellectuals of Azarbaijan province fulfilled their responsibility toward their homeland and their religion,“ he said.
Rafsanjani called for the theoretical study of the events in the course of the Constitutional Movement.

Yahya Rahim-Safavi

TEHRAN, Aug. 8--A top military official warned against any hostility directed toward Iran, noting that instigators will not be able to confront the Iranian masses.
Referring to the failure of Israel and United States against Hezbollah while addressing a gathering of senior members of the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps, IRGC Chief Yahya Rahim-Safavi added that the armed forces should be prepared to confront all probable threats by maintaining political, cultural, military, intelligence and security vigilance.
He criticized the inactive role of international organizations and some Arab nations against the carnage of Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine by the United States, Israel and Britain as well as their allies.
“The ultimate victory belongs to those seeking restoration of the rights and freedom of the Muslim world which will undoubtedly confront the conspiracies of ’the axis of evil’, the United States, Israel and Britain,“ he said, reiterating that the oppressor is doomed to fail.
Rahim-Safavi said the latest resolution of the United Nations Security Council regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear program is “illegal and baseless“.
“Iran is entitled to access peaceful nuclear power for scientific and research purposes within the framework of international rules,“ he said.

Fajr-3 is a modern aircraft that can meet IranÕs increasing aviation requirements. (Photo by Alibaba.com)

TEHRAN, Aug. 8--A top military official said on Monday the planned mass production of Fajr-3 light aircraft is a matter of pride for the Iranian aerospace industries, given the country’s dire need for a strong and secure air fleet.
Making the remark in a ceremony to mark the grant of the manufacturing confirmation certificate to the Organization of Aerospace Industries by Civil Aviation Organization of Iran, Brigadier Ahmad Vahidi, deputy defense minister, stressed the necessity for the qualitative and quantitative development of aerospace industry, IRNA reported.
“Our aerospace industry, as an industrial pattern for the whole nation, has the capability of fulfilling the objectives of the Islamic Republic in this sector,“ he said.
Following the awarding of this certificate, the mass production of the four-passenger Fajr-3 will be launched.
Expanding on the aerospace industry’s development indices, Vahidi said development should be coupled with foresight, patience and future needs.
Referring to the aerospace industry as ’strategic’, he tied its growth to the all-out support of authorities and related organizations.
Also, speaking in the ceremony, CAOI Chief Nourollah Rezaei-Niaraki said Fajr-3 is a modern aircraft that can help meet the country’s aviation requirements.

MOSCOW, Aug. 8--Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Gholamreza Ansari on Monday submitted a message of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the Zionist regime’s aggression against Lebanon.
In a meeting with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Andre Denisov, Ansari outlined Iran’s stance on the ongoing developments in the region and called for a ceasefire in Lebanon, IRNA reported. He expressed his regret over the huge human and financial loss inflicted on the Lebanese people after 26 days of savage attacks by the Zionist regime.
“Any possible resolution will not be acceptable if it does not establish a reasonable balance and refuses to take into account the rights of the Lebanese people and their resistance. The United States, along with some other countries, intend to issue a one-sided resolution in favor of the Zionist regime, calling for a ceasefire, exchange of prisoners, deployment of international forces and even putting restrictions on military aid,“ he said.
Ansari noted that these issues will not lead to sustainable peace.
Denisov, for his part, said that as of now establishment of a ceasefire is the most important issue and that Russia has made great efforts to include the issue in the draft resolution.
“Russia would continue efforts to create greater balance in the resolution so that the Lebanese government and nation would accept it,“ he said.
denisov also urged all influential countries to immediately end the massacre in Lebanon.

KERMAN, Aug. 8--A senior security official said on Monday since May, 51 tons of narcotics have been seized.
Brigadier General Qassem Rezaei, acting commander of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Eastern Headquarters, added that 46 tons comprised opium and five tons were heroin, IRNA reported.
Rezaei noted that 653 illegal weapons and 84 stolen cars were also confiscated during this period.
“The headquarters made the aforementioned achievements by conducting about 60,000 patrolling, ambushing and clearing operations in the regions controlled by the headquarters,“ he added.
Rezaei pointed out that 53 drug traffickers were killed, 266 wounded and 181 abducted people were released.
Commenting on the stance of western countries concerning their campaign against drug trafficking, he said Afghanistan is presently producing some 4,600 tons of narcotics per year which is higher than the amount produced before the US invasion of Afghanistan.
“About 1,000 tons of narcotics are either smuggled to Iran or to its western neighboring countries via Iran. We seized 300 tons of narcotics last year,“ he said.

TEHRAN, Aug. 8--An earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale hit the outskirts of Gachsaran in the southwestern province of Kohkilouyeh-Boyerahmad early Monday. The seismological base of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University registered the quake at 09:24 hours local time (0554 GMT), IRNA reported.
The quake was epicentered in an area measuring 30.60 degrees latitude and 50.94 degrees longitude.