Mohammad Ali Hosseini

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the essence of Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities is totally different from those of other countries.
Speaking in his weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Hosseini made the remark in response to a question on the US move to compare Iran’s peaceful nuclear program with that of North Korea, IRNA reported.
Hosseini said that comparing Iran’s nuclear activities with that of other countries is ’wrong’.
“Such a comparison is in line with hostile disinformation made by the western media,“ he said, adding that all Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities are under the direct supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency and fully comply with the Non-Proliferation Treaty’s provisions.
The spokesman made it clear that the agency’s reports have verified non-diversion of Iran’s nuclear program.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s strategy has always been based on Islamic values and principles as well as international regulations. The country has never pursued non-peaceful objectives,“ he said.

Israeli Violation
Hosseini further said Israel is responsible for the abduction of Iranian diplomats in Lebanon in 1982, which is a clear violation of international rules and regulations.
Iran’s then charge d’affaires to Beirut Mohsen Mousavi, Iranian diplomat Taqi Rastegar-Moqaddam, the country’s military attachŽ Ahmad Motevasselian and IRNA’s photojournalist Kazem Akhavan were kidnapped in Beirut in 1982 while being escorted by the Lebanese police on their way back home from a mission in northern Lebanon.
The spokesman added that Iran has made great efforts in the past 26 years to clarify the fate of the kidnapped Iranian nationals and will continue the same.
“Tehran has urged international organizations, including the United Nations, to exert pressure on Tel Aviv to help clarify the whereabouts of the abducted Iranians soon,“ he said.
Rushdie Knighthood Condemned
The spokesman vigorously condemned the awarding of a knighthood to Salman Rushdie--the author of the blasphemous book ’The Satanic Verses’.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II conferred a knighthood on Indian-British author Salman Rushdie during a ceremony held in London’s Buckingham Palace last Wednesday. Many believe the move could trigger a fresh wave of protest by Muslim nations.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran views the move by Britain as a clear insult to the beliefs and values of more than one billion Muslims across the world and an unpleasant and unacceptable act,“ he said.
The founder of the Islamic Revolution, the late Imam Khomeini, pronounced the death sentence on Rushdie because of blasphemy against Islam. The book created a firestorm in the Muslim world when it was published in 1988.
Hosseini added that Rushdie was the person who started the trend of insulting the values of Muslims in the West. Imam Khomeini’s fatwa on Rushdie led to a wide-ranging campaign against this disgusting approach.
“Simultaneous with the recent UK decision to remove the terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization from its list of terrorist groups, irrespective of its criminal background, we witness that the British queen knights Rushdie for his revolting behavior toward Islam,“ he said.

Painful Reminder
Hosseini stated that the painful event of the attack on Iran Air Flight 655 by US missiles on July 3, 1988, over the Persian Gulf was a reminder of the aggressive attitude of the White House toward Iran and an indication of the US officials’ hatred of the Iranian nation.
“The brutal US act violated all internationally-accepted regulations. Washington showed in practice that it is a clear example of state terrorism sponsorship,“ he said.
The USS Vincennes killed all 290 passengers and crew on board the flight heading for Dubai from Bandar Abbas.

The State Council of China on Tuesday appreciated the relief aid of Iran, other countries as well as international organizations to the quake victims of Sichuan province, southwestern China.
In an announcement reported by Xinhua news agency, it said the Chinese nation and government remembers the humanitarian aid dispatched by other countries and international bodies, IRNA quoted.
Iran was the first to send its heartfelt condolences to China along with relief aid.
At a ceremony held in Beijing last week in the presence of 170 countries’ ambassadors, charges d’affaires, international organizations’ representatives and diplomats residing in China, the Chinese leaders appreciated the humanitarian assistance to the quake victims.
A strong earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale shook Sichuan province on May 12, which took the heavy death toll to almost 80,000.

Nosratollah Tajik

Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Sheikh-Attar has urged the British government to release former Iranian envoy, Nosratollah Tajik.
“If Britain impedes Tajik’s release“, it could have a negative impact on two-way ties, he implied, Presstv reported.
He, however, expressed hope that Britain would free the 54-year-old diplomat who has been admitted to a hospital in London.
Tajik is suffering from heart disease and angina.
Arrested in November 2006, the Iranian diplomat is accused of trying to purchase night-vision goggles for Iran from US mediators.
According to British media reports, undercover FBI agents who were acting as international dealers offered to sell Tajik night-vision goggles valued over £50,000 while secretly filming him.
In April 2007, a British judge ruled that Tajik should be sent to the US to face charges, which was later upheld by an appeal court. Due to his ailment, a British court had given Tajik time until June 11, 2008.
Tajik’s lawyers argue that the US agents acted illegally because they planned to incriminate him from the beginning. They say the US was pursuing him because of his religion, nationality and politics.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the target of a radiation plot during his trip to Rome for the UN food summit on June 3, an official said.
Iran’s ambassador to Italy, Abolfazl Zohrevand, said the plot was to expose the place where President Ahmadinejad was due to stay with an extremely high level of radioactive rays, IRNA reported.
“One day before Ahmadinejad’s trip, I checked and realized that the X-ray security machine set up in the place where he was staying gave off excessive radiation,“ he said.
“First we suspected the machine was broken, but after replacing it with another it was found that the radiation was controlled from another source.“
Zohrevand stressed that when President Ahmadinejad entered the place, the radiation increased to such an extent that the intensity of the radiation was clearly felt inside the building.
The diplomat spoke out after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad himself said that he had been the target of an assassination plot during his landmark trip to Iraq in March and his aides also spoke of a similar attempt in Rome.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki is in New York to attend the ongoing high-level meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations being held from June 30 to July 3.
Over 500 delegations from economic, social and private sectors from across the world are attending the meeting, IRNA reported.
Mottaki is due to deliver a speech at the ECOSOC high-level meeting, which will focus on Iran’s proposals on sustainable development, global economy and food crises.
The Iranian minister is also expected to discuss regional and international issues on the sidelines of the meeting with a number of officials from other countries.

State Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said the Islamic Republic has always relied on people and their presence to thwart threats.
Making the remark in a meeting with foreign elite and Muslim scholars participating in the educational courses of Jamiat-ol-Mostafa Al-Alamiyeh on Tuesday, Rafsanjani underlined the need for Muslim nations to update their scientific knowledge and promote Islamic culture, IRNA reported.
Rafsanjani, who also heads the Experts Assembly, added that in the Middle Ages, western societies made use of Muslim nations’ culture and sciences to uplift their status and leave behind the era of ignorance and darkness.
Pointing to the eye-catching growth of religious universities and scientific centers in Iran as well as attempts to attract volunteers from other countries, he noted that such academic efforts can deepen relations among Muslim states.
He addressed mediapersons present in the meeting and said insufficient information dissemination is one of the weak points of Muslim nations, but westerners are making efforts to increase their leverage in this field.
“Paying attention to knowledge and culture along with maintaining unity and empathy will guarantee development and hinder intervention of extremists who are trying to sow discord among Muslim nations,“ he said.
Asked about the current threats by the West and the Zionist regime against Iran, Rafsanjani said the Islamic Republic has from the very beginning faced such threats that are not new.

The White House avoids commenting on a recent report of covert US operations for destabilizing Tehran’s leadership.
A recent New Yorker magazine report by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed that US Congressional leaders quietly agreed late last year to President George W. Bush’s $400-million funding request for a major escalation in secret operations in Iran, Presstv reported.
When asked to comment on the report, White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino said, “I couldn’t comment either way.“
She dismissed the possibility of a US military action over Iran’s nuclear program before President Bush leaves office in January 2009.
“President Bush is singularly focused on trying to solve this issue diplomatically,“ Perino said.
The New Yorker report also stated that American Special Forces have been conducting cross-border operations into Iran from southern Iraq since last year.
However, US ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, earlier on Sunday dismissed the report on CNN television, saying, “I can tell you flatly that US forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran.“
US intelligence agencies have also been encouraging and funding insurgent tribal groups in Iran’s border regions, such as Jundollah, to carry out acts of terrorism inside the country.
The US-sponsored group of Jundollah operates in southeastern Iran along its common borders with Pakistan, being the most notorious among the terrorist groups, the report adds.
Jundollah insurgents have so far killed many civilians in southeast Iran while they recently abducted a number of Iranian soldiers, claiming that some of them have been executed.

Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili (r) shakes hands with Indian National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan in Tehran, July 1.

Senior officials of the security councils of Iran and India in their first round of negotiations in Tehran agreed to adopt a new paradigm of bilateral cooperation.
Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili said Iran and India are two influential powers at the regional and international levels, and called for utilizing the untapped potentials of both the countries to facilitate the expansion of two-way relations.
He stressed that the era of unilateralism has ended, ISNA reported.
“Iran and India, given their extraordinary capabilities, by interacting with other powers can take valuable steps to the benefit of other countries and the people of the region and the world,“ he said.
Jalili also emphasized that Iran’s package proposed to Group 5+1 can serve as the yardstick for forging sustainable peace and security at the regional and global levels, and lead to expansion of trade ties among different countries.
“The package can also help fight against terrorism and drug trafficking. India, as an important regional country, can use the capacities of the package in the best interests of the two nations as well as the region,“ he said.
Indian National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, for his part, said the Indian government is prepared to seriously pursue all previous agreements reached by the two countries, especially fulfillment of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.
Narayanan said improvement of mutual bonds can benefit the two countries and also the international community.
At the end of the first round of talks, the two sides decided to establish a joint committee to follow up the implementation of all agreements reached so far.

An Iranian Navy commander leading a unit that arrested 15 British sailors in the Persian Gulf last year has survived an assassination attempt.
The attack on Colonel Abolqasem Amangah, the commander of the Arvand Rood Navy Base in southern Iran, occurred while he was driving in the eastern Sorkh Hesar district of Tehran last week, Presstv reported.
Two groups of unidentified assailants, a group on a motorbike and the other in a car, opened fire on the commander’s vehicle.
Amangah pulled his car over, took shelter, and managed to escape unhurt.
Security forces have launched an investigation into the incident.
On March 2007, the forces under the command of Colonel Amangah, arrested the 15 British sailors who entered the Iranian territorial waters.
The sailors were pardoned by the Iranian government and released.
The navy commander was decorated for his bravery after the incident.