Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Monday said that the need of the hour in the Muslim world, especially in Iran, is unity and vigilance of the people against the enemies trying to sow discord.
He warned the leaders of western governments about their blatant interference in the recent unrest in the country and recalled that the June 12 presidential elections showed that after 30 years the Islamic Revolution is still capable of mobilizing large numbers of people.
“The enemies wanted to create a rift among the masses. They managed to do so to some extent, but the nation should thwart this plot,“ he told a public meeting on the auspicious birth anniversary of Imam Ali (AS), leader.ir reported.
The Islamic system’s known policy is that rivalry of presidential candidates is a rivalry in one family, he stressed.
“It is possible that at times this rivalry is coupled with anger and fury, but this does not concern foreigners,“ he said.
“Some western leadersÉ clearly interfered in the internal affairs of the country which is none of their business and later said that they do not interfere in Iran’s internal affairs. This is while they encouraged the people to create a tumult and introduced our people as insurgents and rebels. Rebels are those few people who are funded by some western states.
It is natural that some people feel frustrated that their candidate of choice did not win in the election. But, this does not mean sabotage. On the basis of the outcome of the vote there is a majority and minority in the country and there are the relevant laws. Labeling the people of Iran as rebels in sections of the US and European media under Zionist influence is an insult to the nation,“ he concluded.

Strong winds have carried dust from the Arabian desert to Iran, forcing a number of flights to cancel after dangerous levels were reached in the country.
The dust storms add extra concentrations of elements to the air pollution problem in some cities. The winds are so strong that they have carried the haze to the Iranian capital Tehran, Presstv reported.
Silicon dioxide, calcium, potassium, carbon, and other elements are found in the haze, which can have damaging effects on people’s respiratory system.
“Flights from Tehran to many western and southern cities such as Shiraz and Ahvaz were canceled due to the heavy haze,“ aviation authority spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh said.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Education advised Iran’s western provinces like Kermanshah, Lorestan, and Khuzestan, children, the elderly, and people suffering from heart and lung to stay indoors because the haze is emanating dangerous levels of pollutants.
The dust storm is entering Iran from the western regions namely Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait. There is no way to control the storm’s rite of passage.
Experts say the desertification of some lagoons in Iraq and strong winds blowing from the Saudi deserts are largely responsible for the blanket of smog reaching Iranian cities.

Hassan Kazemi Qomi

The Iraqi government has vowed to secure the release of Iranian diplomats taken hostage by US forces in Iraq two years ago, Iran’s envoy in Baghdad said.
Hassan Kazemi Qomi said “administrative procedures are underway“ between Iraqi and US officials over the release of the five detained Iranian nationals, ISNA reported Monday.
Qomi noted that he had taken up the issue in talks with Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki on Sunday.
The meeting came after Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki complained that the Iraqi government was not doing enough to fulfill its promises regarding the fate of the abducted diplomats.
“We are indeed disappointed with Iraq’s failure in freeing the Iranian diplomats and facilitating their return home,“ said Mottaki.
Qomi also called on Maliki to accelerate the release of the men based on a security agreement inked between Iraq and the US on the issue of “extraditing all Iraqi and foreign detainees to Iraqi officials“.
“During the meeting the prime minister noted that he had had talks with US officials and they announced their readiness to hand over the diplomats to the Iraqi officials and administrative procedures are already underway,“ the envoy said.
The diplomats were seized when US soldiers attacked the Iranian consulate office in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil in 2007.

At least 140 people have been killed in rioting in the capital of China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang, with the government blaming exiled separatists for the Muslim area’s worst case of unrest in years.
Hundreds of rioters have been arrested, the official Xinhua news agency reported, after rock-throwing Uighurs took to the streets of the regional capital on Sunday, some burning and smashing vehicles and confronting ranks of anti-riot police.
The violence in the regional capital Urumqi on Sunday involved thousands of people, and triggered an enormous security crackdown across Xinjiang where tensions have long simmered amid Uighur claims of repressive Chinese rule.
“People are staying inside, the best thing for you is to go back to your hotel, that will be safe,“ one businessman near Urumqi’s bazaar district--where much of the violence unfolded--told AFP. The official Xinhua, citing local government officials, said several hundred people had been arrested for involvement in the unrest, which authorities blamed on Uighurs.

Overreaction
But exiled Uighur groups accused Chinese security forces, saying they had over-reacted to peaceful protests and opened fire.
At least 140 people were killed and 828 injured in the rioting, Xinjiang government spokesman Wu Nong told AFP, and Xinhua warned that the death toll would rise.
Dramatic footage broadcast by the state-run CCTV network showed men turning over a police car and smashing its windows, a woman being kicked as she lay on the ground, and buses and other vehicles aflame.
Han Chinese businesspeople told AFP there were around 3,000 Uighur protesters, a figure repeated by exiled Uighur groups.
“The Uighurs attacked motorists with rocks,“ said one Han woman who saw the riot unfold from the 11th floor of a local hospital.
“They just attacked the Han people,“ she said. “At least 10 buses were set on fire and some private cars were overturned. I saw many people were lying on the ground and bleeding. A male student was dead.“
The Xinjiang regional government blamed Rebiya Kadeer, the Uighurs’ leader who is living in exile in the United States, for orchestrating the unrest.
“An initial investigation showed the violence was masterminded by the separatist World Uighur Congress led by Rebiya Kadeer,“ the government said in a statement, according to Xinhua.
Kadeer and other Uighur exiles laid the blame on Chinese authorities.