Politics - Tehran Times

Ex-FM Kharrazi says Leader’s strategic policy key in U.S. retreat

2013-09-14T15:47:00Z

TEHRAN – Former foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi said on Saturday that the strategic policy pursued by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has forced the United States to back down in its standoff with Iran.

“It is the strategic policy of the Leadership which resists foreigners, and any government which resists foreigners it actually moves in the direction of national might,” Kharrazi told reporters when asked about the effect of the new Iranian administration’s diplomacy in forcing the U.S. to soften its stance against Iran.

Kharrazi, who was foreign minister under President Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005, made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony held to mourn the death of the mother of Qasem Suleimani, the commander of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

Iraqi parliament speaker in Tehran for high-level talks

2013-09-14T15:46:00Z

TEHRAN – Iraqi Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi arrived in Tehran on Saturday for talks with senior Iranian officials.

Iranian Majlis Vice Speaker Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard welcomed Nujaifi, who is heading a parliamentary delegation, at Mehrabad International Airport.

Addressing reporters at the airport, Nujaifi said he was happy to visit Iran and called for the expansion of ties between Tehran and Baghdad.

Aboutorabi-Fard expressed hope that the friendly and brotherly neighboring countries of Iran and Iraq would be able to take measures to strengthen their relations.

Nujaifi and Aboutorabi-Fard also held a meeting afterwards.

During his stay in Tehran, the Iraqi parliament speaker is also scheduled to hold talks with President Hassan Rohani, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani.

MT/HG

Iran is a strategic ally of Latin America: Bolivian ambassador

2013-09-14T15:24:18Z

TEHRAN – The Bolivian ambassador to Tehran has said that Iran is a strategic ally for Latin America and underlined that the Islamic Republic and Bolivia enjoy friendly relations.

Jorge Rodolfo Miranda Luizaga made the remarks during an interview with the ISNA news agency published on Saturday.

He also condemned the U.S.-led sanctions against Iran and said that Bolivian President Evo Morales considers sanctions against the Islamic Republic as sanctions against his own country.

“Morales has condemned the sanctions on Iran during his speeches at international meetings ... and holds that no country has the right to put pressure and sanctions against another country,” he noted.

“When U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited La Paz and said that you should be our ally and cooperate with us, not with Iran, Morales told him it was our own business to choose our ally and put emphasis on friendly relations with Iran,” Ambassador Luizaga said.

MT/PA

MP seeks extradition of MKO members to Iran

2013-09-14T15:41:18Z

TEHRAN – An Iranian lawmaker has called for the extradition of all remaining members of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) to Iran to face trial.

The Majlis is following the case of the MKO members who were recently transferred from Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty in Iraq, Esmaeil Kosari, a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told the Mehr News Agency on Saturday.

The last remaining dissidents in Camp Ashraf were transferred to Camp Liberty in Baghdad pending resettlement abroad, the United Nations said on Thursday, less than two weeks after a bout of violence that killed 52 people there.

“The U.S., Israel, France, and certain other countries are supporting the group to keep them united and are seeking to transfer them to any location they want, but, we at the parliament are following up [the case] so that all of them would be extradited to Iran,” Kosari said. “Those who have committed crimes must stand trial and those who have not committed crimes would return to their normal lives.”

He added that no country ought to accept to host the dissidents collectively.

“Although the members of the terrorist group of Mojahedin Khalq have grown old and their physical ability has decreased, they mostly transfer their experience,” he noted.

The MKO were Iranian dissidents who fought on Saddam Hussein’s side during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and were given a camp by the strongman who was toppled by the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

Fifty two dissidents were killed in violence at Camp Ashraf on September 1, which the MKO blamed on Iraqi army and special forces. Baghdad said the accusation was baseless and that it would investigate what had happened.

“Resettlement outside Iraq is now the priority, and it is urgent that countries ready to host the residents come forward to accept them, providing them a safe future outside Iraq,” acting UN envoy to Iraq Gyorgy Busztin said in a statement.

Before the violence there were about 100 members at Camp Ashraf. Most of its inhabitants were relocated last year to a former U.S. military base in northeastern Baghdad known as Camp Liberty.

MT/PA

Resistance owes its might to Syria: Qods Force chief

2013-09-14T15:24:16Z

TEHRAN – The commander of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has said that the resistance bloc owes its might to the Syrian government.

“In the view of the West, the Zionists, and the reactionaries, the real problem in Syria is not the rule of an Alawite minority or the absence of democracy, but the fact is that the West and the reactionaries are aware that the resistance owes its mighty position in the region to the Syrian government,” Major General Qasem Suleimani said on Saturday.

“Consecutive victories of the Syrian army over the past year have prompted the recent all-out aggressive campaign against Syria,” he noted.

He also said that supporting the resistance bloc, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, will help serve the interests of the Iranian nation at present and in the future.

“The anti-American, anti-Zionist, and anti-reactionary energy of the regional people is being released, and this fact promises greater might and higher status of Iran,” he said.

He went on to say that Hezbollah forces and Palestinian combatants defeated the Zionist regime in the 33-day Lebanon War and the 22-day Gaza War with the decisive assistance of Iran, a fact which indicates the high status of the Islamic Republic in the region.

“Methods such as fomenting sectarian and racial conflicts, a war of attrition against the resistance front in Lebanon, intensifying efforts to turn Shias and Sunnis against each other, and influencing and leading extremist takfiri groups (which act) against the Islamic Revolution are aimed at undermining Iran’s position in the region,” he stated.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Suleimani said that the establishment of democracy anywhere in the Muslim world will benefit the Islamic Republic and harm the West.

AM/PA

Putin to visit Iran ‘on the first opportunity’

2013-09-14T15:31:40Z

TEHRAN – Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Iran “on the first opportunity,” RIA Novosti quoted his spokesman as saying on Friday.

He also said that the date of the visit had not been set.

A number of media outlets had previously reported that the Russian leader had planned to travel to Iran during his tour of Caspian nations in August, but the visit never materialized, which Russian media attributed to Moscow and Tehran failing to agree on the exact venue for the visit.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani met with Putin on Friday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.

AM/PA

‘A U.S. attack on Syria would violate UN Charter’

2013-09-14T15:29:59Z

TEHRAN – In a letter to the editor of the Washington Post published on the website of the newspaper on Friday, the head of the press office for Iran’s mission to the United Nations said that a U.S. attack on Syria would harm the value of the UN.

Following is the text of the letter by Alireza Miryousefi:

Regarding Dennis Ross’s Sept. 9 op-ed, “Blocking action on Syria makes an attack on Iran more likely”:

Article 2 of the UN Charter prohibits all member states “from the threat or use of force against” any other member states, reflecting the norms of the post-World War II global order. In the current debates regarding the authorization of military intervention against Syria, there is understandably great skepticism of both the legitimacy and legality of such a disastrous course of action. There is evidence that chemical weapons have been smuggled to the Syrian rebels, as communicated to the United States through a Swiss channel by Iran’s foreign ministry nine months ago. The American public has not been convinced of the legality of an attack on Syria, which has been also questioned by UN officials.

With respect to Iran and the region, a U.S. attack on Syria will not contribute to the new Iranian government’s search for a win-win solution in multilateral talks, adversely affecting the efforts to heal the old wounds with certain foreign governments. From Iran’s vantage point, such military adventurism will send a clear message to the rest of the world that we still live in a pre-modern era and all the crowning achievements of the UN Charter and modern and civilized values are irrelevant.

AM/PA

Rohani tells Putin: Better opportunity created for solving Iran nuclear issue

2013-09-14T13:45:10Z

TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rohani praises Russia for taking important steps in the past to resolve the nuclear dispute between Iran and the West and says, “Today a better opportunity has been created to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue through cooperation and exchange of views.”

Rohani made the remarks during a meeting on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.

Rohani added that Iran is seeking a quick resolution of its nuclear issue within the framework of international regulations.

Rohani also said an appropriate opportunity has been created so that Iran and Russia can exchange views about major regional issues.

On the Syrian crisis, Rohani said Russia’s initiative to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control and the measures taken by Moscow have raised hopes that a new war in the region will be prevented.

For his part, Putin said that Moscow is seeking greater cooperation with Tehran in all areas.

Tehran and Moscow can have closer cooperation in all areas within the framework of regional mechanisms, including the SCO, Putin stated.

He also described Iran as an important neighbor of Russia.

Iran ready to cooperate with China on regional issues

In a separate meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday on the sidelines of the summit, Rohani said that the Islamic Republic is ready to cooperate with Beijing to help resolve regional issues, particularly the Syrian crisis.

The Chinese official also said that increased cooperation between Iran and China will benefit the peoples of the two countries and will also help promote global peace and stability.

AM/PA

UN humanitarian chief to meet Iranian officials in Tehran

2013-09-14T13:45:08Z

TEHRAN – UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos was scheduled to travel to Tehran on Friday to hold talks with Iranian officials, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Farhan Haq, the associate spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, also told reporters on Thursday that the visit will last until September 16.

He said that the mission is Ms. Amos’ first official visit to the country in her capacity as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Ms. Amos is expected to meet senior officials in Tehran, he said, adding that she will focus on expanding regional cooperation on humanitarian assistance and enhancing the partnership between Iran and the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

AM/PA

Leader appoints Jalili to Expediency Council, names Shamkhani as his representative in SNSC

2013-09-14T13:45:18Z

TEHRAN – In separate decrees issued on Thursday, the Supreme Leader appointed Saeed Jalili to the Expediency Council and Ali Shamkhani as his representative to the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for a three-year term.

Saeed Jalili was the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) who led Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany).

On Tuesday, President Hassan Rohani appointed Shamkhani as the SNSC secretary.

Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, 58, served as defense minister from 1997 to 2005 under former president Mohammad Khatami. He ran for the presidential post in the 2001 election. He is also the director of the Iranian Armed Forces’ Center for Strategic Studies.

Shamkhani took the place of Jalili who used to handle the process of talks with world powers over the country’s nuclear program.

President Rohani has recently announced that in his administration the Foreign Ministry will be in charge of nuclear talks with world powers.

AM/PA