TEHRAN -- Majlis Vice Speaker Mohammad-Reza Khatami underlined that whatever Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani said at the Eid-ul-Adha prayer sermons is approved and confirmed by all the branches of government since he is a senior advisor to the Leadership and also the Chairman of the Expediency Council.

He also said that Rafsanjani's remarks at the ceremony are of utmost importance.

The Tehran MP said that in his speech Hashemi Rafsanjani stressed Iran's regional importance as well as the dangers and asked people to take the threats seriously and to avoid providing the enemies with the pretexts they are seeking.

Mohammad-Reza Khatami then said that Afghan Interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai's visit to Iran is a sign of cordial relations between Iran and Afghanistan.

He added that Karzai would discuss issues of mutual interest, including the presence of U.S. forces in the region. Mohammad-Reza Khatami made it clear that Karzai is not carrying a message from the U.S.

He underlined that the Islamic Republic of Iran has recognized the interim government, therefore Iran's policies are based on cooperation with the Interim Government of Afghanistan.

He also said that he is hopeful that Iran will witness stability and security on its eastern borders upon the establishment of security in Afghanistan.

Mohammad-Reza Khatami said that no plans to impeach the minister of roads and transportation over the Tupelov-154 crash have been presented to the Majlis Presiding Board.

He added that the Majlis is in no way trying to justify the managers' performance.

On possible mismanagement with respect to the plane crash, Mohammad-Reza Khatami pointed out that he has no expertise in this field but the experts' report indicates that there was no problem with the plane and the pilot and that they must consider utilization of more advanced aircraft guidance systems.

He said that mismanagement is a common problem in the country and that managerial capabilities are not being fully utilized.