Gog and Magog in the news

[Shammu]

 Turkish FM due in Tehran
Ankara, June 23, IRNA

Iran-Turkey-Gul
Turkish Foreign Minister is due to arrive in Tehran late Saturday, according to an informed official in Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul's Tehran visit is scheduled to begin on Saturday evening," the spokesman of Turkish foreign ministry's public relations department told IRNA's Ankara correspondent on phone on Friday.

"Abdullah Gul is to carry Turkish Prime Minister Recep Teyyip Erdogan's message to senior Iranian officials," the spokesman added.

Turkish FM due in Tehran

[Shammu]

 Afghan FM meets Musharraf for upgrading of security cooperation
Islamabad, June 24, IRNA

Pakistan-Afghan-FM
President General Pervez Musharraf and the visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta met here Friday during which both agreed to intensify their countries' security cooperation.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the "tripartite commission, comprised of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States as well NATO, would be fully utilized as will be bilateral channels for that purpose."
The president emphasized that both sides should continue efforts to further improve relations, the statement further said.

It said that bilateral relations, particularly trade and economic as well as security cooperation, came under discussion.

The president noted with satisfaction that bilateral trade had reached a record USD 1.2 billion and was increasing further.

The Joint Economic Commission, which met on June 14-15, 2006, had taken important decisions which would help add greater substance to relations.

The two countries would also intensify cooperation to promote trade and transit contacts with Central Asian states, the statement said.

The Afghan foreign minister expressed gratitude for the support and hospitality that the government and people of Pakistan have extended to Afghan refugees, it said.

He also appreciated Pakistan's role in the Afghan reconstruction which, he said, which reflected a brotherly concern for the welfare of the people of Afghanistan.

Afghan FM meets Musharraf for upgrading of security cooperation

[Shammu]

Iraq accuses Iran of oil smuggling

Jun. 22, 2006 at 2:10PM

Iraqi Oil Minister Husayn Al-Shahrastani has accused Iran of helping with oil smuggling, Al-Iraqiyah television reported this week.
      "We blame the Iranian coastguard for allowing Iraqi smuggling boats to reach Iranian waters. Not only that. In some cases, these boats get protection from the Iranian coastguard," he said.
      "We have other problems, including smuggling and exploiting shared wells, with most neighbouring countries. Our corruption challenges are mainly domestic; they can be found not only within the Oil Ministry but within local markets as well. Therefore, I call on the Iraqis (involved in oil corruption) not to deprive the poor of their right to decent living. Some people, for example, buy gasoline at 250 dinars per liter and sell it back to those who badly need this product at 800-1,000 dinars!"
      Linked with the widespread oil smuggling, the oil minister said, is the production surplus that affects the profitability of his country's oil industry.
      "Due to lack of maintenance works and development plans, our oil refineries produce huge amounts of black oil, surpassing local demand. Unless this production is absorbed, the refineries will have to stop operating because of their limited storage capacity. This means that black oil has to be removed out of refineries. Neighbouring countries are not enthusiastic to purchase this black oil surplus because they hope to buy it trough smugglers at lower prices."
      When asked to be more specific, Al-Shahrastani replied: "Well, we basically have Syria and Turkey. Syria currently gets its black oil needs from private companies, which might get it illegally. The Syrians know that quite well. We officially demanded oil sector officials in Syria to get their needs from us at international prices."
      During the program, the oil minister outlined his plans for combatting corruption in the Iraqi oil industry, and said: "Any staff member who turns out to be behind any act of corruption will be brought before justice. We will send names of corrupt employees to the Integrity Commission for legal procedures. Besides, such people will be automatically dismissed from service."

Iraq accuses Iran of oil smuggling

[Shammu]

Solana to meet with Iranian nuclear negotiator next week
24/06/2006

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has said he would likely meet with Iran’s nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani next week.

His announcement amid growing pressure from the EU and Washington that Iran move quickly to accept an incentives package in return for stopping its nuclear ambitions.

“I expect to meet in the coming days, next week probably, Mr. Ali Larijani,” Solana told reporters.

Solana added he had a “good, long conversation” by telephone with Larijani yesterday.

Officials said specifics of the meeting were not yet fixed between the two. The talks were expected to focus on questions Tehran has on the incentives package Solana presented in Tehran on June 6, they said.

Washington has suggested that if Iran had questions about the package they could raise them with Solana. The EU’s top diplomat said at an EU-US summit yesterday that there was not much room for talk anymore and called for Tehran to quickly make up its mind.

[Shammu]

Iranian president calls for strengthening relations with Turkey
POL-IRAN-TURKEY
Iranian president calls for strengthening relations with Turkey

Tehran, June 24 (KUNA) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Saturday for the strengthening of Iranian-Turkish relations in all fields.

The presidential office said in a statement that Ahmadinejad described in a telephone call to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the two countries were tied through culture, history and religion.

Furthermore, he said that two countries played an important role on the regional and international levels, and stressed that they had to increase deliberations in order to consolidate international peace and security.

For his part, Erdogan expressed content with developments on the Iranian nuclear issue, noting that relations between the two countries would be further strengthened in the upcoming visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to Tehran.

The Turkish Foreign Minister is expected to arrive in Tehran later tonight and is to hold talks with Iranian officials on issues of mutual concern.

Iranian president calls for strengthening relations with Turkey

[Shammu]

Iran FM starts Berlin talks as West seeks answer on nuclear issue
Jun 24 8:21 AM US/Eastern
Email this story    

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has begun talks with his German counterpart amid mounting suspense over Tehran's response to an incentive package offered if it stops enriching uranium.

Mottaki met with Frank-Walter Steinmeier at about 1030 GMT in a government guest house in the posh southern suburb of Dahlem as planned and not at his ministry in central Berlin, a spokeswoman confirmed Saturday.

They are to make short statements to the press after their encounter.

The meeting comes as Iran weighs its reply to a package offered by the five permanent UN Security Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany to resolve the dispute over its disputed nuclear program peacefully.

The proposal promises incentives and multilateral talks if Iran agrees to temporarily halt the uranium enrichment that is at the heart of fears the hardline regime could develop nuclear weapons.

Tehran insists the work is only to provide fuel for nuclear energy.

Diplomats say Tehran was asked to answer by June 29, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday the Islamic republic would take until August 22 to answer.

Javad Vaidi, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Friday that suspending uranium enrichment will be neither a pre-condition for talks with the world powers on its nuclear activities nor an outcome of those discussions.

"Iran considers that suspension is neither a pre-condition to nor the result of negotiations," Vaidi told AFP.

The foreign policy spokesman from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, Ruprecht Polenz, said that the West was not demanding a permanent suspension of uranium enrichment.

"One could imagine a period of 10 to 15 years," he said Saturday, adding that Iran should use that time to demonstrate to the world that it is a constructive partner for peace in the region.

The Berlin talks could help lay the groundwork for a meeting next week between Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who handed Tehran the world powers' proposal June 6.

Germany is part of the so-called EU-3 along with Britain and France which has been working for more than two years to try to resolve the crisis with Iran and most recently, foster a consensus on the issue with the United States, China and Russia.

Berlin has long-standing diplomatic relations and strong economic ties with Iran, which diplomats say has given it a key role in the negotiations.

Germany's large Iranian exile community called a demonstration Saturday against Mottaki, who is on a European tour.

Two football World Cup matches by the Iranian football team were met by protests by Jewish groups in Germany over Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust and calls for the destruction of Israel.

The players left Germany Friday after taking last place in Group D.

Iran FM starts Berlin talks as West seeks answer on nuclear issue

[Shammu]

 PLO representative, Iranian envoy discuss latest developments in Palestine
Beirut, June 24, IRNA

Iran-PLO-Ambassador
Iranian Ambassador to Beirut Mohammad-Reza Raouf-Sheibani and the first representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon, Abbas Zaki, discussed latest developments in the Occupied Territories at a meeting here Friday.


During the meeting, which took place at the Iranian embassy in southern Beirut, the two diplomats talked about major regional developments including the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Raouf-Sheibani and Zaki stressed the necessity of unceasing support for the Palestinian nation in their struggle to cope with their present difficult situation.

They also stressed on the various Palestinian groups the need to strengthen national unity and close ranks.

Zaki, over the past couple of days, has been holding separate meetings with Arab and foreign diplomats in Beirut, briefing them on the latest developments in Palestinian-populated areas, the Zionist regime's fresh attacks on Palestinian refugees and the situation of these refugees in Lebanon.

Over 45,000 Palestinian refugees are currently sheltered in 12 camps throughout Lebanon.

PLO representative, Iranian envoy discuss latest developments in Palestine

[Shammu]

Bushehr hub of Iran's business with Saudi Arabia
Bushehr, June 24, IRNA

Iran-S. Arabia-Business
Iran's commercial attache to Saudi Arabia Hamid-Reza Zadboum said on Saturday that Iran's southwestern port city of Bushehr can serve as the hub of business with Saudi Arabia.


Zadboum told a group of reporters that Iran favors expansion of commercial cooperation with the "economically powerful and influential Muslim state" in its neighborhood, Saudi Arabia.

The diplomat cited fisheries, oil, gas, petrochemical industry and joint investment as areas of cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

There are 23 Iranian enterprises currently active in Saudi Arabia with two Saudi firms investing in the fruit juice production and packaging industries as well as the cement and auto parts business in Iran, he added.

Bushehr hub of Iran's business with Saudi Arabia

[Shammu]

 Germany-Iran-Mottaki /WRD Iran's Mottaki rejects '5 plus 1' timeline to reply to offer
Geneva, June 24, IRNA


Iran will not accept a timeline by the 'Group 5 plus 1' to reply to their offer by the upcoming G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia or any other sessions, said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

"Not only did we not agree on a date for a response during the recent visit by (EU foreign policy chief) Javier Solana but quite the contrary we stressed that we needed to thoroughly and patiently review the offer," Mottaki told IRNA in Geneva on Friday.

He stressed that any decision-making sessions in which Iran is not present, could damage the ongoing positive process.

Mottaki urged all countries that are involved in the Iranian nuclear case, especially Russia, China and the European countries to support the "logical view of the Islamic Republic of Iran" for all-inclusive talks aimed at removing questions, ambiguities and problems.

Iran's top diplomat once again ruled out any pre-conditions for such a meeting.

Germany-Iran-Mottaki /WRD Iran's Mottaki rejects '5 plus 1' timeline to reply to offer

[Shammu]

 Taskhiri urges Muslim scholars to hold dialogues among religions
Amman, June 24, IRNA

Jordan-Taskhiri-Dialogue
Secretary General of the World Assembly for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought Ayatollah Mohammad Ali skhiri here Saturday urged Muslim scholars to hold dialogues among religions.

On the sidelines of the 17th Islamic Jurisprudence Assembly meeting in Jordan, he told IRNA that the great civilization as well as material and spiritual potential of the world of Islam facilitate dialogue among civilizations and religions for Muslim holars.

Concerning the Islamic Jurisprudence Assembly, he said that it represents freedom of thought as well as good and free scientific and Islamic cooperation.

Ayatollah Taskhiri hoped that the meeting will contribute to unification of Islamic Ummah, proximity of Islamic sects and cooperation with other religions.

He is scheduled to deliver a speech titled, "Coordination between commitment and qualifications of Muslim citizenship".

The 17th Islamic Jurisprudence Assembly meeting opened in Jordan's capital of Amman on Saturday and will continue up to Wednesday.

It is attended by 100 Muslim scholars from 44 Islamic states.

Ayatollah Taskhiri along with a few other officials represent Iran at the ongoing event.

The meeting aims to present the true image of Islam as well as cooperation and exchange of thoughts among Muslim scholars.

Topics such as "Islam's approach to extremism and exaggeration", "Unity among religions", "Women's issues", "Terrorism and religious decree (Fatwa)" and "Conditions, customs and relations of Islamic states" will be discussed during the event.

Taskhiri urges Muslim scholars to hold dialogues among religions

[Shammu]

 UN-Arms-Trade /GNR/
Major review at UN to assess actions needed to stem illegal small

arms trade Tehran, 24 June 2006 (UNIC) -- Some 2,000 representatives from governments, international and regional organizations and civil society will meet at UN Headquarters from June 26 to July 7, 2006 to review progress made; to address future cooperation and activities and to assess challenges on the road ahead.

The event is taking place five years after the adoption of the UN Program of Action to address the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) here Saturday said.

By unanimously adopting the Program of Action in 2001, the UN member states committed themselves to collecting and destroying illegal weapons, adopting and/or improving national legislation to help criminalize the illicit trade in small arms, regulating the activities of brokers, setting strict import and export controls, taking action against violators of such laws, and better coordinating international efforts to that end.

The small arms Review Conference should reinforce the momentum for action among member states, civil society, international and regional organizations. The Conference is also expected to welcome the establishment of a group of governmental experts who will meet in November 2006 to tackle the issue of reining in illegal arms brokers.

"The conference offers an opportunity for all countries to review their pledges to get rid of illegal trade in small arms and, for this purpose, to develop a strategy for further implementation of the UN Programme of Action, agreed in 2001", stated the President-designate of the Small Arms Review Conference, Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York.

Since its adoption, the Program of Action has stimulated a wide range of initiatives at the national, regional and global levels, such as:
- More than 50 countries have strengthened their national legislation to control the illegal trade in small arms, including Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, Germany, Mauritius, Nicaragua, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Similar reforms are under way in many other countries.

- In Africa, where illegal small arms have been used to kill directly or indirectly hundreds of thousands of people in conflict zones, three legally-binding agreements have been developed to address this issue and to focus on the humanitarian impact: the "Nairobi Protocol" on firearms, covering East Africa and the Great Lakes Region; a SADC Protocol covering Southern Africa, and; the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Convention on Importation and Manufacture of Light Weapons.

- More than 60 countries have collected and destroyed large amounts of illegal small arms. Different methods have been used, including by "Flames of Peace" bonfires (Burundi, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Haiti, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa); by crushing them with steamrollers, bulldozers or tanks (Brazil, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Paraguay, Sri Lanka); by dismantling weapons (Argentina, Costa Rica, Timor-Leste, Uganda); by discarding in deep water (Senegal and others). Other cost-effective and environment-friendly methods have also been used.

- UN peacekeeping operations have developed and implemented disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programs in post-conflict situations, especially in Africa, helping thousands of former combatants (including women and children) disarm and return to civilian life in countries such as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone. UN Country Teams have also carried out DDR programs in Cambodia, Central African Republic and Guinea Bissau.

- The UN General Assembly adopted in December 2005 the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.

This new instrument will help law enforcement officials identify sources of illegal weapons. In a recent report, Secretary-General Kofi Annan called this the most significant UN achievement in 2005 in fighting the illicit trade in small arms.

- The UN Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition came into force in July 2005 as the first legally binding global instrument on small arms which aims at strengthening cooperation among states to combat illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms.

The Firearms Protocol supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and is expected to become a useful tool for law enforcement in the countries that ratified it.

Since 2001, the UN Program of Action has brought about some significant developments in combating the illicit trade in small arms, concludes the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research in a study on national implementation. "However, much still remains to be done," it states, "to prevent illicit small arms from causing more devastating tragedies."
The Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based independent research institute, estimated that the number of deaths caused by small arms used in conflicts worldwide to have been between 80,000 and 108,000 (in 2003). The Survey reports that at least 200,000
non-conflict-related small arms deaths occur each year, many of them by illegal small arms.

The UN Program of Action covers the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, which fuels armed conflicts and supports the activities of groups involved in organized crime, trafficking in drugs and the illegal exploitation and trade of precious minerals. The Review Conference will not be negotiating any treaty to prohibit citizens of any country from possessing firearms or to interfere with the legal trade in small arms and lights weapons.

UN-Arms-Trade /GNR

[Shammu]

 Mottaki slams Canadian statements as "illogical and illegal"
Geneva, June 24, IRNA

Switzerland-Iran-Mottaki
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki lashed out at Canada for its interventionist statements against certain members of the Iranian delegation which is attending the first UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Switzerland, calling them "illogical and illegal."
"Canada's track record is well known in the Islamic Republic of Iran. They have committed massive and serious political mistakes since the victory of the Islamic Revolution," Mottaki said in an interview with IRNA in Geneva on Friday.

"Canada's (reprehensible) acts include hiding some spies at their embassy in Tehran and allowing them to escape. Furthermore, Canada supported the criminal Saddam regime during the imposed war and gave logistic aid to Saddam for his attack on our country," he added.

Mottaki said he warned his Canadian counterpart during the UN General Assemby session last year that Canada should be aware of its limits and realize what country it was dealing with.

Mottaki slams Canadian statements as "illogical and illegal"

[Soldier4Christ]

Taskhiri urges Muslim scholars to hold dialogues among religions

Their purpose for this is not "freedom of thought" it is however their version of "Islamic cooperation". As was said before on here it is their belief that they must give people a chance to convert to their beliefs before they kill them for not doing so.

[Shammu]

 President stresses ties bolstering with Turkey
Tehran, June 24, IRNA

Iran-Turkey-Ties
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Friday stressed the importance of enhanced relations with Turkey in all fields.

Ahmadinejad, in a telephone conversation with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan, described Tehran-Ankara ties as "brotherly" and lauded the two sides' "deep-rooted cultural, historical and religious bonds."
He pointed to the two countries' "pivotal role" in leading regional and international developments, including issues related to the Islamic world, and said they play an effective role in promoting security and international peace.

Erdogan, for his part, praised the success achieved by Iran in advancing its nuclear knowhow and called for further expansion of bilateral ties and increased bilateral exchanges.

He expressed hope an upcoming visit to Tehran of the Turkish foreign minister would further boost bilateral ties between the two sides in all fields.

President stresses ties bolstering with Turkey

[Shammu]

Their purpose for this is not "freedom of thought" it is however their version of "Islamic cooperation". As was said before on here it is their belief that they must give people a chance to convert to their beliefs before they kill them for not doing so.

I know brother, they must think we are stupid.