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kuwaiti study: no security possible in region without iran's role
athens, may 8, irna -- an in depth study on kuwaiti-iranian ties, prepared by a kuwaiti scholar, has stressed that there can be no security in the persian gulf region if the islamic republic's role is ignored. the 15-page study, written by hamid hafiz al-abd lillah from the political science department of the kuwait university, was printed in the arabic political quarterly "al-siassa al-dawliya" (international politics) published by al-ahram foundation, cairo. the study underlines that iran's rejection and condemnation of the iraqi invasion of kuwait in august 1990 had a positive effect on the improvement of iran-kuwait relations. "the (iraqi) invasion proved that iran is a country whose role when speaking of regional security cannot be ignored. indeed, one cannot imagine this security without the presence of the iranian role." referring to the tensions in iran-kuwait relations during the 8-year iraqi-imposed war, the study blames the iraqi regime for sowing ethnic and sectarian discord and differences in the region. it acknowledges that kuwait "put all its political, economic media, as well as military capabilities in the interests of iraq, which turned kuwait into an active ally of iraq," thus leading to tensions in relations with tehran. the study attributes the lack of academic and scholarly studies and exchanges and contacts between kuwait and iran to the misunderstanding about iranian policies in the area. in reference to the so-called iranian armaments threat, the study points out that under the despotic rule of the deposed shah, iran only in the year 1978 signed agreements worth dlrs 18 billion to buy arms from u.s. firms. "at that time, there was no talk on the policy of iranian armaments, and its volume and the source of threat and hegemony which the shah could direct against the countries of the persian gulf." the study points out that after the establishment of the islamic republic in iran, the government in tehran cancelled many arms contracts and cut arms spending by half. it also notes that after the end of the iraqi-imposed war, iran spent only dlrs 2,8 billion during the period 1989-91 on its armaments program, whereas iraq spent dlrs 10. 3 billion and saudi arabia dlrs 10.6 billion for the same period. the study explains that western politicians and the western media label baseless accusations of ''terrorism'' against iran because the islamic republic refuses to bow to the american hegemony in the region and rejects the so-called middle east peace process. the study does not rule out that many acts of terrorism carried out during the iran-iraq war may be the work of iraqi intelligence to incite the persian gulf arab states against iran. finally, the study calls for the establishment of joint economic, cultural, political and security institutions between iran and kuwait aimed at bringing the two muslim states closer and to safeguard peace and stability in the region.
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cabinet approves amendment to izmir treaty
tehran, may 8, irna -- the cabinet meeting chaired by president akbar hashemi rafsanjani here wednesday evening endorsed a bill on amending the text of izmir treaty. the izmir treaty is considered as the charter of the economic cooperation organization (eco). the amendment has been adopted due to the changes in the international economy, regional developments and the willingness of several regional countries to join the forum.
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velayeti in san'a on last leg of four-nation tour
san'a, may 8, irna -- iran's foreign minister ali akbar velayati arrived here early thursday morning on the last leg of his four-nation tour which also took him to egypt, lebanon and syria. velayati will hand over an invitation from president akbar hashemi rafsanjani to president ali abdullah saleh to attend the next summit meeting of the organization of the islamic conference (oic) to be held in tehran in december. speaking on arrival at san'a airport, the iranian foreign minister said that tehran-san'a bilateral relations as well as the latest regional and international developments will feature prominently in his talks with senior yemeni officials. velayati is scheduled to meet president saleh, foreign minister abd al-karim al-iryani and the yemeni parliament speaker today.
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tehran, may 8, irna -- the first international seminar of iranian scientists, experts and thinkers
wrapped up its work here wednesday evening.
vice-president for executive affairs mohammad hashemi addressing the closing ceremony of the
seminar said iran today is witnessing a thriving of talents and innovations due to proper
management and growing self-confidence of iranian experts.
he added that this progress has been achieved at a time the country was facing up to the eight
years of the sacred defence (1980-88) and the enmity of big powers, triggered by the victory of
the islamic revolution.
he said that despite all the hindrances and widespread propaganda campaign by world powers
against iran, the iranian nation, having infinite faith, chose the right path and stood up against all
2powers and achieved victory in various fronts.
hashemi expressed hope that according to the objectives set for the development of the country,
and their achievement through the cooperation of iranians throughout the world, a country can
be built which would serve as a model all civilizations.
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san'a, may 8, irna -- yemeni president ali abdullah saleh received the visiting iranian minister of
foreign affairs, ali akbar velayati here on thursday.
velayati handed over an invitation from president akbar hashemi rafsanjani to president saleh to
attend the next summit meeting of the organization of the islamic conference (oic). the
conference is scheduled to be held in tehran in december.
velayati arrived n san'a early thursday morning on the last leg of his four-nation tour which has
already taken him to egypt, lebanon and syria.
he is to meet with his yemeni counterpart abd al-karim al-iryani and the country's parliament
speaker.
earlier in the day, velayati inspected iran's medical center in san'a which is currently run by the
islamic republic's red crescent relief organization.
the center was set up four years ago to provide free of charge medical services to the needy the
yemeni capital.
the clinic includes various wards including radiology, laboratory, cardialogy, pediatrics,
dentistry and a pharmacy.
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athens, may 8, irna -- greece has reiterated that its announcement concerning the return of the
greek ambassador to tehran is valid.
government spokesman dimitris reppas wednesday said the small delay in the ambassador's
return is due to "personal reasons."
greece's ambassador to tehran, dimitri tsikouris, was to return to iran last week after spending his
easter holidays in greece.
greece was the only country in the 15-member european union not to recall its ambassador from
tehran in the wake of a german court verdict related with the mykonos case, saying it did not
agree with the policy of isolating iran.
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beijing, may 8, irna -- iran's minister of post, telegraph and telephone (ptt), mohammad gharazi,
and his chinese counterpart wu jichuan thursday in shanghai stressed promotion of bilateral
telecommunications cooperation.
gharazi arrived in shanghai monday to attend the seminar on strategic development of
telecommunications in asia and the pacific held at the proposal of the asia-pacific telecommunity
(apt).
referring to iran and china as two major regional countries involved in the asia-europe optic
fiber project, gharazi said tehran and beijing can have broad cooperation in future.
stressing educational cooperation between the two countries, wu said a chinese delegation will
visit iran in the near future for consultations and inspection of postal and telecommunications
centers.
representatives from over 35 countries are attending the 3-day meeting which opened in
shanghai wednesday.
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tehran, may 8, irna -- the first ever seminar on the 'mongol invasion of iran and its
consequences' started at martyr beheshti university on wednesday.
researchers and professors of history have presented 30 papers on the destruction wrought by
chengiz khan on the scientific and cultural centres of iran and transoxiana when the mongol
hordes pursued sultan mohammad khwarezm shah, sacking cities and massacred whole
populations.
papers also deal with the impact on iranian history of the mongol invasion as well as the effect
of iran's islamic culture on the invaders who were finally absorbed in the iranian society and
became muslims.
within a few decades of chengiz khan's savage onslaught in the 1220s, his descendants settled
in iran and founded the iikhanid dynasty, which contributed in its own way to persian art and
architecture, until it was swept away by a new breed of turkish invaders from transoxiana under
timur (tamerlane to the west).
historias concur that havoc wrought by the mongol invaders on iran and the eastern islamic
lands was so catastrophic that it paralysed life and economy for centuries, destroying the
infrastructure and the industrial and scientific achievements of the world of islam.
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bandar anzali, may 7, irna -- an international conference on neurosurgery and neurology is to be
held in this northern caspian port city next year with participation of domestic and foreign
surgeons and neurologists.
announcing the above, majid samiei, secretary of the world federation of neurosurgeons said on
wednesday that talks have been held with the governor-general's office of gilan to make
necessary preparations for holding the international conference.
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dushanbe, may 7, irna -- expert delegations from iran and tajikistan started their first round of
talks here on wednesday to make preparations for the imminent imminent visit of president
akbar hashemi rafsanjani to tajikistan and to prepare documents on mutual cooperation.
tajik minister of economy and foreign economic relations tofte boy mosharov, calling president
rafsanjani's visit as 'highly significant' expressed hope that cooperation and relations between
tehran and dushanbe would further expand in the future.
mosharov lauded iran for its mediation to settle disputes between the tajik government and
opposition groups.
the visiting iranian deputy foreign minister for euro-a2merican affairs and head of the iranian
delegation mahmoud vaezi, enumerated cultural bonds between iran and tajikistan and
expressed hope that peace and calm would return to tajikistan as soon as possible.
based on agreements reached between the two sides at the meeting, iran and tajikistan would
expand their cooperation in the fields of commerce and trade, energy, industries, transportation,
culture and science, agriculture, processing industries and banking.
the iranian president is to start his three-day state visit to tajikistan from friday.
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ankara, may 7, irna -- the value of trade exchanges between iran and turkey rose to dlrs. 751.55
million between janurary and september 1996 from dlrs. 707.66 million in the corresponding
period in 1995.
this was mainly due to an increase in turkish exports to iran.
iran's exports to turkey, mainly crude oil, amounted to dlrs. 554.67 million between january and
september of 1996.
some dlrs. 196.87 million worth of goods were exported by turkey to iran in the first nine
months of 1996.
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damascus, may 7, irna -- visiting iranian foreign minister ali-akbar velayati said here on
wednesday that the brotherly and friendly relations between tehran and damascus are growing.
talking to reporters, velayati said that middle east developments necessitated the two powerful
countries of iran and syria to regularly consult with each other.
velayati said that he would hold talks with syrian president hafiz al-assad and high-ranking
syrian officials on issues of mutual interest.
he said that he was carrying a message from president akbar hashemi rafsanjani to president
assad, dealing with developments in the region and issues of mutual interest.
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tehran, may 7, irna -- leader of the islamic revolution ayatollah seyed ali khamenei said here on
wednesday that westerners' comments on iranian presidential candidates are aimed at interfering
in the internal affairs of iran.
in a meeting with the families of martyred commanders and combatants of tehran province, the
leader said the world should know that if any of the candidates showed any sign of leniency
towards the the u.s. or the west's cultural or political inroad, he will not win people's votes.
''the iranian people will vote for a candidate who will resist the u.s. as well as the hegemonic
policies of other aggressor governments and their cultural assault. the people will be further
inclined towards any candidate who has such a stand,'' the revered ayatollah pointed out.
ayatollah khamenei said the iranian nation has shown in the past that they would never retreat
even one step in the face of the impudence and hegemonism of enemies, nor are they ready to
abandon their islamic principles so as to please the enemy.
''the world should know that the iranian people are carefully watching the enemy movements
and that they will stand against the global arrogance and the arrogant spirit of aggressor
governments,'' the supreme leader said.
''why should some people speak of the human rights and women's rights in a way that it runs
counter to the view of islam or talk as if we had to bring our views closer to those of the
westerners?'' the leader questioned.
''it is the westerners who should bring their viewpoints closer to ours. they should correct their
wrong views about the human rights, women's rights and democracy and should adopt them to
the views of islam,'' the leader said.
referring to the fanfare of the arrogant governments about women's right, democracy and human
rights in iran and about iran's support for freedom movements across the globe, the supreme
leader said the arrogant powers led by the u.s. have attached no value to human rights.
''they (arrogant powers) are actually using the issue of human rights as a club to suppress the
nations and governments resisting them,'' the supreme leader said.
the arrorgant governments including the u.s. are the staunch supporters of human righs
violations around the world, the supreme leader said, adding that after establishment of the
islamic republic in iran, iranian muslim women managed to find their real status and show their
lofty spirit at different political and cultural arenas.
elsewhere in his speech, the supreme leader paid glowing tribute to martyrs and appreciated the
islamic revolution's guards corps for holding a congress to commemorate the 36,000 martyred
commanders and combatants of tehran province.
prior to the leader's speech, irgc commander major general mohsen rezaei gave a report on the
congress.
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tehran, may 7, irna -- a sum of rls. 3,212.4 billion was earmarked by the national economy
council on wednesday for implementation of 10 giant projects.
the sum is to be spent on water and steam power plants, synthetic cycle power plants,
construction of several dams, laying of railway tracks, building ports, purchase of heavy
road-building machines and planes, setting up cargo terminals, expansion of steel mills, oil
refineries and petrochemical projects and on irrigation projects.
the session also allocated rls. 47.2 billion for the iran radiator, heavy electrical engineering and
iran kaveh companies.
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damascus, may 8, irna -- iranian foreign minister ali akbar velayati in his meeting with president
hafiz al-assad here on wednesday evening, sought syrian help for information on the conditions
of the four iranian diplomats who were kidnapped in lebanon in 1982 by the zionist elements
and were surrendered to the zionist state of israel by their phalangist captors.
the four, including iranian charge d'affaires in beirut, seyyed mohsen musavi, were the prime
victims of kidnapping in lebanon and remain the world's longest held hostages.
according to a recent report the four iranians are languishing in israel prisons.
in their meeting, president assad and velayati took note of the zionist efforts to hold joint military
exercises with certain neighbouring states and deemed such acts as the cause of tension and
insecurity in the region.
they also condemned the establishment of jewish settlements in occupied palestine and the
zionist violations against lebanese territory.
assad referred to israel's military-political maneuverings to confront islamic countries, and urged
muslim states to close ranks in order to resist the conspiracies of the zionist entity.
he said muslim countries should coordinate their efforts with the islamic republic of iran in this
regard.
towards the end of his talks the syrian president asked velayati to convey his warm regards to
the leader of the islamic revolution ayatollah seyyed ali khamenei.
velayati, who arrived in damascus from beirut, earlier in the day, said there was no change in
the aggressive policies of the zionist regime and the islamic nations should learn a lesson from
their past acts.
tehran-damascus relations and issues of mutual interest at the regional and international levels
were also discussed at the meeting.
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tehran, may 8, irna -- iranian president hojjatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani is to visit the
central asian republics of tajikistan and turkmenistan at the head of a high ranking
political-economic delegation on the invitations of his tajik and turkmen counterparts.
rafsanjani, who will start his two-nation visit on friday, will exchange views in dushanbe with
tajikistan's president imamoli rakhmonov on bilateral relations and on issues of interest for the
two countries at the regional and international levels.
in dushanbe, the iranian president is to receive the hightest degree of the university of sciences
of tajikistan.
on the second leg of his visit, rafsanjani will attend the summit meeting of heads of state of the
economic cooperation organization (eco) in ashkhabad.
in the turkmen capital, he will confer with president safar murad niyazov.
several letters of understanding as well as protocols on irano-turkmen cooperation in the sectors
of economy, trade and technoloy will be inked between the two nations during rafsanjani's stay.
in both the countries the iranian president will also meet and confer with ulema, university
professors of the persian language and iranians residing in the two republics.
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besharati describes iran-russian relations as excellent
tehran, may 8, irna -- in a meeting here on wednesday the iranian interior minister
ali-mohammad besharati told russian ambassador sergei michaelovic that relations between
tehran and moscow were the result of mutual interests of the two countries and were not
influenced by international developments.
decribing tehran-moscow multilateral relations pariticularly in the economic, political and trade
sectors as "excellent", he emphasized on iran's committment to friendship based on good
neighbourly tie and non-interference in each other internal affairs.
besharati took note of the independent policies of the russian leaders and said tehran attaches
great importance to its relations with moscow.
on the situation in neighbouring afghanistan, besharati said that some 6,000 tons of narcotics is
processed annually in that country and for this reason iran has had to expend huge sums of
money for discouraging traffickers and safeguarding its borders against the international drug
gangs.
in the meeting, michaelovic described as "excellent" the two countries' promotion of relations in
the economic and political areas as well as cooperation against drug smuggling, and said the
interior ministries of iran and russia will soon ink cooperation accords to fight drug smuggling.
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damascus, may 8, irna -- iranian foreign minister ali akbar velayati who left here for the
yemenese capital of san'a on wednesday night, summed up his talks with president hafez
al-assad and senior syrian officials as "very positive".
he told reporters at damascus airport that in his meeting with the syrian president earlier in the
day he delivered a message from iranian president hojjatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani.
velayati said that he discussed with assad important issues of mutual interest in the region and
the world, including the crimes of the illegat state of israel in beit ul-moqaddas, other parts of
occupied palestine and in southern lebanon.
he said that is vital for islamic countries to close ranks and stand against the danger.
velayati, who is on his way to san'a will meet yemeni president ali abdullah saleh and deliver
him an invitation from president rafsanjani for attending the summit of the organization of the
islamic conference (oic) in tehran in december.
his four-nation tour has so far carried him to egypt, lebanon and syria.
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rome, may 8, irna -- hojjatoleslam mohammad hadi abd-khodaei, the iranian ambassador to the
vatican conferred with the vatican deputy premier mr. miliore in a meeting here on wednesday.
in his talks the vatican senior official described the existing relations between the islamic
republic of iran and his country as "very important" and called for further promotion of bilateral
cooperation.
abd-khodaei for his part made miliore familiar with some of the articles of the constitution of the
islamic republic of iran which support the religious rights of the iranian minorities.
during their talks two sides also emphasized on continuation of negotiations between the
divinely-revealed religions of islam and christianity.
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tehran, may 7, irna -- president akbar hashemi rafsanjani here on wednesday called for
mobilization of iranian academics, researchers and experts to remove defections in the power
industry in iran.
in a message to the fifth conference on electrical engineering in iran, the president pointed out
that such conferences can help bolster the relations between the indusrty and universities, thus
leading to landmark achievements in the country's development programs.
in his message, president rafsanjani also underlined the need to use the opportunity to define
iran's long term development policies dubbed iran in 2021.
president rafsanjani's message delivered to yemeni counterpart
delay in return of greek ambassador to tehran due to personal reasons
iran, china stress promotion of telecom cooperation
first-ever seminar on 'mongol invasion and its consequences'
intl. conference on neurosurgery, neurology to open in anzali
iranian, tajik expert delegation hold talks
iran-turkey trade exchanges up between janurary, september 1996
velayati: tehran-damascus brotherly, friendly ties growing
people not to vote for candidate showing leniency towards u.s.
rls. 3,212.4 bn earmarked for industrial projects
velayati seeks syrian help on information about iranian diplomats in israeli prisons
president to visit for 2-nation central asian tour on Friday
velayati leaves for sana' after "very positive" talks with assad
iranian envoy confers with vatican leaders
president calls for removal of defections in power industry