گلناز اسفندياري
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceMonday, February 25, 2002 TOP STORY Hamed Karzai in Iran * Without naming the US, President Khatami said that Iran's conflicts with foreign governments will not affect Iran-Afghan relations. Karzai told the Majles that Afghans will not forget IRI's support against the Soviets and the Taliban. Iran will not interfere in Afghan internal affairs, promised Majles Speaker Karubi. US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad again warned IRI not to send armed elements to Afghanistan or support local warlords. The IRI Foreign Minister said none of the foreigners arrested in Iran are al-Qaida members. (Golnaz Esfandiari) IRAN US Charges & Threats: IRI Factions Face Off Again * The reformist faction accuses the conservative camp of irresponsible statements and unauthorized foreign policy activities, which give excuses to the US to attack Iran. The conservatives say that the reformists' call for an investigation into the US charges implies acceptance of the US charges. The IRI Leader may be giving the reformists the upper hand by remaining silent. (Siavosh Ardalan) IRI's Factional Press Differ on Policy towards Afghanistan * As Hamed Karzai meets with IRI officials, the IRI press differ on IRI's relations with Afghanistan. The conservative daily Keyhan, under the control of the IRI Leader, seeks to portray Karzai government as divided. Keyhan writes that the assassination of the Aviation Minister was an action by the Islamic fundamentalist faction opposed to the secular group backed by the US. The daily Nowruz, a reformist paper, calls Keyhan's analysis "playing with Iran's national security." (Fereydoun Zarnegar) French Press Report on Karzai Trip to Iran * Le Monde and Le Figaro's extensive coverage to Hamed Karzai's visit to Iran. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) German Paper Analyzes IRI Politics and the Karzai Trip to Iran * Hamed Karzai seeks not to offend either the IRI or the US, writes Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung's reporter in Tehran. (Shahram Mirian, Koln) Worsening Flight Safety in Iran * Less than a week after 119 died in the still unresolved crash of an Iranian Tupolev 154, a Russian IRI Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) jet caught fire a few minutes after take off in the Northeast of Iran. Some blame the worsening record of flight safety on the archaic Russian technology. Russian and Central Asian crew members of the Russian jetliners leased to Iran are unfamiliar with the terrain and do not speak English. Also, the recent overlap of military and civilian aviation has not been supervised by the civilian National Aviation Organization. (Ardavan Niknam) Americans & Australians To Train Iranian Pilots in Dubai * Iranian pilots will receive training from American and Australian staff of the Dubai civilian aviation company, headed by Sheikh Ahmad bin Saeed, if negotiations between Saeed's company and an unnamed Iranian company succeed. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) Judiciary Delays Conviction of Three Parliament Members, Says Lawyer * After the IRI Leader pardoned the 3-month jail sentence of Hamedan MP Hussein Loghmanian, the Judiciary has delayed indefinitely the announcement of the convictions of three other parliament deputies accused of misleading the public and insulting the Judiciary, Ramezan Haji Mashhadi, defense attorney of two of the deputies, tells RFE/RL. He says the deadline has passed for the judge to announce verdicts for his clients, Ms. Shahrbanu Amani, MP for Orumieh, and Daregaz rep Rasul Mehrpour. Mehrpour had called for an investigation into the judiciary chief's Iraqi nationality. No verdict was announced for MP Fatemeh Haqiqatju, also accused of insulting the judiciary. (Amir-Mossadegh Katouzian) Judiciary Chief Promises Reforms * A Reform Headquarters will revise laws and procedures of the Judiciary, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Shahrudi promised Majlis deputies. The judiciary's political influence on the courts is also an issue, responded the head of the Majles Judiciary Commission. Legal experts say the Judiciary should consider the restoration of institutions such as the offices of the investigative magistrate and public prosecutors as the only means to restore the accountability of Iran's legal system. Under former judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the roles of the investigative magistrate and public prosecutors were given to the judges. (Mehdi Khalaji) Political Rift in Pro-Khatami Student Activist Organization * Leaders of the two factions of Iran's largest student activists' political organization threw fists at each other yesterday, when one group tried to block the other from entering a press conference. The rift started when the IRI Judiciary arrested and jailed for one year, Ali Afshari, a leader of the Office of Reinforcing Unity(Daftar). Tehran-based journalist, Mahmoud Husseini tells RFE/RL that the group split on how to react to Afshari's arrest. Traditionalists under Ali Tabatabai want a gentle protest, while the Akbar Atri and Afshari faction calls for more radical moves, and accuses the others led by Ali Tabatabai of receiving support from powers outside the student movement. Husseini believes the rank and file tend to support the Astri faction, and that the government's reformist faction is also divided between the two factions of the Daftar. (Siavoush Ardalan) The Slow Oil Market and Iran's Foreign Currency Reserve Fund * The Foreign Currency Reserve Fund, created under the Khatami government's Third Five-Year Economic Development Plan to protect Iran from the ups and downs of the oil market now has an estimated $6 to $7 billion. According to the next fiscal year's budget, the government will use $2.1 billion from this fund to cover some foreign currency deficits. But Iran's foreign currency expenditure in Persian year 1381 will exceed the projected $14.9 billion. The IRI predicts unifying the exchange rate will alone cost IRI $2.5 billion. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris) Tehran City Council Votes to Elect the New Mayor * The Tehran city council elected former Isfahan mayor Mohammad Hussein Malek Madani new mayor of Tehran. The interior minister must ratify the vote. Malek Madani managed Tehran under Mayor Karbaschi, Tehran journalist Jafar Golabi tells RFE/RL. Malek Madani's belief in central management might cause new rifts between the mayor and the city council, according to Sina Motalebi, journalist from Tehran, who tells RFE/RL that unlike departed mayor Alviri the new mayor is sensitive to cultural issues and has a good record in defending journalists. (Fereydoun Zarnegar) 12 New Cities Planned for Iran * In response to the slums mushrooming around major cities, 12 new cities are planned to home one million, but home prices in the new cities may be more expensive than the existing towns. Finding suitable locations is the key, Guiti Etemad of the Iranian Society of Consulting Engineers tells RFE/RL. Some 90 percent of new cities developed during the past 10 years failed to attract enough residents to justify the investment, says Dr. Etemad. (Jamshid Zand) New Genetic Discovery by Iranian Researchers in Connecticut University * In interviews with RFE/RL, Prof. Mansoor Sarfarazi, head of the Molecular Ophthalmic Genetics Laboratory at the University of Connecticut, and Dr. Tayebeh Rezaie, researcher at the same laboratory, explain their discovery of the gene responsible for primary congenital glaucoma, which threatens 67 million worldwide with blindness. (Fatemeh Aman, Washington) WORLD Israel welcomes Saudi Peace Initiative * Israeli Prime Minister said he would be interested in discussing the complete peace in exchange for Israeli withdrawal initiative offered by the Saudi Crown Prince. (Jamsheed Chalangi, Cairo) Iraqi Army Ready to Defend against Possible US Attack, Iraqi Press Claim * Official Iraqi press claims Iraqi army is ready to defend against any attack. British Prime Minister will discuss military action against Iraq in his upcoming meeting with the US President. A Kuwaiti newspaper asks Saddam to step down in order to save Iraqi lives. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) US Position on Chinese Weapon Technology Transfer to Iran and Iraq * Taiwan press quoted US Secretary of State as saying that the US is still concerned about Chinese transfer of mass destruction weapons to IRI and Iraq. He said the US is not ready to lift sanctions against Chinese weapons manufacturers. (Shahram Tehrani, Beijing) Milosevic Trial at The Hague Worries Serb Leaders * Serbia's Prime Minister says the trial gives Milosevic a platform to turn Serbian public opinion in his favor. (Ahmad Rafat, Rome) Khalilzad: International Forces Cannot Stop Local Wars in Afghanistan * The US President's Special Envoy in Afghan Affairs, Zalmay Khalilzad, says the international forces do not have the capability to stop local wars between local Afghani warlords. He ruled out US troops in peace keeping missions. The commander of the US forces in Afghanistan says bin Laden may still be alive. RFE/RL's Washington correspondent reviews US press articles about Afghanistan. (Homayoun Majd) Problems Facing the New Afghanistan: English and American Press Analysis (Fariba Mavedat) THIRD HOUR The Art & Life of the Late Ali Tajvidi, Composer and Violinist * Broadcasting a historical interview with the late Tajvidi, as well as his most memorable songs, RFE/RL's musicologist reviews the life work of one of Iran's top composers of popular songs. (Mahmoud Khoshnam) A Book, A Writer: Memoires of the Shah's Right Hand Man, Assadollah Alam * Selected chapters of "The Shah & I," published 10 years ago in the US in English and Persian has just been released in Iran. RFE/RL interviews Sadeq Samii, the Iranian publisher of the Memoirs of Assadollah Alam, the Shah's Court Minister and a former Prime Minister of Iran. (Bahman Bastani)
محمد خاتمي، رييس جمهوري اسلامي، در كنفرانس مطبوعاتي مشترك خود با حامدكرزاي، بدون نام بردن از آمريكا تاكيد كرد كه رابطه ايران با كشورهاي ديگر تاثيري در روابط آن با افغانستان ندارد. وي گفت ايران حمايت از اداره موقت افغانستان و تقويت آن را وظيفه خود مي داند. حامد كرزاي، رييس اداره موقت افغانستان، در دومين روز ديدار خود از ايران، طي يك سخنراني در مجلس شوراي اسلامي از حمايت هاي حكومت ايران نسبت به مبارزات افغان ها عليه شوروي سابق و طالبان تقدير كرد. رييس مجلس شوراي اسلامي در ديدار با كرزاي بر سياست عدم مداخله در امورداخلي افغانستان تاكيد ورزيد. زلماي خليلزاد، نماينده آمريكا در امور افغانستان، طي يك كنفرانس مطبوعاتي در كابل، از جمهوري اسلامي خواست از مداخله در امور داخلي افغانستان دست بردارد و گفت آمريكا نمي خواهد ايران نيروهاي شبه نظامي "القدس" را به افغانستان بفرستد و به جنگسالاران محلي در افغانستان كمك كند. كمال خرازي وزير امورخارجه جمهوري اسلامي حضور اعضاي القاعده در ايران را تكذيب كرد و گفت بازداشت شدگان خارجي در ايران از اعضاي القاعده نيستند.
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceMonday, February 25, 2002 TOP STORY Hamed Karzai in Iran * Without naming the US, President Khatami said that Iran's conflicts with foreign governments will not affect Iran-Afghan relations. Karzai told the Majles that Afghans will not forget IRI's support against the Soviets and the Taliban. Iran will not interfere in Afghan internal affairs, promised Majles Speaker Karubi. US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad again warned IRI not to send armed elements to Afghanistan or support local warlords. The IRI Foreign Minister said none of the foreigners arrested in Iran are al-Qaida members. (Golnaz Esfandiari) IRAN US Charges & Threats: IRI Factions Face Off Again * The reformist faction accuses the conservative camp of irresponsible statements and unauthorized foreign policy activities, which give excuses to the US to attack Iran. The conservatives say that the reformists' call for an investigation into the US charges implies acceptance of the US charges. The IRI Leader may be giving the reformists the upper hand by remaining silent. (Siavosh Ardalan) IRI's Factional Press Differ on Policy towards Afghanistan * As Hamed Karzai meets with IRI officials, the IRI press differ on IRI's relations with Afghanistan. The conservative daily Keyhan, under the control of the IRI Leader, seeks to portray Karzai government as divided. Keyhan writes that the assassination of the Aviation Minister was an action by the Islamic fundamentalist faction opposed to the secular group backed by the US. The daily Nowruz, a reformist paper, calls Keyhan's analysis "playing with Iran's national security." (Fereydoun Zarnegar) French Press Report on Karzai Trip to Iran * Le Monde and Le Figaro's extensive coverage to Hamed Karzai's visit to Iran. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) German Paper Analyzes IRI Politics and the Karzai Trip to Iran * Hamed Karzai seeks not to offend either the IRI or the US, writes Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung's reporter in Tehran. (Shahram Mirian, Koln) Worsening Flight Safety in Iran * Less than a week after 119 died in the still unresolved crash of an Iranian Tupolev 154, a Russian IRI Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) jet caught fire a few minutes after take off in the Northeast of Iran. Some blame the worsening record of flight safety on the archaic Russian technology. Russian and Central Asian crew members of the Russian jetliners leased to Iran are unfamiliar with the terrain and do not speak English. Also, the recent overlap of military and civilian aviation has not been supervised by the civilian National Aviation Organization. (Ardavan Niknam) Americans & Australians To Train Iranian Pilots in Dubai * Iranian pilots will receive training from American and Australian staff of the Dubai civilian aviation company, headed by Sheikh Ahmad bin Saeed, if negotiations between Saeed's company and an unnamed Iranian company succeed. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) Judiciary Delays Conviction of Three Parliament Members, Says Lawyer * After the IRI Leader pardoned the 3-month jail sentence of Hamedan MP Hussein Loghmanian, the Judiciary has delayed indefinitely the announcement of the convictions of three other parliament deputies accused of misleading the public and insulting the Judiciary, Ramezan Haji Mashhadi, defense attorney of two of the deputies, tells RFE/RL. He says the deadline has passed for the judge to announce verdicts for his clients, Ms. Shahrbanu Amani, MP for Orumieh, and Daregaz rep Rasul Mehrpour. Mehrpour had called for an investigation into the judiciary chief's Iraqi nationality. No verdict was announced for MP Fatemeh Haqiqatju, also accused of insulting the judiciary. (Amir-Mossadegh Katouzian) Judiciary Chief Promises Reforms * A Reform Headquarters will revise laws and procedures of the Judiciary, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Shahrudi promised Majlis deputies. The judiciary's political influence on the courts is also an issue, responded the head of the Majles Judiciary Commission. Legal experts say the Judiciary should consider the restoration of institutions such as the offices of the investigative magistrate and public prosecutors as the only means to restore the accountability of Iran's legal system. Under former judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the roles of the investigative magistrate and public prosecutors were given to the judges. (Mehdi Khalaji) Political Rift in Pro-Khatami Student Activist Organization * Leaders of the two factions of Iran's largest student activists' political organization threw fists at each other yesterday, when one group tried to block the other from entering a press conference. The rift started when the IRI Judiciary arrested and jailed for one year, Ali Afshari, a leader of the Office of Reinforcing Unity(Daftar). Tehran-based journalist, Mahmoud Husseini tells RFE/RL that the group split on how to react to Afshari's arrest. Traditionalists under Ali Tabatabai want a gentle protest, while the Akbar Atri and Afshari faction calls for more radical moves, and accuses the others led by Ali Tabatabai of receiving support from powers outside the student movement. Husseini believes the rank and file tend to support the Astri faction, and that the government's reformist faction is also divided between the two factions of the Daftar. (Siavoush Ardalan) The Slow Oil Market and Iran's Foreign Currency Reserve Fund * The Foreign Currency Reserve Fund, created under the Khatami government's Third Five-Year Economic Development Plan to protect Iran from the ups and downs of the oil market now has an estimated $6 to $7 billion. According to the next fiscal year's budget, the government will use $2.1 billion from this fund to cover some foreign currency deficits. But Iran's foreign currency expenditure in Persian year 1381 will exceed the projected $14.9 billion. The IRI predicts unifying the exchange rate will alone cost IRI $2.5 billion. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris) Tehran City Council Votes to Elect the New Mayor * The Tehran city council elected former Isfahan mayor Mohammad Hussein Malek Madani new mayor of Tehran. The interior minister must ratify the vote. Malek Madani managed Tehran under Mayor Karbaschi, Tehran journalist Jafar Golabi tells RFE/RL. Malek Madani's belief in central management might cause new rifts between the mayor and the city council, according to Sina Motalebi, journalist from Tehran, who tells RFE/RL that unlike departed mayor Alviri the new mayor is sensitive to cultural issues and has a good record in defending journalists. (Fereydoun Zarnegar) 12 New Cities Planned for Iran * In response to the slums mushrooming around major cities, 12 new cities are planned to home one million, but home prices in the new cities may be more expensive than the existing towns. Finding suitable locations is the key, Guiti Etemad of the Iranian Society of Consulting Engineers tells RFE/RL. Some 90 percent of new cities developed during the past 10 years failed to attract enough residents to justify the investment, says Dr. Etemad. (Jamshid Zand) New Genetic Discovery by Iranian Researchers in Connecticut University * In interviews with RFE/RL, Prof. Mansoor Sarfarazi, head of the Molecular Ophthalmic Genetics Laboratory at the University of Connecticut, and Dr. Tayebeh Rezaie, researcher at the same laboratory, explain their discovery of the gene responsible for primary congenital glaucoma, which threatens 67 million worldwide with blindness. (Fatemeh Aman, Washington) WORLD Israel welcomes Saudi Peace Initiative * Israeli Prime Minister said he would be interested in discussing the complete peace in exchange for Israeli withdrawal initiative offered by the Saudi Crown Prince. (Jamsheed Chalangi, Cairo) Iraqi Army Ready to Defend against Possible US Attack, Iraqi Press Claim * Official Iraqi press claims Iraqi army is ready to defend against any attack. British Prime Minister will discuss military action against Iraq in his upcoming meeting with the US President. A Kuwaiti newspaper asks Saddam to step down in order to save Iraqi lives. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) US Position on Chinese Weapon Technology Transfer to Iran and Iraq * Taiwan press quoted US Secretary of State as saying that the US is still concerned about Chinese transfer of mass destruction weapons to IRI and Iraq. He said the US is not ready to lift sanctions against Chinese weapons manufacturers. (Shahram Tehrani, Beijing) Milosevic Trial at The Hague Worries Serb Leaders * Serbia's Prime Minister says the trial gives Milosevic a platform to turn Serbian public opinion in his favor. (Ahmad Rafat, Rome) Khalilzad: International Forces Cannot Stop Local Wars in Afghanistan * The US President's Special Envoy in Afghan Affairs, Zalmay Khalilzad, says the international forces do not have the capability to stop local wars between local Afghani warlords. He ruled out US troops in peace keeping missions. The commander of the US forces in Afghanistan says bin Laden may still be alive. RFE/RL's Washington correspondent reviews US press articles about Afghanistan. (Homayoun Majd) Problems Facing the New Afghanistan: English and American Press Analysis (Fariba Mavedat) THIRD HOUR The Art & Life of the Late Ali Tajvidi, Composer and Violinist * Broadcasting a historical interview with the late Tajvidi, as well as his most memorable songs, RFE/RL's musicologist reviews the life work of one of Iran's top composers of popular songs. (Mahmoud Khoshnam) A Book, A Writer: Memoires of the Shah's Right Hand Man, Assadollah Alam * Selected chapters of "The Shah & I," published 10 years ago in the US in English and Persian has just been released in Iran. RFE/RL interviews Sadeq Samii, the Iranian publisher of the Memoirs of Assadollah Alam, the Shah's Court Minister and a former Prime Minister of Iran. (Bahman Bastani)
محمد خاتمي، رييس جمهوري اسلامي، در كنفرانس مطبوعاتي مشترك خود با حامدكرزاي، بدون نام بردن از آمريكا تاكيد كرد كه رابطه ايران با كشورهاي ديگر تاثيري در روابط آن با افغانستان ندارد. وي گفت ايران حمايت از اداره موقت افغانستان و تقويت آن را وظيفه خود مي داند. حامد كرزاي، رييس اداره موقت افغانستان، در دومين روز ديدار خود از ايران، طي يك سخنراني در مجلس شوراي اسلامي از حمايت هاي حكومت ايران نسبت به مبارزات افغان ها عليه شوروي سابق و طالبان تقدير كرد. رييس مجلس شوراي اسلامي در ديدار با كرزاي بر سياست عدم مداخله در امورداخلي افغانستان تاكيد ورزيد. زلماي خليلزاد، نماينده آمريكا در امور افغانستان، طي يك كنفرانس مطبوعاتي در كابل، از جمهوري اسلامي خواست از مداخله در امور داخلي افغانستان دست بردارد و گفت آمريكا نمي خواهد ايران نيروهاي شبه نظامي "القدس" را به افغانستان بفرستد و به جنگسالاران محلي در افغانستان كمك كند. كمال خرازي وزير امورخارجه جمهوري اسلامي حضور اعضاي القاعده در ايران را تكذيب كرد و گفت بازداشت شدگان خارجي در ايران از اعضاي القاعده نيستند.
