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Summary of the Iran Stories of Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiTuesday, February 11, 2003
<b>Khatami Reaffirms Opposition to US Attack on Iraq</b>
* Speaking in the anniversary of the Islamic revolution ceremony at Tehran's Azadi square today, President Khatami said Iran's opposition to a US strike on Iraq does not mean that Tehran supports the Iraqi regime of President Saddam Hussein. (Siavash Ardalan)
<b>24th Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution </b>
* The Islamic Revolution promised to provide equal opportunity to everyone in a so-called "Islamic economy," but in practice it turned Iran's economy into something akin to a Third World country entirely dependent on the oil exports for 60 percent of its budget and 80 percent of its foreign exchange income. Furthermore, by nationalizing major industries and banking, the Islamic regime increased the state's role in Iran's economy. Iran's foreign exchange reserves are in relatively good shape at the moment, due to unusually high oil prices, which would change when oil prices drop. The increasing social and economic inequality is yet another economic outcome of the Islamic revolution. Ten percent of the population at the top of the economic scale consumes 30 percent of the nation's resources, while the bottom 10 percent have access to only 1.5 percent of the resources. 15 percent Iranians live below poverty level, according to official numbers. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris)
* A large group of Iranians living in Southern California demonstrated against the Islamic regime in front of the Federal building in Los Angeles. Musician Mehrdad Asemani tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that Iranians oppose the regime that has taken away all their freedoms. Musician Shahbal Shabpareh tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that there are many famous musicians and pop stars among the demonstrators today. (Ali Sajjadi)
* In a statement on the anniversary of the revolution, the student's Islamic council of the Ferdowsi University and medical school in Mashhad protested against the closing of newspapers, jailing of writers and the house arrest of dissident religious leaders. (Amir Armin)
* Sociologist Hossein Ladjevardi tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that the Islamic rule has resulted in the rejection of Islamic values by the young people in Iran. (Iraj Arianpour)
<b> Iran Admits to Mining Uranium Near Yazd</b>
* The admission yesterday by President Khatami that Iran is mining uranium near Yazd and plans to enrich uranium to make atomic fuel has raised the level of concern about the Islamic regime's nuclear ventures. "Iran's admission that it has been mining uranium when Russia has agreed to provide all the uranium for fuel for the lifetime of the Bushehr reactor raises serious questions about Iran's supposedly peaceful nuclear program," said the US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. (Golnaz Esfandiari)
* Iran is following the example of North Korea in developing uranium enriching facilities, despite its commitment to the international non-proliferation treaties, wrote the Washington Post. (Fariba Mavedat)
* US National Security Council's spokesman Shawn McCormick tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that he has nothing to add to President Bush's July 12th message to the Iranian people. (Mahtab Farid)
* Iran's representative in the International Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi called the mining of uranium in Iran and the establishment of facilities to process uranium a major accomplishment. (Mahdieh Javid)
* Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Golamreza Aghazadeh said Iran welcomes the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors in order to prove the falsehood of what he called the US propaganda about the Islamic regime's nuclear programs. He said Iran would let IAEA's director Mohammad AlBoradei to visit uranium mines near Yazd. AlBordei is due in Iran on February 25. (Amir Armin)
<b>Former Hostage Calls for the Freedom of the former Hostage-Taker</b>
* Former US-Embassy hostage Barry Rosen calls for the release of Ali Abdi, a former leader of the group that held him and 51 other American diplomats hostage for 444 days. A Tehran court convicted Abdi last week to eight years in jail for his role in the public opinion poll that showed 74 percent of the respondents favor the resumption of US-Iran relations. Rosen tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that Abdi is a noble person struggling for the freedom of all Iranians. He asks the regime to let Abdi go, if it considers itself strong enough to tolerate dissenting voices. (Mahtab Farid)
<b>Textile Industry Crisis</b>
* Head of Iran's Textile Association Ali Sharifi said of the 1 billion square meters of textile used in Iran only less than 400 million square meters is produced in domestic mills, which are working at 50 percent to 60 percent of their capacity. Old machinery, lack of spare parts and inefficiency threatens the industry with ruin. He said one of the main problems is the government's ban on cotton imports. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris)
<b>Reporters sans Frontiers Welcomes Release of Two Writers from Jail</b>
* In a statement issued in Paris, the Reporters sans Frontiers welcomed the recent release from jail of journalist Emad-eddin Baqi and writer and Tolstoy translator Alireza Jabbari. (Siavash Ardalan)
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مراسم رسمي بيست و چهارمين سالگرد انقلاب 1357 كه به تسلط روحانيون شيعه بر حكومت ايران انجاميد، امروز در تهران و ساير نقاط كشور برگزار شد. محمد خاتمي، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي به اين مناسبت در ميدان آزادي تهران به سخنراني پرداخت. وي گفت اميدواريم آمريكا نخواهد با واپس مانده هاي رژيم گذشته، بارديگر بخت خويش را در مقابله با ملت ايران بيازمايد. خاتمي همچنين افزود اگر با حمله نظامي آمريكا با عراق مخالف هستيم به اين دليل است كه منشا اصلي آن را برهم زننده استقلال كشورها مي دانيم. وي گفت اين مخالفت به اين معني نيست كه ما ار حكومت عراق رضايت داريم.
