Summary of Iran Stories in Today&apos;s BroadcastsBehnam NateghiSaturday, August 23, 2003 <b>British Court Adjourned Extradition Hearing of Former Iranian Ambassador to Argentine</b> • A magistrates court in Central London&apos;s Bow Street remanded former Iranian ambassador to Buenos Aires Hadi Soleimanpour, 47, in police custody until August 29, when he is due to reappear in court again for his extradition hearing in connection with his alleged role in the 1994 terrorist bombing of a Jewish cultural center that killed 85. London-based journalist <b>Hazhir Teymourian</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that the court yesterday established Soleimanpour&apos;s identity, and refused to release him on bail, due to the risk of his flight to Iran. Teymourian predicts that the extradition process will last nearly one year, after which, Soleimanpour will certainly be sent to Argentine to be tried. He adds that Soleimanpour&apos;s arrest would not make Iran-Britain relations any worse than it is now. He says in addition to Soleimnapour, Argentina has issued international arrest warrants for seven other high-level Islamic officials, including the Supreme Leader and former president Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani. He also says that the case of the 9-year-old crime was reactivated in Argentina after the election of president Nestor Kirchner. Former Argentinean president Carlos Menem is accused of having taken $10 million from the Islamic government to suppress the judicial investigation on the bombing. (Shahran Tabari) • One of Soleimanpour lawyers in London revealed that the police investigation on his client began a few months ago. In Tehran, foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said British police&apos;s arrest of Hadi Soleimanpour was a political move. (Alireza Taheri) • The 1994 bombing of the Buenos Aires Jewish cultural center was organized by the Islamic regime, but carried out by Hezbollah, writes <i>Tagesspiegel</i>. (Parviz Farhang, Berlin) • Britain, in cooperation with Israel, has unraveled a project to bring more pressure on Iran, The Supreme Leader&apos;s daily <i>Jumhuri-ye Eslami</i> writes. <i>Entekhab</i> calls Soleimanpour&apos;s arrest in London “illegal.” The Argentinean judge, who issued the arrest warrant of Soleimanpour and seven other Islamic officials, was bribed by Israel, writes Tehran municipality&apos;s daily <i>Hamshahri</i> (Behnam Nateghi, New York) • Soleimanpour&apos;s was the first arrest on terrorism charges of a senior Islamic official since the 1979 Islamic revolution, writes the Paris daily le <i>Figaro</i>. French columnists find it strange that Iranian security agencies did not return Soleimanpour home after the Argentinean judge issued an international warrant for his arrest. (Jean Khakzad) • Hadi Soleimanpour was responsible for organizing the attack. Court has evidence of phone calls between Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires and the Lebanese Hezbollah, lawyers for the victims of the 1994 Buenos Aires bombing <b>Marta Narcellas</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. She adds that there are no legal obstacles in Britain for the extradition of Soleimanpour to Argentina, and refusal to extradite Soleimpour would damage Britain&apos;s policy of war on terrorism.(Ahmad Ra&apos;fat, Rome) • Argentine foreign ministry does not want to respond to the charges aired by Iran&apos;s foreign ministry spokesman, writes Buenos Aires daily <i>Clarin</i>. Head of the Buenos Aires Jewish center told <i>Clarin</i> that a trial in Argentina would be a great opportunity for Soleimanpour to prove his innocent. (Ahmad Ra&apos;fat, Rome) • A British diplomat denied that Soleimanpour&apos;s arrest had political reasons. Tehran&apos;s daily <i>Kayhan</i> called for the expulsion of British ambassador from Iran. (Amir Armin) <b>Iran Ready to Sign Nuclear Waste Protocol with Russia</b> • Iran was ready to sign a protocol with Russia that would guarantee the return of the Bushehr nuclear plant&apos;s atomic waste to Russia, Iran&apos;s ambassador to Moscow said on Friday. (Nima Tamadon) • Russia&apos;s atomic energy ministry announced that Bushehr nuclear power plant&apos;s atomic fuel is ready for shipment to Iran, pending the signing of the protocol with Iran that would guarantee the return of the spent atomic fuel to Russia. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) <b>US to Seek Security Council Resolution on Iran&apos;s Nuclear Program</b> • The US will urge Russia and other countries to ask the UN Security Council to deal with Iran&apos;s nuclear program, US senior non-proliferation official, Undersecretary of State John Bolton, said on Friday. Under US pressure, Russia put off delivery of nuclear fuel to Iran&apos;s Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant until next spring. (Alireza Taheri) <b>Lawyer Says Sources Confirmed Kazemi&apos;s Rape in Custody</b> • Sources in the security organs and those connected with security officials confirmed that Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in custody last month of head injuries she suffered during interrogation, had been raped by intelligence agents, Toronto-based lawyer <b>Hamid Mojtahedi</b>, spokesman of the Canadian chapter of Lawyers without Borders, tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Mojtahedi, who is in Tehran along with a delegation from LwB on a human rights fact-finding mission, adds that the rape has not been documented in the Iranian coroner&apos;s report, and can only be confirmed by the exhumation of the body and its transfer to Canada for autopsy. The Majles complaints committee will hold a hearing next Tuesday, with the presence of intelligence minister and Tehran prosecutor, to investigate Kazemi&apos;s death. (Amir-Mosaddegh Katouzian) <b>Iran&apos;s World Image and Conditional Democracy</b> • In a speech on Thursday to intelligence ministry officials, President Khatami said the government tries make Iran more powerful in various fields, and also wants to make Iran&apos;s rightful place recognized by the world. London-based political activist <b>Mehrdad Khansari</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that while it supports terrorism and develops weapons of mass destruction, the Islamic regime would not be accepted by the west. Furthermore, most people in the world don&apos;t believe that democracy and the rights of citizens are respected in our country, thus they question the legitimacy of the Islamic regime, he adds. Khatami also said the Islamic regime supports liberty and democracy based on Iranians&apos; “indigenous beliefs.” London-based human rights activist <b>Hossein Baqerzadeh</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that general terms such as “indigenous beliefs” cannot determine the limits to internationally accepted norms and principles, such as human rights, democracy and liberty, since most of the so-called indigenous beliefs belong to the past, and are the opposite of democracy and respect for human rights. And, he adds, there are many different sets of indigenous beliefs in Iran. (Shahran Tabari) <b>Higher Education Ministry Has No Plans to Follow Resigned Minister&apos;s Projects</b> • President Khatami formally accepted the resignation of his higher education minister Motafa Moin, who, in a letter that appeared in morning papers today, cited the Guardians Council&apos;s rejection of his plan to restructure the ministry as the reason for his resignation. The higher education ministry does not plan to pursue Moin&apos;s project, Tehran University political science professor <b>Sadeq Zibakalam</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. If there was interest, steps would have taken to implement them under Moin himself, he adds. (Amir-Mosaddegh Katouzian) <b>Guardians Council Expected to Reject Three Rights Bills</b> • Majles is set to pass three bills on human rights: social security guarantee, ratification of the UN anti-torture convention and protecting the rights of defendants and convicts. Tehran-based lawyer <b>Nemat Ahmad</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that the Guardians Council will reject all three. (Mahmonir Rahimi) <b>First Conference on Economic Diplomacy</b> • In the first conference on economic diplomacy, foreign ministry&apos;s economic affairs deputy Mohammad-Hossein Adeli spoke of the need to use diplomacy as a tool to advance Iran&apos;s economic interests. The purges of economic experts in the foreign ministry, inefficient embassies, ambassadors who do not speak any foreign language, relations with the US and problems with the EU over Iran&apos;s nuclear program and human rights, as well as issues such as the tragic death in custody of Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, impair foreign ministry&apos;s efforts in pursuing a successful economic diplomacy, <b>Radio Farda</b>&apos;s Paris-based economic commentator <b>Fereydoun Khavand</b>. . شهران طبري (راديو فردا): درباره آن چه امروز در دادگاه هادي سليمان پور گذشت، گفتگويي دارم با هژير تيموريان، روزنامه نگار ايراني در لندن و از او مي پرسم: آخرين خبر از اين دادگاه چيست؟ هژير تيموريان (روزنامه نگار ايراني در لندن): آخرين خبر اين هست که از هادي سليمان پور، سفير سابق ايران در آرژانيتن سوال شد از طرف دادگاه که آيا اسمش واقعا هادي سليمان پور هست يا نه؟ ايشان گفت بله، اسمش هادي سليمان پور است. غير از اين سوال ديگري از او نشد و بعد برش گرداندند به زندان. ش.ط: در چه زنداني هستند ايشان؟ هژير تيموريان: در يکي از زندانهاي پليس لندن. ش.ط: تا کي قرار است بمانند؟ هژير تيموريان: فعلا معلوم نيست، البته در جلسه هاي آينده دادگاه د.باره سوالهاي بيشتري از ايشان خواهد شد و به احتمال زياد ايشان خواهد گفت که اين اتهام درست نيست و ميل دارد که محاکمه به يک دادگاه بالاتر کشانده بشود و من انتظار دارم که دست کم يک سال طول بکشد تا چندين دادگاه بالاتر و بالاتر تصميم بگيرند که آياد دولت آرژانتين دلايل خوبي دارد براي استرداد اين شخص يا نه. ش.ط: شما مي گوييد: ممکن است يک سال اين موضوع طول بکشد، فکر مي کنيد اين بالاخره وقتي تمام مراحل دادگاهيش را طي کرد، چه اتفاقي خواهد افتاد؟ هژير تيموريان: فکر مي کنم که ايشان را به دولت آرژانيتن تحويل خواهند داد. گويا در اين نه سالي که از آن انفجار بزرگ مرکز يهوديان بوئنس آيرس مي گذرد که در ان 84 نفر کشته شده اند ويک جرم بسيار بزرگي بود، به نظر مي رسد که در اين چندين سال دولت آرژانتين تحقيقات بسيار مفصلي را برپا کرده و دلايل خوبي دارد براي اين که اين شخص گويا شرکت داشته است و گويا يکي از ايراني هاي کتهم با دولت آرژانتين همکاري مي کند در اين مورد. ش.ط: آقاي تيموريان، دادگاه با آزادي او به قيد ضمانت موافق نکرده است. اين به چه معني است؟ هژير تيموريان: مي ترسيدند که به ايران برگردد. ش.ط: شما معتقد هستيد که اين موضوع سر دراز دارد به اصطلاح و ممکن است حتي تا يک سال طول بکشد، حتي بيشتر. فکر مي کنيد که آيا در اين مدت اين مسئله در روابط ايران و انگليس تنشي ايجاد بکند؟ هژير تيموريان: گمان نکنم، چون روابط در حال حاضر بسيار تيره هست. اورپايي ها انتظار دارند از ايران که اولا بر سر تروريستهاي القاعده با دنياي خارج همکاري بکند و ايران نمي کند، در عين حال اروپايي ها انتظار دارند که ايران بگذارد که بازرس هاي بين المللي اتمي از تاسيسات اتميش ديدار کنند که باز هم ايران نمي گذارد. در نتيجه روابط بسيار خراب است. ولي روي هم رفته، اين يک مسئله بسيار مهمي است چون غير از سليمان پور، هفت نفر ايراني ديگر که گويا بعضي از آن ها بسيار عالي رتبه هستند، آن ها هم متهم هستند و اين افراد براي بقيه عمرشان نخواهند توانست از هيچ کشور اروپايي ديدن کنند. ش.ط: شما هيچ اطلاعي از نام اين افراد داريد؟ هژير تيموريان: نه، چون فقط به اطلاع دولتها رسانده شده است، به اطلاع ما رسانده نشده است. ولي گفته مي شود که علي اکبر رفسنجاني (رئيس جمهور سابق) و علي خامنه اي (رهبر فعلي ايران) جزو اين افراد هستند. ش.ط: شما فکر مي کنيد که چرا اين موضوع که نه سال پيش اتفاق افتاد، الان تازه مطرح شده است؟ هژير تيموريان: در آمريکاي جنوبي يک جنجالي چندين سال است که بر سر اين موضوع برپا بوده است. گفته مي شود (که من البته نمي توان ثابت کنم به هيچ وجه) که رئيس جمهور سابق آرژانتين، کارلوس منم، ده ميليون دلار از ايران گرفته بوده است که اين قضيه را سرپوشي کند. البته من نمي توانم بگويم که اين درست است، ولي عده زيادي اين شايعه را قبول دارند. ولي در ماههاي اخير يک رئيس جمهور تازه به سر کار آمده است در آرژانتين و اين شهص قول داده است به مردم که بالاخره ماجراي اين جرم بزرگ را حل خواهد کرد. ش.ط: پس تغيير حکومت در آرژانتين را يکي از دلايل باز شدن اين پرونده در اين کشور مي دانيد؟ هژير تيموريان: بله، به سر کار آمدن يک رئيس جمهور تازه اخيرا در آرژانيتن يک نقش تصميم گيرنده در اين ماجرا بازي کرده است. هادي سليمان پور، سفير سابق جمهوري اسلامي در آرژانتين كه روز پنجشنبه در شهر دارهام واقع در شمال انگلستان دستگير شده بود، صبح جمعه در برابر دادگاهي در لندن حضور يافت. هژير تيموريان، روزنامه نگار ايراني تبار در لندن در مصاحبه با راديوفردا مي گويد دادگاه بعد از احراز هويت، سليمان پور را به يكي از زندان هاي پليس لندن رجعت داد. وي مي افزايد احتمالا مراحل رسيدگي به تقاضاي دولت آرژانتين براي استرداد سليمان پور در دادگاه هاي بريتانيا يك سال طول خواهد كشيد و سرانجام او را آرژانتين تحويل خواهند داد. وي مي گويد دستگيري سليمان پور تاثيري در تيره تر ساختن روابط تيره بريتانيا و جمهوري اسلامي نخواهد داشت.