Summary of Iran Stories in Today&apos;s BroadcastsBehnam NateghiTuesday, January 06, 2004 <b>Egypt Undecided about Diplomatic Ties with Iran</b> • The renaming of the street named after Egypt&apos;s President Anwar Sadat&apos;s assassin by the Tehran city council removed the last obstacle to resumption of normal diplomatic ties with Egypt, foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said today. “The two countries have decided to restore ties...and right now they are making the preparations,” Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi said in an interview with Qatari TV Aljazeera. But it is too soon to speak of normalization of ties, Egyptian foreign minister Ahmad Maher said. “When a decision is taken, it will be announced. There is no official announcement from anywhere,” he added. (Ali Sajjadi) • The US said Tuesday it looked to Egypt to press concerns about Iran&apos;s nuclear program, alleged support for terrorism and poor human rights record amid signs Cairo and Tehran may be close to resuming diplomatic relations. “It is important ... for us and all of us who are concerned about Iran&apos;s behavior in the region, particularly with regard to weapons of mass destruction and support for violent groups, to make that message clear to Iran,&apos; US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said. (Amir Armin) • “This move is certainly a breakthrough between the two countries and it could well pave the way for the handover of al-Qaeda suspects,” Kevin Rosser, Middle East expert at London-based Control Risks Group security consultancy told Reuters. (Maryam Ahmadi) <b>Possible Resumption of US-Iran Ties Worries Human Rights Advocates</b> • Animosity between nations does not last forever and one can expect better ties when reasons for animosity have been removed, right-wing politician Habibollah Asgaroladi, head of the ultra conservative party Jam&apos;iat Mo&apos;talefeh-ye Eslami said, explaining the new signs of thaw in US-Iran relations. It is ironic that a regime that used anti-Americanism as a pillar of its power and legitimacy, now seeks to reverse its downfall spiral by resumption of relations with the US, Paris-based political activist <b>Ali Keshtgar</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. I hope that the US would not turn its back to the Iranian people and allow its own military or security interests override human rights concerns, he adds. In that case, people like Asgaroldi cannot hope to remain in power by suppressing the people&apos;s legitimate rights, while developing new friendship with the US, he adds. (Ali Sajjadi) <b>Foreign Sources Contribute Hundreds of Millions to Earthquake Relief</b> • Aid from foreign sources for the Bam earthquake victims is estimated to reach $1 billion, of which $400 million has been pledged by the six members of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council. In addition to foreign governments and international relief agencies, many foreign companies operating in Iran have donated millions of dollars to relief work and the rebuilding of the devastated city of Bam, which lost 40,000 in the December 26 earthquake. By last Sunday, 350 planeloads of aid have been unloaded in the Bam airport alone, according to Bam governor. Many planeloads of goods have been delivered in Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan and Bandar Abbas airports. (Keyvan Hosseini) • The UN said it will launch a multi-million dollar appeal on Thursday to help fund reconstruction and relief efforts in Bam. The total amount has not been disclosed but it would include $74.8 million dollars in pledges of cash and kind by donor countries, said Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The money would be sufficient for just 90 days and would be divided between nine key areas, including food, water and reconstruction, with a main focus on health, she said. (Mahdieh Javid) <b>Tehran May Lose 400,000 in Earthquake, Warn Experts</b> • In Tehran with daytime population of 12 million, an earthquake as strong as Bam&apos;s could kill 400,000 in the first few minutes, and casualties may rise to one million, warn seismologists, who point out that Tehran is located on four seismological fault lines. The fact that Tehran has not had a major earthquake in 175 years means that when an earthquake happens in Tehran it will be more devastating, due to the energy stored underground, Tehran-based senior seismologist <b>Bahram Akasheh</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. The supreme national security council has been concerned about Tehran&apos;s vulnerability to earthquake since 1980, when plans for moving the capital to five other locations were drawn up, but we did not receive proper cooperation from other government institutions, secretary of the council Hassan Rowhani said. Moving the capital would only transfer government executives to a safer place, but does not reduce Tehran&apos;s vulnerability, Tehran mayor said, adding that the city still needs to take measures to reinforce existing buildings against earthquake. (Jamshid Zand) • Reinforcing existing buildings to withstand earthquake can reduce the number of casualties of a potential earthquake in the capital, architect and city planner <b>Bahman Sari-Moqadam</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. <b>Government Ponders Taxing the Stock Market</b> • In a move to raise tax income in the next fiscal year, President Khatami&apos;s government proposed in its budget bill now before the Majles to substantially raise tax rate for stock transactions from 0.5 percent to 2 percent for individual investors and 5 percent for companies trading stocks. Raising taxes would encourage long-term stock holding and reduce opportunistic stock transactions, finance minister Tahmasb Mazaheri argued. However, high taxation would deal a blow to the country&apos;s nascent stock market, reducing the trading volume to at least half of its current level, secretary-general of the Tehran Stock Exchange Hossein Abdoh-Tabrizi said. (Fereydoun Khavand) <b>Iran to Launch Own Communication Satellite</b> • Iran will be the first Islamic country in the world to launch its own communication satellite, using a domestic-made rocket, defense minister Ali Shamkhani said. (Keyvan Hosseini) <b>Government Spokesman Explains Earthquake Relief Shortcomings</b> • Responding to criticism about the slow and disorganized rescue and relief work in Bam, particularly in the first days after the earthquake, government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said the problem was that Bam&apos;s local government was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake. Most of the earthquake survivors are sheltered in tent camps, he added. (Keyvan Hosseini) • The customs bureau has a thorough accounting of every planeload of aid received in the country, finance minister Tahmasb Mazaheri said. If the government asks, the details will be published. Some of donated goods were distributed under the supervision of representatives from donor governments and organizations, he added. Thirty-three countries and seven international relief organizations have been directly involved in the rescue and relief operations in Bam, he said. (Farin Asemi) <b>Majles Shortens National Service to 18 Months from 24</b> • The Majles shortened the mandatory national military service to 18 months from 24. The MPs decided to vote on the current practice of selling exemptions to military service later. If all the provisions of the Majles bill to reform military service law get passed, military service for people with college degrees will become optional. Defense minister Ali Shamkhani argued against the Majles bill in today&apos;s open session, announcing that the government will introduce its own military service bill within a month. Army commanders have argued that reduction of military service and making it voluntary for educated people will adversely impact the country&apos;s military readiness. (Arash Qavidel, Tehran) <b>Leftist Islamic Party Warns against Disqualification of Election Candidacy Applicants</b> • In a statement issued today, the pro-Khatami leftist Islamic Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO) warned against mass disqualification of pro-reform election candidacy applicants. Concerned about the absolute victory of reformists, the conservative Guardians Council plans to prevent reformist applicants from standing for election, the party warned, according to a dispatch from the state-run “students” news agency, ISNA. (Amir Armin) <b>17 Canadian Residents and Citizens are among 3,800 MKO Members in US Custody in Iraq</b> • Seventeen of the 3,800 members of the Iraq-based anti-regime group the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) now under US protective custody in Iraq are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada, the lawyer of the 17 women and men Ottawa immigration lawyer Warren Creates said, according to a report in Canada&apos;s daily <i>Globe and Mail</i>. The Canadian authorities are checking with US officials about the status of the individuals in question, said Reynald Doiron, a spokesman for the Canada&apos;s Department of Foreign Affairs. (Maryam Aghvami) . امير آرمين (راديوفردا): ايران روزسه شنبه با تغييرنام يکي ازخيابان هاي تهران، يک مانع عمده در راه تجديد مناسبات با مصر را برطرف واعلام کرد ظرف چند روزآينده روابط کامل ديپلماتيک ميان دوکشور برقرارمي شود. با اين حال مصراعلام کرد هنوزتصميمي رسمي دراين مورد اتخاذ نشده است. علي سجادي (راديوفردا): محمد علي ابطحي، معاون رياست جمهوري اسلامي، در مصاحبه اي با تلويزيون عربي زبان الجزيره که مقرآن درقطر قرار دارد، گفت: تصميم به تجديد روابط با مصراتخاذ گرديده است وانشاء الله ما ظرف چند روزآينده شاهد ازسرگيري مناسبات دوکشورخواهيم بود. با اين حال مصر در اين مورد با احتياط بيشتري رفتارکرده واعلام داشته که هنوزخيلي زود است دراين باره صحبت کرد. احمد ماهر وزير امور خارجه مصر درقاهره به خبرنگاران گفت: روابط دوکشوردرمسيرصحيحي پيش مي رود، اما درحال حاضرهنوزتصميمي درمورد تجديد روابط اتخاذ نشده است. آقاي ماهرافزود: از زمان ديدارميان حسني مبارک رئيس جمهوري مصر ومحمد خاتمي همتاي ايراني وي درژنو درماه دسامبرگذشته، تماس هاي بين دوکشورادامه يافته ودرمسير صحيحي پيش رفته است. روابط ديپلماتيک ايران ومصردرسال 1979 به دنبال اعطاي پناهندگي به محمد رضاشاه پهلوي قطع شد. آقاي ابطحي درادامه مصاحبه خود با تلويزيون الجزيره گفت: اين يک پيشرفت بزرگ ديپلماتيک است. من تصورمي کنم مساله فلسطين وجهان اسلام براثرهمکاري ميان ايران ومصر، ازبيشترين حمايت برخوردارخواهند شد. پيشتر در روز سه شنبه، شوراي شهر تهران موافقت خود را با درخواست وزارت امورخارجه جمهوري اسلامي درمورد تغيير نام خيابان خالد اسلامبولي واقع درمرکز تهران اعلام کرده بود. خالد اسلامبولي کسي است که انورسادات رئيس جمهوري پيشين مصر را درجريان يک رژه نظامي درسال 1981 به قتل رساند. نام اين خيابان و يک نقاشي بزرگ ديواري از قاتل انورسادات درهمين خيابان، يکي ازچندين مانع عمده در راه تجديد روابط مصربا ايران بود. مصرتنها کشورعربي است که ايران روابط خود را با آن هنوزبه صورت عادي درنياورده است. اعضاي شوراي شهرتهران اعلام کردند نام اين خيابان به احترام قيام فلسطينيان، به خيابان انتفاضه تغيير مي يابد. وزيرامورخارجه مصر، تصميم شوراي شهر تهران را گامي مثبت ناميد، اما افزود مسئله تنها تغييرنام اين خيابان نبوده است. درهمين حال حميد رضا آصفي، سخنگوي وزارت امورخارجه جمهوري اسلامي، اعلام کرد مناسبات با مصر بايد اکنون ازسرگرفته شود، زيرا به مردم فلسطين کمک مي کند و خواست کليه گروه هاي فلسطيني به ويژه گروه هاي جهاد طلب است. آقاي آصفي افزود ما اکنون معتقديم که شرايط تجديد روابط کامل ديپلماتيک ميان دوکشورفراهم آمده است. سخنگوي وزارت امورخارجه جمهوري اسلامي همچنين اظهارات روز دوشنبه وزير امور خارجه مصر را که درمصاحبه اي با خبرگزاري رسمي جمهوري اسلامي، پيمان صلح سال 1978 کمپ ديويد با اسرائيل را موضوعي مربوط به گذشته خوانده بود، ستود. علاوه برتغيير نام خيابان، حمايت ايران ازگروه هاي اسلامگراي مصر نيز مانعي ديگر در راه تجديد مناسبات دوکشور بوده است. روابط ايران ومصر به ويژه باحمايت مصرازعراق درجريان جنگ ايران وعراق به شدت روبه تيرگي گذارده بود. در ديدارماه گذشته ميان روساي جمهوري و مصر، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي از حسني مبارک رئيس جمهوري مصر دعوت کرد در نشست اقتصادي سران کشورهاي درحال توسعه که قراراست در ماه بهمن در تهران برگزار شود، شرکت کند. در پي تغيير نام يکي ازخيابان هاي تهران، كه مانع عمده در راه تجديد مناسبات با مصر بود، حجت الاسلام محمد علي ابطحي، معاون رياست جمهوري اسلامي، ابراز اميدواري كرد كه تا چند روز آينده «شاهد ازسرگيري مناسبات دوکشورخواهيم بود.» اما احمد ماهر وزير امور خارجه مصر درقاهره به خبرنگاران گفت: «روابط دو کشور در مسير صحيحي پيش مي رود، اما درحال حاضر هنوز تصميمي درمورد تجديد روابط اتخاذ نشده است.» وزيرامورخارجه مصر، تصميم شوراي شهر تهران در تغيير نام خيابان خالد اسلامبولي، قاتل انور سادات را گامي مثبت ناميد، اما افزود مسئله تنها تغيير نام اين خيابان نبود. رئيس جمهوري اسلامي از حسني مبارک رئيس حكومت مصر دعوت کرده است در نشست اقتصادي سران کشورهاي درحال توسعه که قرار است در ماه بهمن در تهران برگزار شود، شرکت کند.