Summary of Iran Stories in Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiWednesday, March 31, 2004
<b>IAEA Chief To Visit Iran Next Tuesday</b>
• Head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei will visit Iran next Tuesday for the third time since investigation began on Iran's atomic program, IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said in Vienna. The purpose of the visit is “to consult on outstanding issues relevant to the IAEA's verification of Iran's safeguards agreement” under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), she said. Two IAEA inspectors arrived in Iran last Saturday to check the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities.
<b>Shiraz to Build Women-Only Park</b>
• Iran's first women only park will be built in Shiraz in a 20-acre property at the projected cost of 5 billion rials, according to the Shiraz mayor. The park continues the 25-year experimentation with gender segregation under the Islamic government, which has met with some success, in the case of Tehran city buses and urban trains, and has failed in projects such as separating men and women on busy sidewalks and university classes. (Keyvan Hosseini)
<b>Thousands Mourn Traffic Accident Victims</b>
• As the 13-day New Year holidays near their end, hundreds of families are busy holding memorials and funerals for more than 200 who died in traffic accidents during the first ten days of the holidays. (Arash Qavidel, Tehran)
<b>US Election Coverage on Iran TV</b>
• The state-run radio-TV monopoly has begun airing reports on the US presidential elections. The coverage is slanted towards President Bush's Democrat rival Senator John Kerry. It appears that the Islamic authorities believe that, if elected, Kerry would take a more moderate policy towards Iran. (Arash Qavidel, Tehran)
<b>US “Outed” Islamic Government's Spies After Khobar Bombing</b>
• The <i>USA Today</i> writes: “After a bombing killed 19 U.S. airmen at a barracks in Saudi Arabia in 1996, the Clinton administration struck back by unmasking Iranian intelligence officers around the world, significantly disrupting Iranian-backed terrorism, according to a high-level U.S. official and a former top official who was serving at the time of the operation.”
<b>25th Anniversary of Islamic Republic Referendum</b>
• On the 25th anniversary of the referendum on the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, <b>Radio Farda</b> airs comments made by the regime officials and reformist activists to two state news agencies, ISNA and ILNA. While conservatives such as <i>Kayhan</i> chief editor support the outcome of that referendum, reformists say the promise of democracy implicit in the phrase “Islamic Republic” did not materialize.
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روز چهارشنبه با قطعيت يافتن تصميم اوپک براي کاهش يک ميليون بشکه نفت در روز، بهاي نفت به گونه اي کاملا بي سابقه در عرض 13 سال گذشته، بار ديگر بالا رفت، تا حدي که بر بهاي نفت 26 سنت در هر بشکه افزوده شد. آمريکا از عربستان سعودي خواسته بود تا با فشار بر اوپک، از کاهش توليد اين سازمان جلوگيري کند. صفا حائري، روزنامه نگار و کارشناس بازار نفت، در مصاحبه با راديوفردا مي گويد که وزير نفت عربستان سعودي، دليل بالارفتن بهاي نفت را دو چيز اعلام کرد: يکي عرضه و تقاضا، و اينکه به دليل نزديک شدن به فصل گرما، عربستان نفتي که در بازار عرضه مي شود را کافي مي داند، و دوم، افزايش مصرف چين است، چرا که چين تبديل شده است به دومين مصرف کننده دنيا، و اين هم باعث افزايش قيمت است.
