Summary of Iran Stories in Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiMonday, April 05, 2004
<b>IAEA Chief “Impatient” with Iran's Slow Cooperation</b>
• The international community is “impatient” with Iran's slow cooperation in answering charges that Iran has a clandestine nuclear weapons program, according to head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei. “Basically, I would like to discuss with our Iranian counterparts how to get accelerated cooperation. Iran has been actively cooperating but I sense some slowdown in the process,” he told reporters in Frankfurt where he was scheduled to board a plane for Iran for one-day talks with senior Iranian officials. “It is in the interests of Iran to show from now until June maximum transparency, maximum accelerated cooperation,” he added. The IAEA executive board of governors meets in June when they will issue a fresh report on the status of inspections in Iran.
<b>US Lifts Ban on Editing Foreign Scientific Articles</b>
• The federal government has eased a ban on editing manuscripts from nations that are under United States trade embargoes, a move that appears to leave publishers free once again to edit scholarly works from Iran and other such countries, the <b>New York Times reports </b>. The Treasury Department sent a letter to the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers, saying the organization's peer review, editing and publishing was “not constrained” by regulations from the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Six thousand scientists, university professors and science magazine editors signed the petition against the ban, Pace University professor <b>David Rahni</b>, former head of the American Chemistry Association, who campaigned against the ban, tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Behnam Nateghi, New York)
<b>Conservatives Attack Khatami's Economic Bills</b>
• President Khatami's budget for the fiscal year that began on March 20, 2004, and his five-year economic development plan, came under harsh attacks by the conservative “coalition of the builders (E'telaf-e Abadgaran),” which won the majority of seats in last February's Majles election, and is due to takeover the Majles from the reformist majority mid-May. Economist Ahmad Tavakoli, a former labor minister, said the budget lacks provision for economic development and the government's five-year plan echoes the prescription of international organizations, such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The criticism, offered at a conference at the Abadgaran headquarters in Tehran, came as the Majles gears up to approve the five-year plan in the few weeks that has remained from its term. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris)
• Branches of the conservative faction disagree on the selection of the next Majles speaker. While the so-called conservative technocrats support a plan to elect a non-cleric to the post of the Majles speaker for the first time since the Islamic revolution, the traditionalist branch, including the society of militant clerics (Majm'a Rowhaniyat-e Mobarez) headed by Ayatollah Mahdavi-Kani insists on nominating a cleric for the job. The next Majles will convene mid-May. (Mehdi Khalaji)
<b>Guardians Council Overturns Reformists' Election Wins in 7 Districts</b>
• The Guardians Council overturned election results in Lahijan, Behbahan and five other electoral districts where conservatives had not won.
<b>Depression and Oppression Drive Young Women to Suicide</b>
• In the Caspian province of Golestan more than 1,000 women committed suicide last year, topping the list of provinces with highest suicide rates, along with Ilam and Mazandaran, according to the deputy director of the national welfare organization Hassan Alamalhodai. Poverty and depression were the main causes of suicide, he added. Other reasons include family disputes, childhood difficulties and social pressures. More women committed suicide than men, but the number of men who managed to kill themselves were twice higher than that of women. (Mahmonir Rahimi)
<b>Foreign Debt Jumps to $33 Billion</b>
• Iran's foreign debt and other foreign commitments reached $33 billion by last December, according to the central bank. Increasing imports contributed to the high debt rates, despite the surge in oil prices. It is expected that Khatami will end his term next year leaving behind $35 billion in foreign obligations. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris)
<b>Iraqi Interior Minister Arrives in Tehran For Security Talks</b>
• Iraqi interior minister Nuri Badran arrived in Tehran on Saturday night for a four-day visit to discuss border security issues between the two neighbors as well as dispatch of Iranian pilgrims to holy sites in Iraq. The talks will include the anti-regime Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) members, as well as Iranian pilgrims' trips to holy Shiite sites in Iraq.
<b>Government Plans to Privatize Student Dorms</b>
• Running student dorms will be privatized and new private-sector student dorms have been planned, according to the higher education ministry's director of student affairs Dr. Mohammad Mohaddes. In most cities, universities can only respond to 25 percent of applications for dorm space. In most cases, on campus dorm rooms are only given to girls, since landlords avoid unmarried female tenants, Sari University's graphic student <b>Arash Hamedi</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Boys find group housing off-campus on their own, he adds. The university charges 200,000 rials ($25) per month for the available dorm rooms, he says. (Leyli Arman)
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فاطمه امان (راديوفردا): محمد البرادعي ، رئيس آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي، وابسته به سازمان ملل متحد، روز دوشنبه گفت: به سبب آنکه ايران به جامعه بين المللي اطمينان کامل نمي دهد و اعلام نمي کند که برنامه محرمانه اي براي توليد سلاح اتمي ندارد ، حوصله او به سر آمده است.
بهروز نيکذات (راديوفردا): آقاي البرادعي که عازم ايران بود، گفت: حوصله و صبر اعضاي هيات مديره آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي از عدم همکاري ايران سر آمده است. وي گفت: تحقيق و تجسس بين المللي در باره برنامه هاي هسته‌اي ايران نمي تواند براي هميشه ادامه يابد و ما بايد چگونگي افزايش همکاريها را مورد بحث و بررسي قرار دهيم. محمد البرادعي گفت ما بايد خود را راضي کرده و بخود بقبولانيم که فعاليت هاي اتمي اعلام نشده در ايران وجود ندارد.
با وجود آنکه جمهوري اسلامي ايران مصراً ميگويد که هيچ يک از تاسيسات خود را از نظر آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي مخفي نداشته است، ولي قرار است آقاي البرادعي روز سه شنبه بار ديگر براي مذاکره در باره مسائل هسته اي، وارد ايران شود.
حميد رضا آصفي، سخنگوي وزارت امور خارجه جمهوري اسلامي، روزيکشنبه به خبرنگاران گفته بود: ما همکاري سازنده و شفافي با آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي داريم و چنين رابطه‌اي ادامه خواهد داشت.
سال گذشته بريتانيا ، فرانسه و آلمان، سه کشور عضو اتحاديه اروپا، و ايران، ضمن توافقي با آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي، اعلام کردند در زماني که بازرسان سازمان ملل متحد برنامه هاي اتمي ايران را تحت بررسي دارند، ايران برنامه غني سازي اورا نيوم خود را متوقف سازد. ولي هيات مديره آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي در سيزدهم ماه آوريل گذشته، با صدور قطعنامه‌اي اعلام نکردن فعاليتهاي حساس هسته اي ايران را تقبيح و محکوم کرد، و به عنوان مثال به در دست داشتن طرح دستگاههاي پيشرفته سانتريفيوژ يا گريز از مرکز که قادر به توليد اورانيمي است که در بمب هسته‌اي به کار مي رود، اشاره کرد.
آقاي البراداعي که بر سر راه خود به ايران در فرانکفورت توقف کرده بود، گفت: از ماه فوريه تا کنون سومين باري است که به ايران سفر مي‌کند. قرار است هيات مديره آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي در ماه ژوئن طي اجلاسي در وين گزارش را در باره فعاليتهاي اتمي ايران مورد بررسي قرار دهد.
محمد البرادعي گفت: پس از ماه اکتبر گذشته که ايران گفته بود گزارش کامل خود را در باره فعاليتهاي هسته اي به آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي ارائه کرده است ، همکاري ايران رو به کندي گذاشته است. در آن گزارش نيز ايران نتوانسته بود به سوال نشانه هائي از اورانيوم غني شده که بازرسان در دو محل يافته بودند، پاسخ صريح دهد، و دولت تهران گفته بود: علت وجود اورانيم غني شده ، ابزار و وسايل آلوده اي بود که ايران از خارج وارد کرده بود، و ارتباطبي با فعاليتهاي غني سازي اورانيوم توسط ايران ندارد.
آقاي البرادعي که با مقامات بلند پايه دولت و مقامات و سياستگذاران برنامه هاي هسته‌اي ايران ديدار خواهد کرد، گفت که مايل است در اين سفر به صراحت روشن سازد که تجديد و تسريع همکاري به نفع همگان خواهد بود. وي افزود: در اين مدت، فرصت کافي و زيادي براي همه وجود داشت تا به نتيجه‌اي دست يافته شود. محمد البرادعي ، رئيس آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي، روز دوشنبه و در راه سفر به ايران، گفت که حوصله و صبر اعضاي هيات مديره آژانس از عدم همکاري جمهوري اسلامي به سر آمده است. وي گفت که تحقيق و تجسس بين المللي در باره برنامه هاي هسته‌اي تهران نمي تواند براي هميشه ادامه يابد و بايد چگونگي افزايش همکاريها مورد بررسي قرار گيرد. آقاي البرادعي گفت که پس از گزارش ماه اکتبر جمهوري اسلامي، همکاري تهران رو به کندي گذاشته است. در آن گزارش جمهوري اسلامي نتوانسته بود به سئوال يافت شدن نشانه هائي از اورانيوم غني شده توسط بازرسان سازمان پاسخ صريح دهد.
