Summary of Iran Stories in Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiThursday, June 10, 2004
<b>Foreign Ministry Denounces G8
Resolution on Iran's Nuclear Program</b>
• The stance expressed by the group of eight most industrialized nations on Iran's nuclear program was “illogical and unrealistic,” foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said on Thursday. In a statement issued in their summit meeting in Sea Island Georgia, the G8 rebuked the Islamic Republic for allegedly pursuing a nuclear weapons program, and urged Iran to fully cooperate with the IAEA, and expressed worries that Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment activities was “not yet comprehensive.” “The Islamic Republic has practically indicated its full commitment with regard to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and safeguards,” Asefi said. “Iran's broad and transparent cooperation with the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) affirms this, he added.
• A resolution drafted by Britain, France and Germany for the June 14 meeting of the IAEA's board of governors “will be quite factual and reflect the IAEA report on Iran's nuclear program, but will not pass a judgment on Iran,” an unnamed diplomat was quoted by Agence France Presse in a dispatch from Vienna. The Euro-3 told a meeting of EU states in Vienna that their draft resolution urges Iran to answer all the IAEA's remaining questions about alleged weapons-related activities, according to Vienna diplomats quoted by AFP. Iran advanced uranium enrichment facilities and designs, and new traces of highly enriched uranium on Iran's centrifuge equipment are the focus of next week's meeting of the IAEA board.
<b>Golden Chain: Higher Oil Prices Chokes Economic Reform</b>
• Higher oil prices are expected to push Iran's oil revenues beyond $30 billion. Greater revenue has increased Iran's already heavy dependence on oil, and the explosive jump in imports is threatening to push up the nation's trade deficit, <b>Radio Farda</b>'s Paris-based economic commentator <b>Fereydoun Khavand</b> warns. By creating a superficial economic growth, the higher oil revenue is further delaying the overdue economic reforms, he adds.
<b>Russia to Sell Iran More Tupolev Airliners</b>
• Iran's civil aviation organization is in talks with Moscow to replace Iran's fleet of Tupolev-154 passenger jets with new Tupolev-204s, capable of carrying 210 passengers, according to Moscow economic weekly <i>Itugi</i>. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow)
<b>Rafsanjani May Run for President Again, His Supporters Say</b>
• Supporters of former Islamic Republic president Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani have started a drive to draft him as a nominee for next year's presidential election. In an interview with Tehran daily <i>Ebtekar</i> Rafsanjani did not rule out his possible nomination for the job. “I would be a nominee if the nation finds my presence in the election necessary,” he said. A list of conservatives closely associated with the Supreme Leader are being mentioned in press reports as possible presidential nominees, including secretary of the supreme national security council Hasan Rowhani, former head of the state radio-TV monopoly Ali Larijani, Tehran conservative mayor Mahmoud Ahmadi and former foreign minister Ali-Akbar Velayati.
<b>Conservative Women MPs Form Majles Bloc</b>
• After days of wrangling, the women MPs in the new Majles formed a group and elected member of the Abadgaran coalition Nafiseh Feizbakhsh as their leader. Conservative faction is by nature not interested in women's rights, Tehran-based independent Majles reporter <b>Farnaz Qazizadeh</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. The women's greatest challenge will be the bill on ending all forms of discrimination against women, which had serious opponents even among the reformist MPs of the former Majles, she adds. However, she says, due to closer cooperation between the conservative Majles and the Guardians Council, passage of some bills in support of women's rights may be possible, but not the bills on equality of heritage and blood money, which fly in the face of Islamic rules. (Amir-Mosaddegh Katouzian)
<b>Pachachi Blames Iran for Losing Presidency of Iraq's Transitional Government</b>
• Veteran Iraqi politician Adnan Pachachi blamed Iran for blocking his nomination as Iraq's president. In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais, Pachachi, a former foreign minister of Iraq, said the US and UN representative Lakhdar Brahimi rejected him in order to avoid confrontation with the Islamic Republic and Iraqi Shiite activists. He said his loss of the presidency was a defeat for all those who believe in a democratic, liberal and secular Iraq. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome)
<b>UN Committee Acuses Canada of Violating Human Rights for Deporting Defected Iranian Assassin</b>
• The UN Human Rights Committee accused Canada of “flouting” international human rights rules for deporting Mansour Ahani, a former Iranian intelligence agent, who had defected to Canada nine years ago, Canada's <i>National Post</i> reported on Thursday. “In a 21-page decision, it said the “process leading to [Ahani's] expulsion was deficient” because Canada failed to “determine appropriately” whether he might be tortured by Iranian authorities upon his return.
<b>Guards Return Recuperating Tabrizi Journalist to Jail</b>
• Guards returned Tabrizi independent journalist Ensafali Hedayat to jail, even though he was still recuperating in hospital after surgery, despite his doctor's orders, Hedayat's lawyer <b>Mohammad-Ali Dadkhah</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>, adding that he hopes Tabriz judiciary will agree to his client's request for medical furlough. The Tabriz Islamic revolutionary court sentenced Hedayat to 18 months in prison for attending a meeting of anti-regime secular activists in Berlin. (Amir Armin)
.
حميدرضا آصفي، سخنگوي وزارت امور خارجه جمهوري اسلامي در واكنش به بيانيه سران گروه هشت، مواضع آنها را در ارتباط با برنامه هاي هسته اي جمهوري اسلامي غير منطقي خواند. آقاي آصفي گفت ايران پايبندي كامل خود را به معاهده منع گسترش سلاح هاي هسته اي نشان داده و آنچه كه اين روزها درباره فعاليت هاي هسته اي جمهوري اسامي مطرح مي شود، گونه اي ايجاد فشار و فضاسازي تبليغاتي است. وي افزود استمرار همكاري ايران با آژانس و كشورهاي اروپايي با پايمردي طرف مقابل به تعهدات خود، تضمين مي شود. وي گفت سران گروه هشت نبايد انتظار داشته باشند ايران از حق طبيعي دستيابي به انرژي اتمي صرفنظر كند. سران كشورهاي گروه هشت در بيانيه خود گفته اند تاخيرات، نقائص همكاري و افشاي ناكافي فعاليت هاي هسته اي جمهوري اسلامي درخور نكوهش است.
