News
March 15-19, 1999 / Esfand 24-28,1377
Sports
| Arts
| Business| Rights
| Community
Today
* Elected councils members "not
to be vetted"
* 15 held on charges of helping alleged terrorists
* Russia offers US deal to end its nuclear aid to Iran
* It's business first for Iran at UAE arms fair
Previous
* Iranians celebrate ancient spring
fire festival
* Iran displays military power in UAE despite row
* POW exchange amid Khatami overture to Saddam
* Argentina clears Iran; criticises US and Israel
* Moderates barred from Tehran council: paper
* MKO appeals designation as terror organizations
* Iran cautiously welcomes Afghan accord
* Italian naval vessel to visit Iran
* The Hague oil producer cuts deal
* Khatami gives upbeat view of Italy trip
* Italy visit a breakthrough for Khatami
* Khatami ends landmark visit with papal meeting
* U.S. wary of Iranian president's visit to Italy
* Khatami rebukes Europe for backing Rushdie
* Calls for impeachment of interior minister
* Iran stresses opposition to Turkmen pipeline project
Sports
| Arts
| Business| Rights
| Community
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday
| Thursday | Friday
Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand
email us
Wednesday
March 17, 1999
* Elected councils members "not to be vetted"
Tehran, March 17, irna -- deputy minister for political and social affairs
mostafa tajzadeh said here wednesday that all candidates for membership
in the city and urban councils who were elected last month do not have
to pass through any further vetting procedure. he said every rumour to
the country emanating from whatsoever source is invalid and must not be
heeded. tajzadeh said insofar as the interior ministry is concerned the
issue of meeting qualification criteria by candidates is long since over
and done with ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* 15 Held on Charges of Helping Alleged Terrorists Enter U.S.
March 17, 1999, (Los Angeles Times) - Federal authorities arrested 15
people Tuesday on charges of operating an immigration fraud ring that helped
members of an alleged Iranian terrorist group, among others, enter the
United States illegally. U.S. Atty. Alejandro N. Mayorkas and other law
enforcement officials refused, however, to provide any details about infiltration
of the country by Mujahedeen Khalq members ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* Russia offers US deal to end its nuclear aid to Iran: report
WASHINGTON, March 17 (AFP) - Russia will offer to curtail its nuclear
cooperation with Iran if United States lifts its sanctions on two Russian
research facilities, The New York Times said Wednesday. The offer, revealed
by Russian Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov during an interview, will be
made during Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov's visit to Washington
next week, the daily said ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* It's business first for Iran at UAE arms fair despite island row
ABU DHABI, March 17 (AFP) - Under the motto of "business first,"
Iranian exhibitors have tried to attract potential buyers from around
the world at the Abu Dhabi arms fair despite Tehran's islands dispute with
their Emirati hosts. "It's been going fairly well. We are confident
in the interest shown," said Hossein Shahbazi Jafari, an official
of Iran's defence ministry overseeing Iran's participation ... FULL TEXT
Go to top
Tuesday
March 16, 1999
* Iranians celebrate ancient spring fire festival
TEHRAN, March 16 (AFP) - Tehran was rocked by the sound of firecrackers
on Tuesday night as Iranians celebrated the ancient spring "Festival
of Fire", which was officially authorised this year for the first
time since the 1979 Islamic revolution. All over the town, and in particular
in the residential districts, groups of young people lit fires and set
off highly explosive crackers as soon as night fell ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* Iran displays military power in UAE despite row
ABU DHABI, March 16 (Reuters) - Iran, setting aside its territorial
dispute with the United Arab Emirates, put some of its military hardware
on display at the Middle East's largest arms show in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
``In order to show goodwill and after being persuaded by the UAE government,
we participated in this exhibition in order to present all our existing
production,'' said Hossein Shahbazi Jafari, a Defence Ministry consultant
at the show ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* Iran and Iraq exchange POWs amid Khatami overture to Saddam
BAGHDAD, March 16 (AFP) - Iran and Iraq exchanged prisoners of war on
Tuesday, amid signs of warming ties between the two former foes. Iraq said
Iran handed over 450 Iraqis, held since the end of the eight year war between
them, while Iraq handed back 54 Iranians. Tehran said 56 of its citizens
had been returned. News of the release came as the official Iraqi News
Agency reported that President Saddam Hussein had received a message from
his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Khatami expressing a desire that Iran
"strengthen and deepen" its relations with Iraq ... FULL TEXT
Go to top
* Argentina clears Iran in bombing; criticises US and Israel
BUNEOS AIRES, March 15 (AFP) - The Argentine Supreme Court plans to
issue a ruling that blames the militant Islamic Jihad movement for the
1992 car-bombing of the Israeli embassy here, court sources said Monday.
The court was also expected to criticise the United States and Israel for
failing fully to cooperate with the investigation, court spokesmen said
... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
Monday
March 15, 1999
* Five Iranian moderates barred from Tehran council: paper
TEHRAN, March 15 (AFP) - The election of five moderates to the Tehran
municipal council has been annulled, a newspaper said Monday, as Iran's
conservatives stepped up the pressure to overturn the sweeping victory
by reformers in last month's elections. Former interior minister Abdollah
Nuri and four other backers of reformist President Mohammad Khatami will
not to be allowed to take their seats on the council by orders of the conservative-dominated
Supervision Board, the pro-government newspaper Sobh-e-Emrouz said ...
FULL TEXT
Go to top
* MKO appeals U.S. designation as terror organizations
March 14, 1999 (The Washington Post) -- Two groups designated by the
Clinton administration as foreign terrorist organizations have turned to
the American courts for vindication, waging the most significant challenge
yet to a 1996 antiterrorism law and the way the State Department designates
U.S. enemies. The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran and Sri Lanka's
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have hired prominent lawyers to take their
cases to the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. They allege they
were designated as terrorists by Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright
in October 1997 based on a mostly secret record and with no advance notice
or opportunity to respond ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* Iran cautiously welcomes Afghan accord
TEHRAN, March 15 (Reuters) - The Taleban's agreement to negotiate power-sharing
with the opposition in Afghanistan satisfies one of a series of conditions
set by powerful neighbour Iran for entering talks with the Islamic militia.
Iran, which backs the anti-Taleban alliance, also wants the militia controlling
about 90 percent of Afghanistan to punish the people who killed eight Iranian
diplomats and one journalist in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif
last August ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* Italian naval vessel to visit Iran
TEHRAN, March 15 (AFP) - An Italian frigate is to visit Iran next month
for the first visit by a western navy ship to Iranian waters since the
1979 Islamic revolution, the official news agency IRNA said Monday ...
FULL TEXT
Go to top
Friday
March 12, 1999
* The Hague oil producer cuts deal
THE HAGUE, March 12 (Reuters) - Following is the full text of the statement
released at the end of the oil producer talks on Friday: 1) In response
to an invitation by HE Youcef Yousfi, the Minister of Energy and Mines
of Algeria and President of the OPEC Conference, the Minister of Petroleum
of Iran, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh; the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources
of Saudi Arabia, Ali Al-Naimi; and, the Minister of Energy and Mines of
Venezuela, Ali Rodriguez, met at the Algerian Embassy in The Hague on the
11th and 12th of March, to exchange views on the current situation and
outlook of the international oil market. The Minister of Energy of Mexico
was represented by Adrian Lajous, CEO of PEMEX, the Mexican state oil company
... FULL TEXT
Go to top
* Khatami gives upbeat view of Italy trip
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami described as ``positive''
his landmark visit to Italy this week, saying he managed to put across
his country's new direction and ambitions, state television reported Friday.
But a prominent Iranian official criticized the West for seeking to portray
the trip as a result of Iranian weakness. ``Altogether, I felt that our
goals materialized relatively well,'' the president said on his return
from his three-day trip, the first state visit by an Iranian president
to a West European country since the 1979 Islamic revolution ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* Italy visit a breakthrough for Khatami
LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - He came, he saw, he conquered. Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami achieved a foreign policy triumph with his three-day
state visit to Italy, impressing Pope John Paul, charming Italian leaders
and reaching out beyond Rome to the rest of Europe and the United States.
On the first visit by an Iranian head of state to a Western capital since
the 1979 Islamic revolution, Khatami sought to reassure the West by pledging
to promote democracy, fight terrorism and combat the spread of weapons
of mass destruction ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
Thursday
March 11, 1999
* Khatami ends landmark visit with papal meeting
VATICAN CITY, March 11 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami held
25-minute talks here on Thursday with Pope John Paul II on the final day
of a landmark visit to Italy. The pope called the occasion "important
and promising" while Khatami appealed for "the victory of peace
and reconciliation." The pope personally welcomed Khatami on the threshold
of the Vatican's private library. Before their talks started, Khatami joked
with the pope and introduced his delegation. In Farsi, he told Iranian
photograhpers "not to upset the pope." ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* U.S. wary of Iranian president's visit to Italy
WASHINGTON, March 11 (AFP) - The United States expressed worry Thursday
that Iran might try to use its president's visit to Italy to promote its
international trade. "We believe Iran should not enjoy the benefits
of normal international commerical relations until it ceases activities
that violate international norms," a State Department official said
... FULL TEXT
Go to top
* Khatami rebukes Europe for backing Rushdie
TEHRAN, March 11 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami broke from
his pro-Western message in Italy to deliver a stinging rebuke to European
nations which have supported author Salman Rushdie. Khatami criticised
European nations for backing "a person who has desecrated ... the
feelings of more than one billion Moslems" around the world, the official
news agency IRNA reported ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* Conservative calls for impeachment of interior minister
TEHRAN, March 11 (AFP) - Iranian conservatives stepped up the pressure
Thursday to overturn their defeat in last month's municipal elections as
an MP called for the impeachment of the interior minister over the handling
of the polls. Interior Minister Abdol-Vahed Mussavi-Lari "must be
impeached because he has no intention of abiding by the law," influential
conservative MP Ahmad Rasoolinejad said ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
* Iran stresses opposition to Turkmen pipeline project
TEHRAN, March 10 (AFP) - Iran's oil ministry reiterated its opposition
Wednesday to Turkmenistan's plans for a natural gas pipeline under the
Caspian sea that would bypass the Islamic republic. Iran is the "best
and cheapest route," said Deputy Oil Minister for Caspian affairs
Ali Majedi before leaving for an international oil and gas conference that
began Wednesday in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabad ... FULL
TEXT
Go to top
Copyright © 1997 Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights
Reserved. May not be duplicated or distributed in any form
Morning news broadcast
