Three terrorist leaders have been arrested on Iran’s borders by border guards, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said on Wednesday.
The intelligence chief said the three terrorists were to launch suicide operations at religious gatherings on the final days of the lunar month of Safar in Tehran.
Iran’s judiciary chief has slammed allegations about the violation of women’s rights in the country.
Addressing a meeting of high-ranking judiciary officials in Tehran on Wednesday, Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani described the claims as a trite falsehood.
“Women in our country can assume various posts and offices based on the law. Their absence in some positions does not mean their rights are suppressed,” Larijani said.
“For instance, no woman has ever become a president in the United States, could we then say that the rights of women are trampled in the US?” he asked.
Larijani also dismissed the recent United Nations General Assembly resolution on human rights situation in Iran and said the move is a “repetition of the previous false claims, albeit in a new color and taste.”
He further rejected allegations that Iran has carried out “mass, secret executions,” saying the judiciary system will respond to these accusations, if those who have made such claims submit the “names of those executed and the date and location of their executions.”
The Iranian official said most death penalties carried out in Iran are related to drug traffickers whose names and identities are disclosed to their families.
Iran has repeatedly criticized biased reports on its human rights situation, describing them as selective, politically-motivated and unacceptable.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday congratulated his Christian counterparts on the advent of the new Christian year and the birth of Jesus Christ (Peace Be upon Him(.
“It is my pleasure to congratulate you and your revered colleagues on the blessed birthday of the Great Divine Prophet, the Jesus Christ (PBUH), and on beginning of the New Year”.
He said that the international community is more than ever in need of aspirations and values such as justice peace, brotherhood and faith in God which have been brought to humanity by the great divine prophets, and campaign against injustice, despotism and ignorance.
‘Violence and extremism are the main concerns of all nations and followers of divine religions, whose security, tranquility and freedom are seriously threatened in many parts of the world, especially the occupied Palestine, Africa, and West Asia.’
He further said that parliaments should strengthen cooperation and raise mutual understanding to make a better world and play a decisive role in the all-out progress and development of nation.
He said that parliament speakers can tap into cooperation to carry out their common responsibility to eliminate injustice and discrimination worldwide.
President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday congratulated the world heads of state on the birthday of Jesus Christ (Peace Be upon Him) and the Christian New Year [which is less than a week away].
“In today’s crisis-torn world, rife with violence rather than divine mercy, peace and passion, recourse to lofty instructions of divine prophets is the only way to gain prosperity and elevation of mankind,” the president said in his message.
He said that the Islamic Republic of Iran is treading the path of promoting peace and security and economic development with the idea of the World against Violence and Extremism, which was passed unanimously by the UN General Assembly.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has taken strides on the path of challenge and will continue its efforts along with other member states of the United Nations to reach the final goal of respect for human dignity.
In a separate message, the president also congratulated the world Catholic Church leader on the occasion.
In a letter to his counterparts, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif briefed them on the latest developments in the negotiations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the P5+1 Group on Iran`s peaceful nuclear program.
The Iranian Foreign Minister said, “My delegation has engaged in these talks with the firm mandate and strong political will to reach a comprehensive agreement. We have clearly demonstrated that we are prepared to accept a rational and fair agreement based on mutual respect and interest, in the same manner as we resist and reject arbitrary, degrading and unlawful demands. We have tried to be creative and innovative and have offered solutions.”
He added, “In our Joint Plan of Action, we envisaged a common goal for these negotiations: To reach a mutually-agreed long term comprehensive solution that would ensure Iran’s nuclear program will be “exclusively peaceful” and “would produce the comprehensive lifting of all UN Security Council sanctions, as well as multilateral and national sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program.”
Zarif said, “Achieving the first objective is not difficult, because Iran does not want or need nuclear weapons. In our view, nuclear weapons are obsolete tools of the past, incapable of providing external security or internal stability. This is especially the case for Iran, which is content with its size, geography, natural resources and human capital, and has not started a single war in the past three centuries. A sober strategic assessment will show that nuclear weapons are detrimental to Iran’s security.
He added, “Iran also has a solid track record of opposing all WMDs on religious grounds. Ayatollah Khamenei, like his predecessor Imam Khomeini, declared that all WMDs are strictly forbidden by Islam. For this reason, Iran did not use chemical weapons even in retaliation when Saddam Hussein gassed our troops and civilians on a scale not seen since the First World War.”
Part of the letter said, “Moreover, “practical limits” envisaged by JPOA preclude arbitrary limits, which seek to shrink Iran’s enrichment to a token program. Such is neither practical nor realistic.”
The Iranian Foreign Minister pointed out, “The second objective envisaged by JPOA, namely the lifting of all sanctions, is an essential component of any agreement. But some members of P5+1 have become increasingly reluctant to abandon this counterproductive, illegal and inhuman instrument of coercion even at the expense of putting in jeopardy the entire process that provides certainty and assures transparency. Obsession with sanctions has not only obstructed a comprehensive long-term agreement, but also prevented the West from regaining the confidence of the Iranian people even after the adoption of JPOA. While Iran has shown its good faith by completely fulfilling its part of the bargain under the deal, the US and EU have adopted more measures to maintain and strengthen the sanctions regime than to live up to their sanction-easing commitments.”
The Iranian Foreign Minister concluded, “I am confident that a comprehensive agreement is imminently within reach. It requires foresight, political will and recognition of realities by our negotiating partners as well as the audacity to make the right choice benefitting the entire global community rather than succumbing to the whims of vocal, but increasingly unpopular, pressure groups and special interests.”
Nuclear scientists have stressed that uranium resources will meet energy needs of humans for 5 million years.
Tasnim News Agency ran a report on December 22 on the advantages of nuclear energy and enrichment, taking a look at the history and prospect of nuclear energy. What appears below is the translation of the report:
The world first learned about nuclear energy on August 6, 1945 when the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Nuclear energy has multiple functions. The World Nuclear Association (WNA) predicts that in 2015, a nuclear power plant will go up and running in the world every five days, on average.
Why will the world opt for nuclear energy? Power generation through nuclear energy is more cost-effective than through fossil fuels. On the other hand, non-renewable energy sources – coal, oil and natural gas – are running out. Those countries which remain dependent by 2040 on the sale or consumption of non-renewable energies will be on the verge of collapse.
Uranium sources can meet humans’ energy demands for 5 million years; that’s why the US which possesses one of the world’s largest oil reserves has the maximum number of nuclear power plants. France taps into nuclear energy to supply 80 percent of its electricity. Production of nuclear energy is cheaper than wind and solar energies and is not tied to any specific climatic conditions. Nuclear energy has more advantages.
Electricity generation through nuclear energy will save $5 billion annually. It also helps diagnose and treat cattle diseases, ensure the safety of livestock products, desalinate seawater and overcome water shortages.
However, when it comes to the employment of nuclear energy for medical purposes, higher levels of enrichment are needed. To diagnose cardiovascular diseases and treat different types of cancers, brain tumors and the like, nuclear medicine should utilize 20%-enriched uranium.
What are the other functions of 20%-enriched uranium? It helps determine toxic elements in foodstuffs, discover rare [earth] deposits, spot environmental pollutants, improve the quality and quantity of agricultural products, and make desert farming an achievable possibility.
Submarines need the uranium enriched to 45-50 percent as their fuel. A nuclear-run submarine can move underwater for several months without any need to refuel. Currently, only a few countries can tap into commercial-grade uranium, and Iran is trying to break that monopoly.
On December 22, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that an almost four-decades-long project to develop the technology to harness geothermal energy has produced the intended result and Iran has finally become the 9th nation in possession of the technology to tap into geothermal resources to generate energy. What comes next is a partial translation of the report:
[…]
Iran has become the 9th country which has the technology to exploit geothermal energy. The project which got underway before the Islamic revolution and has seen 14 different governments take and leave office finally came to fruition after 39 years.
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Over the years, the project went through lots of ups and downs for different reasons including sanctions. It was shelved for a while before being taken up again.
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Yousef Armodeli, the managing director of the Renewable Energy Organization of Iran says, “Fifteen wells have already been drilled, and seven have run into geothermal reserves; with temperatures at 240˚C, they are highly efficient. Feasibility studies suggest the potential of electricity production in the region under study [that is to say Meshkinshahr] stands at about 250 MW.
In Phase One of the project to develop the geothermal field, a pilot 5MW geothermal power plant is expected to be set up. First though, we need to build a plant to turn thermal energy into electricity. An Iranian contractor which has won the tender to build the plant and its turbines is already working on it. The power station will be operational in two years to generate 5MW of electricity.”
[…]
Studies presented in 2008 by the Renewable Energy Organization of Iran suggest that almost a dozen areas across Iran are suitable for generation of geothermal energy.
[…]
Arman-e Emrooz newspaper on December 22 quoted an official with the Court of Administrative Justice as saying that the court has ordered the seventh floor of Alaeddin Shopping Center in Tehran to be destroyed. The following is a partial translation of the report:
Musa Ghorbani, the deputy chairman of the Court of Administrative Justice for judicial affairs, said the owner of the [cell phone] shopping center had illegally constructed the additional floor, but the court has now ordered it removed.
He said the owner will naturally appeal the court’s verdict, adding due to the compelling evidence the ruling is unlikely to be overturned.
The owner – plaintiff – had filed complaints against a decision by the Article 100 Commission of Tehran Municipality to destroy the building’s seventh floor, he said, adding his complaint was overturned in the court of first instance.
According to a report by the Fire Department, Center for Justice Department Experts and Tehran Construction Engineering Organization, the construction in the shopping center is both illegal and untechnical, he said.
The official further said the building is a threat to its occupants, adding it should be pulled down in order to avoid any further damage to the structure.
The verdict of the court of first instance was released more than 20 days ago and the owner has 20 days, since the verdict is officially announced, to appeal.
A regional Belgian appeals court ruled that a consignment of antiquities, including more than 300 historical objects discovered in Iran some 50 years ago, must be returned to the Islamic Republic, overturning previous verdicts that were challenged by Iran’s diplomatic channels.
The appeals court of Belgium’s Liege ordered that the historical objects, which have been kept at a museum in the European country for decades, be given back to Iran, Mohsen Mohebbi, an official at Iran’s presidential office said on Tuesday.
The invaluable antiquities had been discovered in Khurvin, a rural area at Iran’s northern province of Alborz, about 50 years ago.
The historical objects, dating back to 2000 B.C., had been discovered by a French woman and were later smuggled out of Iran by a Belgian diplomat, according to the Iranian officials.
“The items are scheduled to be transferred to Iran soon,” Mohebbi said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham congratulated the Tunisian nation and government on holding the recent presidential election successfully.
Afkham congratulated the Tunisian nation and government on successful holding of the presidential election and described it as a stabilizer of the democratic process in that country and an important achievement of the Tunisian Revolution.
Veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi won Tunisia’s first free presidential election, beating rival and incumbent Moncef Marzouki with 55.68 percent of the vote against 44.32 percent, official results showed on Monday.
The ballot marked the final step in Tunisia’s transition to democracy after an uprising that ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 and inspired the Arab Spring revolts across North Africa and the Middle East.
Essebsi, a former official in Ben Ali’s one-party administration, recast himself as a technocrat.
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