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RFE/RL Iran Report - 08/01/2006

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  • RFE/RL Iran Report - 08/01/2006

    RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
    _________________________________________ ____________________
    RFE/RL Iran Report
    Vol. 9, No. 28, 1 August 2006

    A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
    of RFE/RL's Newsline Team

    ******************************************** ****************
    HEADLINES:
    * LEBANESE LEGISLATOR REGRETS IRAN AND SYRIA USING HIS COUNTRY
    * 'WE LOVE MARTYRDOM'
    * FEELING LEFT OUT IN TEHRAN
    * AHMADINEJAD WARNS THAT A MIDDLE EAST STORM IS BREWING
    * AHMADINEJAD VISITS TURKMENISTAN AND TAJIKISTAN
    * STONING SENTENCES RESUME
    * STUDENT ACTIVIST BEGINS HUNGER STRIKE
    * LAWYER SENTENCED TO PRISON
    * EDITOR'S JAIL SENTENCE LIFTED
    * ISFAHAN FACTORY WORKERS ON STRIKE
    * SOUTHWESTERN BOMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
    * SECURITY MEASURES CONTINUE IN EASTERN IRAN
    * NEW CLERICS HEADING FOR EASTERN PROVINCES
    * AZERI NEWSPAPER SHUT DOWN IN IRAN
    * IRANIAN MILITARY ASKED TO STOP ATTACKS ON PKK
    * IRAN CALLS FOR NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWS CHANNEL
    * AGGRESSIVE MEASURES TO PREVENT BIRD FLU
    * BOND ISSUE NEEDED FOR COMPLETION OF TEHRAN AIRPORT
    * IRANIAN CONTRACTORS BUSY IN VENEZUELA
    * TEHRAN INSISTS THAT INDIA, PAKISTAN PAY MORE FOR GAS
    ********************************************** **************

    LEBANESE LEGISLATOR REGRETS IRAN AND SYRIA USING HIS COUNTRY. Saad
    Hariri, leader of the Future Trend bloc in the Lebanese parliament
    and the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, says
    the current conflict in his country is "not Lebanese," the British
    "Al-Hayah" newspaper reported on July 26. The battle, he said, "was
    brought to the Lebanese arena by Syria and Iran for the sake of their
    interests." "Israel is our enemy," Hariri continued, "and we have
    fought and resisted before any Arab state and before any Persian
    state." If Syria wants to fight Israel it should open a front on the
    Golan Heights, Hariri recommended.
    Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said in a July 20 interview with
    "Corrierre della Serra, "Hizballah answers to the political agendas
    of Tehran and Damascus." On the same day, however, Siniora's
    office said he was misquoted and his comments were taken out of
    context, AP reported. Druze leader and Lebanese parliamentarian
    Walid Jumblatt condemned violations of his country's sovereignty,
    France's "Liberation" newspaper reported on July 19. He added
    that Hizballah's "entire military infrastructure is the product
    of its sponsors, Syria and Iran." Under these circumstances, he
    continued, one cannot believe the Hizballah leadership because it is
    being "exploited, manipulated."
    Chibli Mallat, a law professor at Lebanon's St. Joseph
    University and a presidential candidate, commented in "The Daily
    Star" on July 14 that "the Syrian and Iranian leaderships have been
    stoking the flames in Lebanon to deflect domestic pressures."
    President Emil Lahud met with Iranian Ambassador Mohammad
    Reza Sheibani on July 19 in Beirut and expressed gratitude for the
    Islamic Republic's support, the Islamic Republic News Agency
    (IRNA) reported. (Bill Samii)

    'WE LOVE MARTYRDOM.' Groups of Iranian volunteers left Tehran
    for Lebanon recently, despite government discouragement and denials
    of responsibility. The country's top clerics, meanwhile, have
    been unanimous in their support for Hizballah and in encouraging
    financial contributions and other forms of support for the
    organization.
    "We love martyrdom and are ready to go to Lebanon and
    Palestine with our bare hands to help the resistance, be it in relief
    work or even martyrdom," a young man said as he prepared to depart
    Tehran for Lebanon on July 26, the official Iranian Al-Alam
    television reported.
    The man was reportedly part of a group of volunteers
    organized by the Pro-Justice Student Movement. The Al-Alam
    correspondent noted that the Turkish authorities might not let the
    volunteers -- "They call themselves living martyrs," he said -- enter
    their country on the way to Syria. There were approximately 60
    volunteers of all ages, AP reported on July 27, and they will join
    200 who preceded them.
    Volunteers Stopped At Border
    The Pro-Justice Student Movement and another organization,
    the Commemoration Headquarters for the Martyrs of Islam's World
    Movement, had announced on July 15 and 16 that they would be sending
    volunteers to Lebanon. But General Mohammad Hejazi, commander of the
    paramilitary Basij, said dispatching suicide bombers to Lebanon might
    be well-intentioned but it does not help Iran or Hizballah. Hejazi
    also denied an official connection with the volunteers.
    This caravan of volunteers did not get far, as the
    authorities stopped them at the Bazargan border crossing near the
    eastern Turkish town of Gurbulak on July 28, AP and the Iranian
    Students News Agency (ISNA) reported. Spokesman Ali Komeili
    explained, "The authorities said we could not pass through the border
    as we were wearing a kind of uniform." The students began a sit-in.
    Although these volunteer actions do not have an official
    imprimatur, Iran is openly dispatching other forms of aid to Lebanon.
    Iranian Deputy Health Minister Moayed Alavian led a delegation to
    Beirut on July 21, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
    Alavian said Iran will provide medical care and pharmaceuticals and
    added that two planeloads of aid have arrived in Damascus and are
    being sent to Lebanon.
    The fifth consignment of Iranian aid destined for Lebanon
    arrived in Damascus on July 23, IRNA reported. The two aircraft
    carrying medicine and medical equipment from the Red Crescent Society
    came on the heels of four other aid shipments, Iranian Charge
    d'Affaires in Syria Ghazanfar Roknabadi said. "This is apart from
    our political support for the Islamic resistance movement against the
    assault of the Israeli regime," Roknabadi added. He described the
    provision of ambulances and food, and he said more ambulances, food,
    and medicine will be sent to Lebanon.
    Clerical Encouragement
    Iran's leading clerics are encouraging their countrymen
    to support Hizballah financially and in other ways. A joint statement
    from four of Iran's top clerics -- Grand Ayatollahs Nasser
    Makarem-Shirazi, Mohammad Fazel-Lankarani, Lutfollah Safi-Golpaygani,
    and Javad Aqa-yi Tabrizi -- said they will allocate a percentage of
    the funds they receive to the Lebanese people, Mehr News Agency
    reported on July 23. Makarem-Shirazi and Nuri-Hamedani added that
    other religious funds could be used to help Palestinians and
    Lebanese. Nuri-Hamedani explained: "This would be permitted as a
    means of strengthening the oppressed people of Lebanon, the Hizballah
    resistance front, as well as the oppressed Palestinians who are
    engaged in an Islamic jihad to defend themselves against diabolical
    and arrogant powers."
    Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ezzedin Zanjani condemned on July 25
    the Israeli activities in Lebanon and Palestine, provincial
    television reported. He called on Muslims and Islamic governments to
    remain united and to assist "the pious and heroic Lebanese
    combatants." Also in Mashhad on July 25, the Khorasan-i Razavi branch
    of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee said it is ready to collect
    people's contributions for the Lebanese and Palestinians.
    Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini told officials of the Iranian
    national airline in Tehran on July 27 that Israeli actions in Lebanon
    and Palestine resemble the crusades, ISNA reported. He said the
    United States is allied with European governments in an effort to
    destroy Islam. "What they want is not limited to the destruction of
    Hizballah," Amini said. "They want to destroy all Islamic nations and
    governments." Amini denounced countries that cooperate with Israel.
    Islamic Culture and Communications Organization head
    Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri told the clerical community on July
    27 that the Islamic world is waiting for the clergy to provide
    Hizballah with "all-out support," ISNA reported. He said the clerics
    must inform people using any means at their disposal, from the
    pulpits to the print and broadcast media.
    Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nuri-Hamedani complained on July 27
    that some Egyptian and Saudi clerics have encouraged "the global
    arrogance" with their religious decrees, ISNA reported. Sheikh
    Abdullah bin Jabreen, a Saudi Wahhabi, issued a fatwa against
    Hizballah and announced it is illegal for Muslims to support or pray
    for it, UPI reported on July 21. The governments in Cairo and Riyadh
    have called on Syria to limit its support for Hizballah. Now that
    Hizballah has stood up to Israel, Nuri-Hamedani said, Muslims must
    support the organization.
    In The Basement Or In Damascus?
    Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham said on
    July 24 that the Islamic Republic will not send military personnel to
    Lebanon to participate in the current conflict, IRNA reported.
    According to U.S. observers, Iranians are already there.
    Ambassador Henry Crumpton, the State Department's coordinator for
    counterterrorism, said on July 25, "I am confident that Iranian
    operatives are inside Lebanon right now with Hizballah," Reuters
    reported. Crumpton referred to Iran as "the paymaster" that spent
    "hundreds of millions of dollars" on arms and other forms of support
    for Hizballah.
    Iran has greater influence over Hizballah than Syria does,
    Crumpton said, but it does not control the group. Iran is "clearly
    directing a lot of Hizballah actions," he said, and "Hizballah asks
    their permission to do things, especially if it has broader
    international implications."
    If this is an accurate assessment, then it may explain
    Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani's
    arrival in Damascus late on July 26. Mehr News Agency and Reuters
    reported he is to discuss regional developments with Syrian
    officials. Larijani also is expected to meet with Hizballah
    Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, "Ha'aretz" and "The
    Jerusalem Post" reported on July 27, citing Kuwait's daily
    "Al-Seyassah." Nasrallah reportedly made the hazardous overland trip
    to Damascus in civilian -- rather than in clerical -- clothing.
    There also were Israeli reports that Nasrallah was sheltering
    in the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. The Israeli "Ma'ariv" newspaper
    reported on July 26 that according to anonymous intelligence
    officials, Nasrallah is hiding in the embassy basement, which has
    become his "refuge and operations room." Iranian Foreign Ministry
    spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi told reporters in Tehran on July 26 that
    there is no truth to this "Israeli lie," IRNA reported. (Bill Samii)

    FEELING LEFT OUT IN TEHRAN. Speaking in Rome on July 26 after a
    conference on Lebanon, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, "It is
    important that we work with the countries of the region to find a
    solution, and that should also include Iran and Syria," RFE/RL
    reported. However, neither country was represented at the conference.
    Participants were Egypt, France, Italy, Jordan, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
    the U.K., the United States, the UN, and the World Bank, Reuters
    reported. Also in attendance were Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Greece,
    Spain, and Turkey; the EU was represented by Javier Solana and
    current EU chair Finland; and the Vatican was there as an observer.
    Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and four cabinet members represented
    Lebanon.
    Iranian officials predicted that excluding them and the
    Syrians would be a mistake. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza
    Assefi said, "They should have invited all the countries of the
    region, including Syria and Iran, if they want peace," The Guardian"
    reported on July 26. (Bill Samii)

    AHMADINEJAD WARNS THAT A MIDDLE EAST STORM IS BREWING. During his
    July 25 visit to Dushanbe, Mahmud Ahmadinejad said the Israeli attack
    on Lebanon will not yield positive results and could cause bigger
    problems, Radio Farda reported. "To attack another country in this
    way will not solve anything, instead it will make the problems more
    complicated," he said. "Those who think that by oppressing a nation
    they can create a foothold for themselves are making a big mistake."
    He appeared to threaten that the conflict will escalate, saying,
    "There is an expression in Persian: 'He who raises the wind will
    get a hurricane.' And this hurricane is just round the corner in
    the Middle East and it will be harsh and destructive for the enemies
    of humanity."
    At the Ahvaz city hall on July 25, meanwhile, Ali
    Zu'aytir, Hizballah's representative in Iran, gave a speech
    in which he said, "In order to implement its satanic design, the
    world arrogance has placed the protection of the Zionist regime's
    interests atop its Middle East agenda," Khuzestan Provincial
    television reported. Zu'aytir said "the Zionists" want to disarm
    Hizballah. "In the first place, our [Lebanese] Hizballah intends to
    solve the problems which Lebanon is facing and we cannot say if
    resistance will end or not," he added. "We shall resist as long as
    our problems with that usurper regime exist." (Bill Samii)

    AHMADINEJAD VISITS TURKMENISTAN AND TAJIKISTAN. Iranian President
    Mahmud Ahmadinejad met with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov in
    Ashgabat on July 24 for talks centered on the expansion of mutual
    cooperation, IRNA reported. Ahmadinejad called ties between the two
    countries "very good." For his part, Niyazov said that the talks were
    "successful and fruitful," ITAR-TASS reported. IRNA reported that
    bilateral trade volume was $1.2 billion in 2005 and $600 million in
    the first half of 2006.
    Ahmadinejad held a second round of talks with Turkmen
    President Saparmurat Niyazov in Ashgabat on July 25, turkmenistan.ru
    reported. The discussion focused on energy issues, with the two sides
    agreeing to form a joint task force to work out proposals in a
    month's time on hydrocarbon shipments. Iran, which is set to buy
    8 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan in 2006,
    plans to buy 14 billion cubic meters in 2007. During
    Ahmadinejad's visit, the two sides also signed seven cooperation
    agreements, MNA reported.
    Ahmadinejad met with Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov in
    Dushanbe on July 25 for talks on bilateral relations and regional
    issues, IRNA and RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported. Ministers from
    the two countries signed five memoranda of understanding and
    cooperation agreements in the course of the visit.
    Ahmadinejad and Rakhmonov attended a ceremony on July 26 to
    mark the formal opening of the Anzab tunnel, IRNA reported. The
    tunnel, which is located 80 kilometers outside Dushanbe, links the
    Tajik capital with roads leading north. Ahmadinejad called the tunnel
    project a turning point in Iranian-Tajik relations. "The
    implementation of this big dream is evidence of the two nations'
    desire to boost their relations and start larger development
    projects," Tajik television quoted him as saying. According to IRNA,
    Iran provided $21 million in financing for the $40 million project.
    At a press conference on July 26 in Dushanbe with his Tajik
    counterpart President Rakhmonov, President Ahmadinejad proposed the
    establishment of a Persian-language television network for Afghan,
    Iranian, and Tajik people, IRNA reported on July 26. Ahmadinejad said
    that the Tajik side has "welcomed" the television initiative "so it
    should be discussed with Afghan authorities." Iran currently
    broadcasts programs to Afghanistan in both Dari (Afghan Persian) and
    in Pashto. It is not clear if the proposed television network would
    be in Iranian Persian or it would also include segments in Dari or
    Tajik. While Dari is one of the official languages of Afghanistan,
    traditionally Afghan authorities have viewed Iranian cultural
    influences, including in the field of language, with suspicion.
    (Daniel Kimmage, Amin Tarzi)

    STONING SENTENCES RESUME. Iranian courts have resumed handing down
    stoning sentences for women after a three-and-a-half year lull, Radio
    Farda reported on July 27 (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 23 December
    2002). Ashraf Kalhori, 37, who has already served five years in
    prison for adultery and her role in the murder of her husband, has
    now been sentenced to death by stoning; the sentence is supposed to
    be carried out in two weeks. Kalhori's lawyer in Tehran, Ms.
    Shadi Sadr, told Radio Farda that she has filed an appeal in an
    effort to change the verdict through the judicial system. Kalhori has
    also written a letter to the chief justice in Tehran, Sadr said,
    asking for clemency. Another Tehran lawyer, Farideh Ghayrat, told
    Radio Farda that death by stoning is legal under Iran's penal
    code, but that women's rights lawyers in Iran are questioning
    whether it is justified under Islamic law. (Bill Samii)

    STUDENT ACTIVIST BEGINS HUNGER STRIKE. Khalil Bahramian, the lawyer
    for a student activist who has been imprisoned for almost seven
    years, said on July 25 that he is no longer allowed to receive
    visitors, ILNA reported. The lawyer said he went to visit his client,
    Akbar Mohammadi, at Evin prison on July 24, and the authorities said
    because Mohammadi is on a hunger strike visitors are barred.
    Bahramian added that Akbar and his brother, Manuchehr, are in poor
    health. (Bill Samii)

    LAWYER SENTENCED TO PRISON. The Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced
    attorney Abdolfattah Soltani to five years in prison and also barred
    him from practicing as a lawyer or holding public office for an
    additional five years, ILNA reported. Soltani was the attorney for
    several people accused of spying on the Iranian nuclear program, and
    he was imprisoned for seven months before being released in March.
    Soltani told ILNA he was acquitted of espionage but found guilty of
    revealing classified documents and of antigovernment propaganda.
    (Bill Samii)

    EDITOR'S JAIL SENTENCE LIFTED. The Tehran Penal Court initially
    sentenced Abdul Rasul Vesal, the former editor of "Iran" newspaper,
    to four months in prison for the publication of an offensive cartoon
    and fined him another 2 million rials ($225) for publishing false
    information, fardanews.com reported on July 17. However, ILNA
    reported on July 17 that payment of the fine was in lieu of the
    prison sentence. The cartoon allegedly insulted teachers, "Sharq"
    reported on July 5. (Bill Samii)

    ISFAHAN FACTORY WORKERS ON STRIKE. Employees of a knitting and
    weaving factory in Isfahan continued demonstrating for a third day
    outside the legislature in Tehran on July 25, ILNA reported. Workers
    at the Simin-i No factory say they are owed five months of wages and,
    furthermore, management is ignoring them. They say Isfahan
    parliamentary representative Hassan Kamran and Tehran's Alireza
    Mahjub are following up on the case. (Bill Samii)

    SOUTHWESTERN BOMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH. The Ahvaz Revolutionary
    Court on July 25 passed sentences on 19 people for their alleged
    involvement in bombings in Khuzestan Province, ILNA reported.
    Attorney Javad Tariri, who represented two people, said 10 people
    have been sentenced to death for being "at war with God" (mohareb)
    and endangering national security. Three others have been sentenced
    to internal exile for 10, 15, and 20 years on identical charges.
    Another three defendants received five-year sentences for membership
    in an illegal group that seeks to undermine national security; one
    received five years for carrying explosives; and one received a
    one-year sentence for propagating against the system. The 19th
    defendant was acquitted, Tariri said.
    Many ethnic Arabs live in the southwestern province, which
    borders Iraq. In the past, demonstrators in the southwest have
    objected to the quantity of Arabic-language broadcasts by state
    media, and they have also objected to the overall quality of the
    broadcasts. A ceremony marking the increase in Arabic programs on
    Khuzestan Province television took place on July 15, the station
    reported. Mr. Assefi, the Khuzestan Province TV station's
    manager, said difficulties with the signal in the northern part of
    the province have been resolved. He added that station personnel are
    serious about improving program quality and are conducting related
    audience research. (Bill Samii)

    SECURITY MEASURES CONTINUE IN EASTERN IRAN. Colonel Mohammad Javad
    Ithna-Ashari said on July 18 that security personnel operating out of
    the Fath military base in Sistan va Baluchistan Province have freed
    35 hostages and arrested five of their captors, IRNA reported. This
    operation broke up a gang responsible for narcotics smuggling and
    people-trafficking, in addition to kidnappings, IRNA reported.
    The commander of Iran's national police force, Brigadier
    General Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, said in the Luristan Province city
    of Khoramabad on July 26 that 40 kilometers of Iran's eastern
    border has been sealed and a total of 400 kilometers will have been
    sealed by December, Fars News Agency. He explained that this is being
    done through physical impediments as well as through the use of human
    resources and electronic and aerial surveillance. Successful border
    control will contribute to interdicting narcotics traffickers and
    fuel smugglers, he said. Ahmadi-Moghaddam was speaking at the
    introduction of the province's new police chief, who was
    identified only as Qassem-Nasri. Outgoing police chief Hojatoleslam
    Qassemi was thanked for his 34 years of service. (Bill Samii)

    NEW CLERICS HEADING FOR EASTERN PROVINCES. Khorasan Razavi Provincial
    Governor-General Mohammad Javad Mohammadzadeh introduced his new
    adviser on clerical affairs, Hojatoleslam Seyyed Marvian-Husseini, on
    July 17, provincial television reported. Mohammadzadeh said the
    clergy's role in managing the country is "substantial,
    fundamental, and irreplaceable."
    The same day, Hojatoleslam Maadi, head of the Friday
    Imams' Policymaking Council for Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan,
    and South Khorasan provinces, said the provinces would be getting
    more clerics soon, provincial television reported. Maadi said there
    would be changes in the Friday Prayers staffs and related offices by
    September 23. He added that the three provinces do not have enough
    prayer leaders. By March 20, 2008, he continued, North Khorasan will
    have 12 instead of six Friday Prayer leaders, South Khorasan will
    have 10 instead of six, and Khorasan Razavi will have 50 instead of
    the current 38.
    Late last year it was reported that the administration of
    President Ahmadinejad was spending a great deal of money on religious
    institutions, but Friday Prayer leaders answer to the Supreme
    Leader's office and, presumably, that is the entity that pays
    their salaries. (Bill Samii)

    AZERI NEWSPAPER SHUT DOWN IN IRAN. Tabriz-based "Nada-yi
    Azarabadegan" Editor Abolfazl Vesali was sentenced by the East
    Azerbaijan Province press court on July 24 to six months in jail and
    the newspaper's license revoked for six months, ILNA reported.
    Vesali said he was accused of inciting the public with the materials
    he published, and he spent 45 days in jail despite reportedly having
    posted bail. The court has already sealed the newspaper's offices
    and taken the furniture, Vesali said, adding that he will appeal the
    sentence. Vesali criticized the provincial press union for its
    failure to speak out on his behalf. The daily was shut down on June 1
    over its reporting in connection with ethnically based riots that
    took place in May, ILNA reported on June 2.
    Azerbaijan National Independence Party leader Etibar Mammadov
    appealed on July 24 to Azeris throughout the world and to the various
    political forces within Azerbaijan to join forces in a movement to
    support the embattled Azeri minority in Iran, day.az reported. He
    argued that an upsurge of protests among Iran's Azeris, which
    began two months ago in response to the publication of cartoons
    depicting Azeris as cockroaches creates new and favorable conditions
    for the unification of Azerbaijan and "southern Azerbaijan," as he
    described the predominantly Azeri-populated regions of northwestern
    Iran. But the online daily zerkalo.az observed on July 25 that
    pro-Iranian Islamists in Azerbaijan are likely to seek to undermine
    any such broad-based movement, which would in addition enrage Tehran.
    (Bill Samii, Liz Fuller)

    IRANIAN MILITARY ASKED TO STOP ATTACKS ON PKK. Murat Karayilan, a top
    official of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), suffered a leg wound
    in an Iranian artillery barrage in northern Iraq in late June, NTV
    reported from Istanbul on July 15. Karayilan and other wounded PKK
    members were treated at a hospital near Baghdad. The Iranian and
    Turkish armed forces have been cooperating on operations against the
    PKK and affiliated organizations for several months.
    Iranian military attacks against PKK positions in northern
    Iraq are displacing noncombatants, Iraqi Kurdistan's Interior
    Minister Uthman al-Haj Mahmud said on 22 July, Al-Sharqiyah
    television reported the next day. The official said an Iranian
    artillery and rocket barrage forced residents of eight villages to
    flee. He called for a resumption of dialogue to resolve problems with
    the PKK.
    Iran's ambassador to Ankara, Firuz Dolatabadi, said on
    July 24 that the United States and Israel are supporting the PKK,
    Istanbul's NTV reported. Dolatabadi added that Iran and Turkey
    are cooperating in the fight against the PKK. The U.S. State
    Department lists the PKK (also known as Kongra-Gel) as a "foreign
    terrorist organization," as does Iran. (Bill Samii)

    IRAN CALLS FOR NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWS CHANNEL. Ali Darabi, the
    deputy director for parliamentary and provincial affairs at Iranian
    state radio and television, announced in Arak on July 20 that the
    Islamic Republic is going to start an English-language television
    news channel, Mehr News Agency reported. He explained that Western
    media is boycotting the real news on events in Lebanon and Palestine.
    He said state radio and television broadcasts on 96 channels in 30
    languages. Darabi said the U.S., which he referred to as "the
    arrogance," has hegemonic objectives: "By bringing to power and
    toppling its lackeys, the arrogance attempts to hatch utmost plots
    against Islam and the revolution, the example of which is the coming
    to power of Taliban, Al-Zarqawi and now Al-Muhajir in Iraq which has
    doubled the number of Shi'a martyrs in Iraq." (Bill Samii)

    AGGRESSIVE MEASURES TO PREVENT BIRD FLU. Homayun Hamidi, head of the
    Veterinary Department in the West Azerbaijan Province city of Maku,
    said on July 16 that avian flu has not been detected in the area,
    provincial television reported from Urumiyeh, and that preventative
    measures are in place. In the first three months of the Iranian year
    -- which began on March 21 -- 70,000 trucks entering the country at
    the Bazargan border crossing have been disinfected. Red meat,
    chicken, and fishmeal entering Iran from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan,
    Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have been checked at Bazargan as well.
    One day earlier, Anushiravan Mohseni-Bandpey, deputy chairman
    of the legislature's Health Committee, said reports of humans
    infected with bird flu in Mazandaran and Gulistan provinces have not
    been confirmed, Fars News Agency reported. Veterinary officials are
    destroying infected birds, he added, and the Health Ministry is
    trying to find the source of the infection. Hussein Hassani,
    director of Iran's Veterinary Organization, said on July 15 that
    almost 380 birds were tested and none were infected, Fars reported.
    He said a three-month operation to destroy migratory birds in the
    provinces bordering the Caspian Sea began in June, but added that
    there have been no cases of bird flu. (Bill Samii)

    BOND ISSUE NEEDED FOR COMPLETION OF TEHRAN AIRPORT. Minister of Roads
    and Transport Mohammad Rahmati announced on July 9 that a 500 billion
    rial (approximately $57 million) bond issue will be made public to
    help fund completion of the Imam Khomeini International Airport, Mehr
    News Agency reported. Rahmati added that an investment of 1 trillion
    to 11 trillion rials is needed to complete the airport's first
    phase. All international flights can be transferred to the new
    airport if the first phase is completed, Rahmati continued.
    Construction of the airport began in 1994 and it was to be
    completed by 2000, but its inauguration did not take place until
    February 2004. Operations were supposed to get under way in May 2004,
    but a dispute involving the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps caused
    further delays. A limited number of airlines began using the airport
    in April 2005; Tehran's Mehrabad Airport remains in use. (Bill
    Samii)

    IRANIAN CONTRACTORS BUSY IN VENEZUELA. Deputy Minister of Housing and
    Urban Development Manuchehr Khajeh Dalui said on July 12 that Iranian
    contractors are building 10,000 residential units in Venezuela and
    could build another 30,000, the Mehr News Agency reported. The two
    countries are discussing a joint 150,000 unit construction project,
    he added. Khajeh Dalui said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has
    welcomed Iranian involvement in his country's construction
    sector. (Bill Samii)

    TEHRAN INSISTS THAT INDIA, PAKISTAN PAY MORE FOR GAS. Iranian Foreign
    Minister Manuchehr Mottaki announced on July 23 in Tehran that there
    are "difficulties" in the fulfillment of a contract to supply India
    with natural gas, India's PTI news agency reported. The original
    contract -- to supply 5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG)
    over 25 years -- set a maximum price of $3.25 per million British
    thermal units (MBTU). Now, Iran reportedly wants $5.1 per mBTU. India
    is insisting that Iran meet its commitment, and it is adamant that
    the deal will not be renegotiated.
    Also on July 23, Iranian Petroleum Minister Kazem
    Vaziri-Hamaneh warned that Tehran will not sell gas to India and
    Pakistan at the price they are proposing, Fars News Agency reported.
    He reportedly added that the agreement has not yet been finalized.
    "If the Indian side is not ready to buy our gas at its real price, we
    have no obligation to sell it at the price lower than the real one,"
    Vaziri-Hamaneh said, adding that India and Pakistan should forget
    about the lower price.
    Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham said on
    July 24 that talks on the sale of Iranian natural gas to India are
    continuing, IRNA reported. (Bill Samii)

    ****************************************** ***************
    Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.

    The "RFE/RL Iran Report" is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
    the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
    Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.

    Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
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