Italian economic official calls for more trade with Iran

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Head of the Italian Chambers of Commerce Union in a meeting with Iran’s head of Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines called for more economic relations between the two countries.

According to IRNA, Ferochou Dardanlu, in a meeting with Mohammad Ali Nahavandian in Rome on Tuesday evening, discussed the issue of increasing economic and commercial ties.

Dardanlu, by expressing pleasure with the Iranian economic delegation’s presence in Italy, said that the Italian Union with 105 chambers of commerce is ready to increase economic ties with Iran.

For his part, Nahavandian said the world economic crisis could not affect Iran’s economy pointing out that the European economy is facing serious problems.

Lebanese president welcomes Tehran declaration on fuel swap

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Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said in Beirut on Tuesday evening that the landmark agreement made by Iran, Turkey and Brazil on fuel swap is the beginning of the diplomatic drive to resolve the crisis created by the West over Iran’s peaceful nuclear issue.

According to IRIB, he said he was hopeful that the declaration would ease tension both in the region and the entire world.

President Suleiman said Lebanon has been among countries advocating diplomatic solution to replace the logic of force, adding that dialogue is the best solution to any problem or crisis.

US forced American Muslim into exile

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An American Muslim civil rights group has charged the US government of forcing an American citizen into exile because of his faith.

According to Press TV, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on the US Department of Justice to look into the matter.

CAIR said 29-year old Raymond Earl Knaeble IV, has been placed on a no-fly list and has been unable to return home from Colombia since March.

According to CAIR, Knaeble this week flew to Mexico in hope of traveling to the Mexican-US border, but he instead faced lengthy interrogation by Mexican officials before being sent back to Colombia.

The group says it is illegal for a US citizen to be denied entry to his own country while he is not charged with any crime and such actions undermine the US Constitution.

Iran, Brazil, Turkey Agreement Widely Reflected by Global Media

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The reports on Tehran statement about the nuclear fuel exchange that was signed on Monday by the foreign ministers of Islamic Republic of Iran, Brazil, and Turkey, has topped the news released by regional and international media.

This statement refers to the agreement of the said three countries for transference of low-enriched uranium of Iran to Turkey and its swap with the 20% enriched uranium in order to provide the fuel needed by Tehran research reactor.

The US-based daily Christian Science Monitor, in a report, studied the statement released by Iran, Turkey, and Brazil, while noting that this statement and presence of new players in this scene such as Turkey and Brazil points to start of a new era in international relations, while the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) can no longer expect growing powers such as Turkey and Brazil to remain silent toward international topics of importance. Moreover, the US-based paper Los Angeles Times has said Tehran will send part of its nuclear material to Turkey for receipt of the nuclear fuel. This paper added that currently the US officials are faced with two options: they can reject this agreement, and/or accept it and possibly allow Iran to foil the growing international pressures. Furthermore, the American daily Wall Street Journal considers this measure by Tehran to be in line with the efforts to fend off more intensified sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Elsewhere, the American paper Washington Post has said Tehran’s measure for delivery of Iran’s low-enriched uranium to Turkey can dispel international disputes regarding Iran’s nuclear issue.

Meanwhile, the London-based paper Times referred to the statement on nuclear fuel swap and said this agreement with the aim of resolution of international disputes regarding Iran’s nuclear issue was achieved while a new wave of sanctions will soon be discussed at UNSC.

BBC TV Network, in a report, referred to unfounded allegations of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had predicted that Iran’s negotiations with Brazil and Turkey would fail, while announcing that the reports released about the recent agreement goes to show US Secretary of State’s wrong and groundless prediction about these talks.

Meanwhile, the Zionist daily Haartz, in a report on the joint statement of Iran, Turkey, and Brazil about nuclear fuel swap, admitted that with this measure, Iran foiled US efforts for intensification of sanctions against Tehran.

The Zionist regime’s premier, Benjamin Netanyahu has called on his Cabinet members not to comment about Iran’s nuclear agreement.

The muted reaction of Western officials and media goes to show the inaction and disillusionment of a few states in how to deal with Tehran-Ankara-Brasilia agreement on fuel exchange. This measure by Tehran has taken place with the aim of further confidence-building and for exit from the current situation. Now, it is Western parties’ turn to take a positive step and to prove their good will.

Pakistan had most IDPs in world in 2009

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JNN 19.05.10 The UN says Pakistan had the highest number of internally displaced people in the world in 2009.
According to a recent study by the United Nations, over three million Pakistanis are homeless, mainly due to attacks by militants and Islamabad’s large-scale military operations that are being carried out to put down the insurgency.

“The military operations of governments and armed non-state actors caused most displacement, and many people were displaced more than once,” the UN report said.

The Pakistani military recently launched a series of operations to clear the tribal areas of militants.

In addition, nearly 4,000 people have been killed in bombings and other attacks by militants throughout Pakistan since July 2007.

Meanwhile, the UN has warned that aid programs for the displaced people would have to be cut back due to the poor international response to an appeal earlier this year.

The world body appealed for more than a half a billion dollars, but donors have only pledged a quarter of that amount so far.

Clinton: Deal made on Iran sanctions

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JNN 19.05.10  The US claims to have made an agreement with all veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council on a draft sanctions resolution against Iran.
“We have reached agreement on a strong draft with the cooperation of Russia and China,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, referring to talks with permanent members of the UN Security Council Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany.

Clinton told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the draft would be presented to all 15 members of the Security Council on Tuesday –one day after Iran announced a nuclear declaration following trilateral pro-diplomacy talks with non-permanent UNSC members Brazil and Turkey.

Russia and China have long resisted the US campaign for sanctions and urged other powers to seek a diplomatic solution to the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. Both countries welcomed the nuclear declaration issued by Iran, Turkey and Brazil.

“We attach importance to and support this agreement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said on Tuesday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also welcomed the declaration as “the politics of a diplomatic solution.”

Moscow has stressed that it would never support sanctions meant to “strangle Iran” or harm the Iranian people.

Iran’s partners in the trilateral talks are both non-permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) opposed to the US-led campaign for slapping tougher UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Despite the declaration that paves the way for the realization of a nuclear fuel swap proposal, the US has rebuffed the Iranian announcement, saying that it will continue efforts to impose a fourth round of sanctions on the Islamic Republic, which it accuses of pursuing a covert military nuclear program.

Tehran rejects the Washington-led accusations, arguing that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it has the right to a civilian nuclear program.

Water level in landslide-hit lake rises to 361-foot

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HUNZA: The dwellers of six villages have vacated their houses in the wake of alarming situation in the landslide-hit Ataabad Lake.

According to reports, boat service has also been halted in the artificial lake because of the growing water level, which has exceeded 361 feet with further increase of three feet, Geo reported Tuesday.

The vacated villages are: Sultanabad, Hussainabad, Khizarabad, Khanabad, Mayonabad, and Sikandarabad.

On the insistence of affected people, the administration restored boat service for a day so that the people could reach their homes. However, another landslide hit the lake, forcing the administration to suspend the boat service again.

Meanwhile, Speaker Gilgit Baltistan Wazir Baig said that the water level in the lake is rising all the time, due to which boat service has to halt to prevent any untoward incident.

However, he said the lake is unlikely to disburst for another 10 to 15 days.

Response to Tehran nuclear deal

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The nuclear declaration signed on Monday by Tehran, Ankara and Brasilia has mostly been welcomed at home and abroad, including at the United Nations.
However, a few Iranian lawmakers have expressed reservations about the deal, saying any deal must be approved by the parliament.

Some countries on the 5+1 group (the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) have backed the deal but some others have responded cautiously to the agreement.

The exchange would take place in Turkey under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran.

The deal calls for Iran to exchange 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium for 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel to power the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.

According to the agreement, Iran must notify the IAEA about the deal “in writing” by May 24.

Iran seeks interactions with West

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Director Ali Akbar Salehi said on Tuesday that Iran wants to interact with the West.

The Western countries should be aware that interacting with Iran would serve the interests of both sides, Salehi stated.

He also mentioned that the proposal for a nuclear fuel exchange was presented during a meeting in Vienna last year.

Iran accepted the proposal but insisted it wanted objective assurances before sending its low-enriched nuclear fuel outside of the country, he added.

And Tehran will definitely seek objective assurances for all agreements, he added.

234 MPs back nuclear deal

In addition, 234 lawmakers issued a statement on Tuesday expressing their support for the nuclear fuel deal signed by Iran, Turkey, and Brazil.

However, MP Hassan Qafouri-Fard said on Tuesday that any agreements signed by Iran and other countries must be approved by the parliament.

Qafouri added that Monday’s agreement is just a statement.

MP Ahmad Tavakoli said on Monday that the nuclear deal would not serve the national interests.

The agreement should be called the “transferring nuclear fuel” agreement not the nuclear “fuel swap” agreement, he told the Fars News Agency on Monday.

The agreement calls for Iran to ship all 1200 kilograms of its 3.5 percent enriched uranium to Turkey, despite the fact that the West has not provided any assurances for Iran so far, he added.

Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili said on Tuesday that the West had made efforts to use the issue of the nuclear fuel exchange as a tool to threaten and pressure Tehran.

However, he said Tehran was able to gain the support of Turkey and Brazil in its nuclear row with the West through its clear logic.

Jalili, who was involved in the nuclear talks with Turkey and Brazil on Monday, attended a Majlis session on Tuesday to brief lawmakers on the latest discussions on Iran’s nuclear activities.

According to the nuclear fuel swap agreement, Iran has the right to enrich nuclear fuel and to seek cooperation for constructing nuclear power plants and research reactors, Jalili explained.

Sarkozy: Iran deal a ‘positive step’

French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed the nuclear fuel swap agreement, saying Paris is ready to discuss it with other members of the 5+1 group.

“The president of the republic believes that the transfer of 1,200 kilograms of low enriched uranium from Iran is a positive step,” a statement issued by Sarkozy’s office on Tuesday said, according to AFP.

The statement, however, added that the agreement “must be accompanied by a halt” in Iran’s uranium enrichment activities.

Iran’s agreement to transfer nuclear fuel to Turkey is a “positive step” if the Islamic state follows through on its promises and stops other uranium enrichment, the French president said.

China supports nuclear deal

China said on Tuesday it hoped the deal would lead to a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear impasse, according to the Singapore daily The Straits Times.

“We attach importance to and support this agreement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said. “We hope this will help promote the peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.”

UN: Iran atomic deal ‘encouraging’

The nuclear fuel deal brokered for Iran by Turkey and Brazil is “encouraging,” Martin Nesirky, the spokesman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon, said on Monday.

Russia says deal may not be enough

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev cautiously welcomed the deal on Monday, but warned that it may fail to fully satisfy the international community.

“A question is whether the amount of swap operations will be sufficient and satisfy all members of the international community,” Medvedev said at a news conference after talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, adding that additional consultations were needed to determine that.

“A separate question is will Iran itself conduct enrichment,” he said. “As far as I understand from some Iranian official statements, it will continue such work. In that case, the international community’s concerns could remain.”

IAEA demands written confirmation of deal

The International Atomic Energy Agency called on Iran to submit a written confirmation of its uranium exchange agreement with Brazil and Turkey.

“We’ve received the joint statement issued by all three countries, and we are interested in receiving a written confirmation saying Iran agrees to the terms of the agreement,” a spokesman for the IAEA said.

U.S. says Iran proposal leaves ‘serious concerns’

Iran’s announced agreement to swap nuclear fuel with Turkey leaves “serious concerns” about Iranian intentions and doesn’t fully address international demands, an Obama administration spokesman said.

The full details of the plan must be laid out “clearly and authoritatively” to the United Nations nuclear agency before it can be considered by the international community, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.