Kayhan international

Archive:

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Iran Unveils Presidential Election Lineup

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran’s interior ministry has published the list of the hopefuls approved to run as official candidates for president in the country’s eleventh presidential election slated for June 14.

Eight candidates were approved by Iran’s top constitutional supervisory body, the Guardian Council, after a 10-day vetting process.
They are Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator; Gholam Ali Haddad Addel, former chair of Iran parliament and Ali Akbar Velayati, the former and longest-serving foreign minister.
Others are Mohsen Rezaie, a former presidential candidate and former chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps; Hassan Rowhani, a former top nuclear negotiator and Muhammad Reza Aref, the former deputy to former president Muhammad Khatami.
Wrapping up the list are Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf, current mayor of Tehran; and Muhammad Gharazi, a former minister of petroleum.
The council also rejected the qualifications of two-term former oresident Ali Akbar Heshemi Rafsanjani, and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a close aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The president said he will ask Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to reverse what he branded the unjust disqualification of his aide from next month's presidential election.
"I will pursue this case through the Supreme Leader until the last moment and I hope this problem will be solved," he said in remarks published on the presidency's website.
Mashaie had been "a victim of injustice", added Ahmadinejad, who himself cannot stand for re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
However, Rafsanjani's campaign manager Eshagh Jahangiri told ISNA news agency the former president "will not protest regarding his disqualification".
"Mr. Hashemi has always been among the pillars of the establishment and will remain so, God willing," he added.
Rafsanjani, who turns 79 in August, currently chairs the Expediency Council, Iran's highest political arbitration body.
Guardians Council spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai, without naming Rafsanjani, said frailty and old age had been factors in the eliminations.
He said the Constitution and the election law were the criteria for vetting presidential hopefuls.
Kadkhodaei said the top electoral supervisory body held several sessions to discuss the capabilities, resumes, and even the past actions and remarks of the presidential hopefuls.
The council's decision was welcomed by some 150 deputies in the 290-seat Iranian parliament.
Parliament) speaker Ali Larijani said a massive voter turnout in the forthcoming presidential election will foil plots hatched by the United States and the occupying regime of Israel against the Islamic Republic.
Speaking at the open session of the Majlis, Larijani said Israeli officials have left no stone unturned in their efforts to compel Western governments to impose more economic sanctions on Iran.
He added that elections in Iran are actually for the sake of promoting unity and democracy rather than division.
The high-ranking Iranian official also called on all candidates to take international developments into consideration during their presidential campaigns, and also respect the law in order to encourage a high voter turnout in the June 14 vote.

***
Herz Air Defense Shield 'Impregnable'

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said on Wednesday Iran's newly-unveiled air defense shield is a very sophisticated system which cannot be jammed by the enemies.
"Due to its passiveness, the enemy cannot jam and disrupt (Herz)," the minister said, adding the system can hit targets 10 km in distance and 5 km in altitude.
The military on Monday unveiled the sophisticated new air defense system that can “detect and track targets at low altitudes and automatically hit them”.
The defense system marks another in a long line of new domestically produced Iranian military hardware. Tehran has increased the construction of missile systems and naval equipment in the past months, apparently in reaction to increased U.S. pressure on Iran.
The Iranian defense ministry notably partnered with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) aerospace force to construct the new defense system, called Herz-9.
The partnership is a sign that Tehran’s typically separate military units are working more closely to construct what they claim is highly sophisticated weaponry.
The military says the system functions particularly well at night and that it can hook into Tehran’s larger defense networks.
On Wednesday, Iran officially unveiled newly-developed sophisticated weapons, ammunition and military camouflage outfit.
Vahidi unveiled Sarbaz (Soldier) individual rifle, Mersad sniper rifle, Sa'ed pistol, piercing ammunition and military outfit designed to remain undetectable by night vision goggles.
The Sarbaz individual rifle has been manufactured in order to take advantage of the maximum capabilities of the Kalashnikov rifle and increase its efficiency in different combat missions.
In addition, the new rifle is compatible with telescoping stock, aiming aids and stands to increase shooting accuracy.
The Mersad sniper rifle is designed to provide the sniper units' with a light, precise and small-caliber weapon and is capable of fulfilling sniper missions.
The Sa’ed pistol is a light weapon with a high-capacity magazine, which can be used with different accessories.
The ammunition unveiled at the ceremony is capable of piercing hard armor, including helicopters and armored personnel carriers.
Over the past year, Iran has made important breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured other nations, especially its neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.
Meanwhile, navy commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said his forces are fully capable of manufacturing all its needs.
"We have achieved self-sufficiency in repairing essential equipment and manufacturing the necessary tools and equipment in defensive fields," Admiral Sayyari said in the southern city of Sirjan.
He said the navy's training courses are using the state-of-the-art technologies and the latest tactics at present, adding the navy's power has already been shown to the world.
The Iranian army ground forces are currently conducting massive drills in the central province of Isfahan in a bid to boost their preparedness and exercise different asymmetric tactics.
Deputy army commander General Hussein Shokohi said the drills, dubbed Beit ul-Moqaddas 25, started on Monday in the general zone of Nasrabad and will last until Friday coinciding with the anniversary of the liberation of Khorramshahr from the Iraqi occupation during the 1980-1988 war.
He said different army units, including air force, airborne, infantry, armored, artillery, air-defense, drone, communications and logistical units have participated in the war games.
During the drills, the Iranian army will test its latest home-made weapons and equipment, including the newly unveiled Shaher sniper rifle, Neinava tactical vehicle, optimized Scorpion tanks, anti-chopper launchers, Fadak wireless radio and Akhgar machinegun.
The commander also said that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and aircraft will be used during the exercises for reconnaissance and aerial imaging operations.

***

South Pars to Get New Lease of Life

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran will invest $16 billion in development of the offshore South Pars gas complex over the next 10 months, a natural gas company director said.
Managing Director of the Pars Oil and Gas Company Muhammad Reza Zahiri said the company would use the financing to fund development plans aimed at raising gas production by as much as 1.7 billion cubic feet in the current Persian year, which ends in March.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the economy should diversify beyond natural resources in the face of sanctions pressure. Western countries have targeted Iran's energy sector with sanctions to limit finances used to develop its nuclear program.
"Lack of financial injection into South Pars phases is not true," Zahiri was quoted by the semiofficial Fars News Agency as saying. "We have managed to finance the projects with the support of National Development Fund, domestic banks and selling bonds."
He added that domestic contractors have acquired "valuable experiences" while under sanctions pressure that would give them the know-how to accelerate the development of the South Pars offshore complex.
The U.S. Energy Department acknowledges that Iran has the second-largest natural gas reserves in the world. Most of its gas is for domestic needs and the sector remains underdeveloped because of a lack of foreign investments.
Meanwhile, the National Iranian Petrochemical Organization (NIPO) has made a proposal to Turkey and Egypt to form an international petrochemical association similar to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with Iran at a D8 meeting in Tehran.
According to a press release by the Turkish Plastic Industrialists Federation (PLASFED), the offer was presented at a petrochemicals meeting of the D8 countries in Tehran between May 13 and 14. “It was decided that all preparations of the proposed association were to be completed until a meeting in Iran at the first quarter of 2014,” the statement said.
NIPO Managing Director Abdolhossein Bayat said Turkey and Egypt, as the two biggest producers of petrochemical products and engineering polymers in the Middle East, agreed to Iran’s oil proposals.
Bayat noted that Iran would hold talks with several other petroleum producing Islamic countries in the near future to further discuss the establishment of an international petrochemical association.
“Currently with the presence of Iran, Turkey and Egypt, the core establishment of a petrochemical OPEC has been formed,” he added.
The D8 is a group of developing countries with large Muslim populations that have formed an economic development alliance. It consists of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.

***

U.S. Poverty Much Higher Than Reported

WASHINGTON (Common Dreams) -- The number of seniors living in poverty across the U.S. is much higher than official figures suggest, says a new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, with the rate twice that shown by U.S. census figures in twelve states.
The analysis by Kaiser also predicts that these troubling poverty rates will spike further in the next few years if proposed cuts to Medicare and Social Security are pushed through.
Kaiser's alternative reading of the 2011 census data—utilizing an index called the "supplemental measure" which examines health spending and cost of living differences from state to state—found a staggering 1 in 7 seniors now live in poverty.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the share of seniors living in poverty is higher in every state under the supplemental measure than under the official measure, and at least twice as high in 12 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
The share of seniors living in poverty under the supplemental measure is especially high in some areas. Based on the supplemental measure, about one in four seniors (26%) are living in poverty in DC and roughly one in five seniors are living in poverty in six states: California (20%); Hawaii, Louisiana, and Nevada (19%), and Georgia and New York (18%).
According to Kaiser's analysis, nearly half of all seniors (48%) live with incomes below 200% of the poverty threshold using the supplemental measure, compared to 34% under the official measure.
And the senior poverty rate is expected to increase sharply, Kaiser warns, if proposed Medicare and Social Security reforms are pushed through.
"During recent deficit reduction discussions, policymakers have debated whether to increase Medicare beneficiaries’ contributions toward their medical care and reduce the cost of living adjustment to Social Security benefits," Kaiser reports. "Having a clear picture of the extent of poverty among seniors, both nationally and at the state level, is important in the context of these debates."

***

Five Navy Fleets in Int'l Waters

SIRJAN, Kerman Prov. (IRNA) – Navy commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on Wednesday five Iranian navy fleets are currently deployed in an area stretching from north of the Indian Ocean to Bab ul-Mandab and the Red Sea.
The fleet are equipped with missile launchers and are capable of carrying out special operations if necessary. "Today, Iranian Navy is self-sufficient to produce hardware and maintenance of combat equipment," he added. "Our presence in all maritime scenes has proved our strength to the world."

Judiciary Chief Urges Respect for Law

TEHRAN (Press TV) -- Iran judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani on Wednesday called on unsuccessful presidential hopefuls and those approved to stand in the race to respect the law and the Constitution in the wake of next month’s vote.
He said the decisions by the Guardian Council were made in the right direction to create yet another epic election on June 14. Amoli Larijani said the top constitutional supervisory body has the final say in vetting candidates and those who were not approved should abide by the law.

***

Reflection on Realities
By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
“O Ali! Allah has created me and you from His Light. He created Adam and put that light into Adam. This light reached Abdul-Muttalib and then it split; so I was in Abdullah and you were in Abu Taleb. Nubuwwah (Prophethood) does not befit anyone other than me, while Wilayah (vicegerency) does not befit anyone other than you. Whoever denies your vicegerency denies my prophethood, and whoever denies my prophethood Allah will throw him down on his nose into Fire…” – Prophet Muhammad (SAWA)
These are the days, when 1457 lunar years to be exact, the holy Ka’ba suddenly came alive. The symbolic House of the Unseen but Omnipresent Creator, built for the first time at the dawn of creation by Adam, and rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael, suddenly became animated. Its walls parted and closed to permit a noble lady of the monotheist Hashemite clan to enter its hallowed precincts, as she implored the Lord Most High to ease her pangs of delivery.
The Arab pagans who had polluted the Primordial House of Monotheism with idols were flabbergasted. They tried to break the door with crowbars but the locks and the wooden beams held steadfast.
Three days later the Arab idolaters were again stupefied when the same miracle occurred at the Ka’ba as its walls parted and closed to allow Fatema bint Asad (SA) to step out with a radiant boy in her arms.
To the further bewilderment of the heathen Arabs, a calm and unperturbed Abu Taleb stood at hand to smilingly greet his virtuous wife. Along with him was his nephew, the son of Abdullah his deceased brother, who gently stepped forward to take into his arms his infant first cousin.
It was then that the baby boy opened his eyes. As the eyes of the two cousins caught each other there were smiles of acquaintance on both the faces as if the two were meeting after a period of separation. The sight was indeed dazzling as light mirrored light. The infant moved his lips and seemed to be expressing voiceless words when the elder cousin whispered something in his tender ears.
The rest is history, and we need not go into details of the thirty-three years that the Light of Muhammad al-Mustafa (SAWA) and the Light of Ali al-Murtadha (AS) was beside each other, proceeding together through such immortal events in the history of mankind, as Mab’ath or the Day of formal declaration of the “Nubuwwah” (prophethood) of the elder cousin, and Ghadeer-Khom or the Day of the formal proclamation of the “Wilayah” (vicegerency) of the younger cousin. In between were many other spectacular occurrences, such as revelation of the Verses of Purity (33:33) and Mubahela (3:61) that exclusively concern the Ahl al-Bayt – and no one else among the growing Muslim community – by highlighting the prime position in Islam of the holy family made up of the noblest-ever lady, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (the Prophet’s Infallible Daughter and the Imam’s Immaculate Wife) and the Impeccable boys, Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) – Leaders of the Youth of Paradise.
Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) did not leave the Ummah in darkness, nor did he place on his political podium someone who had lived the greater part of his life in idolatry, atheism and sins, when the Light of his Enlightened Progeny was present in each and every era for the guidance of human societies. He thus said in explicit terms:
“He, who likes to meet Allah (on the Day of Resurrection) safe, purified, and without fearing the great horror, let him follow you O Ali, and follow your two sons al-Hasan and al-Husain, and (your grandsons) Ali ibn al-Husain, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja’far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja’far, Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali iin Muhammad, al-Hasan ibn Ali, and al-Mahdi the last of them.”
Now we understand what went wrong after the Prophet, and how the forces of darkness usurped the political right of leadership of the Prophet’s Divinely-decreed Vicegerent, Imam Ali (AS). This is the reason Muslims are fragmented today, and instead of adhering to the path of the spotlessly pure Ahl al-Bayt, they have taken some of the companions of the Prophet as role model, when the fact of the matter is that these so-called Salaf were neither created from the Light of Allah nor could remain untarnished from idolatry and cardinal sins during their freewheeling pagan years.
With heartiest felicitations to all seekers of truth on the blessed eve of the birthday of Imam Ali (AS) in the holiest spot on Planet Earth, I end the column by citing another hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA):
“O Ali! During the end days, there will be a group of people hating those following you, but if they love them it will be better for them if they know. They (your devotees) will prefer you to their fathers, mothers, brothers, tribes, and all relatives. The best blessings of Allah be upon them. Such people will be resurrected under the banner of Hamd (Praise). Allah will forgive their faults and exalt their positions as reward for what they have done.”
Heartiest Congratulations on the Blessed Birth Anniversary of Imam Ali (AS)