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Quran Burning Bid Draws Global
Outrage
 TEHRAN
(Dispatches) - A US church's plan to burn copies of Islam's
holy book on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001
attacks has ignited worldwide condemnation.
Top US commander in Afghanistan General David Petraeus
warned on Monday that the action could put the lives of
American soldiers involved in wars overseas at risk.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also hit out at
the Dove World Outreach Center's plan, stressing that it is
"disrespectful and disgraceful."
The US State Department also called the move "un-American,"
while the US Attorney General Eric Holder called the idea
"idiotic and dangerous."
On Tuesday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also
expressed concern over the plan saying that "any type of
activity like that, which puts our troops in harm's way
would be a concern."
Despite the rhetorical condemnation of the plan by US
official for apparent consequences on American soldiers
overseas, no legal measure has been sought to block the
offensive move, which is widely considered as racist.
The Vatican and NATO have also blasted the Florida church's
scheme.
Many Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan,
India and Indonesia have already held massive demonstrations
against the US church's intent.
Despite the global outrage, Pastor Terry Jones, the
organizer of the event, said he will go ahead with his plan.
He claims that the torching of the Quran "will send a clear
message to the radical element of Islam."
Interestingly, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has
defended the Florida pastor's decision.
While calling the burning of the Muslim holy book
"distasteful," he said that he permitted the act because of
his commitment to freedom of speech. "The First Amendment
protects everybody," Bloomberg said on Tuesday. "You can't
say that we're going to apply the First Amendment to only
those cases where we are in agreement."
Despite claims that America embraces all religions and
faiths, anti-Muslim sentiments have been on the rise across
the United States.
Arson attacks against mosques are growing; American Muslims
receive frequent threats because of their religious
identity.
Attorney General Eric Holder is calling the planned burning
of the Quran at a Florida church idiotic and dangerous.
That's the word from religious leaders who met with Holder
for nearly an hour Tuesday to discuss recent attacks on
Muslims and mosques around the United States.
The meeting was closed to reporters, but a Justice
Department official who was present confirmed that Holder
said that the plan by the Rev. Terry Jones to burn copies of
the Quran at his church in Gainesville, Fla., Saturday was
idiotic.
The official, who requested anonymity because the meeting
was private, also said Holder was quoting Gen. David
Petraeus when he used the word dangerous.
The Vatican, too, said on Wednesday that the planned mass
burning of copies of the Quran in the US state of Florida
would be "an outrageous and grave gesture."
The Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue said in a statement it had "received with great
concern the news of the proposed 'Quran Burning Day,'"
scheduled for the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
"Each religion, with its respective sacred books, places of
worship and symbols, has the right to respect and
protection," the council said.
The council said "deplorable acts of violence" like the
September 11 attacks by Al-Qaeda cannot be counteracted by
such acts.
Thousands of Indonesian Muslims rallied outside the US
Embassy in Jakarta on Saturday and Sunday to denounce the
American church's plan to mark the anniversary of the 9/11
terrorist attacks by burning copies of the Quran.
About 3,000 members of an Islamic group marched to the US
Embassy in downtown Jakarta waving banners and posters
condemning the plan. The group organized similar rallies in
five other cities across Indonesia, the world' largest
Muslim nation.
Pastor Terry Jones in Gainesville, Fla., either is looking
for a way to boost the size of his 50-member congregation,
or he really thinks the best way to spread Christianity's
message is to stage a public spectacle and destroy the holy
book of another major world religion.
Indonesian demonstrators rally outside the U.S. embassy in
Jakarta to protest a Florida church's plans to burn copies
of the Quran
Leader: Iran Will Circumvent Sanctions
 TEHRAN
(Press TV) - The Leader of the Islamic Revolution has warned
against international sanctions against Iran over its
nuclear energy program, saying Iran will thwart sanctions.
"The Iranian authorities and nation will undoubtedly
circumvent sanctions (against the country) and render them
ineffective just as they did over the past three decades and
will move ahead with progress and development," said
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in a meeting with Iranian
industrialists and manufacturers on Tuesday.
The Leader stressed the importance of creating a "truly
resistant economy" to counter sanctions and economic
pressure by arrogant powers.
He reiterated that the enemies seek to frustrate the
Iranian people by exerting economic pressure on the country
with the intent of turning the nation against the government
by blaming it for poor economic performance.
Ayatollah Khamenei said their goal is to cut ties between
the government and nation.
However, they have not known the Iranian nation and are
mistaken in their calculations.
The Leader urged Iranian officials to collaborate closely
to bring about growth and development in the country.
Under intense political pressure from the US, the United
Nations Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions
on Iran on June 9 over the country's nuclear energy
activities. The US and the European Union then brought
additional unilateral sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
In addition to the Security Council's resolution, the
United States and European Union imposed additional
unilateral sanctions on the Islamic Republic in an effort to
cripple Iran's economy and bend the country's resolve in
continuing with its peaceful nuclear program.
Lawmakers Criticize Ahmadinejad
TEHRAN (Press TV) - Iranian lawmakers have cautioned
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a written notice, to avoid
conducting parallel tasks in the country's foreign policy.
122 Majlis (parliament) members criticized President
Ahmadinejad for carrying out parallel task in the foreign
policy and selecting special envoys for Middle East, Asia,
Afghanistan and Caspian Sea affairs, said Mohammad Dehghan,
member of the Majlis presiding board, on Tuesday.
The lawmakers argued that the appointment of special
presidential envoys in the foreign policy arena is "against
the law," urging President Ahmadinejad to stick to
guidelines recently offered by of the Leader of the Islamic
Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The lawmakers' reaction came after President Ahmadinejad
appointed special envoys for Middle East, Asia, Afghanistan
and Caspian Sea affairs.
In separate decrees issued on August 22, the Iranian chief
executive appointed Esfandiyar Rahim-Mashaei, Hamid Baqaei,
Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh and Abolfazl Zohrehvand as his
special envoys for the Middle East, Asian affairs, Caspian
Sea and Afghanistan affairs, respectively.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast
urged the government to avoid adopting measures that may
"weaken the country's foreign policy system," saying" the
foreign ministry is the place where foreign policy decisions
are finalized."
The Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki also
censured Hamid Baqaei, President's special envoy for Asian
affairs, saying the foreign policy is "not a place for crude
remarks."
Mottaki further called on government officials to avoid
raising country's costs in the foreign policy sector "in the
current situation."
West Stalling Nuclear Talks
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Representative to the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Asqar
Soltaniyeh blasted certain western countries for halting the
talks between Iran and the Vienna Group (the IAEA, the US,
Russia and France) on the supply of nuclear fuel for the
Tehran research reactor.
"We are still waiting for the Vienna Group's firm response
but the political maneuverings and the attempts made by
certain countries for exerting pressure and setting
preconditions is the reason behind the delay in their
(Vienna Group's) response," Soltaniyeh said.
He reiterated that such attitudes by the world powers are
the reason for Iran's tendency towards the supply of 20%
enriched nuclear fuel through domestic plans.
Iran says it will continue its enrichment since it cannot
depend on foreign sources forever to get the required fuel.
After Iran announced to the IAEA last year that it had run
out of nuclear fuel for its research reactor in Tehran, the
Agency proposed a deal according to which Iran would send
3.5%-enriched uranium and receive 20%-enriched uranium from
potential suppliers in return, all through the UN nuclear
watchdog agency.
The proposal was first introduced on October 1, when
Iranian representatives and diplomats from the Group 5+1
held high-level talks in Geneva.
But France and the United States, as potentials suppliers,
stalled the talks soon after the start. They offered a deal
which would keep Tehran waiting for months before it could
obtain the fuel, a luxury of time that Iran could not afford
as it is about to run out of 20-percent-enriched uranium.
The Iranian parliament rejected the deal after technical
studies showed that it would only take two to three months
for any country to further enrich the nuclear stockpile and
turn it into metal nuclear rods for the Tehran Research
Reactor, while suppliers had announced that they would not
return fuel to Iran any less than seven months.
Iran then put forward its own proposal that envisaged a
two-staged exchange. According to Tehran's offer, the IAEA
would safeguard nearly one third of Iran's uranium stockpile
inside the Iranian territory for the time that it took to
find a supplier. The western countries opposed Tehran's
proposal.
After West's opposition to Iran's proposal, Iranian,
Brazilian and Turkish officials on May 17 signed an
agreement named the 'Tehran Declaration' which presented a
solution to the longstanding standoff between Iran and
potential suppliers of nuclear fuel. According to the
agreement, Iran would send some 1200 kg of its 3.5% enriched
uranium to Turkey in exchange for a total 120 kg of 20%
enriched fuel.
But again the western countries showed a negative and
surprising reaction to the Tehran Declaration and sponsored
a sanctions resolution against Iran at the UN Security
Council instead of taking the opportunity presented by the
agreement.
Russia, France, and the US, in three separate letters,
instead of giving a definite response to the Tehran
Declaration, raised some questions about the deal, and the
US took a draft sanctions resolution against Iran to the UN
Security Council, which was later approved by the Council.
Iran in a letter responded to the questions raised by the
Vienna Group on the Tehran Declaration and voiced its
preparedness to hold talks.
In a later move, IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano
proposed a plan to resume talks between the two sides, and
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced
Tehran's agreement with Amano's proposal last month.
"Iran is ready to take part in the meeting brokered by
Amano," Mottaki said.
He referred to Iran's letter to Amano in which the country
had declared its readiness for talks with the Vienna Group
and said, "Mr. Amano has forwarded the letter to other
members of the group and it seems that he is arranging for
holding the meeting."
Mottaki said that the country wants to determine and approve
details of fuel swap through talks with Vienna Group.
Finally, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
(AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said in August that talks between
Tehran and the Vienna Group over the supply of nuclear fuel
for the Tehran research reactor would hopefully take place
in weeks.
"The three states of Russia, France and the US, in their
response to Iran's letter, have announced their readiness
for holding a technical meeting about the details of the
fuel swap on the basis of the 'Tehran Declaration'," Salehi
said on the sidelines of a visit to Iran's first nuclear
power plant in the southern port city of Bushehr in August.
"We hope to have talks within the next one or two weeks,"
Salehi added.
Iran to Produce 20 Radiomedicines
TEHRAN (FNA) - Iran announced on Wednesday that its plans
to synthesize 20 kinds of radiomedicine inside the country,
stressing that its scientists are capable of supplying the
20%-enriched uranium needed for the production of such
drugs.
"Iran has gained the necessary preparedness to produce 20
radiomedicines and we will provide the 20% (enriched) fuel
needed for the production of these medicines this year,"
Deputy Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI)
for Planning, International and Parliamentary Affairs
Massoud Akhavan-Fard told FNA.
Reminding that the Tehran research reactor has long been
used by producing radiomedicines, he announced that Iran
plans to build four other research reactors in other parts
of the country.
AEOI Head Ali-Akbar Salehi had also announced in an earlier
conference on radiomedicine here in Tehran in June that the
country plans to build more research reactors for medicinal
use.
Salehi said that his organization is designing a reactor
much powerful than the Tehran research reactor for
radiomedicine production. The reactor will be put into
operation soon, he added.
Meanwhile, Akhavan-Fard referred to Iran's capability of
producing the 20%-enriched uranium needed for the Tehran
research reactor to synthesize radio-medicines, and said
that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has
confirmed production of the needed fuel.
"We plan to supply (all) the 20%-enriched fuel needed for
the country by the end of this year (ending March 20)," he
added.
Day After Eid-ul-Fitr Holiday
TEHRAN (IRNA) – The day after Eid-ul-Fitr became a
nationwide holiday to mark the auspicious occasion.
First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said the
government decided to declare the day after the auspicious
occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr a holiday to give people the chance
to enjoy the blessed period more.
He said Saturday will be a holiday only if Friday is
celebrated as the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
According to the official, government employees will
compensate for the holiday during the working days
throughout the year.
Enemies Fear Iran's Power
TEHRAN (FNA) - A senior Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC) official said on Wednesday that Iran's military
power has discouraged enemies from attacking the country.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran's defensive power has
increased the risk (of attack) and enemies have no more the
courage to invade the country," Supreme Leader's Deputy
Representative to the IRGC Mojtaba Zonnour told FNA on the
sidelines of a Basij (volunteer forces) gathering in Iran's
northern province of Semnan today.
Zonnour also reminded enemies' threats against Iran since
the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and stated
that "threats against Iran are nothing new and our country
has always been facing threats."
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