IRGC Plays Key Role in Defending Nation TEHRAN (FNA) - A senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) highlighted the significant role played by the IRGC in defending the Islamic Revolution and values. "Today, the IRGC is confronting the enemies of the Islamic Revolution in a multi-dimensional battle," IRGC Lieutenant Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami said. He further reminded that enemies have resorted to various measures, such as pushing Iran into political isolation, imposing sanctions and launching cultural and security attacks against Iran in a bid to derail the country's Islamic Revolution, but to no avail. Salami reminded the prominent role of the IRGC in defending the country against enemies' soft threats, and underlined the necessity for resistance against arrogant powers with all possible means. The commander reiterated that Iran and the Muslim world are, in fact, endangered by soft threats much more and much deeper than the threat of a military war. He termed the current situation in the world a confrontation between Mcs (such as Mc Donald) and Jihadist school of thought, saying that Mcs like McDonald which represent the Western culture are standing against pure Islamic thoughts. The IRGC Commander, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, in August called for comprehensive efforts in all the cultural, economic, political and social grounds to confront the soft threats posed against the Islamic Republic. "IRGC's strategy for confrontation with soft threats comprises preventative measures, full intelligence information on the type of a given threat and the time of its occurrence and plans for preventing its occurrence and formation," Jafari noted at the time. "Confronting soft threats in all the cultural, economic, political and social arenas is the most important need of the (Islamic) ruling system," the commander added. Brigadier General Hossein Salami 'World Powers Will Fail to Agree on Iran Sanctions' TEHRAN (Press TV) - Iran says world powers will fail to reach a consensus on imposing new sanctions against Iran over the country's nuclear program. "Since the principle of sanctions lacks the legal and logical basis regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran's basic right to peaceful nuclear activities; and since this policy is pursued under the political pressure of certain countries, it is natural that such a consensus [on sanctions] will not materialize," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Sunday. Washington is persuading members of the P5+1 group — the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, which are the veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, and Germany — to approve a new round of sanctions against Iran. China and Russia have repeatedly opposed new punitive measures against Iran with Beijing repeatedly calling for more dialogue with Tehran to resolve the issue. Despite the IAEA reports reaffirming that it continues to verify the non-diversion of Iran's nuclear work toward any military purposes, the US and its allies accuse Tehran of having military objective in its nuclear work. Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), rejects the allegations as politically motivated and says its nuclear work is totally peaceful and within the framework of the NPT. Mehmanparast said Iran was still ready to discuss a nuclear fuel swap deal with Western countries as long as Tehran's concerns regarding the delivery of the fuel are taken into consideration. Under an IAEA-brokered deal, Iran is to send most of its domestically-produced low enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for conversion into the more refined fuel, required by the Tehran research reactor to produce medical isotopes. "We cannot accept whatever terms they want [regarding the swap deal]. Our condition is that there should be a 100 percent guarantee," he said. Based on the draft, Iran would receive a shipment of the nuclear fuel at a later time, while the Tehran research reactor is already running out of fuel. After the powers ignored Tehran's concerns over the absence of necessary guarantees, Iran decided to domestically enrich uranium to a level of 20 percent. Mehmanparast says sanctions lack the legal and logical basis regarding Iran's nuclear activities Tehran, Tbilisi to Lift Visa Law TEHRAN (FNA) - Iran and Georgia in a reciprocal move agreed on lifting visa requirements for both countries' nationals to show friendship and solidarity between the two Asian countries, Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said. Rahimi made the remark in a press conference in Tehran Sunday evening, and said this move was done based on the various agreements signed between the two countries. On President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's upcoming visit to Afghanistan, Rahimi said the visit will be made on an invitation from Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Rahimi added the president will confer with the Afghan top officials on issues of mutual interest as well as ways to ensure peace in Afghanistan and the region. About Iran-Ecuador cooperation, the first vice-president pointed to the latest visit of his Ecuadorian counterpart to the country, and said the trip led to a bilateral agreement on the construction of two power plants in the country by the Iranian experts. PJAK Ringleader Arrested in Germany TEHRAN (FNA) - Germen security forces arrested the ringleader and two senior members of an Iraq-based armed opposition of the Islamic Republic called Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) – an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). FNA correspondent in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region reported that the terrorist gang leader, Abdurrahman Hajji Ahmadi, was arrested at his residence in Germany. The 2-hour long operation was carried out by 12 members of the German anti-terrorism police units, the report said, adding that the police had seized Ahmadi's phone set, PC and also other communication equipments. Police also arrested Ramzi Kartel and Zobayr Aydan, two senior members of the terrorist group in another operation. Kartel and Aydan were arrested in a hideout commonly used by the members of the terrorist group. PJAK, a militant Kurdish nationalist group with bases in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq, has been carrying out numerous attacks in western Iran, southern Turkey and the northeastern parts of Syria where the Kurdish populations live. The separatist group has been fighting to establish an autonomous state, or possibly a new world country, in the area after separating Kurdish regions from Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. The outlawed group has been staging attacks across the border in Iran since 2004 in an attempt to establish an independent Kurdish state. An April 10, 2006 report by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed that the US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan were establishing contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups in Iran such as the PJAK rebels. Later in November 2006 Hersh wrote that, "Israel and the United States have also been working together in support of a Kurdish resistance group known as the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan. "The group has been conducting clandestine cross-border forays into Iran," Hersh added. According to Hersh, Israel has been providing the Kurdish group with "equipment and training." The group has also been given "a list of targets inside Iran of interest to the US." The development came two weeks after Iran arrested another notorious terrorist, Abdolmalek Rigi, the ringleader of the Pakistan-based Jundallah terrorist group. Iran, Netherlands for All-Out Ties TEHRAN (FNA) - Iranian and Dutch officials stressed the need for the development of bilateral relations between the two countries in political, parliamentary and cultural fields. The issue was raised during a meeting between the Iranian foreign ministry's director general for West European affairs and director general of the Dutch foreign ministry for Middle Eastern and North African affairs here in Tehran on Monday. At the meeting, the two sides discussed international and regional issues. The Dutch official, who is heading a delegation in the visit to Tehran, announced the Netherlands' interest in interaction with Tehran. He also welcomed cooperation between the two sides' judiciary systems in training and exchanging experiences. The Iranian official, for his part, referred to the age-old relations between Iran and the Netherlands, and said the ground is prepared for the consolidation of mutual cooperation and development of bilateral ties in all the various fields. He also reiterated that the two sides can reach a better understanding of each others' views through negotiations, and stressed the necessity for the expansion of exchanges between Iran and the Netherlands in political, parliamentary and cultural areas. Several Tremors Jolt Iran TEHRAN (FNA) - Four consecutive tremors hit the different parts of Iran's southern province of Fars on Monday, while another quake jolted a bordering province in the eastern parts of the country. A report by the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University said that the slight tremors in Fars measured 3.2, 2.6, 1.6 and 3.6 on the Richter scale. The report also said that the Seismological network of the institute registered the mild quakes in the southern province at 07:11, 07:46, 10.54 and 11:42 hours local time (0341, 0416, 0724 and 0812 GMT), respectively. The tremors were epicentered in an area 51.4, 53.8, 51.3 and 51.4 degrees in longitude and 29.7, 28.4, 29.9 and 29.7 degrees in latitude, respectively, it added. Iran is criss-crossed with fault lines and is regularly hit by earthquakes, experiencing at least one slight tremor every day on average. Also on Monday, an earthquake measuring 3.3 on the Richter scale jolted the town of Sar bisheh in Iran's eastern province of South Khorassan. The Seismological network of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University registered the quake at 07:54 hours local time (0424 GMT). The epicenter of the quake was located in an area 59.5 degrees in longitude and 32.4 degrees in latitude. There are yet no reports on the number of possible casualties or damage to properties by the quake in South Khorassan province.