Iran protests to UN over US war plan

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/139320.html

Iran complains to UN officials about US threats of military attack on the country over its nuclear program, vowing a response to any such strike.

In letters to the heads of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the General Assembly that circulated Wednesday, Iran's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Eshaq Alehabib, slammed the US plan for an Iran strike which is based on "totally false" grounds, AP reported.

This comes after Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said the US military has a plan to attack Iran, although he thinks a strike is probably a bad idea.

Mullen, America's highest-ranking military officer, said he was extremely concerned about the possible repercussions of such a strike, warning that military action against Iran could have "unintended consequences that are difficult to predict in what is an incredibly unstable part of the world."

The US and its allies accuse Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Iran dismisses the allegations, arguing that all its nuclear activities are under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Organization.

The Security Council passed a fourth round of sanctions against the Islamic Republic in June.

In addition to the UNSC sanctions, the US administration adopted unilateral sanctions against Tehran in July, targeting Iran's financial and energy sectors.

On Wednesday, Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ali Asghar Soltanieh, called on the body to counter the "incorrect and unfriendly" attitude.

"The IAEA should counter the incorrect and unfriendly attitude, including sanctions and resolutions by the UN Security Council which undermine cooperation," Soltanieh said.

"The IAEA should know that Iran has cooperated with the Agency beyond its undertakings to show its goodwill and build transparency," he added.

Sanctions prelude to dollar's extinction

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137880§ionid=351020101


Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insists that the anti-Iran sanctions will serve as a stepping stone to eradicate domination of (US) dollar in the world.

President Ahmadinejad also reiterated that those countries that have followed the US lead in the sanctions efforts have denied themselves any role in Iran's economy, IRNA reported Sunday.

In an address to an event commemorating the international week of mosques, the president expounded on measures to encounter Western sanctions on Iran and emphasized that we will used the sanctions as an opportunity to expand the country's domestic manufacturing and globalizing Iranian commodities and products.

The Iranian president described the US-led sanctions as an oppressive effort and a sort of a psychological warfare in order to force the Iranian nation to compromise on their principles, adding that "this nation will never compromise on its independence, integrity, principles, demanding justice and opposing oppression."

President Ahmadinejad also reiterated that the time of those behind the anti-Iran sanctions is coming to a closure as they have further discredited themselves by adopting such measures.

Iran rejects negotiating under threat

Hossein Sheikholeslam, Advisor to Iran's Majlis Speaker
on international affairs.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137876§ionid=351020101


An aid to Iran's parliament (Majlis) speaker has reiterated Iran's refusal to negotiate with the West under dual approaches of imposing sanctions and then pushing for talks.

Hossein Sheikholeslam, advisor to the Majlis speaker on international affairs, rejected in an interview with Fars news agency the so-called 'carrot and stick' approach employed by the West to gain an upper hand in negotiations as unproductive and based on uneven terms, adding that such tactics are commonly employed by oppressive powers.

Sheikholeslam emphasized that in passing the anti-Iran resolution 1929, the UN Security Council acted contrary to the UN charter's principle of enhancing global security.

He explained that the resolution allows countries to inspect Iranian ships merely based on perceived suspicions and doubts and creating such an environment against Iran does not bring about a safer world.

Sheikholeslam described the sanctions approved by the European Union against Iran as "potentially dangerous" but added that Europe is yet to enforce such sanctions.

He also noted that the US-sponsored anti-Iran sanctions came right after Iran, Turkey and Brazil issued a trilateral declaration in which Iran agreed to a nuclear fuel swap through Turkey, removing the major Western hurdle in advancing talks on Iran's nuclear program.

The Iranian official added that Western sanctions against Iranian banks have already been enforced but with little impact since those countries participating in the US-backed sanctions never had any effective banking relations with the Islamic Republic.

The US-sponsored sanctions resolution was passed last June after intense efforts and international lobbying by the Obama administration to win votes in the UN Security Council. After the passage of the resolutions, however, the US and its European allies began to press for additional unilateral sanctions against Iran, targeting its shipping, banking and oil industries.

'Petraeus to create crisis in Mideast'

Gen. David Petraeus, the newly appointed commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=133140§ionid=351020403



The newly appointed top US and NATO military commander in Afghanistan Gen. David Petraeus pursues a strategy that will destabilize the Middle East region, an Iranian envoy says.

"Petraeus pursues a certain strategy that will create crisis in the [Middle East] region and will further complicate the issues," Iran's Ambassador to Afghanistan Fada-Hossein Maleki said.

Maleki noted that the former top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, had major differences with the White House officials.

"McChrystal believed that it is possible to use a combination of political and military initiatives in Afghanistan, but some White House hardliners disregarded the idea," Fars news agency quoted the Iranian envoy as saying on Friday.

Maleki also slammed the British military forces in Afghanistan over their poor function that has exacerbated situation in the war-torn country.

He noted that the UN had tasked Britain to fight narcotics in Afghanistan, but the production of the drugs has increased "forty-fold over the past eight years" in the country.

Petraeus landed in Kabul late Friday, where he is to take command of both US and NATO operations in Afghanistan.

McChrystal was effectively fired for remarks he and his aides made to a reporter for Rolling Stone about President Barack Obama and other US officials.