US: Strikes on Pakistan to continue

Pakistanis hold placards as they shout slogans to condemn a US drone attack in the North Waziristan tribal region, during a protest in Peshawar on March 19, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175907.html

The United States says it will not halt its drone attacks in Pakistan, defying repeated calls from Islamabad and Pakistani people for an end to the non-UN-sanctioned strikes.

“The program is something that we have said we go ahead on. The question is how. And that process is going to be something that's going to be one of the main tasks that our intelligence and our military guys have,” Reuters quoted a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying on Wednesday.

This comes as the chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has met with Pakistan's high-ranking intelligence officials in Lahore.

The US had previously insisted on its stance about continuing the drone attacks in a meeting between CIA director Leon Panetta and Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency in Washington last week.

Washington has at times claimed it has an agreement with Islamabad on launching such attacks, but Pakistani authorities say there has never been such a deal and that they view the airstrikes as repeated violations of the country's sovereignty.

Moreover, Pakistani lawmakers have strongly criticized the US drone strikes and urged the government “to review its foreign policy and adopt a strict stance to stop CIA attacks inside Pakistan.”

Khawaja Saad Rafiq, the leader of major Pakistani party Muslim League Nawaz, has blamed the hike in the acts of terrorism in Pakistan on the ongoing CIA drone attacks.

The CIA's unauthorized drone strikes in Pakistan's northwest tribal belt claimed the lives of more than 1,180 people in 2010 alone, reports say.

Pakistan urges end to US strikes

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175542.html

Pakistan has called on the US to stop non-UN-sanctioned drone strikes in the country's northern tribal belt as differences between Islamabad and Washington escalate.

The row between the US and its Asian ally over the scale of the unauthorized CIA drone operations in Pakistan's North Waziristan were exposed last week.

Pakistan has repeatedly criticized the attacks which it condemns for violating the country's sovereignty.

Washington, on the other hand, defends the strikes as necessary to fight the militants it claims to have holed up.

But Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Sunday that Washington should share better intelligence so Islamabad can take action against militants itself.

For several months, Pakistani diplomats and military officials have complained that they were being kept in the dark by the US administration's non-UN-sanctioned military campaigns.

Politicians on both sides are disappointed with the results of investment of billions of dollars in the US military and civilian assistance since 2001 with Washington admitting in a recent report to Congress that the results of the spending fell short of expectations.

More than 1,180 people were killed by over 120 CIA drone strikes in 2010 alone, reports say.

The strikes have further fueled the anti-US sentiment already on the rise in the region.

Pakistan urges US to cut CIA operations

Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174439.html

Pakistan's spy chief has demanded that the United States steeply reduce the number of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives and halt drone attacks on its soil.

This comes as the current Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha met with CIA chief Leon Panetta in Washington on Monday.

In the meeting, Pasha called for Islamabad's control over CIA operations in Pakistan.

According to Pakistani and US officials, Islamabad also asked Washington to reduce the number of CIA operatives in the county.

Meanwhile, reports say US President Barack Obama has rejected Islamabad's call for more transparency regarding CIA operations in the country.

US-Pakistani ties have been strained over Washington's deadly drone attacks as well as the case of Raymond Davis -- a CIA contractor who shot dead two Pakistanis in January.

Reports say Pakistan has also demanded that the United States stop its drone attacks inside its territory.

The developments come as President Obama has frequently blamed Pakistan for not doing enough to fight terrorism in its troubled northwestern tribal belt along the Afghan border.

This is while US planes and helicopters have increasingly violated Pakistani airspace over the past months.

The US claims its air raids target militants who cross the Pakistani border into Afghanistan. But locals say civilians are the main victims of the unauthorized attacks.

The unauthorized US drone attacks have drawn strong criticism from the Pakistani nationals and officials.

The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 with the official objective of curbing militancy and bringing peace and stability to the region, however, after nine years the region remains unstable and militancy has expanded towards Pakistan.

Analysts say the US is looking for an excuse to expand its military operations in the troubled South and Central Asian region to secure bases near Russia and China.

Iran vows legal bid on Israeli terror

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/159627.html


Iran says it will exploit all its resources to condemn Israel and bring the regime to justice over its terror efforts against Iranian nuclear scientists.

“The issue that we will actively pursue is the condemnation of this illegal regime (Israel) and its punishment as the perpetrator of crimes against humanity and our scientists,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly press briefing on Tuesday.

“We will definitely utilize all our means and capabilities to follow up the case in international legal bodies,” he said.

We will also pursue a legal case for the Israeli terror efforts using evidence and documentations compiled on the issue, he added.

The Iranian spokesperson also condemned Western support of the Israeli regime in sponsoring and carrying out acts of terrorism.

“That the Zionist regime (Israel) officially announces that it has had a hand in such terror efforts is indicative of an ongoing state terrorism and we regret that Western countries support such illegitimate acts by Israel.”

Mehmanparast's remarks came in response to a question about Iran's legal pursuits against the assassination of Iranian nuclear physics scientist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi.

Dr. Ali-Mohammadi, a lecturer at the University of Tehran, was killed when a remote-controlled bomb detonated near his house in the north of the Iranian capital, Tehran, in July 2010.

Iran's Intelligence Ministry said in a statement released on Monday that it has arrested the main perpetrators in connection with the assassination and dismantled a network comprising of Israeli-trained spies and terrorists following extensive security operations.

It said that Israeli intelligence service Mossad has used bases in certain European and non-European countries as well as some of Iran's neighboring states in an attempt to achieve its inhumane, anti-Islam and anti-Iranian objectives, including the assassination of Dr. Ali-Mohammadi.

Nuclear scientists hitmen trained by Mossad

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/159527.html


Senior Iranian lawmaker Esmail Kowsari says the assassins of an Iranian nuclear scientist have confessed to being supported by the Israeli intelligence service.

In July 2010, Iranian nuclear physics scientist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi was killed when a remote-controlled bomb detonated near his house in the north of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Following security operations, Iran finally succeeded in arresting the main agents behind the terrorist incident and dismantled a network comprising of spies and terrorists commissioned by Israel, Intelligence Ministry announced on Monday.

Long before the assassination of Ali-Mohammadi, the intelligence officials of Israel, the UK and the US had publicly threatened to kill our nuclear scientists, Kowsari said on Monday.

“These [arrested] people have confessed that they had received assassination training from [Israeli inrtelligenece agency] Mossad; and Mossad had provided all their equipment,” Fars News Agency quoted deputy head of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on Monday.

Kowsari added that the confessions of the detainees could be helpful in the arrest of the perpetrators of Dr. Majid Shahriari's assassination.

On November 29, unknown terrorists detonated bombs in the vehicles of Majid Shahriari and Fereydoun Abbasi -- both professors at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran.

Shahriari was killed immediately, but Abbasi and his wife sustained minor injuries and were transferred to a hospital and later released.

“Certainly these people are not the perpetrators of Dr. Shahriari assassination, but given the fact that all these terrorists take orders from Mossad, the confession of the detainees could be helpful in the arrest of agents behind the assassination of Dr. Shahriari and Dr. Abbasi,” Kowsari concluded.

Iran's Intelligence Ministry said in its statement that the Israeli intelligence service Mossad has used bases in certain European and non-European countries as well as Iran's neighboring states in an attempt to achieve its inhumane goals.

Iran terror attack claims 39 lives

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155541.html


At least 39 mourners commemorating the martyrdom of the third Shia Imam have been killed in a terror attack in the southeastern Iranian city of Chabahar.

According to medics, at least 39 people, including women and children, have been killed and many more wounded in the attack which occurred at the Imam Hussein mosque in Chabahar on Wednesday when Iranians were attending the religious Tasua ceremony.

An official from the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Mahmoud Mozaffar, said over 50 people have also been injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, Chabahar governor Ali Bateni said, "The main perpetrator of the terrorist attack which has killed and wounded a number of Iranians has been arrested."

"There were two terrorists who have been identified by police but they exploded one of their vests before any move," he told IRNA.

The official said a second attacker was spotted and arrested before detonating his explosives.

He rejected reports that said there were three terrorists and two blasts and noted that investigations are underway to determine the exact number of the killed and wounded.

Officials say they have been receiving bomb threats over the past three days.

US-led troops 'kill Afghan protesters'

Violence in Afghanistan caused by US-led troops


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/140120.html


US-led troops have reportedly opened fire at demonstrators in northern Afghanistan, killing dozens of people and wounding more than 20 other civilians.

Thousands of people protested near a NATO base in Badghis province after NATO forces killed an Afghan police trainee, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The Afghan trainee had fired on foreign troops, killing two Spanish soldiers and their interpreter.

Afghan media said that the Afghan soldier shot and killed the Spaniards when they tried to remove an Afghan woman's veil by force.

The protesters also called on the Afghan government to help send Spanish troops to their country.

More than 800 Spanish soldiers have stationed in Afghanistan within the framework of NATO forces.

Some 140,000 US-led troops are currently stationed in Afghanistan. A further 10,000 are expected to be deployed to the war-ravaged country in the coming weeks.

Bomb explosion injures three in south Lebanon

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116040§ionid=351020203


Three people, including two children waiting for their school bus, have been injured in a bomb blast that struck Kfar Fila in southern Lebanon.

Naharnet news website cited unnamed security officials in reporting that that blast took place at 7:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) Wednesday at the entrance to a three-storey building.

The security sources identified one of the tenants in the building as Mohammed Zreik, believed to be a Hezbollah official.

Two of Zreik's children — Hasan, 7 and Diala, 11 — were among the wounded. The third casualty was identified as Zainab Hazimeh, 15, Naharnet added.

The elder of the two youngsters injured lost a leg in the blast while the other suffered slight wounds to his face, AFP later reported, quoting hospital officials in the nearby town of Nabatiyeh.

It was not immediately clear whether the owner of the building, identified as Hussein Saeed Hamdan, was the target of the bombing or if he was in the building when the bomb went off.

Kfar Fila is a village located 15 kilometers (10 miles) east of the port city of Sidon, and is viewed as one of the bases for the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement.

Larijani slams US for terror of Iranian scientist

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116048§ionid=351020101


After Iran accused the US and Israel of involvement in the assassination of an Iranian nuclear physics scientist, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani moves to deplore the terrorist act.

"We had received information a few days before the incident that intelligence services of the Zionist regime [Israel] intend to carry out terrorist acts in Tehran in cooperation with the CIA," Larijani said on Wednesday.

He pointed to the US failed efforts concerning Iran's nuclear drive and said the United States adopted the carrot and stick approach and issued resolutions to meet the demands of Israel.

"After the failure of all its hostile policies, it currently resorts to the physical elimination of Iranian nuclear scientists," he said.

He underlined that such terrorist acts would bear no fruits, saying, "The Iranian nation will firmly protect nuclear achievements of the country."

On Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry accused the US and Israel of having played a role in the assassination of Professor Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, who was killed by a booby-trapped motorbike blast.

"Primary investigations into the assassination revealed signs of the involvement of the Zionist regime [Israel], the US and their allies in Iran," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said.

However, the US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner moved Tuesday to dismiss any links to the bomb attack in the Iranian capital and said, "Charges of US involvement are absurd."

The Iran Royal Association, an obscure monarchist group that seeks to reestablish the Pahlavi reign in Iran, announced in a statement that its "Tondar Commandos" were behind the assassination of Ali-Mohammadi.

The group, headed by Foroud Fouladvand, also claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing in the southern city of Shiraz back in April 2008, in which 13 people were killed and hundreds were wounded.

Larijani criticized the group's statement and said the claims were a deliberate cover-up of Washington's involvement in the incident.

"This dark point will be recorded in the history of US crimes against the Iranian nation. It is not clear whether this adventurism will have an appropriate ending for the US," the speaker said.

Tehran blast kills nuclear physics scientist

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115934§ionid=351020101


An Iranian nuclear physics scientist has been killed in a remote-controlled bomb attack in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Dr. Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, a lecturer at the Tehran University and a staunch supporter of the Islamic Revolution, was killed in booby-trapped motorbike blast on Tuesday.

The explosion took place near the professor's home in Qeytariyeh neighborhood, in northern Tehran.

Iran's police and security bodies are investigating the terrorist case to identify those behind it.

Press TV correspondent Amir Mehdi Kazemi, reporting from the scene of the assassination, quoted security officials as saying that the equipment and system of the bomb used in the attack had been related to a number of foreign intelligence agencies, particularly Israel's Mossad.

Meanwhile, Tehran's Prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi confirmed the assassination of the university lecturer on Tuesday morning and said that he taught neutron nuclear physics at the University of Tehran.

"No suspect has been arrested yet," he told the Iranian Students News Agency.

He added that Ali-Mohammadi was killed when a motorbike parked near his car exploded.

The terrorist attack came as Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientist, went missing in the Saudi holy city of Medina while on a pilgrimage visit in June 2009.

In December, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said Tehran had information that authorities in Riyadh had delivered Amiri to the United States.

He added that Amiri is among eleven Iranian nationals held in detention in US prisons.

It seems the kidnap and assassination of Iranian scientists is on the agenda of the United States.