Brazil resists push for tougher Iran sanctions

Brazil has told the US and France that it will not agree with tougher sanctions against Iran as it seeks more trade with the Islamic Republic, the Brazilian envoy to the UN says.

“We are not considering sanctions a good idea now," Ambassador Maria Viotti told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

“Negotiations should continue. If sanctions are pursued, this might block the negotiating track," she said.

Viotti stressed that a negotiated settlement of the dispute over Iran's nuclear program is still possible.

Brazil, which began a two-year term on the 15-nation Security Council in January, is expected to join China, Lebanon and Turkey in opposing a sanctions vote.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118876§ionid=351020104.

Hamas calls for retaliation against Israel

Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal has called on Palestinian fighters to retaliate for Israel's assassination of the movement's top commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai last month.

"The time for promises and talk of revenge is done. Now is the time for action," Mashaal said in a televised address from Damascus on Wednesday.

Mashaal also denounced what he termed as Israel's terrorist activities against the Palestinians, saying Israel's failure in its December-January 2008 war in the Gaza Strip revealed its "fake existence."

Calling on the world to blacklist Israel as a terrorist entity, Mashaal said the regime would not get legitimacy and stability through terrorism.

Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians rallied in honor of the assassinated leader of Hamas.

"The decision to avenge the martyr Mahmud al-Mabhouh has been taken," Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the Hamas armed wing, told the crowd.

Mabhouh, a senior commander in the armed wing of the Islamist movement, was assassinated last month in Dubai by a hit squad of at least 11 people carrying forged European passports, according to the Dubai police.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118875§ionid=351020202.

Ahmadinejad: US supremacy melting away

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Washington's policies in the Middle East have failed and the US "supremacy" has reached the end of the road.

“The US supremacy is melting away just like snow in front of the sun," Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with the Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov in Tehran on Wednesday.

This means that in the near future the political trend of the world will change and a great transformation will take place, IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

“Mr. Obama and its friends or even his rivals cannot change the trend, so we should become ready for the changes in the future," the Iranian president stated.

Ahmadinejad also noted that the relations between Iran and Belarus is enhancing.

“In the current political and economic situation of the world, expansion of ties between the two countries will serve the interests of the two nations and also those of the region," he added.

Martynov, for his part, highlighted Iran's key role in the region and said that Belarus is determined to enhance its ties with Iran.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118873§ionid=351020101.

'US gave up war plans because of Iran's might'

A senior Iranian commander says the country's military might forced the US into giving up its plans to launch an attack against Iran.

“When the US realized the capabilities of Iran's armed forces and the military maneuvers they can hold, it changed its mind and gave up plans to attack Iran," the Commander of Iran's Ground Forces Brig. Gen. Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan said.

He noted that the US has carried out terrorist attacks in order to use them as pretexts to launch wars in the Middle East to control the world economy.

“The US planned and carried out the 9/11 attacks with support from Zionists," Fars news agency quoted Pourdastan as saying on Wednesday.

“The US claimed that terrorists have carried out the attacks in order to find a pretext for presence in the [Middle East] region," he stated.

The Iranian general noted that the US invasion on Iran was planned to take place after the US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118872§ionid=351020101.

Palestinians hand Gaza War report to UN

Fri, 29 Jan 2010

The Palestinian Authority says it has submitted a report to the United Nations on Israel's last year offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, said Friday that he handed the report to the chief of cabinet Vijay Nambiar at UN headquarters in New York.

Mansour, however, declined to provide details, saying it was a confidential report demanded by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

The United Nations General Assembly in November adopted a resolution giving Israel and the Palestinians three months to undertake "independent, credible investigations" into serious violations of international law and human rights committed during the conflict in Gaza.

The resolution was proposed after a report released by South African Judge Richard Goldstone concluded that Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect civilians during its December 2008-January 2009 offensive against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The report also accused Hamas of infringing international conventions.

Israel, who sidestepped the UN's key demand, submitted a response to the body on Friday and repeated its claims that the Goldstone report was "inaccurate."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak repeated Israeli criticism of the Goldstone report on Friday, and denounced the report as "false, distorted, and irresponsible."

UN associate spokesman Farhan Haq, however, said the 46-page document will be considered in a report by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the General Assembly in early February, The Washington Post reported.

"The secretary-general is working on his own response," Haq said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117382§ionid=351020202.

Spanish EU presidency protests to Libya over actions on visas

Madrid (Earth Times) - The Spanish European Union presidency has asked Libya to explain why it has decided to stop granting short-term visas to the citizens of most EU countries, Foreign Ministry sources said Wednesday. A representative of the ministry met with the second-in-charge of the Libyan embassy in Madrid on Tuesday.

The sources said technical information was discussed at the meeting.

Spain has said it works with EU foreign policy director Catherine Ashton and the European Commission to resolve the visa crisis.

The commission has described Libya's decision to deny entry to citizens from the EU's Schengen area as "unilateral and disproportionate."

No official explanation was given for Tripoli's actions, but according to press reports it follows Switzerland's decision to ban more than 180 Libyan officials from its territory. Switzerland is not a member of the EU.

Egyptian security warns against welcoming rally for ElBaradei

Cairo (Earth Times) - Egyptian security officials warned Wednesday against any illegal gatherings to welcome former UN nuclear agency head and possible future presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei. ElBaradei, who is expected to arrive in the country on Friday, said last year he would not rule out running for the country's presidential elections.

ElBaradei, who stepped down as International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief last year, said he could run in the elections only if Egypt amended its constitution to allow independents to run for president and to allow for greater oversight of the polls.

These comments were heavily criticized in the pro-government press, which backs President Hosny Mubarak.

However ElBaradei's hint was welcomed by many Egyptians.

Some opposition groups have announced they would support his candidacy - and called on the public to give a warm reception for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate when he arrives in Egypt.

"We expect many people receiving ElBaradei, whether supporters or opposition. This is why we warn that any violations of the laws or damage to the airport's facilities, will be met with severe measures amid the high security presence," said the anonymous security sources.

In Egypt, large public gatherings are illegal and can be broken up by police according to the emergency laws.

Supporters of ElBaradei have used the internet to form several social networking websites campaigning for his candidacy in the 2011 elections. A Facebook group has 60,000 members.

Meanwhile, two activists from the April 6 youth opposition group were detained after they spray-painted walls in Cairo with slogans backing political change and supporting ElBaradei.

A security source said that two men were arrested for writing anti-government graffiti...