|
Iran Tells Germany: Hand Over PJAK Leader
Iranian Majlis speaker Ali Larijani said that Iran has demanded that Germany extradite to it Abdolrahman Hajj Ahmadi, leader of the Kurdish separatist organization Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), who was arrested March 5 in Germany by local police, at Belgium's request.
PJAK threatened that if Hajj Ahmadi was not freed, it would change its policy towards German and European security forces.
Source: Fars, Iran, March 7-8, 20910; PJAK website, March 6, 2010
Read full entry
Cartoon In Jordanian Paper – Obama Tells Iraq: As We Promised, We'll Make You The Miracle Of Democracy In The Middle East

Cartoonist: Yazid 'Ulya
Source: Al-Sabil, Jordan, March 7, 2010
Read full entry
Cartoon In Qatari Paper: Arab Summit: The Only Expired Item That People Still Use

Cartoonist: Suleiman Al-Malek
Source: Al-Watan, Qatar, March 7, 2010
Read full entry
Senior Hamas Official In Prison: If I Am Freed, I'll Return To Resistance
Abdallah Al-Barghouthi, senior 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades official sentenced to 67 life terms, said that his name was third on the list of prisoners that Hamas is demanding freed in exchange for Gilad Shalit.
He added that if he is released he will return to the path of resistance.
Source: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Palestinian Authority, March 8, 2010
Read full entry
Hamas Leader Mash'al: The resistance Breathes Thanks To Iranian Leader Khamenei
In an interview, Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mash'al told the Iranian news agency Qodsna that the resistance existed thanks to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who defended it unconditionally.
He stressed that the recent meeting between the heads of the Palestinian factions and Khamenei was of vital importance to the future of the resistance, in light of developments in the region.
Source: Qodsna, Iran, March 2, 2010
Read full entry
Al-Quds Al-Arabi: Jumblatt Will Hand Party, Druze Leadership Down To Son
The London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reports that Timor Jumblatt, son of Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, recently visited Syria secretly, where he met with Maher Al-Assad, brother to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, to discuss with him turning over a new leaf between his father and Syria.
The paper said that Jumblatt the elder is expected to announce in a speech on March 16, the anniversary of the assassination of his father, that his son will replace him as leader of the party and of the Druze community, but that he himself would continue his political activity.
Former Lebanese minister Wiam Wahhab said that in his speech Jumblatt would personally address President Assad.
Read full entry
Iranian Daily: Mubarak Regime 'Breathing Its Last'
The Iranian daily Jomhouri-e Eslami assessed that the Egyptian people will take advantage of the ill health of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose regime is 'breathing its last,' and will settle account with his repressive policy, leading to a political explosion.
It added that Mubarak met with U.S. President Obama in order to assure that his son Gamal Mubarak would inherit the presidential seat.
Source: Jomhouri-e Eslami, Iran, March 8, 2010
Read full entry
Mubarak Recuperates From Surgery; In Egypt, Calls For Him To Retire
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is recuperating from gall bladder surgery, in a German hospital; according to official Egyptian press reports he is in good condition.
The independent Egyptian daily Al-Masryoon reports that senior government and parliamentary officials have been instructed to cancel commitments abroad, and not to leave the country before Mubarak returns.
Egyptian opposition elements have called on Mubarak to retire for health reasons.
Sources: Al-Gomhouriyya, Al-Masryoon, Egypt, March 8, 2010; Al-Dustour, Egypt, March 6, 2010
Read full entry
Syrian VP: The Truth About 9/11 Will Be Revealed; West Should Learn From Syria's Democracy
In a lecture at Teshreen University, in Ladaqiya, Syria, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad said that the Bush administration and the neo-conservatives had exploited the 9/11 events in order to act against the Arabs and the Muslims, and added that the truth about 9/11 would be revealed in the future.
Meqdad stressed that Syria would have been the first to cooperate with that administration if it had been honest in its fight against terrorism.
He said that Syria-Iran relations were deeper than they seemed, that they were between two states of equal importance, and that as part of these relations Syria could disagree with Iran on Arab issues.
Medqad even called on the West to learn from Syria's democracy, one of the manifestations of which was its permission for all Iraqi candidates to show their photos in the streets of Syria, and then called the Syrian opposition "terrorists."
Source: Aksaser.com, March 5, 2010
Read full entry
U.S. VP Biden To ‘Al-Hayat’: Iran Is Violating Its Commitments; We'll Rectify Our Relations With Syria
On the eve of his Middle East visit, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told the London daily Al-Hayat that Iran was violating its commitments vis-à-vis the nuclear issue, and was not giving the international community any reason to trust it.
About Syria, he said that his country was committed to rectifying its relations with Damascus via high-level dialogue, and expressed hope that the U.S. and Syria could work together to spread peace and stability in the region, despite their differences, and that recent visits by U.S. officials to Syria showed this intention.
Source: Al-Hayat, London, March 8, 2010
Read full entry
Russian Ambassador to Jordan: We Oppose A Nuclear Iran At Our Border
In an interview with the Jordanian daily Al-Dustour, Russian Ambassador to Jordan Alexander Kalugin said that Moscow was opposed to Iran, with whom it shares its southern border, obtaining nuclear weapons.
He said that there was no proof that Iran had obtained military nuclear capability, but complained that Tehran was refusing to cooperate with the IAEA and stop obfuscating on the issue.
He added that Moscow absolutely supported "smart sanctions" on Iran, and opposed military action, because the latter move would have potentially disastrous consequences for the entire region.
Source: Al-Dustour, Jordan, March 7, 2010 obfuscate
Read full entry
Ahmadinejad Kabul Visit, Scheduled For Today, Reported Postponed

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has postponed a trip to Afghanistan, scheduled for today, that is to be devoted to providing "solutions for settling the problems" in Iran's eastern neighbor.
"President Ahmadinejad won't be coming to Kabul," an informed source at Afghanistan President Karzai's office said.
The source added that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan on Monday morning on an unannounced visit.
The source did not pinpoint a next date for the meeting between the two presidents.
Source: Press TV, Iran, March 8, 2010
Read full entry
New on MEMRI TV - Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah Threatens To Bring Down Buildings In Tel Aviv, Hit Ben-Gurion Airport In Future War

To view this clip, click here
Read full entry
Gulf Countries to Invest $100b In Gas Projects
The gap between the rising price of crude and the declining price of natural gas has widened, although the gas-producing countries in the Gulf believe that the demand for natural gas will increase by 60% by2030 and this gap will narrow.
The total reserves of natural gas are estimated at 180 trillion cubic meters, exceeding projected demands through 2030 by a wide margin. Moreover, new discoveries are made regularly. Thus, the estimated current reserves are twice the size of those established in 1980.
One half of the reserves are located in Russia, Iran and Qatar.
Read full entry
New on MEMRI TV – Debate on Hizbullah TV: The Language Of Martyrdom Is The Marseillaise Of Our Nation; The Road To Life Passes Through Death

To view this clip, click here
Read full entry
Iraqi PM: Dinar Has Reasons to Grow Stronger
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has said that the Iraqi dinar "has all the reasons to grow stronger, thanks to an increase in revenues and development of the economy."
The Iraqi dinar's exchange rate is suffering from low value against foreign currencies, as a result of decades of wars and economic embargo that brought the local currency's exchange rate to the rock bottom from three dinars to the dollar in the late 1970s to 3,000 dinars to the dollar after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, followed by 13 years of crippling sanctions regime.
The current exchange rate is 1170 dinars to the dollar, but most economists believe that the Iraqi dinar is undervalued.
[Trading in foreign exchange in Iraq is unrestricted, and Iraqis are free to convert dinars into any foreign currency and vice versa.]
Source: BusinessIntelligence, March 5, 2010
Read full entry
Joint Syrian-Saudi Ministerial Meeting in Damascus
The joint Syrian-Saudi Ministerial Committee held its meeting in Damascus on Saturday March 6, with the participation of the finance ministers both countries as well as a large group of businessmen.
The Syrian Economy Ministry prepared no less than 421 project proposals, which reflect the main thrust of the 15th five-year economic plan. The proposals have a heavy focus on food security and generating environment for foreign investments. They include the construction of metal grain silos in all Syrian provinces, and grain mills in some provinces; the establishment of three free-trade zones; and the construction of hotels and tourist attractions.
Read full entry
Iraq Votes – A Preliminary Analysis


Millions of Iraqis voted in the general elections held across Iraq yesterday and in 16 other countries in the previous two days.
Although the voting was, for the most part, relatively peaceful and orderly, some polling stations came under heavy mortar attacks.
Read full entry
|