Gulf States To Britain: Expel Terror Supporters

Foreign ministers of the Gulf states have demanded that Britain expel from its soil all individuals who support terrorism, instead of giving them political asylum...

Turkish PM Awarded King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam

At a Riyadh ceremony during which Saudi King Abdallah awarded Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abd Al-Aziz said that the awarding of the prize to Erdogan attested to his status.

Iraq Votes – Part III

Ballot boxes from all over the country are sorted and ballots counted, at the central offices of the Elections Commission in Baghdad. (Al-Zaman, Iraq, March 10, 2010)

Poor people dismantle election posters and banners, using wooden and metal frames for building and fabric for upholstery and mopping floors. (www.uragency.net/index.php?aa=news&id22=5554 March 9, 2010)

While the official election returns are being held secret by the Elections Commission pending the completion of the counting of the votes, there are enough leaks already to suggest that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki will emerge as a big winner, trailed by the two other major alliances –Ayad Allawi's Al-Iraqiya and Ammar Al-Hakim's Iraqi National Alliance. The Kurdish alliance will be ranked in fourth place but their appeal has always been limited to Kurdish population residing in the north of Iraq.

Cartoon In Rooz: Ahmadinejad Wins Oscar For Best Liar

Source: Rooz, Iran, March 8, 2010

Abbas Advisor: There’ll Be No Third Intifada

Nimer Hammad, advisor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, has said that the Palestinians will not launch a third Intifada, after the second Intifada was a free gift to Israel, and threatened to arrest anyone carrying weapons or explosives in the West Bank.

Imprisoned Senior Hamas Official Barghouti: Kidnap More Soldiers

'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades official Abdallah Al-Barghouti, who is serving 67 life sentences, has said that the only path to rstrain Israel is to kidnap more soldiers.

Cartoon In Kuwaiti Paper: International Women's Day

Cartoonist: Abd Al-Qader

Source: Al-Jarida, Kuwait, March 8, 2010

Saudi Arabia Launches Program To Allow Gender Mixing In Educational Sector

The Saudi education minister has decided to hold meetings with his deputies and male and female teachers – the first Education Ministry meeting to be attended by both men and women.

Turkish PM Speaks Out Against Iran's Nuclear Program In Region, Favors Diplomatic Solution

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Saudi daily Al-Watan that he opposed any military nuclear program in the region...

Iranian FM: U.S., Britain Exporting Terror

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said that the U.S. and Britain are advancing terror in Afghanistan and Pakistan...

Arab Pessimism Vis-à-Vis Upcoming Israeli-Palestinian Talks

Against the backdrop of visits to the region by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told members of the PLO Executive Committee that he expected nothing from the negotiations.

Ahmadinejad's Kabul Visit On Schedule

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to visit Kabul tomorrow on an official invitation from his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai.

Ballot Box: Iraqi Elections [The Meddling Of Neighbors]

Source: Sotaliraq, March 8, 2010

Iraq Votes – Part II

Iraq's Independent Elections Commission has announced that 62.4% of eligible voters cast their ballots in the general elections held on March 7. This turnout is about 15% below the unusually turnout in the 2005 elections.

The highest turnout in the current elections was registered in the Kurdish province in Dhouk, with 80%. The Shi’a province of Misan registered the lowest rate at 50%. Baghdad province, with the largest number of seats in parliament (70/325) was second lowest with 52%.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Iran: Sanctions Will Hinder Us from Signing Uranium Exchange Deal

Iran's representative to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh, warned that sanctions would prompt his country to reject the uranium exchange deal, and called on the West to carry out the deal as proposed by Iran, namely to perform the exchange on Iranian soil.

Source: Kayhan (Iran), March 6, 2010

Ahmadinejad to Visit Afghanistan

On March 8, 2010, Iranian President Ahmadinejad will pay a one-day visit to Afghanistan, where he will meet with his counterpart, Hamid Karzai, to discuss the resolution of Afghanistan's problems and the tightening of relations between the two countries.

At a meeting with the heads of Iran's Intelligence Ministry, Ahmadinejad said that the 9/11 attacks were "a blatant lie", and that they were planned by the U.S. in order to provide it with a pretext to attack Afghanistan under the guise of combating terror.

Sources: Mehr (Iran), March 7, 2010; ILNA (Iran), March 6, 2010

Iran Ousts Russian Pilots

Iran has ordered the Russian pilots employed in its territory to leave the country within two months. This, against the backdrop of growing tension between Iran and Russia due to Moscow's apparent inclination to support further sanctions against Iran.

Source: Fars (Iran), March 6, 2010

Gul, Ahmadinejad Strengthen Relations

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart that the two countries would defend each other's positions at international forums, and emphasized the importance of tightening the relations between them and of consulting on regional and security matters.

Ahmadinejad praised Turkey's policy, expressed satisfaction about the strong ties between the countries, and said that the direction of change in the world favored their position and afforded an opportunity to establish global justice.

Source: Fars (Iran), March 6, 2010

Iranian Defense Minister: We Have Signed Non-Aggression Pacts with Gulf States

Iranian defense minister Ahmad Vahidi said that his country has signed bilateral mutual defense agreements with Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, which stipulate that the territory of each country will not be used to harm the other.

Kuwaiti sources denied this statement, but said that Kuwait has signed non-aggression pacts with friendly countries in the past, and is committed to this principle.

Source: Al-Rai (Kuwait), March 6, 2010; www.aljazeera.net, March 5, 2010

Sha'th: No progress in Negotiations Expected in present Circumstances

Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Sha'th said that the return to the negotiating table with Israel was a tactical move that was necessary but conditional. He claimed no progress in negotiations would be possible so long as the Israeli government was "stealing heritage, distorting history, and Judaizing Jerusalem."

Source: Al-Ayyam (PA), March 7, 2010

"Iraq – Preparations for the Elections"

Cartoonist: Amjad Rasmi

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), March 6, 2010

'Abbas Promotes Force 17 Commander

PA President Mahmoud 'Abbas has decided to promote Force 17 commander Mahmoud Damra, who has been incarcerated in Israel since 2006, to the rank of general.

Source: Al-Quds (Jerusalem), March 6, 2010

"Arab Elections"

Cartoonist: 'Abdallah Jaber

Source: Al-Jazirah (Saudi Arabia), March 6, 2010

Al-Jazeera, Hamas TV Interview Former British MP George Galloway; Viva Palestina's 'Lifeline 3' Convoy Meets with Hamas Rep and Rally Calling for Jihad – As U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee Chairman Calls For Investigating Viva Palestina's Finances, Special Dispatch Series - No. 2720 - December29, 2009

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Releases Statement on Jihadist Website Claiming Responsibility for Attempted Christmas Day Terrorist Attack, Special Dispatch Series- No. 2717 - December 28, 2009

From the JTTM Archives: Commander of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Wrote in October about Attacking U.S. Planes Special Dispatch Series - No. 2716 -  December 28, 2009

In Attempts to Break its Isolation, Iran Makes Creative Overtures Towards Egypt, U.S., Inquiry & Analysis Series - No. 574 - December 28, 2009

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud 'Abbas: No To Violence, Terrorism, Gunfire, or Military Intifada, Special Dispatch Series - No. 2714- December 24, 2009

If you would like to donate by mail, please send check or money order to:
	MEMRI P.O. Box 27837 Washington DC 20038
Telephone: 202.955.9070 Email: donate@memri.org

Add The MEMRI Blog to your personalized Google homepage.

Would you like to get in touch with us? Send an email to Blog@memri.org

 The MEMRI Feed

No to Violence	Terrorism Has No Religion

Visit www.noterror.info for more information.

As a reader of MEMRI, you are familiar with our continuing efforts to expand our work to monitor more media outlets in more countries, research more subjects, and translate into more languages.

At this crucial time, as the war on terror continues, with the escalation of conflicts in the Middle East, and with reformists in the region needing help to make their voices heard, we are introducing The MEMRI Blog.

The MEMRI Blog is a new service, provided by The Middle East Media Research Institute, which will operate in conjunction with MEMRI.org, MEMRITV.org, and MEMRIFilms.org.

While MEMRI regularly provides translations from editorials and sermons, as well as expert analysis, The MEMRI Blog will specifically highlight brief NEWS ITEMS from Arabic, Persian, and Turkish language media sources.