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Iran speaker warns nuclear agency A large majority of MPs backed Mr Larijani for the influential speaker role Iran's new parliament speaker has warned that it could set limits on future co-operation with the United Nation's nuclear agency, the IAEA. Former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said parts of the agency's latest report on Tehran's nuclear programme had been "deceitful" and "ambiguous". Mr Larijani spoke moments after being overwhelmingly voted in as speaker by the conservative-dominated parliament. The IAEA recently voiced "serious concern" about Iran's nuclear work. The agency's latest report, issued on Monday, said it believed Iran may be...

Members of the eighth Majlis elected Ali Larijani, representative of the holy city of Qom, as the provisional speaker of the Iranian parliament on Wednesday. The 8th Majlis was inaugurated on Tuesday with a message of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei. Out of a total of 263 votes, Larijani, the single candidate for the post, won 232 ballots. Larijani had previously served as Iran's top nuclear negotiator. Majlis provisional presiding board would also be elected today. The board would continue its work until credentials of all MPs are confirmed by the legislative body.

Meetings between Larijani and Sarkozy in Egypt ---- Iranian dissident group SMCCDI reports that French President Nicholas Sarkozy met secretly with Islamic Republic regime’s Ali Larijiani in Egypt. Sarkozy is spending holidays in Egypt with his new girlfriend, former Italian model Carla Bruni. Meetings between Larijani and Sarkozy in Egypt SMCCDI - Special Report Dec 30, 2007 Several secret and non official meetings have taken place, in the last days, between the Islamic regime's Ali Larijani and the French President Nicolas Sarkosy in Egypt. These meetings have taken place due to the intermediation of the Egyptian Government and following several...

Ali Larijani's resignation is a complete surprise, and very significant. As Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, he has been a key figure in attempts to broker a compromise with the West over Iran's nuclear programme. His departure could be the start of a major shift in policy. It is an open secret in Tehran that Mr Larijani has had big differences with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over how to proceed over the nuclear programme. Like almost everyone in Iran, Mr Larijani supports the programme. He is certainly no "liberal", even in Iranian terms. He stood for president at the last election, a...

Why Did Larijani Resign? October 22, 2007 National Review Online Michael Ledeen The mullahologists are all atwitter over the “meaning” of the surprise resignation of one of Iran’s most public officials, chief nuclear negotiator and national-security council chief Ali Larijani. It must mean something, mustn’t it? This is a major figure in the Islamic Republic, who has long harbored presidential ambitions, and has played a key role in some of the regime’s most important policies. He was minister of culture, then head of state broadcasting, then secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. If such a powerful figure steps down...

Iran's top nuclear negotiator resigns By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer The Iranian government announced Saturday that its top nuclear negotiator had resigned, a move seen as a victory for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that could bring about an even tougher stance in ongoing talks. Government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham, said Saeed Jalili, a little-known deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, was to succeed Ali Larijani as lead negotiator effective immediately. Larijani in many cases held a hardline view on the nuclear standoff between Iran and the West but was also considered to be a more moderate...

via translation - The chief negotiator of the Iranian nuclear resigned TEHRAN - The main responsibility for the Iranian nuclear file, Ali Larijani, has resigned, announced Saturday the official IRNA agency. "Larijani had submitted his resignation several times and the president (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) has finally accepted," said government spokesperson quoted by the agency. "The appointment of the replacement of Larijani is under consideration," said IRNA quoting the same charge.

Tehran's nuclear programme has reached such an advanced stage that talk of suspending uranium enrichment - a key demand by the United Nations - has become futile, Ali Larijani, Iran's top security and nuclear official, yesterday said. Explaining last week's statement by Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iranian president, that the nuclear file was "closed", Mr Larijani suggested Iran had now -created a situation on the ground that could not be reversed. "From a technical point of view we have reached a stage that no one can take away what we've achieved. This status cannot be ignored. I'm surprised to hear suspension is...

Larijani to meet Solana on Iran nuclear program Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST Apr. 20, 2007 The top negotiators for Iran and the major powers seeking to halt parts of its nuclear program are to meet Wednesday for the first time since February to assess the possibility of resuming negotiations, a European Union official said Friday. "The principle for the meeting is established. It will seek to see whether we can resume negotiations," said a European Union official, on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly. No further details for the meeting between EU foreign...

January 11, 2007: A US led raid on a consular office in Irbil, Iraq leads to the capture of six Iranians including(link): Hassan Abbassi, a strategist “close to” President Ahmedinejad and the only individual with any diplomatic credentials.Mohammad Jaafari, an aid to National Security advisor Ali Larijani Jalal Sharifi, a professional intelligence officer. Brig. Gen. Mohammad Djafari Sahraroudi, a Kurdish affairs expert wanted by Interpol Mojhadi Safderi, two Revolutionary Guard officers (link).One of the six, (Hassan?) is released. The other five remain in custody.

Iran has threatened to respond with military action if the United States attacks the country to destroy Tehran's nuclear program. That statement was attributed to secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani by IRNA, the Islamic Republic News Agency. “Any [U.S.] military action would have military response,” Larijani said. Larijani announced at the end of last month that Iran will respond positively to U.S. proposals of negotiations through official channels, but it will not accept any preliminary conditions. He emphasized that U.S. demands that Iran stop enriching uranium before negotiations begin are unacceptable. Larijani also noted that Iranian...

Envoy: Iran poses no threat to Israel By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press MUNICH, Germany - Iran's nuclear program is not a threat to Israel and the country is prepared to settle all outstanding issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency within three weeks, its top nuclear negotiator said Sunday. Ali Larijani, speaking at a forum that gathered the world's top security officials, said Iran doesn't have aggressive intentions toward any nation. "That Iran is willing to threaten Israel is wrong," Larijani said. "We pose no threat and if we are conducting nuclear research and development we are no threat to...

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's chief nuclear negotiator canceled on Friday a trip to a conference in Germany where U.N. officials had hoped talks with European policy makers would secure a "time out" in a row over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. "We have heard that Mr (Ali) Larijani will not be coming to the conference due to illness," Horst Teltschik, chief organizer of the Munich Security Conference, told Reuters. Earlier, the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei urged Iran and the West to avoid "an uncontrolled chain reaction" toward conflict and said he hoped a solution would be found at Munich talks.

MUST READ - James Baker Works to Establish Direct Diplomatic USA - Iran Ties Former US Secretary of State Baker Attempts to Bypass Bush White House on Iran Defense & Foreign Affairs Analysis. By Gregory R. Copley, Editor, GIS. Former US Secretary of State James Baker, who co-chaired the recent US Iraq Study Group — the main recommendations of which were rejected by the George W. Bush Administration — is working indirectly and behind the scenes to bring about direct diplomatic ties between the US and Iran. This is in defiance of Bush White House policy which essentially has said...

Russia on Friday cast new doubt on the prospects for the Bush administration’s efforts to punish Iran for refusing to suspend its nuclear program, even as European leaders expressed wariness at moving quickly to impose sanctions. In Moscow, officials expressed regret that an Aug. 31 deadline had passed without an agreement by Iran to halt its efforts to enrich uranium that could be used for building nuclear weapons, as American and European officials believe Iran intends to do.

Mr Larijani has a daunting reputation as the dour former head of state television whose program schedules were both morally edifying and utterly tedious. His appointment by Mr Ahmadinejad was seen in the West as representing an ominous shift towards recalcitrance. But in person he is charming. "There are many reasons why Iran is seeking nuclear power," he says. "The history of our nuclear activity dates back 45 years to the time of the ex-shah's regime. But after the Islamic revolution, some Western countries condemned Iran and cancelled their nuclear agreements with us. For example, the Americans had concluded an...

Excerpt - TEHRAN (AP)--Iran said Tuesday it intends to meet a self-imposed deadline to formally respond later in the day to a Western incentives package aimed at persuading it to suspend its uranium enrichment program, state television reported. "Iran will respond in writing today to the package of incentives proposed by the West," the station said but gave no further details. On Monday, Iran turned away International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from an underground site meant to shelter its uranium enrichment program from attack. Its top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared Monday that Tehran will continue to pursue its nuclear...

London, Aug. 16 – Iran masterminded the July 12 attack on an Israeli military squad by the Lebanese militia Hezbollah which ignited a major military offensive against the group by the Jewish state, Iran Focus has learnt. A well-placed source inside the clerical establishment told Iran Focus that prior to the start of hostilities Tehran dispatched several top officials including the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to attend a summit in Syria which took place on July 4 and focused on ways to upset the regional balance in the Middle East. Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of...

Tehran, July 5, IRNA Iranian delegation led by Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani cancelled a visit to Brussels on Wednesday for security reasons. "Following reports on formation of terrorist squads in Brussels by Israel and certain European states for assassination attempts on members of the Iranian delegation scheduled to visit Brussels on Wednesday, the Iranian delegation cancelled the visit," a security official told IRNA. He said that the European partner gave assurances about security of the Iranian delegation and the visit will take place on July 11. The official said that the European Union Foreign...

The head of an exiled Iranian opposition group accused Western nations on Wednesday of appeasing Tehran with incentives to halt uranium enrichment that she compared to moves to placate Hitler before World War Two. Maryam Rajavi, leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, said she had clear indications that Tehran would not give up its enrichment activities and that diplomatic efforts by the European Union and the United States to avert a crisis were only rewarding the Tehran government's strategies. "The further they move forward, the more concessions the West is making," Rajavi told a news conference...