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leader's ghadir message: government legitimacy stems from concept of velayat

tehran, april 26, irna -- on the occasion of the grand eid of ghadir, the leader of the islamic revolution, ayatollah seyyed ali khamenei, said here today that the historic event guaranteeing continuation of divine guidance, was firm proof that human affairs are administered by god the almighty and it is the issue of 'velayat' which acts as a srong and firm bond between the ruler and the masses. the leader congratulated the seekers of truth around the world and the iranian nation on the divine appointment of imam ali ibn abi talib (as) as the vicegerent of prophet mohammad (sawa). elaborating on the meaning of velayat, he said, "the political philosophy of islam regarding government is based on the strong links between the rulers and people. on this basis any government which does not have such ties with the people fails to carry the concept of velayat." this applies to those who reach power through coups or hereditary succession without any merits and the genuine criteria set by islam, he added. in islam, velayat embodies reciprocal cordiality and affection between the people and the ruler, said the ayatollah. the political system of islam lays emphasis on the principle of the genuine interests of people, he said, pointing out that the commander of the faithful, ali ibn abi talib, who was the perfect embodiment of velayat discharged the duties of the divinely appointed ruler, as is evident by his blessed life which was not separated from the state of affairs of the people and their conditions for even a single moment. the event ghadir occured on 18th dhi'l-hijjah in the year 10 ah (632 ad) while the prophet was returning from the farewell pilgrimage. as recorded by scholars of every denomination including the shi'ite and sunnis, prophet mohammad (sawa) halted the 100,000-odd caravan of pilgrims and declared his cousin and son-in-law ali as his successor upon revelation of the following verse of the holy qur'an: "o messenger, deliver what has been revealed to you from your lord, and if you do it not, then you have not delivered his message; and allah will protect you from the people..." (5:67) the prophet's emphasis in his sermon that he was leaving behind the two weighty things; the book of god and his own progeny the ahl-ul-bait; and his immortal words on this occasion "mun kunto mowla fa hadha aliyun mowla (for whomsover i am master this ali is his master)" ensured the continuation of divine guidance after him. since islam is a revealed religion and since prophet mohammad (sawa) was the last and greatest of divine messengers, the all-wise almighty deemed it necessary to designate his vicegerent so as not to leave the affairs of mankind to the whims of fallible minds. upon completion of the prophet's sermon, the following verse was revealed as proof of completion of divine favours: "this day have i perfected for you your religion and completed my favours upon you..." (5:3) ayatollah khamenei elaborating upon divine favours for mankind said the legitimacy of iran's islamic system lies in ghadir, and the secret behind the might and power of the country is the strong link between the system and people. he noted that despite the plot of the americans and zionists to embroil the european union with iran, the world was witnessing the strenghty of the islamic system of iran. officials and people from various walks of life have stood firmly like mountains against the plot, and thanks to the almighty, iran's firmness and indifference towards such threats have defeated the u.s. and the zionists. the leader said that confidence, trust, bonds and kindness were some of the reciprocal features and that iranian officials and people should honour according to the concept of velayat. he expressed confidence that all enemy propaganda would prove ineffective vis-a-vis the qur'anic and divine system of the islamic republic of iran. he hoped that iran's islamic system would grab the chance to consolidate bases of islamic civilization in the country and in all the islamic lands. earlier, president akbar hashemi rafsanjani in a brief speech congratulated the audience on the auspicious occasion of ghadir and lauded the day as "historical" and a gift bestowed on the mankind by the almighty god.

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taskhiri, croatian archbishop confer

tehran, april 26, irna -- head of the islamic culture and relations organization ayatollah mohammad ali taskhiri conferred with croatian archbishop cardinal franeukoharic in zagreb on friday. taskhiri is in croatia to attend the session on islam and the west. the two sides in their meeting exchanged views on consolidating tehran-zagreb relations on the basis of respect for human rights and defence of islamic values. underlining the conception of human rights in islam, the croatian relgious figure thanked iran for its support for family values. he said, unfortunately, the contemporary world is against religion and religious scholars should strive for maintaing humanitarian values in society. in a joint tv interview, taskhiri and croatian archbishop voiced support for defending islamic values.

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iran, china to cooperate in sports and athletics

beijing, april 26, irna -- deputy director of the physical education organization of iran massoud soltanifar who is here for talks with sports officails of china said iran is about to sign a protocol of cooperation with china in the field of sports. he said he had held talks with chinese officials in that area and there were good chances for the cooperation of the two countries in that respect. the iranian official observed that china has had very good records in track and field, swimming and gymnastics among the asian countries, and added that by agreement china might delegate coaches in the three areas to help train iranian coaches and professionals in the three fields. he said also that iran was ready to help china in the field of wrestling. he added that the sports education ministry of china had a research and study center and that iran also looked forward to benefiting from the cooperation and experience of that center.

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Th confab on rainwater catchement systems winds up work

tehran, april 26, irna -- the 8th international conference on rainwater catchement systems (icrcs) wound up its 5-day work here on friday by issuing a resolution. minister of construction jihad gholamreza forouzesh said at the closing session that water and food were presented as two important issues by iranian and other scientists attending the conference. he said that despite their diversity, the water supplying methods around the world were for serving mankind, especially for those living in the arid and semi-arid areas. he expressed hope that the achievements of the conference would be of use for the benefit of mankind as a whole. talking to irna at the end of the conference, deputy construction jihad minister for education and research mohammad-taqi amanpour said the resolution of the conference stressed on application of iran's experience in the area of controllin floodwater, considering it as a big scientific achievement. he said the conference had proposed the setting up in tehran of the headquarters of the international floodwater education and research. the biennial conference also called on the united nations and the affiliated agencies to help the world countries in devising a program for rainwater catchement networks, especially the environment related networks. the 9th conference is to be held in brazil in august, 1999. addressing himself to the audience, head of the international rainwater catchement systems association (ircsa), adhyt appan, said rainwater catchement systems have various dimensions and that one should not look into the issue of water solely from the scientific point, but also from the religious and economic-social angles. appan said that ircsa viewed use of floodwater spreading method to combat desertification and promote afforestation projects. among the papers read at the conference were some on rainfall as mentioned in the qur'an, the importance of water in islam, and one on the affects of 'salaat al-istisqa' or the prayer for rain. some papers also dealt with the ancient islamic technology of the qanat system for exploiting subterranean waters.

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hojj. reyshahri returns home from hajj

tehran, april 26, irna -- the amir al-hajj of iranian pilgrims, hojjatoleslam mohammad mohammadi reyshahri, arrived here on saturday after the end of the annual hajj rituals. talking to reporters upon his return, reyshahri said that inspired by leader of islamic republic ayatollah seyed ali khamenei's guidelines, iranian officials in charge of this year's hajj had fulfilled their mission in informing muslim world of the abrahamic message of the great annual pilgrimage. reyshahri said pilgrims had raised their cry against the u.s. and israel and other pagan powers, as part of the annual rally of disavowal of disbelievers.

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iran makin' joins commercial fleet

bandar abbas (hormuzgan), april 26, irna -- the multi-purpose ship 'iran-makin' joined the iranian commercial fleet in a ceremony held here on the occasion of the auspicious feast of ghadir on friday. the 25-million dollar ship is the fifth vessel built by china for the islamic republic of iran. the 'iran makin' with a length of 174 meters and a width of 25.6 meters is designed to carry 22,600 tons of cargo with a cruise speed of 16.5 knots. the ship is also equipped with four 25-ton cranes. iran's cargo transportation capacity rose up to 90,000 tons following the ship's launching.

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2nd intl. seminar of islamic thought opens in istanbul

ankara, april 26, irna -- the second international seminar of islamic thought was inaugurated in istanbul, turkey, on friday with 100 muslim scholars and thinkers in attendance. scores of papers on differnt subjects concerning islamic thought, rationalism and philosophy have been presented to the conference. university instructor amid zanjani and a prominent teacher of the qom seminary ayatollah mesbah yazdi are representing iran at the meeting.

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nourbakhsh in washington to attend imf, wb session

tehran, april 26, irna -- iran's economic delegation, headed by governor of the central bank mohsen nourbakhsh, arrived in washington on friday to attend the spring session of the international monetary fund (imf) and the world bank (wb). the world economy and finance ministers and bank governors are attending the session to discuss important economic issues which have been put on the agenda of imf and wb.

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9th iran-china commission to convene in tehran 3rd may

beijing, april 26, irna -- the ninth iran-china economic commission is to convene in tehran on may 3, and china's deputy prime minister and member of the central commitee of the communist party, lee lanjing is to arrive in the iranian capital on the same day. during his stay in tehran, lee lanjing is to have meetings with ranking iranian government officials. a chinese delegation is now in tehran to put together the agenda for the commission. in 1996, iran and china traded as much as dlrs 700 million worth of commodities that was considerably higher than it was in the preceding year, and their mutual trade in the near future is expected to go up to dlrs one billion. china is involved in iran in connection with various infrastructural development projects as the result of agreements arrived at the eighth joint commission of the two countries. among those projects are a subway network now in progress in tehran, the building of five cement plants in addition to hydro- electrical and thermal power plants, an assembly line for glass manufacturing, a zinc-melting plant in bafq city, another ferrous alloy plant in bandar abbas and a copper melting plant in khatounabad. china has also agreed to buy an additional 50,000 bpd of iranian oil and the two countries have decided to make a joint investment for building one or two oil refineries plants in china for refining iranian crude. china's investment in the current development projects in iran adds up to dlrs. 1.36 billion.

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boroujerdi says war means further breeding of hatred among muslims

tehran, april 26, irna -- the situation in strife-torn afghanistan figured in during a meeting in northern afghanistan on friday night between visiting iranian deputy foreign minister for asia-pacific affairs, alaeddin boroujerdi, and head of the central council of afghanistan's harakat-i islami, hojjatoleslam mohammad ali javid. hoj. javid said afghanistan was in need of peace and tranquility more than at any other time. he said the afghan nation had lost many facilities over the preceding years and needed long years and huge capital to emerge from its ruins. he underlined the need for unity and solidarity between the afghan people. boroujerdi for his part, underlined immediate end of hostilities in afghanistan and said war meant further hatred among the afghan people, because continuation of clashes results in more loss of life. he underlined the need for holding of peace talks by all afghan groups and wings.

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iran ready to continue with its peace efforts in afghanistan

tehran, april 26, irna -- iran's deputy foreign minister for asia- pacific affairs, alaeddin boroujerdi, and leader of afghanistan's ismaili community, seyyed mansour naderi, on friday exchanged views in northern afghanistan on the latest developments in the country. naderi said the enemies of the afghan people had imposed a war on the nation but the friends of afghan muslims were trying to end it. he said afghans would never accept domination of any single group on the country and would continue with their sacred defence. he called on all friendly countries to condemn the war-mongering policies in afghanistan. boroujerdi voiced iran's support for any step taken in favour of peace and said that every passing day without peace and tranquility, is deterimental to the afghan people and would complicate the efforts for finding a political solution. he said afghanistan requires a broad-based government in view of the different ethnic groups that make up the country and that any monopoly of power would disturb peace and tranquility. he said iran is ready to continue with its peace efforts and would host another session in this regard.

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boroujerdi says end of afghan crisis possible through negotiations

tehran, april 26, irna -- deputy foreign minister for asia-pacific affairs alaeddin boroujerdi arrived in panjshir of afghanistan on friday and was welcomed by chief army commander of the region ahmad shah masood. the two sides in their meeting exchanged views on the latest developments in afghanistan and studied a political solution for settling the current disputes. masood said that those thinking that they can dominate afghanistan through wars, have found out their mistakes today. he said afghanistan belonged to all afghans and a single group can not rule it. the supreme council for defence of afghanistan, vowed mosoud, will defend the interests of the afghan people with all its might if the enemies insist on their war-mongering policies. he underlined the need for settling afghan issues through political means. boroujerdi, regretting the continuation of war and conflict in afghanistan, outlined iran's peace seeking policies in the region. he said that peace and calm in afghanistan, was a necessity not only for the country but for the entire region. iran will spare no efforts to help settle the afghan crisis, said the iranian official. he said the first condition on cessation of the afghan crisis was mutual understanding in afghanistan, which is possible through political negotiations. he said iran's foreign policy vis-a-vis afghanistan was based on making efforts for peace and shipment of humanitarian assistance to the afghan muslim people.

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1st conference of eco news agencies opens

tehran, april 26, irna -- the first session of the managing directors of news agencies of member countries of the economic cooperation organization's (eco) was inaugurated here on saturday with a speech by managing director of the islamic republic news agency (irna) fereydoun verdinejad. verdinejad underlined the need for expansion of regional cooperation and said that speedy circulation of information, especially in the areas of economy and trade, would serve as a factor for expansion of cooperation among countries. secretary general of eco, oundar ouza, thanked irna for its organizing the meeting and said the eco secretariate was hopeful of expansion of cooperation among member countries in the area of information dissemination. managing director of turkey's anatolian news agencies, ekrem kara ismail oglu, said that facilitating the exchange of information was a need felt by all members, therefore, efforts should be made in that concern. the managing directors of eco news agencies are to exchange views on the article of association of setting up a pool and on the quality of mutual cooperation at the two-day meeting. they are also to explore ways and means of establishing an economic data dissemination network and of upgrading cooperation.

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president rafsanjani inaugurates 10th int'l tehran book fair

tehran, april 26, irna -- president hojjatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani here saturday inaugurated the 10th tehran international book fair. earlier today, he also inaugurated the fourth print media exhibition and the fifth international information network. in his inaugural address at the at the 10th international book fair in tehran he said that illiteracy and ignorance has always served the purposes of the colonialists and global arrogance, and that in contrast knowledge and learning has always protected the human communities. he said: "the societal environment should be improved better than in the past so that the creative thoughts of the men of letters and of authors of ideas may find better outlets without being worried about its implications. to build up an environment for the activity of authors of ideas, and men of letters, communication of information is the best device for protecting societies against the cultural onrush of the enemies of nations because monopolists and the big bullies of the world have a better chance for infiltrating the unlearned and the poorly-informed societies. "the popularity of cultural and scientific exhibitions in iran as a firm support for efforts and scholarship in the arena of culture and sciences is evidence of the vitality and pride of islamic iran... the evolutionary character of the march forward in the area of national culture augurs well of a better future... "the 18.5 per cent growth in the publishing of books nationwide is a vivid indication of the special attention of the people and public officials to science and learning in the islamic iran... "the govrenment shall do all it can to remove any possible bottleneck that might exist in the business of authorship, scholarship and publishing, and the policy shall be permanent." in the ceremony, the president handed awards to leading publishers for the iranian calendar year 1375 (march 1996-march 1997), and also visited a number of stalls at the international book fair. the book fair was inaugurated on the auspicious anniversary of the historic event of ghadir, the day when prophet mohammad (sawa) upon divine commandments declared his cousin and son-in-law, ali ibn abi taleb (as) as his vicegerent. minister of culture and islamic guidance seyyed mostafa mir-salim said at the same ceremony that the national information system would have to be improved as a prerequisite for improving publications in iran. alireza barazesh, cultural deputy of the culture and islamic guidance minister said at the ceremony that 13,000 titles totalling 73 million copies of books had been printed in iran between march 21, 1996 and march 21, 1997 which, he said, was up by 18.5 per cent as commpared to the previous year. he said before the triumph of the islamic revolution in iran the number of titles printed in iran was 2,200 at its highest, whereas in the year 1370 (march 1991-march 1992) there were 7,500 titles. the tenth international book fair in tehran has 20 sections that occupy 55 halls with an under-roof area of about 65,000 square meters. the book fair displays 35,000 titles in more than one thousand stalls by iranian publishers in addition to 40,000 titles by 360 leading publishers of 28 world countries. the deputy minister of culture and islamic guidance said that in the iranian year 1375 as many as 119 licenses had been issued to new publishers, and that 48 new newspapers and other periodicals had started. at the end of the 10th international book fair in tehran the names of winners of awards for best pieces of journalism based on the sample of their works sent to the fourth journalism festival will be announced.

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kharrazi calls on un general assembly to condemn israeli lawlessness

united nations hq. (new york), april 26, irna -- iran's permanent envoy to the united nations, dr. seyyed kamal kharrzai, blasted the expansionist and suppressive acts of the zionist regime in occupied palestine, especially in eastern part holy qods, calling on the un general assembly to take steps for ending such illegal measures. kharrazi, speaking at the emergency session of the general assembly, said the holding of the session for surveying the expansionist policies of the zionist entity in palestine and holy qods indicated the concern and deep anger of un members. he said the members' anger was not only against israel's continued ignoring of the views of the international community but also against the measure of one of the permanent members of the security council that prevents decision-making by the body. kharrazi was refering to washington's vetoing of the resolution against israel's decision to build new settlements in holy qods. the u.s. twice vetoed u.n. security council resolutions against israel last march. without doubt, said the iranian envoy, the veoting of the resolution against the illegal acts of israel was not good either for the credibility of the u.n. for for law and justice. he said several u.n. reports and documents including the reports of the special committee for monitoring israel's suppression of the rights of palestinians in the occupied land, were sufficient proof to the atrocities of the zionists. the regime unlawfully arrests and shoots palestinians, besides destroying their homes, he added. he continued that confiscation of lands, construction of jewish settlements and resort to merciless force and intimidation as well as explusion of palestinians over the past decades has been part of the zionist deisgns to strengthen their occupation of palestinian lands. figures showed that the number of zionists settled in the new townships are more than at any other time and this indicates the double-standards of israel's wicked policy of pretending peace but seizing more and more arab lands, he said. kharrazi pointed that the policy for expansion of jewish settlements was in harmony with israel's long-term judaization strategy and with its attempt to bring about a change in the demography of palestine, holy qods in particular. he said iran's stance vis-a-vis the issue of palestine was crystal clear and iranian officials well understood that efforts are underway to solve the issue of palestine under any condition. however, he added, the general assembly should condemn and reject the zionist regime's illegal policies especially in holy qods.

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iranian envoy condemns remarks of dutch envoy to un

united nations hqs (new york), april 26, irna -- deputy permanent representative of iran at the world body, majid takht-ravanchi, in a letter sent to the un secretary general kofi annan on friday dismissed the berlin court's recent allegations against iran, calling the stance of the european union's presidency against as "baseless and impudent." the letter considered condemnation of such allegations as necessary because it marred the aspiration for peace and global security. takht-ravanchi also refuted the allegations sent in a note to annan by holland's permanent envoy to the u.n. the iranian official considered the dutch official's action as a blatant violation of the fundamental principles of international laws, especially the principle of equality, sovereign rights, non-intervention in others' internal affairs and legal immunity.

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mirsalim: iranian calligraphic works influenced other countries

tehran, april 26, irna -- culture and islamic guidance minister seyyed mostafa mir-salim said here at the islamic world calligraphy festival on friday that works of iranian calligraphers' had left deep impact on the art of calligraphy in other muslim lands. mirsalim said that other fields pertinent to islamic arts like architecture also bear an iranian imprint to the effect that art historians have called iran as the centre of islamic arts and civilization.

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5th intl. children, young adults photo festival opens

zahedan (sistan-baluchestan), april 26, irna -- the fifth international children and young adults photo festival was inaugurated in this southeastern provincial capital on friday. secretary of the festival gholamreza sharifzadeh said at the inaugural ceremony that a total of 100 works by 84 cameramen had been sent to the secretariate of the 20-day festival. the festival includes three sections.

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iran wins 4th intl. teenage wrestling contest

mahmoudabad (mazandaran), april 26, irna -- iran was crowned champion at the fourth international martyr nateq-nouri cup for teenage wrestlers. eight iranian and two teams from armenia and japan took part in the two-day contest.