Baghdad agrees to free 110 Iranian prisoners

06 December 2010 | 14:57 Code : 9548 General category

Tehran Times –- The Iranian ambassador to Baghdad announced on Sunday that Iraq has agreed to free 110 Iranian prisoners and the process to release them is underway.

Hassan Danaeefar said he raised the issue in his meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talebani and the president pledged to help expedite the freedom of prisoners.

Some Iranians who go to Iraq as pilgrims are being jailed for illegal entry and some others are in prison for drug abuse, Danaeefar told the Mehr News Agency.

He added Iraqi authorities have promised to free such types of prisoners.

However, he said some Iranians are jailed for drug smuggling and Iraq does not seem to free them

Iran to Export Liquefied Gas to Argentina, Cuba, Press TV Says

Bloom Berg--Iran plans to export liquefied natural gas to Argentina and Cuba as part of a joint venture with Venezuela, state-run Press TV reported, citing a top industry official.

Venezuela has long-term contracts to supply natural gas to Argentina and Cuba by 2013, said Ali Kheir-Andish, the managing director of Iran LNG Co., a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Co.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA has a 10 percent share in Iran’s LNG project and under the agreement part of the gas needed by Venezuela and Cuba will come from the Persian Gulf country, the news channel said in a report on its website late yesterday.

The construction of Iran’s LNG plant at Tombak Port in the southern province of Bushehr, which will be connected to the country’s South Pars gas field, is 40 percent complete, Press TV cited Kheir-Andish as saying.

Iran Talks: Strong Rhetoric, Low Expectations

NPR-- Iran and six world powers are heading into negotiations about the country’s nuclear program Monday with low expectations, at odds on what to talk about and with tensions high over the assassination of one of Tehran’s most prominent scientists.

The talks in Geneva — the first in over a year — are meant to ease concerns over Iran’s nuclear agenda. Tehran says it does not want atomic arms, but as it builds on its capacity to make such weapons, neither Israel nor the U.S. have ruled out military action if Tehran fails to heed U.N. Security Council demands to freeze key nuclear programs.

Iran’s bold stance was highlighted Sunday, when it announced it had delivered its first domestically mined raw uranium to a processing facility, claiming it is now self-sufficient over the entire nuclear fuel cycle.

A senior diplomat in Vienna who is familiar with the issue said the move was expected and mainly symbolic. Still, the timing of the announcement was significant in signaling just a day ahead of the Geneva talks that Tehran was unlikely to meet international demands that it curb its nuclear activities.

Over two planned days, Saeed Jalili, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, will meet with EU foreign affairs Chief Catherine Ashton, with Ashton’s office saying she will act "on behalf" of the U.S., China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany. In fact, senior officials for those six powers will attend and do much of the talking with Tehran.

Chances of meaningful progress were low even before the assassination late last month of a prominent nuclear scientist and the wounding of another further clouded hopes of success at the talks.

Jalili called the killing a "disgrace" for the Security Council on Saturday, claiming the attacks were linked to efforts to implement international sanctions. He did not elaborate.

Still, the expected presence of Ali Bagheri reflects the importance Iran attaches to the meeting. Officials familiar with the composition of the Iranian delegation say Bagheri has a direct line to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Western officials urged Tehran to meet international concerns about its nuclear activities.

Invoking possible military confrontation over Iran’s nuclear defiance, British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said Saturday that the Geneva talks need to make a serious start toward resolving the issue.

"We want a negotiated solution, not a military one — but Iran needs to work with us to achieve that outcome," he said. "We will not look away or back down."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it was up to Iran to restore trust about its nuclear intentions, urging it to come to Geneva prepared to "firmly, conclusively reject the pursuit of nuclear weapons." Continued…

Bloom Berg--Iran plans to export liquefied natural gas to Argentina and Cuba as part of a joint venture with Venezuela, state-run Press TV reported, citing a top industry official.

Venezuela has long-term contracts to supply natural gas to Argentina and Cuba by 2013, said Ali Kheir-Andish, the managing director of Iran LNG Co., a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Co.