Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a message to Ivan Gasparovic extended his congratulations to the Slovakian president, government and nation on the country’s national day.

“It is possible and we can,” said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the banners above Zahedan, vowing to breathe life into this under-developed arid city in southeastern Iran.

Indonesia’s State-run electricity firm PLN said Monday it was sounding out the possibility of securing liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from Iran to meet the surge in gas demand from its power plants.

Officials from a German symphony orchestra scheduled to play a concert in Tehran this week expressed hope Monday that the visit would improve cultural ties between the two countries.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel stressed here on Monday that Tehran would never give up even an iota of its nuclear rights.

Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned caretaker of Sweden’s embassy in Tehran on Monday to condemn printing of a blasphemous photo of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in a Swedish daily.

The United Nations’ residing coordinator in the Islamic Republic of Iran stressed that the US sanctions against Tehran could not prevent the world body from cooperating with Iran.

The United States is not in a position to threaten the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a prominent Iranian lawmaker said, reminding that IRGC is a powerful force with millions of members and supporters.

South Korea’s outgoing Ambassador to Iran Eim Hung-Jee noted the growth in the two countries’ industrial and economic exchanges, and underlined that Seoul attaches much significance to the expansion and reinvigoration of ties with Tehran.

The second meeting of the sports ministers of Asian countries will be held in Iran in 2008.