Middle Orient

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, in a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki on Thursday voiced pleasure with the release of the 15 British troops and described it as a wise decision.

Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani during a phone talk with EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana voiced Tehran’s preparedness to attend talks with the West, an informed source at the Secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Mian Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri voiced pleasure with Iran’s insight into the case of the British troops, and praised the Islamic Republic’s decision about the issue.

An Iranian MP said President Ahmadinejad’s decision to pardon the British troop proved Iran’s role in international issues and displayed the Islamic Republic’s might and authority.

Iranian Intelligence Minister said that the foreign ministry has made continued efforts to set free the five Iranian diplomats kidnapped during a raid by the US on Iran’s consulate general in Iraq’s northern city of Erbil, adding that Americans have remained unresponsive to Iran’s demands in this regard.

 UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, in a phone conversation with Iranian President on Wednesday, appreciated Ahmadinejad for pardoning the 15 British troops.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel in a meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad on Wednesday said that further reinvigoration and expansion of Tehran-Islamabad relations would serve the interests of the Muslim and regional countries.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel in a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad on Wednesday described beliefs of the Islamic Ummah (nation) as the main element underlying the strong relations between Iran and Pakistan.

 The South Asian regional grouping SAARC approved observer status for Iran alongside the United States and the European Union, an Indian minister said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here on Wednesday issued the required orders for the release of the 15 British troops arrested on March 23rd after trespassing on Iran’s territorial waters.