Iran’s parliament speaker has advised the US president to “do something about” his secretary of state because she is jeopardizing US interests.

“Mr. Obama you should do something about your secretary of state before it’s too late. It seems like she is still stuck in election rivalries. She is harming US national interests,” Ali Larijani said in Majlis (Iran’s parliament) on Sunday.

Larijani was referring to recent hostile and quite ironical comments made by Hillary Rodham Clinton during her visit to Saudi Arabia about Iran turning into a “military dictatorship.”

Larijani said that Clinton’s outburst proved that US politicians were not able to tolerate the humiliation they felt after February 11 rallies marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution drew huge turn-outs in Iran.

“[The rallies] made US politicians restless. They could not bear it, so they started embarking on trips to the region to create some sort of artificial awe for themselves,” he said.

“However, the political forgetfulness that these kamikaze diplomats demonstrate is sad. Till just a few days ago they were talking of fighting the Islamic Republic and allocating funds to projects that aimed to destabilize the system.”

“But suddenly, in their recent tour, they started worrying about the possibility of Iran’s administration, leadership, and parliament being replaced by a military dictatorship,” he added, mocking Clinton’s words.

Clinton’s take on the situation in Iran drew quite different reactions.

She got some criticism for the irony and hypocrisy of talking about the threat of an Iranian military dictatorship in Saudi Arabia, a country that it is seen a leading example of military dictatorship in the Middle East and beyond.

Elections are an extremely rare event in the US-allied Saudi kingdom. However, it is not often that the ruling family is scrutinized by Western powers about its lack of inclination to move towards democracy, although it is what the US says it aims to bring to the Middle East.

While Clinton was criticized by some, her Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al Faisal, however, was quick to rush to her support by telling reporters that the so-called threat posed by Iran actually demanded a “more immediate solution” than sanctions.

During his Sunday speech, Larijani commented on the Saudi position and said that it was “unfortunate” to see an official in one of the regional Arab states fall for US lobbying in the region.

“He [Prince Saud al Faisal] immediately started to talk about the need to take speedy action about the ‘threat’ posed by Iran,” he said.

He then asked Saudi officials why they chose to “tie their reputation to US arrogance.”

“They will pay you the same amount of attention they paid the Shah of Iran to take advantage of his position.”

“You are sacrificing Islamic cooperation for the exploits of a country that is looking a way to save itself from the quagmire that its mistakes have created in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Lebanon” he concluded.

The military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine has warned that armed Palestinian groups will confront Israel if its attacks on Gaza continue.

The remark was made by an Al-Quds Brigades spokesman on Friday.

According to Palestinian fighters, Israel is attempting to provoke violence by stepping up attacks on the Gaza Strip.

The warning comes after Israeli warplanes bombed several parts of the impoverished territory early on Friday.

At least three Palestinians were killed and several more injured in the overnight Israeli airstrike on Gaza.

According to an Israeli TV channel, Tel Aviv is planning a massive attack, which it plans to follow up with the occupation of Gaza.

Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has urged Muslims to be vigilant against the “borderless Israeli greed and brutality.”

“Israel is an entity that has stolen Palestine and Jerusalem Al-Quds. This entity’s greed, terrorism and brutality have no borders,” said Nasrallah who was addressing thousands of people in Beirut on Sunday as part of ceremonies held to mark the Ashura anniversary.

“Millions of refugees in Palestine and outside Palestine have been living far away from their homes for decades. More than 11,000 prisoners and detainees are living in very harsh conditions in Israeli prisons,” he noted.

“[Palestinian] houses are being demolished and agriculture is being destroyed in order to force Palestinians to flee,” Nasrallah said.

Nasrallah also condemned the “US hegemony” in the Middle East.

He said that “threats against Arabs and Muslims are presented by the American hegemony and its plan to take control of the region.”

“We call on the [Islamic] Ummah to show vigilance against the real nature of the hegemony and not be tricked by the rhetoric and pledges of freedom, democracy and human rights,” the Hezbollah chief added.

“We condemn the American plots and the crimes committed by the US administration in Iraq and Afghanistan and we condemn the US participation in Israeli crimes in Palestine and Lebanon,” Press TV quoted Nasrallah as saying.

The Hezbollah Secretary General went on to add that the oppressed nations will achieve victory against the “American hegemony.”

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia have discussed Iran’s nuclear issue in Riyadh.

The two countries’ top officials on Tuesday also talked about the latest issues of the Muslim world as well as Saudi-Egyptian cooperation, Fars news agency reported.

The latest regional and international developments, including Palestine, Persian Gulf security, Iraq, Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran were on their agenda.

Mubarak’s trip to Riyadh comes after he held talks with the Iranian Parliament speaker Ali Larijani on Sunday in Cairo.

Larijani departed for Cairo on Sunday morning to take part in a committee meeting for the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC) along with other delegates from Turkey, Kuwait, Niger, Azerbaijan, and Uganda, as well as the host country.

In Cairo, Larijani said Tehran and Cairo should put aside their differences particularly with regards to the Palestinian issue.

“It is most important for Iran and Egypt to set aside their differences and to focus on bridging the gap between political factions in Palestine,” he made the remarks in a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The Egyptian president is scheduled to travel to Kuwait after his two-day stay in Riyadh.

The European Union says it will discuss Palestine’s demand to be recognized by the UN as an independent state, but has described the proposal as “premature”.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, told reporters in Brussels that EU foreign ministers would discuss more support for the Palestinians at a meeting on Tuesday but said it was premature to discuss the recognition of a Palestinian state.

“I hope we would be in a position to recognize a Palestinian state but there has to be one first. So I think that is a bit premature… We would be ready to recognize a Palestinian state but conditions are not there as of yet,” Bildt said.

The Palestinian Authority officials said earlier that they intend to seek support from the UN Security Council (UNSC) to recognize an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza with Jerusalem (Al-Quds) as its capital.

“We are discussing other steps in order to demonstrate our support for the Palestinian aspirations more clearly than we have done so far, and clearly there is a need for that,” Bildt said.

Israel however warned that declaring a state without concluding a peace agreement would lead to Israeli counter-measures that could include annexation of more of the occupied West Bank.

Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement Ramadan Abdallah Shalah said on Friday the Palestinian Authority (PA) of Mahmoud Abbas could not impose its thoughts on the Palestinian nation or introduce its plans as national plans.

Speaking at the anniversary ceremony of the movement’s establishment at Yarmouk camp in Syria, he said at the best situation Fatah Movement would be able to attract only 30 percent of the Palestinian public opinion so it is not allowed to offer its thoughts as Palestine’s national plan.

He criticized some PA officials including Mahmoud Abbas for their reliance on the West’s so-called peace plans, adding that according to the Oslo peace agreements, the so-called independent Palestinian government should have been established last May.

“But the occupying regime’s expansionary policies and settlement buildings during the past 16 years has made it impossible to talk about establishing an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,” he added.

“Palestinian national plan should be in accordance with the will of people who want freedom of their lands and establishment of an independent Palestine with Quds as its capital,” he said describing resistance as the only way to gain the goal.

In another part of his remarks, Ramadan Abdallah criticized certain Arab officials who call resistance as an adventurous act, saying that resistance against the occupying Zionists is a religious and national duty.

He also ridiculed Arab officials who at the one hand have designated ‘reconciliation with the Zionist regime’ as their strategic goal and at other hand put independent countries such as Iran and Syria under pressure for supporting resistance fighters by accusing them of interfering in the Palestinian internal affairs.

Touching on Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to quit his post as head of Palestinian Authority, Abdallah urged him to announce transparently that the peace talks with Israel have failed, noting that saving the Palestinian nation is more important than personal interests.

Israeli tanks have shelled a house in the east of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, leaving at least two people wounded.

The attack, which came on late Friday, caused panic among Palestinian families living in the vicinity, a Press TV correspondent reported.

An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed the attack, saying “a suspicious figure was spotted by our forces” near the barrier separating Gaza from the occupied West Bank, AFP said.

In January, the Zionist army launched a massive military offensive against the populated coastal sliver, killing more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and many thousands more wounded.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that unity among Islamic countries, and particularly among Persian Gulf states, would definitely make the situation difficult for the Zionist regime.

Ahmadinejad made the remarks on Thursday in a meeting with visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifa Al-Thani.

The two heads of state also discussed ways to expand relations in all areas.

Ahmadinejad said Tehran-Doha ties are based on “mutual respect, trust, and brotherhood.”

He pointed to the improved political relations between the two countries but noted that they should also make efforts to increase cooperation in other areas.

The good relationship between Iran and Qatar will benefit both nations as well as the entire region, the president opined.

The Qatari emir described relations between the two countries as strategic, saying, “This strategy will not change.”

He also said that Doha wants Tehran to strengthen its ties with Persian Gulf Cooperation Council states and that Qatar is ready to help Iran in this regard.

And protecting the interests of Islamic nations is the common goal of Tehran and Doha, the Qatari emir noted.

Negotiation best way to promote regional security

In a separate meeting with the Qatari emir on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that regional countries should hold talks and reach a consensus on regional issues in order thwart certain countries’ efforts to sow discord between them.

Arranging talks between regional nations is the best way to promote security in the region, Mottaki observed.

Pointing to the critical situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, he criticized certain foreign elements for promoting terrorism and extremism in the region.

Commenting on the crises in Palestine, Gaza and Lebanon, he said if an appropriate strategy is not formulated to resolve the crises, the situation will become worse.

The two sides also discussed ways to improve bilateral ties and cooperation on international issues.

Mottaki said that the Iranian and Qatari private sectors should utilize their great potential to help expand bilateral cooperation in trade, industrial, and infrastructure projects.

The Qatari emir stressed the importance of talks between the two countries for the promotion of bilateral cooperation.

And the two countries should find ways to strengthen their regional and bilateral relations, he added.

IRI Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in a meeting with Head of Iraqi National Unity Movement Ayad Alavi underlined the necessity of vigilance against enemies’ plots in sowing discord among regional countries through creation of internal differences.

Larijani expressed satisfaction on consolidation of ties between the two countries and stressed for further expansion of ties between Iran and Iraq.

Larijani pointed to Iran’s services to Iraq in the field of energy and electricity and said,” Tehran announces its readiness for expansion of cooperation in the field of technical and engineering affairs.”

The Speaker also invited Ayad Alavi to visit Iran for further negotiation in this regard.

Alavi for his part underlined the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the region and said,” Iran is capable of handling various challenges in the region.”

He termed the US policies in the region as futile and asserted recent crises in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Palestine is the result of such policies.

Alavi underlined expansion of ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq and voiced hope for visiting Iran very soon.

A member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement said Friday that noting the current situation, we could not rely on the promises of the American government.

Muhammad al-Hendi said even those who tend to rely on the US promises have understood they were wrong.

“It is expected that every Palestinian official regardless of his rank or position say clearly we reached a dead end in our negotiation (with Zionist regime) after several years,” he urged.

He also said that Mahmoud Abbas claim that he would not participate in the next elections was a result of his ineffective methods and policies.

The military wing of the Islamic resistance movement (Hamas) says it is fully prepared to save Palestinian nation from harm should the next conflict with the Israel army erupts.

“In any next confrontation with the Zionist army, the Brigades will not keep silent; we will take any measure to protect the Palestinian people,” Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades Abu Obeida stated.

Abu Obeida’s comments came in response to the recent remarks by Israeli chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, who said on Tuesday that Israel would wage a next battle on Gaza Strip that would include confrontations in the densely-populated areas.

Ashkenazi added that his troops would resume their attacks on densely populated areas, villages, cities, mosques, hospitals, kindergartens and schools because the enemies want to impose this way of fighting on Israel.

“These proclamations indicate that the Zionist entity does not commit itself to the international principles. Therefore, we have the right to protect the Palestinian civilians if the international community fails to do so,” the Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman concluded.

IRI’s Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazai said a draft resolution put forward by the UN Human Rights Council over the Zionist regime’s crimes would provide an opportunity for the UN to bring the regime’s officials to court as war criminals.

IRI’s Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazai said a draft resolution put forward by the UN Human Rights Council over the Zionist regime’s crimes would provide an opportunity for the UN to bring the regime’s officials to court as war criminals.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Khazai welcomed the assembly’s measure in taking up a UN human rights report that divulges the criminal acts that ‘Israel’ has committed against the innocent Palestinian people in the past winter’s invasion of Gaza.

The ambassador said the report of the UN fact finding mission confirmed the clear violation of human rights and international laws by the Zionist regime and confirmed that the regime has committed war crimes against humanity.

Khazai further said the invasion of Gaza Strip left over 1400 Palestinian civilians killed including more than 300 children and 115 women.

The Zionist regime violated the priliminary rules of human rights by deliberately targeting non-military areas, he added.

He reiterated that the report confirms that the Zionist regime has attacked a mosque and killed 15 prayers and that it has fired phosphorous weapons and cluster bombs in the invasion and used innocent people as human shield.

The Palestinians have warned that they will seek justice for the case of Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip through the International Criminal Court.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, urged the General Assembly on Wednesday to support a resolution that called on Israel and the Palestinians to carry out independent investigations into human rights violations during the Gaza war, AP reported.

The resolution was proposed after a report released by South African Judge Richard Goldstone concluded that Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect civilians during its December-January offensive against the Palestinians in the Gaza strip.

It also accused Hamas of infringing international conventions.

Mansour, however, said Israel’s “aggressions and crimes” cannot be equated “with actions committed in response by the Palestinian side.”

“We are determined to follow up this report and its recommendations in all relevant international forums, including the Security Council and the International Criminal Court, until the realization of justice,” he added.

But Israel’s UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev claimed that “the Goldstone report and this debate do not promote peace – they damage any effort to revitalize negotiations in our region.”

The report recommended that the case be referred to the International Criminal Court at The Hague if the two sides fail to start an investigation into the crimes within six months.

The Islamic Jihad Movement has charged security militias loyal to former PA chief Mahmoud Abbas with continuing their arrest campaigns in lines of its cadres in the West Bank.

Daoud Shihab, a Jihad spokesman in Gaza, told his Movement’s website on Monday that the continued detention of Jihad activists was in line with the security coordination with the Israeli occupation authority under the supervision of the American General Keith Dayton.

The Hamas Movement in the West Bank also said that Abbas’s militias were still detaining its cadres and sympathizers, noting that six Hamas supporters were detained in the past 24 hours in the districts of Al-Khalil, Jenin and Bethlehem.

Witnesses reported that elements of those militias on Monday stormed the Zakat committee in Jenin city and kidnapped two of its workers on the charge of affiliation with Hamas.

Abbas’s militias escalated their detention of Hamas supporters kidnapping 19 of them since start of this week.

Israeli chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi said on Tuesday that Israel’s next battle would be waged also on Gaza Strip and would include confrontations in densely-populated areas.

During a graduation ceremony of a new batch of ground forces, Ashkenazi, one of many Zionist officials who committed war crimes in Gaza, added that his troops would resume their attacks on densely populated areas, villages, cities, mosques, hospitals, kindergartens and schools because, he claimed, “the enemies want to impose this way of fighting on Israel”.

He highlighted during his speech that the Israeli army would provide support for all Israeli officers in case they were arrested or prosecuted because of the Goldstone report.

The Israeli occupation authority launched a vicious war on the Gaza Strip late December 2008 that extended for three weeks ending in January 2009 during which 1,500 Palestinians were killed 82% of them civilians while 5,400 others were wounded other than inflicting vast destruction to the Strip’s infrastructure, buildings, public facilities and lands leading to the displacement of thousands of citizens.

For his part, Israel’s deputy war minister Matan Vilnai told the Hebrew radio on Wednesday that Israel will have “no choice” but to invade Gaza if Palestinian militants step up rocket attacks.

Vilnai said that his army was fully prepared for such a probability regardless of the Goldstone report. The UN report by the South African Justice Richard Goldstone said that Israel had committed war crimes in its war on Gaza.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged ‘Israel’ to end its provocative actions in East al-Quds and to abide by its commitments to freeze all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.

“The Secretary General is dismayed at continued Israeli actions in occupied East ‘Jerusalem’, including the demolition of Palestinian homes, the eviction of Palestinian families and the insertion of
settlers into Palestinian neighbourhoods,” a UN statement said.

“The eviction today of a Palestinian family in East ‘Jerusalem’ is just the most recent incident,” it added.

Iran announced that it has not seen any strategic change in the US policies towards Tehran, and called on Washington to display its will for practical changes.

The speeches of Obama at the beginning of his presidency were showing signs of change, but we announced at that time that remarks need to be put into practice,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani told reporters on Monday.

Larijani referred to the policies adopted by the US president on international issues, including Iran, Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan, as instances of Obama’s non-compliance with his promises.

He also reiterated that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s policy toward Washington is completely transparent.

Iran will continue defending its national interests based on the past US policies towards Tehran, Larijani added.

The United States and Iran broke diplomatic relations in April 1980, after Iranian students seized the United States’ espionage center at its embassy in Tehran. The two countries have had tense relations ever since, but have shown willingness to attend talks to help resolve regional issues, including security in Iraq. Yet, the two countries have avoided talks on bilateral issues for the last thirty years.

Obama White House in March tried to offer an olive branch to Iran and repair strained ties of nearly three decades.

Tehran, meanwhile, said it would only consider the promise after seeing practical changes in the US policies.

Later, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Ali Khamenei, in a televised speech to mark the Iranian New Year, called for a real change in Washington’s attitude towards Tehran, saying that the US has shown no practical change in its hostile policies on Iran yet.

The representative of Sudanese student society said the al-Aqsa Mosque is an Islamic heritage that belongs to all Muslims round the globe not Palestinians alone.

In a press conference, named the “Age of Awakening” held in Tehran on Tuesday, Muhammad al-Hajj said the al-Aqsa Mosque is as revered as Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.

Al-Hajj spoke of political movements in the Islamic world against imperialism and said, “All of these movements have reached the conclusion that there is no way to get rid of imperialism but resistance.”

He referred to Hamas and Hezbollah as examples of fruitful resistance against imperialism and expressed dismay at the way few Arab states rushed to negotiate with the Zionist regime.

Al-Hajj said had those few Arab stated insisted on resistance in the face of the occupying enemy, Palestine would have been liberated by now.

The Israeli occupation authorities on Monday released six Palestinian legislative council members who were abducted from their homes and offices nearly 42 months ago. The abduction was aimed at forcing Hamas to release an Israeli prisoner of war and also to rob Hamas of its election victory.

The freed hostages include Ahmed Eton and Wael Husseini, both from al-Quds (Jerusalem), and Khalil Rabbaei, Samir al Qadi, and Maher Badr, from al-Khalil (Hebron) and Mahmoud al Khatib from Bethlehem.

The six MPs are all affiliated with the pro-Hamas Change and Reform Bloc which won the 2006 legislative elections at the expense of the secular Fatah organization.

On Sunday, the Israeli occupation authorities released Hatem Qafisha, another Islamic MP who had been languishing in Israeli detention camps for several years.

With the release of the seven MPs, fifteen pro-Hamas legislative council members remain in Zionist custody. The longest-serving Islamic captive MP is Nayef Rajoub who has been sentenced to 48 months in jail.

The abduction of the MPs from their homes and offices is considered a crime pursuant international law.

No concrete charges were ever leveled against the abductees who were accused of “affiliation with a militant organization” and “taking part in an election under the rubric of a militant organization.”

The 2006 elections had actually been okayed by Israel and the United States which had thought that Hamas wouldn’t win the elections.

Israel had hoped the abduction of more than 45 pro-Hamas MPs, in utter violation of international law, would force the Islamic liberation movement (Hamas) to release from its custody an Israeli occupation soldier taken prisoner during a military operation in the middle of 2006.

Hamas refused to budge to the Israeli bullying, insisting that Israel must release a thousand Palestinian prisoners from its jails and dungeons in exchange for the Israeli prisoner.

Israeli officials quoted by the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz on Monday stressed that there was no connection between the release of the Islamic parliamentarians and the Shalit affair.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has prevented the reconvening of the Legislative Council, apparently fearing the council would take decisions or make moves the American-backed regime in Ramallah would view as harmful and inexpedient.

Jewish fanatic settlers on Saturday night assaulted Palestinian citizens in Iraq Burin village, south of Nablus city, local sources reported.

They noted that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrived to the scene and fired rubber bullets and gas canisters at the citizens wounding one of them in his foot before arresting another.

The villagers threw stones and empty bottle on the IOF troops.

Meanwhile, in Al-Khalil district, the IOF soldiers severely beat up a 13-year-old Palestinian boy near Kiryat Arba settlement on Saturday night.

Locals said that the child Mohammed Da’na was hospitalized.

In the Gaza Strip, Zionist soldiers fired at and detained a Palestinian man northwest of Beit Lahia town to the north of the Strip afternoon Saturday.