PHOTO: Iran judiciary head Sadegh Amoli Larijani


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The head of Iran’s judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, has declared that the surge of refugees through Europe — a “migrant crisis” is “the result of Western countries’ plots and actions”.

Larijani’s statement was linked to Iran’s diplomatic strategy on the 4 1/2-year Syrian conflict, which has led to more than 4 million refugees and more than 7 million people displaced within the country. Tehran is hoping to break outside support for Syria’s opposition and rebels, helping to ensure that President Assad remains in power — at least as part of a “transition” to a political resolution.

The head of judiciary called on European countries and the US to “move toward solving the roots of this crisis instead of debating the extent and numbers for accepting these migrants”, as he blamed Western countries for creating instability by supporting “extremist and terrorist groups”.

He continued, “Some Islamic governments start sedition in the name of ISIS [the Islamic State] and other terrorist groups, instead of [having] empathy and solidarity against the Zionist enemy [Israel].”


Russian and Iranian Ministers Discuss Syria in Moscow Meeting

Amid Moscow’s escalating military involvement in Syria, Russian and Iranian ministers have held discussions in Moscow.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov hosted Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Monday.

No details were given. Amir-Abdollahian said, “Consultations between Iran and Russia have always been beneficial. Meetings and negotiations between the two countries’ officials at various levels have provided a great opportunity for the promotion of cooperation as well as efforts for more regional convergence.”

See Syria Daily, Sept 22: Russia Brings In More Warplanes, US and Israel Say “That’s OK”

Bogdanov echoed, “We consider these talks and their continuation invaluable and demand more concentration on them.”

He also highlighted the necessity of continued efforts by Tehran and Moscow to settle the Syrian crisis and counter Takfiri terrorism in the Arab country.


IAEA Head Expresses Confidence in Nuclear Inspection of Parchin Military Base

Resisting critics of the inspections of Iran’s nuclear program, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has expressed confidence in a weekend examination of the Parchin military basse.

Yukiya Amano said that Iran had turned over samples from Parchin, collected under the surveillance of IAEA devices.

Critics derided the collection of the material without the physical presence of IAEA inspectors.

Opponents of the July 14 nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 Power long claimed that Iran pursued experiments for a militarized nuclear program at Parchin, including testing in high-explosive containment chambers.

After the deal, those opponents made unsupported assertions that Iran was carrying out construction to hide evidence of the militarized effort.

Amano, who visited Tehran on Sunday and toured Parchin, said at a Vienna news conference yesterday that the procedures used in the collection of samples conformed to IAEA standards. His deputy, Tero Varjoranta, said, “We feel fully confident that the process and the end result so far are fully in line with our safeguards practices.”

Iran is expected to reply to IAEA questions by October 15, with the hope that the Agency will verify Tehran’s compliance with the nuclear deal. That confirmation, projected for about December 15, would start the lifting or suspension of US and European Union sanctions on Iran.