Tehran, Dec 15, IRNA -- Minister of Information Ali Younesi said here
Sunday that recent student demonstration at the 'Tarbiyat Modares'
(Teachers Training) University opposing the verdict against academic
Hashem Aghajari had been authorized.
Speaking on the sidelines of the seminar on 'Documents and Current
History," he told IRNA that Ministry of Information and Ministry of
Culture, Research and Technology had made coordination on authorizing
students gatherings in the university campus to prevent any incidents.
"Outside the universities any unauthorized gathering are illegal
and should be prevented," he said.
He said the students have been vocal in their objection to the few
demonstrations which had been held outside universities in streets.
Few students which have been arrested in the recent days by the
Judiciary have been released, the information minister said.
The students cases are being examined through standard legal
channels and there is no concern in this respect, he said.
Some of the cases handled by the Information Ministry also did not
face any special complication, Younesi remarked.
On another issue, he denied that the Judiciary has transferred the
case of imported contaminated meat to the Information ministry.
The case is being handled independently by the Judiciary, but
because the meat has been smuggled into the country it was not
inspected by the Health Ministry, so is not usable.
"However, no official organ has confirmed that the meat was
contaminated by any strain of virus," he stated.
On US allegations over Iran's new nuclear installations, he added
"the existence of these centers are not a concealed matter as they
(American) have claimed.
"All of Iran's nuclear activities are transparent and for civilian
application of nuclear energy whose safeguards are under the
supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Younesi
noted.
"They (US) wants to pretend that we are engaged in hidden
activities, but to no avail," Younesi added.
He also pointed the establishment of the new Center of "Historical
Documents" which he said will provide the public with access to all
the ambiguous and unknown dimensions to the events in the last 50
years of Iranian history.
"We have established the center because we thought that others
outside the country are tarnishing and misrepresenting history and our
youth who have not seen the events surrounding the Islamic revolution
may be gullible to such publicity," he said responding to a question
on the goals of the center.
Meanwhile, Iran on Friday rejected US officials' claims that it
had been secretly developing two facilities which could be used to
make nuclear weapons.
"We have no nuclear activity or studies outside the safeguard
supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),"
government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh told IRNA here when asked
about the claims.
CNN on Thursday cited unnamed US officials as claiming that
American satellites had spotted two Iranian places, one in the central
city of Arak and the other in Natanz in the Isfahan province, which
suggested they could be used for making nuclear weapons.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly announced that its nuclear
activities are for generating electricity to meet the growing demand
for the large Iranian population in line with the environment
safeguards and are open to regular supervision of the IAEA.
Washington has previously claimed that Iran may use its
under-construction plant in southern Bushehr, built with Russian
assistance, for developing nuclear arms.
Both Iran and Russia have rejected these allegations. Moscow
announced in August that it intended to build the second plant in
Bushehr.
Iran has also reiterated its bid to complete the plant, "given the
'enormous sum' which the country has already spent on its
construction."
"We don't pay attention to threats and are determined to finish
the works on the Bushehr station," Foreign Ministry spokesman
Hamid-Reza Asefi said.
