TEHRAN, Jan. 6--Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini Sunday reiterated that the US under George Bush has failed to isolate Iran because Iran has been successful in promoting all out ties with many countries across continents.
Addressing reporters at his weekly press briefing, he said “If we look at US policies in the region, we find that none of those policies have been successful nor would they be in the future.
What is being done in the name of peace is only a faŤade to safeguard interests of the Zionist regime.“
Iran is ready for dialogue and normalization of ties with all states except the Zionists, he noted.
However, he said “Tehran has no program for normalization of relations with Washington.“
Due to the “continuation of US hostile a policy against Iran, Tehran now has no plan for normalizing ties with Washington.“
Elsewhere in his remarks, the spokesman confirmed expulsion of a German diplomat from Iran.
He told reporters that the authorities have come to the conclusion that the German was involved in “undiplomatic activities.“
On George Bush’s upcoming visit to the region, Hosseini said the objective of the US officials’ numerous trips to the region is to make up for their past failures.
“The US authorities are trying to accelerate the process of compromise, despite all opposition, in the region,“ he added.
Hosseini also confirmed that senior advisor to Iran’s leader for international affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati, had met French President Nicolas Sarkozy three months ago.He did not elaborate on the issues discussed.
Asked about baseless claims by some United Arab Emirates officials regarding the ownership of the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf, Hosseini said such claims will not change the reality that Iran owns the three islands.
On Iran’s refusal to renew the visa of a British journalist based in Tehran, Hosseini said the case of Guardian journalist, Robert Tait, had nothing to do with his expulsion.
“It is natural that reporters are changed after a while.“
He said the daily Guardian daily can propose a new correspondent. “We will announce our views after studying the case of the newcomer,“ he said.

Photo by Ali Hassanpour

More Freak Weather Expected
TEHRAN, Jan 6--Iran on Sunday awoke to heavy overnight snowfall which forced schools to close, blocked major roadways and led to the cancellation of many domestic flights.
Primary and secondary schools were closed in Tehran and most cities in the north of the country, state television reported.
Tehranis faced serious transport disruptions while public transport including cabs and buses could hardly move in the snow-covered and frozen roads.
State airline Iran Air cancelled all of its morning domestic flights from Mehrabad airport, while roads in the northwest were closed to traffic.
International flights, which now run exclusively from Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) south of the capital, were delayed.
Tehran and several other cities in the north and center of the country are at altitudes of more than 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) above sea level and are regularly hit by heavy snow in the winters.
A spate of cold weather has already created problems in Iran with around a dozen towns suffering gas cuts last week because of a surge in demand and shortages compounded by a temporary cut in exports from Turkmenistan.
Authorities have urged the public to reduce their notoriously profligate consumption of gas to ensure there are no further cuts amid plunging temperatures.
Officials at the state Meteorological Center said that snowfall and sharp decline in temperatures would continue in the coming days.

TEHRAN, Jan. 6--Majlis First Vice Speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar said on Sunday the budget bill for the next Iranian year (to start March 20) will be submitted to Majlis by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday.
He added that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his accompanying delegation will attend a Majlis session on Monday, IRNA reported.
Members of the Cabinet approved the budget bill for the next year on Wednesday.
An official at the Presidential Office told reporters that the bill is 50 pages long.
As in previous years, Majlis deputies will review the bill and propose necessary amendments in their discussions.
Majlis has 10 days to study the proposed budget and forward its proposals to the specialized commissions, which will submit their reports to the Majlis Budget Commission 10 days after examining various views and proposals.
After receiving the reports of specialized commissions, Majlis Budget Commission will review them and give its final report to the Majlis within 15 days of receiving the reports.
According to the constitution, the president presents the budget and the Majlis either adopts it in its entirety or proposes amendments.

TEHRAN, Jan. 6--An Iranian oil official said on Sunday that if the freezing weather persists and people do not reduce consumption of gas in the coming days, some parts of Mazandaran and Golestan provinces will face fresh shortage of piped gas.
Manager of supplies at the National Iranian Gas Company told Fars News Agency that no part of the country is currently facing gas shortage.
Hossein Torbati, however, pointed out that due to cold weather, heavy snowfall and lack of optimized consumption, some parts of country may face shortages of gas in future.
Those regions which are located at the end of gas pipeline, including Mazandaran and Golestan provinces are specifically facing disruptions.
Torbati stated that average gas consumption in the country is about 375 million cubic meters a day which is expected to rise to about 400 million cubic meters.
“There is reason to believe that the weather will be
colder in the coming days and the people should try to consume less to help meet suppliers to all parts of the country,“ he said.
The official noted that the possibility of drop in gas pressure in western cities is very low.
“This is while some northern cities are more exposed to shortage of gas.“

Georgia's presidential candidate Levan Gachechiladze addresses a rally in Tbilisi, Jan. 6.

TBILISI, Georgia, Jan. 6--Thousands of people on Sunday protested early election results that indicated Mikhail Saakashvili would narrowly win a second term as Georgia’s president despite criticism he’d backtracked on his commitment to democracy.
The influential election observer mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe gave the election a mixed assessment, saying that it was generally in line with democratic commitments but revealed “significant challenges.“ It pointed especially to “an inequitable campaign environment“ due to state activities overlapping Saakashvili’s campaign.
Protesters, many of whom filled a square in the capital, charged the vote was rigged. Opposition leaders said the campaign was held under unfair conditions and claimed widespread violations during the vote.
With about 8 percent of precincts counted, Saakashvili had 55.23 percent of the vote, and his main challenger Levan Gachechiladze had 23.86 percent, according to the Central Elections Commission. An exit poll also indicated a slim majority for Saakashvili.
A candidate needs an absolute majority to win in the first round; if Saakashvili slips below 50 percent in the final results, a runoff will be held in two weeks.
The US-educated Saakashvili was seeking a new mandate and fighting to preserve his democratic standing. He shocked his Western allies when he violently dispersed anti-government demonstrations in November and shut down an independent television station.
Gachechiladze, speaking on television early Sunday, claimed he had won in most precincts and that the vote count was being held under conditions of “terror.“ He called urged “all of Georgia to come to make sure we don’t lose our country.“
Some 5,000 people showed up for an opposition demonstration in the center of Tbilisi and their number was growing. However, Georgia was preparing to celebrate Orthodox Christmas Sunday night--one of the most important holidays here--and many could feel reluctant to cancel holiday plans for the sake of protests. Saakashvili, 40, led mass street protests that ousted a Communist-era veteran from power following fraudulent elections in late 2003. He won a January 2004 election with more than 96 percent of the vote and set out to transform the bankrupt country into a modern European state.

GAZA CITY, Occupied Palestine, Jan. 6--A Palestinian teenager was killed on Sunday in the Zionist Israelis’ latest military operation in Gaza Strip, medics said.
Ziad Abu Raqba, 17, died after being shot in the chest during an incursion east of the Al-Bureij Refugee Camp in the center of the territory, they said, adding that he was not a member of a militant group, AFP reported.
Four other people were wounded during the operation that involved Israeli jeeps, armored vehicles and bulldozers backed by helicopters, they said.
The Israelis also launched an air strike against a group of Palestinian people near the northern town of Beit Hanun, witnesses said. There were no reports of casualties.
The latest death brings to 6,035 the number of people killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 2000, the vast majority of them Palestinians, according to an AFP tally.
Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert on Sunday vowed to toughen action against what he called Gaza militants after a rocket fired from the territory landed the farthest ever inside Israel.
The escalation in violence in Gaza comes ahead of this week’s visit to the region by US President George W. Bush, who arrives on Wednesday in the first trip by a sitting US president since Bill Clinton visited in December 1998.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Jan. 6--Turkey’s prime minister on Saturday visited victims of a bomb that killed five people in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir and said the attack proved the desperation of Kurdish PKK separatist rebels.
Turkey has blamed the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for Thursday’s bombing, which targeted a military convoy in the center of Diyarbakir. Five people, including three children, were killed and more than 100 injured in the blast, Reuters reported. “This treacherous act shows the desperation of the terrorist organization as well as its lack of any goal,“ Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a news conference after talks with the provincial governor. The PKK has made no comment on the bombing and there has been no claim of responsibility. Turkey is currently waging an aerial bombing campaign against PKK targets in nearby northern Iraq, including cave hideouts that serve as living quarters and arsenals.

Barack Obama

NEW HAMPSHIRE, USA, Jan. 6--Republican presidential hopefuls on Saturday gave Democrat Barack Obama an early taste of the attacks he can expect if he emerges as his party’s 2008 presidential nominee.
The Republican candidates, who have spent months attacking Hillary Clinton, took the chance to turn their fire on the freshman Illinois senator during a presidential debate three days before the New Hampshire primary, AFP reported.
Senator John McCain, who once famously clashed with Obama in the Senate on ethics reform, warned that the surging Democrat did not have the experience to lead the United States in a time of turbulent national security challenges.
“It requires a lot of knowledge, a lot of experience, and a lot of background,“ McCain said, in remarks likely to be welcomed by Obama’s rival Hillary Clinton, who has taken a similar stand.
Former screen star and senator Fred Thompson said Obama’s political philosophy was at fault.
“Senator Obama has adopted the position of every liberal interest group in the country,“ said Thompson.
Mike Huckabee, who swept to victory in the Iowa caucuses on Thursday, as Obama seized the Democratic contest, also criticized Obama, but said he had tapped a desire for political change among Americans.