The Washington Post reported that a senior Iranian cleric said protests in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen are evidence that his country's 1979 Islamic revolution is being replayed. Addressing thousands of worshippers at Tehran University Friday, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said a new Middle East is emerging based on Islamic values, not U.S. desires. Violent protests in Tunisia toppled former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and a "Friday of Wrath" has engulfed Egypt, a U.S. ally. Protesters in Yemen also called for the outser of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled for nearly 32 years.
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Turkish information agency Hurriyet published an article devoted to this date. It says that the first official Holocaust memorial ceremony in Turkey took place at Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul on Thursday to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Turkey adopted a peaceful understanding rejecting injustice and maltreatment against humanity. Jan. 27 marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated this day as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, an annual day of commemoration to honor the victims of the Nazi era.
"Arab world's fair demands cannot be ignored" is an article published by Hurriyet. Turkey's foreign minister said that governments in the Arab world facing daily protests should focus on listening to their citizens and fulfilling their demands. The Turkish foreign minister announced that a delegation from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, led by the deputy undersecretary, is expected to visit Tunisia soon, adding that Turkey would continue exerting efforts and repeating that "fair demands cannot be ignored." The foreign minister said Turkey was closely following the developments in Lebanon.
The Iranian information agency Press TV reported that the biggest oil refinery in the Middle East will be inaugurated in Iran on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Two projects with an estimated investment of $ 3.5 billion at the Shazand Oil Refinery in the central Iranian city of Arak the will be officially inaugurated by the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the 10-day celebrations commemorating the anniversary of the Islam Revolution Victory (30 Jan -11Feb). The new development plans at the oil refinery, which will increase the oil production capacity of the country to more than 17 million liters per day, are focused on reduction of sulfur and other pollutants in order to get Euro-5 standard in production of petrol for cars.
"Iran on 'universal justice' mission" is an article published by Press TV. It says that president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran has moved past the West and is on a "mission" to establish peace and justice across the world. Iran now has a historical and international responsibility, Ahmadinejad said, asserting that "today, no one doubts anymore that the Iranian nation has grown to this refinement through divine guidance to carry out its historical mission in this sensitive period." "A stage in which the humanity needs a leadership universal, just, pure, affable and will lay the groundwork for the blossoming of all its talents."
