Iran — an important economic and political partner of EU: European think tank
BRUSSELS: A leading European think-tank has underlined the important role and position of the Islamic Republic for the European Union, and also acknowledged the great influence of Islam in shaping European civilization, IRNA reported from Brussels.
“Iran is a very important country for the EU. As the EU develops its own independent foreign and security policy, its relations with Iran will become more important,” said John Palmer, political director of the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, in an interview with IRNA.
“This is a country of immense culture, potentially a very important economic and political partner of the EU,” said Palmer, a widely-respected analyst and former political editor for many years for the British paper The Guardian in Brussels.
He said the full democratization of Iran would be very important not only politically but in strengthening Iran’s economic international impact. “We know that the reform process is yet incomplete. We think that the interest of all Iranians lie in completing that process.” He said that Iran has a very considerable influence in the region and the Islamic world particularly in the world of Shia Islam. The European Policy Centre, he noted, is an independent think-tank founded seven years ago, operating at the level of the EU and focused on how EU policy be evolved and improved.
The active cooperation of Iran is very important to resolve the problems in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and terrorism, he said. Palmer pointed out the difference in EU-US approach towards the Islamic Republic.
The EU’s policy has been one of dialogue and engagement with Iran, he said, adding that “We did not agree with the ‘axis of evil’ characterization by the Bush administration.” He, however, pointed to Europe’s concern about Iran’s nuclear programme.
The European Policy Centre, Palmer said, is working on a comprehensive dialogue between Europe and the Islamic world. “We owe a great debt to the Islamic world. Our civilisation, the renaissance, the scientific revolution, the re-learning of the Classics came to Europe from Islamic world.”
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_16-9-2003_pg4_13Iran 'must pay $633m to victims'
From correspondents in Washington
September 16, 2003
A US court has ruled that Iran must pay more than $US420 million ($633 million) to 12 US victims of a 1997 suicide bombing in Jerusalem carried out by the Iran-supported Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The court awarded $US123.34 million for physical and emotional damages to the plaintiffs, four of whom were not present at the bombing but whose relatives were affected, and $US300 million in punitive damages against the government of Iran, court papers indicated.
In its ruling issued on September 10, the court said it arrived at a "default judgment" since the defendants – the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Ministry of Information and Security (MOIS) and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards – failed to attend a January hearing.
The case stems from the September 4, 1997, suicide bombing at the Ben Yehuda Street pedestrian mall in Jerusalem that killed five people and wounded nearly 200 others, including eight of the plaintiffs who filed two separate lawsuits in 2000 and 2001 which the court later consolidated.
Three suicide bombers – each carrying bombs "with nails, screws, pieces of glass and chemical poisons," – were involved in the blast. Two Hamas operatives were arrested and convicted in the attack.
The court, based on past court rulings in similar cases, concluded that Hamas "has a close relationship with Iran" and that "Iran provides ongoing terrorist training and economic assistance to Hamas".
Experts at the hearing testified that Iran's MOIS "spends between $US50 million and $US100 million a year sponsoring terrorist activities of various organisations such as Hamas" – up to 25 percent of its annual budget.
The damages awarded to the eight plaintiffs include compensatory damages for physical, psychological injuries and loss of prospective income.
The punitive damages awarded were based on "longstanding precedent ... the court applies the multiple of three times Iran's annual expenditure on terrorism ... resulting in $US37,500,000 for each plaintiff present at the bombing."
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7283661%255E1702,00.html