Free Republic

Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon have expressed support for Iran's nuclear program and stated that Israel should be forced to dismantle its nuclear weapons. Speaking at the nuclear disarmament conference in Tehran on Saturday, the foreign ministers of the three countries insisted that Iran has the right to develop nuclear technology meant for peaceful purposes, just like every other country. They also called for a diplomatic solution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear program. "We support Iran's pursuit of peaceful nuclear technology," the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem as saying. Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami...

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal made a speech in favor of the “Palestinian reproductive machine” at his daughter Fatima’s wedding over the weekend. The “machine” is constantly active, Mashaal said. He told his daughter and son-in-law that their children would one day live in the “48 territories,” that is, within Israel’s 1948 borders. Mashaal took time from his speech to thank Syria for allowing him, Islamic Jihad head Ramadan Shallah, and other senior terrorists to live in Damascus. “We realize the pressures on Syria for housing Mashaal and Shallah,” he said. Shallah attended the wedding, as did PFLP head Mahir at-Tahir,...

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki stressed Tehran's right to civilian nuclear technology, after talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a surprise visit to Damascus, AFP reported. "We reiterated our indisputable right to peaceful nuclear technology," he said at a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Muallem. The Iranian foreign minister also said that he would visit Kuwait on Saturday as part of regular consultations with Iran's Arab neighbours across the Persian Gulf. "I will tell them (Kuwaiti officials) that the Bushehr nuclear plant (under construction in southern Iran) is in keeping with the highest international norms...