PERSIAN GULF

IRAN SAYS IT WILL NEVER SCRAP NUCLEAR PROGRAM

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran will never scrap its nuclear program, and talks with Europeans are intended to protect the country’s nuclear achievements, not negotiate an end to them, an Iranian official said yesterday.

The remarks by the spokesman of Iran’s powerful Supreme National Security Council, Ali Agha Mohammadi, are the latest in a hardening of his country’s stance amid ongoing talks with European negotiators. They also reflect Tehran’s possible frustration at the lack of progress.

Europe is pressing Iran for concessions on its nuclear program, which America claims is aimed at producing atomic weapons. In exchange for nuclear guarantees, the Europeans are offering Iran technological and financial support and talks on a trade deal.

“We have the power to negotiate because we keep our [nuclear] achievements in our hands and we are negotiating to protect them,” Mr. Mohammadi said yesterday. “It’s definite that we will protect our scientific achievements as a basic pillar, whether talks make progress or not.”

Mr. Mohammadi’s comments came a day after Iran’s vice president, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, called on the Europeans to speed up the talks, amid reports that negotiations are deadlocked.

– Associated Press

SHARON, ABBAS TO ATTEND MIDDLE EAST SUMMIT

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt yesterday invited the leaders of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan to a summit next week, a move indicating confidence that a much-anticipated breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian Arab peace process is in the offing.

Word of the summit, which all parties agreed to attend, came as Damascus based leaders of the Palestinian Arab terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad met Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo, seen as a key step toward securing a truce from Palestinian Arab factions.

The summit, to be held Tuesday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, was expected to focus on a possible Palestinian Arab prisoner release, the fate of Palestinian Arab fugitives, and a West Bank troop redeployment.

Prime Minister Sharon, Palestinian Arab leader Mahmoud Abbas, and King Abdullah of Jordan have all accepted invitations to attend from the summit host, President Mubarak. The White House welcomed the development. “That’s an encouraging step that’s being taken to build upon the recent discussions between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. “There have been a number of encouraging steps from both parties that show that they want to seize this opportunity before us to move forward.”

The expected arrival of Secretary of State Rice in the region over the weekend also intensified pressure on both sides to settle some differences over what should be announced after the meeting. There has been no word on whether Ms. Rice might attend the summit.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

N. KOREA ALLEGEDLY ASSISTED LIBYA WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT

American intelligence agencies and government scientists have come up with strong evidence that North Korea sold processed uranium to Libya, apparently to assist the North African country in nuclear weapons development, an administration official said yesterday.

The materials were detected in Libya’s shipments of weapons-related materials to America after the country agreed to dismantle its nuclear arms program in late 2003, said the official, asking not to be identified.

The official said he was uncertain as to whether American officials ever asked the Libyans about the country of origin of its nuclear materials.

The possibility of North Korea’s export of nuclear materials and technology has long concerned America. The reclusive communist state is known to have sold missiles to Iran and Syria in past years.

The story about the alleged dealings between North Korea and Libya was first reported by the New York Times. It has previously been reported that Libya relied on Pakistani scientist A.Q. Kahn for nuclear materials.

The White House and the State Department had no comment on the reported link between Libya and North Korea.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

POPE TO SPEND A FEW MORE DAYS IN HOSPITAL

VATICAN CITY – Pope John Paul II had a restful night and his condition stabilized after he was rushed to a hospital with breathing trouble, but he will spend several more days at the clinic to recover from the flu, the Vatican said yesterday.

Around the world, Roman Catholics paused to pray for the health of the 84-year-old pontiff.

Tests showed the Pope’s heart and respiration were normal, and he got several hours’ rest after being taken by ambulance to the hospital Tuesday night, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said. The pontiff was running a slight fever from the flu and would spend “a few more days” at Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic for treatment of respiratory problems, he said.

“There is no cause for alarm,” Mr. Navarro-Valls said.

The pope has Parkinson’s disease, and Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, the Vatican’s top health official, told Associated Press Television News that the slumping pontiff’s inability to hold his back up straight has left his lungs and diaphragm in a crushed position.

Mr. Navarro-Valls insisted the pope had never lost consciousness, and he did not need a tracheotomy to insert a tube into his windpipe to help him breathe.

– Associated Press

BRITISH DEFENDANT REPRIMANDED SOLDIER FOR ABUSE

The highest-ranking of three British soldiers accused of abusing Iraqi captives told authorities he did not report another defendant he saw mistreating the detainees because he had already reprimanded him, a court heard yesterday.

Corporal Daniel Kenyon, 33, who has pleaded not guilty to several counts of failing to report abuse to superiors, told investigators when he was interrogated in October 2003 that he had tied up an Iraqi man suspected of looting a humanitarian aid warehouse because the man was acting “as if he were on drugs,” according to a transcript read at his court-martial.

After leaving the scene, Corporal Kenyon returned to see another defendant in the case, 25-year-old Lance Corporal Mark Cooley, driving a forklift with the bound man on its forks, the transcript showed. Corporal Kenyon reprimanded Corporal Cooley, but five minutes later saw him posing the captives to simulate sex acts for photos.

Still, Corporal Kenyon said it did not occur to him to report the abuse.

– Associated Press