Syrian troops arrest 4 Turkish fighter pilots in Aleppo

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

DAMASCUS, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Syrian troops arrested four Turkish fighter pilots near a military airport in the northern province of Aleppo, a pro-government daily said Monday.

The guarding troops of the Koerc military airport arrested four Turkish officers who were trying to sneak into the airport with an armed group, al-Watan said, giving no further details about the fate of the Turkish pilots but saying that the incident came to explicitly implicate Turkey.

Also in Aleppo, the paper said more than 100 armed men were killed when the Syrian air force bombarded the Finance Directorate in al-Sufaira town, where the armed men had been gathering.

In the central province of Homs, army units targeted armed groups' positions in al-Rastan town, killing scores of them, al- Watan said, adding that violence and clashes have renewed in the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees in the capital Damascus between local committees and armed rebels.

Meanwhile, opposition activists reported shelling on many hotspots nationwide by the Syrian army on Monday.

Navy Tests Submarines' Capabilities, Mine-Planting, Coastal Defense Tactics

Source: Fars News Agency

Navy Tests Submarines' Capabilities, Mine-Planting, Coastal Defense Tactics

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Navy tested the operational capabilities of its submarine units, exercised mine-planting operations and conducted different tactics of defending territorial waters and coastlines on the second day of Velayat 91 naval wargames on Saturday.

Spokesman of the Wargames Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari announced that on the second day of the drills, Iran's light and kilo-class submarines have traversed the territorial and international waters, conducted reconnaissance missions and traced hypothetical enemies successfully.

According to Rastegari, Tareq super heavy submarine which has been recently overhauled by Iranian experts was put back into operation during the exercises today.

The commander said Navy choppers and speed boats also conducted mine planting operations to insecure the line of voyage of the hypothetical enemy's aggressive surface and sub-surface vessels and block their aggression against Iran's territorial waters.

Rastegari further said the naval fleets also conducted coastal defense tactics to counter an invasion of hypothetical enemy vessels.

He called these exercises as successful, and said, "The Army's Navy proved today that it is able to confront enemy even if it advances up to the coasts of Iran's territorial waters."

The wargames, codenamed 'The Great Naval Wargames of Velayat 91', started on Friday, will last 6 days and will cover around one million square kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz to the waters up to the 18-degree latitude.

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told reporters on Friday that the naval drills would be carried out in the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, north of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

Iran’s gas exports to Turkey hit new record high

Source : Trend.Az

Iran's gas exports to Turkey have hit a new record high and surpassed 31 million cubic meters (mcm), the Mehr News Agency quoted Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Javad Owji as saying.

"For the first time, Iran's daily gas exports to Turkey exceeded 31 million cubic meters," Owji added.

The official added that under an agreement between Tehran and Ankara, the Islamic Republic should export up to 30 mcm of gas daily to its northwestern neighbor.

However, following a request by Turkey's Butas Company to import more gas from Iran due to severe cold, Iran currently exports more than 31.5 mcm of natural gas to Turkey per day," Owji noted.

According to Owji, Iran's average daily gas exports to neighboring countries, including Armenia and Turkey amount to nearly 35 mcm per day.

In 1996, Iran and Turkey signed a 25 year agreement to supply 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey annually.

According to the statistic data of the Turkish State Pipeline Company Botas, Turkey imported 39.7 billion cubic meters of gas from Iran in 2011.

On October 15, EU imposed fresh sanctions against Iran. It includes an embargo on Iranian natural gas and also targets Iranian banking, trade and shipping.

The Iranian Oil Ministry has said the EU's recent sanction is mere 'propaganda campaign' as Iran exports no gas to the European bloc.

President: No obstacle can stop Iran from progress

Source : APA

Baku-APA. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said no obstacle can stop Iranians from progress and Iranians, undoubtedly, will pass current situation, APA reports quoting IRNA.

Receiving Japan's new ambassador to Tehran Koji Haneda, Ahmadinejad called Iran and Japan relations 'historical and friendly', adding that there is no reason for any distance between the two countries and the mutual cooperation has always been in direction of world peace and security.

Ahmadinejad said the two countries can take major steps toward building a better world full of friendship and justice.

The new Japanese ambassador, after submitting his credentials to the Iran president, expressed hope that with the help of President Ahmadinejad the two countries can take huge steps toward promoting ties.

He stressed that Iran and Japan have close cooperation upon mutual interests and that Japan will do its best to develop friendly ties and consolidate cooperation in different fields especially in economic relations with Iran.

Koji Haneda also appreciated for Iran's assistance in the recent Japan earthquake.

He underlined that Japan believes in diplomacy and negotiation to solve political problems all over the world.

He added that Iranians can overcome all obstacles and decisive steps will be taken in the direction of progress in bilateral relations.