Iran criticizes Saudi U.N. resolution

Iran is sharply criticizing a draft U.N. General Assembly resolution because it refers to an alleged Iranian plot against a Saudi ambassador, an assertion the Islamic republic calls "unsubstantiated."

In addition, a high-ranking Iranian official visiting the United Nations on Wednesday criticized the United States and other Western countries for unfairly targeting his country for its nuclear program.

The Saudi resolution, which condemns terrorism and attacks on diplomats, "deplores that plot" and makes note of a letter from the United States reporting what it characterizes as an "Iranian plot."

The resolution also calls on Iran "to comply with all of its obligations under international law" and to cooperate in "seeking to bring to justice" the people who planned to kill the envoy.

It was expected to be introduced in a meeting Wednesday afternoon and may come to a vote by the entire General Assembly on Friday, a Saudi U.N. mission spokesman said.

Mohammad Khazaee, Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, said it would be a "gross disservice" to put "hypothetical, circumstantial and unsubstantiated matters" on the General Assembly's agenda. The United States says Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force is behind the plot, but Iran denies the accusation. Such a resolution "would significantly undermine the role, authority, integrity, and credibility of the General Assembly as the highest and universal political body of the United Nations," Khazaee said.

The draft makes references to the U.N. global counterterrorism strategy. But Iran contends the United States exploits the document and undermines it. It said the United States has backed terror acts against Iranians, including diplomats.

"The United States' attitude with regard to the alleged plot, which began with an explosive media campaign against Iran, and its long-standing hostile policies, is unconstructive and reveals once again the latter's ill intentions," Khazaee said.

Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, and Gholam Shakuri, an Iran-based member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have been accused of conspiring to hire hit men from a Mexican drug cartel to bomb a restaurant where the ambassador would have been.

Authorities developed the case against the suspects with the help of an undercover informant posing as an associate of a Mexican drug cartel, according to officials and an FBI agent's affidavit.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Larijani, the secretary general for Iran's High Council for Human Rights, told reporters that the recent International Atomic Energy Agency report about Iran's nuclear program was "a disgrace for the agency."

"It doesn't include any evidence," he said. "It is based on a laptop which was given to them by the United States four years ago."

The report, which was released last week, stated that Iran was acquiring the technology for a nuclear weapons program.

Larijani reiterated his country's position that its program is exclusively of a civilian nature.

Asked about the nuclear weapons trigger the report says Iran has been working on, he called it a "laughable allegation," saying the device is used in several "technological devices." He added that the "United States and a number of European countries, they do not want this issue to be settled. They want to keep that as a vehicle of pressure on Iran."

Larijani continued chastising the United States by saying that "American policy in the region is falling apart. It is witnessing drastic failures, especially in Afghanistan." He said that "when President Obama came to power and promised change, I was hopeful we could formalize change, but I think this hope was wrong totally."

He was also asked about the uprising going on in neighboring Syria, an Iranian ally. He said that "any incitement to violence by the United States and Western countries and regional countries to export and send armed groups inside Syria" or to recommend that people use a gun in the uprising is very dangerous.

"All the hands should be cut off from this kind of interference," he said.

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Spain named top seeds for Euro 2012

Defending champions Spain will head the list of group seeds in next month's draw for the Euro 2012 finals.

The 2010 World Cup winners will be in Pot 1 along with the Netherlands and co-hosts Poland and Ukraine on December 2, European football's ruling body UEFA announced on Wednesday.

Poland, 28th in the European rankings, will be in Group A and 15th-placed Ukraine in Group D for the 16-team tournament, the last before an expansion to 24 nations.

Pot 2 comprises three-time champions Germany, 1968 winners Italy, England and Russia -- who as the Soviet Union won the first tournament held in 1960.

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Greece, the 2004 champions, are the only qualifying group winners in Pot 3, which also features the best runners-up Sweden and playoff winners Portugal and Croatia.

Denmark and two-time champions France won their qualifying groups, but face the prospect of being drawn with two other major nations after being put in Pot 4 due to a low coefficient rating for results over the past few years.

Playoff winners the Republic of Ireland and the Czech Republic are also in the bottom pot.

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Meanwhile, Turkey coach Guus Hiddink has agreed to stand down from his position after failing to qualify from the playoffs.

Tuesday's 0-0 draw in Croatia meant a 3-0 aggregate defeat for the 65-year-old Dutchman, who won just seven of his 17 matches in charge.

Hiddink ruled out a return to the Netherlands, where he had been wanted by Ajax, but has been linked with a possible position at his former English club Chelsea.

"I'm not ready to retire, I like to be involved with a team on a daily basis, but maybe I am ready to step out of the limelight a little bit, away from the cameras," he told Dutch website Voetbal International.

"Hopefully I will still be involved but perhaps it will be as an adviser or a consultant."

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France tries Somali men accused of piracy

  Six alleged Somali pirates went on trial Tuesday in Paris for hijacking a yacht and taking a French couple hostage off the coast of Somalia in 2008.

The six Somali men, now between the ages of 21 and 35, are accused of seizing the Carré-d'As IV in the Gulf of Aden and holding Jean-Yves Delanne and his wife, Bernadette Bignon, for two weeks. The men allegedly demanded a ransom of $2 million for the release of the couple.

The pirates were arrested and brought to France after French special forces boarded the yacht and rescued the couple September 16, 2008.

The group faces charges of hijacking, kidnapping and armed robbery, according to a court spokeswoman.

The trial -- the first of suspected Somali pirates in France -- is closed to the public and is being held in a juvenile court, since one of the six was 18 years old at the time of the hijacking.

The men face sentences of up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

The trial is expected to last until December 2.

As of mid-November, 11 vessels and 194 hostages are currently being held by pirates, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Incidents of piracy have been on the rise in the past few years, especially along the largely lawless coast of Somalia.

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NATO forces may hand over violent provinces to Afghan control

NATO forces may soon transfer two of the most volatile areas in the country over to Afghan security forces as part of the second phase of a nationwide security handover as part of the drawdown of American forces, NATO and Afghan officials said.

The Arghandab Valley in Kandahar and the district of Nad e Ali in Helmand -- areas where violent clashes with the insurgency that have left many American and British soldiers dead in recent years -- are among the regions being discussed as part of the "tranche 2" handover that President Hamid Karzai is expected to announce in the coming weeks.

While these areas have seen a recent reduction in violence, their history as hotbeds of insurgent violence has raised concerns the districts may be more vulnerable to Taliban resurgence after a substantial NATO drawdown of troops.

Handing over these more volatile areas now, analysts say, could help ensure that the Afghan army and police can be reinforced with NATO forces if local forces encounter renewed insurgent attacks.

"It is good when we have a significant NATO presence in Afghanistan to start with the toughest parts in Afghanistan and that will provide the opportunity for the Afghan security forces to defend themselves and in the meantime have the support of NATO," said Haroun Mir, a political analyst in Kabul.

An Afghan official close to the presidency said that while the original list of 17 regions to be handed over did not contain these names, it was possible the president may decide to add them as part of a "political decision". The final decision on which areas to transition rests with the Afghan Presidential Palace, NATO officials say. Karzai is expected to make an announcement on the next regions to be handed over to Afghan control.

But to others, the plan is a high-risk strategy which could put Afghan forces into a tough fight for which they are not ready.

One local leader in Arghandab, its district chief, Haji Shah Mohammad, told CNN that while security in his area had improved significantly, it was due to the heavy presence of NATO forces in the area.

"I do not agree with the idea of transitioning Arghandab because our Afghan forces are not up to the point where they are able to handle security without international forces' support," Shah Mohammad told CNN, adding he had also heard his district could be transitioned to local control.

Shah Mohammad said he was concerned the Taliban in his region were waiting for an opportunity to strike again. "I think it is too early for Arghandab to be transitioned," he said, adding that Afghan security forces were inadequately equipped to handle the task.

An official in the governor's office in Helmand, the province where the Nad-e-Ali district is located, confirmed that it was one of two regions they had proposed to be handed over to Afghan security forces in the coming months. A spokesman for the Helmand governor, Daoud Ahmedi, said: "We proposed Nad-e-Ali because already Afghans are responsible for much of security."

Yet Ahmedi added that about a tenth of its area should still receive international help, even after the transition, as it remained volatile, he said.

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18 killed in suspected U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan

Suspected U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal region killed 18 alleged militants Tuesday night, intelligence officials told CNN.

Two Pakistani intelligence officials said the suspected drones fired two missiles at different sites in South Waziristan.

South Waziristan is one of the seven districts of Pakistan's volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

The intelligence officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

U.S. officials rarely discuss the CIA's drone program in Pakistan, though privately they have said the covert strikes are legal and an effective tactic in the fight against extremists.

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U.S. and Australia announce greater military cooperation

The United States announced an agreement with Australia Wednesday that will expand military cooperation between the long-time allies and boost America's presence in the region.

The agreement was revealed during a joint news conference between U.S. President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in the nation's capital, Canberra.

Obama is on a two-day trip to Australia, his first visit as commander-in-chief.

"I am very pleased that we are able to make these announcements here together on Australian soil," Obama said. "Because of these initiatives that are the result of our countries working very closely together as partners, we are going to be in a position to more effectively strengthen the security of both of our nations and this region."
President Obama arrives in Australia
Obama stresses Asia-Pacific importance

Under the agreement, up to 250 U.S. Marines will be sent to Darwin and the northern region of Australia for military exercises and training. Over the next several years their numbers are expected to climb to 2,500 -- a full Marine ground task force.

While U.S. officials cited the need to respond to regional natural disasters as a reason for the agreement, concern over China's military expansion is widely acknowledged as a driving factor.

"What we look at is how does our general force posture allow us to protect U.S. interests, protect our allies, and ... secure the region broadly," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president. "China is obviously a piece of the Asia Pacific region, an emerging power."

Rhodes later added that the deal is "part of the U.S. sending a signal that we're going to be present, that we're going to continue to play the role of underpinning security in this part of the region. Part of that context is a rising China."

Analysts note that the deal sends a message to China in a less confrontational way than building up bases closer to Chinese shores.

"The Chinese can squawk about it," said Patrick Cronin, senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. "But it's not like having an aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea."

Obama himself, however, insisted during his news conference that "the notion that we fear China is mistaken."

The president's Australian visit -- postponed twice in 2009 and 2010 due to an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and other domestic political considerations -- highlights a changing balance of power in the Pacific as China expands its military reach and the United States works to reduce its military footprint in Japan.

Obama's Australian visit comes on the heels of last weekend's 19-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which highlighted the need for new measures supporting job growth. During the Hawaiian summit, Obama stressed the importance of the Pacific to global economic security, and he pushed China to do more to help strengthen the world economy.

After wrapping up his visit to Australia, Obama will conclude his Pacific trip with a stop in Indonesia -- a country he spent several years living in during his childhood.

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Pakistan security forces kill 20 militants

Security forces killed 20 militants in an operation in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, military officials said.

Helicopters launched an aerial assault on militant hideouts in central Kurram Agency, a semiautonomous tribal area bordering Afghanistan, the officials said.

The officials did not want to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

A Pakistani soldier died in the operation, the officials said.

The operation was part of an ongoing offensive by security forces against militants in South Waziristan, Kurram and Orakzai agencies.

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