Leader hails record turnout in presidential vote

Leader hails record turnout in presidential vote
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution has hailed the high voter turnout in Iran, calling on the entire nation to support the president-elect in achieving his mandate.

Speaking one day after Super Friday when more than 32 million people cast their votes in the country's 10th presidential election, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei congratulated the nation on their massive turnout.

"The participation of over 80 percent of Iranians at the polls and the 24-million votes cast is a cause for true celebration and god willing this will ensure the continuation of the country's progress and the maintenance of national security," Ayatollah Khamenei said in statement.

Friday's election witnessed incumbent Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win 24.5 million of the votes -- nearly 62 percent.

Mir-Hossein Moussavi came second with 13.2 million votes, followed by Mohsen Rezaei with more than 630 thousand votes and Mehdi Karroubi with 320 thousand votes.

"The spirit of calm presented by the nation, in the face of enemy propaganda and the nation's mass participation was such that makes it indescribable in words," the Leader added.

The president-elect is the president of the entire Iranian nation and even those who were his rivals yesterday must now support and aid him, as this is a divine test for us all, Ayatollah Khamenei said.

Iran's Medical Equipment Exports Double

Iran's Medical Equipment Exports
Iran doubled export of medical equipment to foreign countries during the last Iranian year (March 21, 2008 to March 20, 2009), a senior health official said on Saturday.
"The country's export of medical equipment totaled $8.5 million in 1387 (2008-2009) which has been almost two times more than the volume of exports in its previous year," Director General of the Iranian Health Ministry's Medical Equipment Reza Massaeli said.

He further explained that in addition to the massive efforts made by manufacturers of medical equipment, his department's supervising role and the guidelines presented to the manufacturers for promoting the quality of their products have been the main cause of the aforementioned growth.

The official further announced that 120 out of 550 types of Iran's medical tools and equipment succeeded in obtaining EU standards during the said period.

Obama invites Ahmadinejad to visit Nazi-era camp

US President Barack Obama has asked his Iranian counterpart, who says the Holocaust is a "big deception", to visit the site of the Buchenwald concentration camp.

"He should make his own visit," said President Obama who visited the site on Friday. "I have no patience for people who would deny history. And the history of the Holocaust is not something speculative."

Since taking office in 2005, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has launched a campaign to make clear ambiguities about the Holocaust, while criticizing Israel for using the issue as an excuse for its existence.

On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad reiterated his anti-Israel stance and called the Holocaust a "big deception." The Iranian president had earlier made similar comments about the historical event describing it as a "myth".

President Obama, meanwhile, noted that his great uncle helped liberate a camp of Buchenwald during World War II, Reuters reported.

The concentration camp in eastern Germany was created by the Nazis and an estimated 56,000 people are assumed to have been killed there.