A look at Iranian newspaper front pages on Dec. 21

The US Congress Visa Waiver Bill President Obama signed into law and Iran’s response that the bill violates the provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action dominated the front pages of Iranian newspapers on Monday.

 

Ettela’at: Key international issues can be solved through logic and talks, said President Rouhani in a meeting with the president of the French Senate.

The president further said that conclusion of the nuclear deal ushers in a new era to develop and inject dynamism into ties between Iran and France.

President of the French Senate Gerard Larcher: The French government and Senate attach great significance to the trip by the Iranian president to Paris.

Ettela’at: Seyyed Hassan Khomeini has the all requirements one needs to run for the Assembly of Experts.

The head of the council at the Leader’s Office in charge of answering religious questions further said that the presence of the grandson of the late Imam Khomeini in the elections and [later in] the Assembly of Experts will be helpful.

Ettela’at: Samir Kuntar, a senior Hezbollah commander, has been martyred in airstrikes by the Zionist regime in southern Damascus.

In reaction, the Fatah Movement has said that the crime committed by the Zionist regime will not go unanswered.

Ettela’at: We will not let Congress throw an obstacle in the way of Iran’s economic interests, said the US secretary of state following FM Zarif’s criticism of the passage of the Visa Waiver bill in the US Congress.

FM Zarif: The US has relied on hostile policies in dealing with Iran.

Ettela’at: Health Minister Hassan Hashemi has said that a zero-tolerance policy should be adopted in dealing with air pollution, satellite jamming signals and other issues that endanger people’s health.  

High levels of air pollution prompted officials to order schools in the capital and Karaj closed for a second day in a row on Monday.  

Ettela’at: TheNew York Times has said that Saudi Arabia is the founder and promoter of ISIS ideology.

The daily further wrote that it is hard to imagine Saudi Arabia take on the terror group.

Ettela’at: A national social capital assessment plan has been unveiled in Iran.

 

 

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Abrar: The secretary of the Electoral Headquarters has said 897 individuals have so far registered for parliamentary and 153 for Assembly of Experts elections.

 

 

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Afkar: Cultural development takes place under the umbrella of interaction and differences of opinion, said Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati.

 

 

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Aftab-e Yazd: The judge hearing the case of Babak Zanjani, a young billionaire [on trial for corruption], has said that the defendant has been given one month to settle his debts.  

Aftab-e Yazd: The judiciary spokesman has said that hypocrites characterize insiders as “crows” and “illiterates”.

 

 

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Arman-e Emrooz: An indictment has been issued against Saeed Mortazavi [a former director of the Social Security Organization], said the organization’s director general for legal affairs.

 

 

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Asr-e Eghtesad: Parliament has rejected plans on creation of new free trade zones.

 

 

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Asr-e Rasaneh: The shortest path to introduce Iran [to the world] goes through creating a national tourism brand.

 

 

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Bahar: Opposition to women’s [intellectual] growth has nothing to do with Islam; rather it comes from a masculine mentality [toward women], said Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of the chairman of the Expediency Council in an interview with the daily.

 

 

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Ebtekar: The day newspaper chiefs fielded their candidacy

Managing Editors of Ebtekar and Etemad newspapers Mohammad Ali Vakili and Elias Hazrati have fielded their candidacy for parliamentary elections from Tehran constituency.

 

 

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Emtiaz: Some3 ,000 drug users who openly used drugs [on the streets of the capital] have been rounded up.

 

 

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Etemad: A deadline for the imprisoned billionaire

The court has given Babak Zanjani one month to pay back his debts.

 

 

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Jomhouri Islami: Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has said that the West made a mistake by identifying Hezbollah as [manifestation of] terrorism.

Jomhouri Islami: Iran will operationalize the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on January 5, the director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said.

 

 

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Kayhan: A number of MPs have said in interviews with the daily that those seeking to contest the Assembly of Experts and parliament elections should have a transparent stance on sedition [a reference to the 2009 unrest in Iran triggered by the two presidential candidates who disputed the election results].

 

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Mardomsalari: The stage has been set for Iranian researchers to have interaction with the world, said the culture minister in remarks marking National Research Week.

 

 

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Resalat: I approve of [the Guardian Council’s] active oversight 100 percent, said the interior minister.  

Resalat: Samir Kuntar [a high-ranking member of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah] has joined the ranks of martyrs_.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman has said that the assassination of Kuntar is a [jarring] example of state-sponsored terrorism.

 

 

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Rooyesh Mellat: Airis in dire need of surgery, said the health minister.

 

 

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Sayeh: A first international conference on friendship between Iranian and world youth will be held in mid-August 2016in Tehran.

 

 

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Shahrvand: The health minister has said that the number of cancer patients is on the rise in Iran.

 

 

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Sharq: Registration of those running for the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly goes on

Hashemi and Rouhani are to field their candidacy on Monday.

 

 

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Shorou: The Saudi government lacks political rationality, said Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani.

 

 

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It is worth noting that Bani Film, a daily focusing on cinema, did not release its Monday issue due to air pollution.