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Morning prayers held in Saudi Arabia without social distancing

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The Saudi government has abolished the need for social distancing in holding prayers in all mosques, and today users posted images of congregational prayers in Mecca and Medina. However, all worshipers were required to wear masks.

Meanwhile, for the first time since the Covid pandemic, the management of the holy shrines in Mecca and Medina has spread carpets in the mosques and courtyards.

On Saturday, the Saudi Interior Ministry ordered the cancellation of some preventive measures related to the pandemic, which included the end of social distancing in all indoor areas.

It also announced that it was no longer necessary to present a negative PCR test to enter the country.

So far, 747,119 people have been infected with Covid in Saudi Arabia. The disease has killed more than 9,000 people. Also, the kingdom has imported 61 million 405 thousand doses of vaccine to contain the disease.

Taliban lash against millennial Persian New Year ritual

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The spokesman of the Taliban’s ministry of vice and virtue, Molavi Mohammad-Sadeq Akef-Mohajer, said Nowruz was a “magus” holiday, which means the occasion originates from the Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of Persia (ancient Iran.)

The Taliban official said such a holiday was not rooted in Islam, adding, “Nowruz is specific to Magis (pagans). We do not thus see it necessary to mark the occasion.”

“We should wait for a decision by the department for labor and social affairs. In all likelihood, the three [first] days of Nowruz will not be declared holidays,” he said.

During its first rule from 1996-2001, the Taliban group had banned Nowruz, describing it as “an ancient pagan holiday centered on fire worship.”

In the years that followed the Taliban’s removal from power, the celebration of Nowruz was observed zealously and enjoyed by Afghans of all backgrounds.

The New Year, which will ring in on March 21, marks the start of the Persian calendar year. It is, however, not just Iranians who celebrate Nowruz, which means New Day. Millions worldwide, mainly in Afghanistan, and the Kurdish regions of Iraq, Turkey and Syria, and throughout Central Asia, observe the millennial spring ritual.

The United Nations officially recognized the “International Day of Nowruz” with the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly in February 2010.

Nowruz “promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families,” the world body says.

“Iran’s exports to Iraq to reach over $9 billion by year’s end”

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Yahya Al Es’haq also said the important point in trade with Iraq is a significant increase in imports from this country, adding: “This year, imports from Iraq have reached about $2 billion, while last year the value of our imports from the country was about $140 million to $150 million.”

Al Es’haq noted that increasing imports from this country can help maintain stable trade relations between the two countries.

He also stressed that given the capacities of Iran and Iraq, the two countries can increase their trade relations to $20 billion annually.

The chairman of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce noted that to do so, the problem of exporting technical and engineering services to Iraq must be resolved.

He added, “Iraq has a lot of possibilities and given that its modernization and reconstruction is underway, it will be the largest country for us in terms of investment, development and trade for the next 15 years.”

Referring to the need to connect Shalamcheh in Iran to Basra in Iraq through railway, Al Es’haq said the launch of this railway line can also link Iran to Syria and Oman.

Iran storing fuel for future export as energy crisis looms over Europe: Official

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Jalil Salari, the CEO of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, made the announcement on Sunday, explaining that the firm has developed some additional export capacity but is currently focused on ensuring fuel storage, besides meeting domestic demand.

“Given the predictions of a hike in fuel prices, our interest is in and focus is on currently storing fuel and postponing exports to the future,” Salari said.

He said Iran had exported three shipments of diesel fuel to Asian countries last month.

Europe is facing a potential energy crisis amid war in Ukraine. Russia launched a military offensive against Ukraine on February 24 over concerns about NATO’s expansion toward Russian borders.

Europe, a major importer of Russian energy, has been scrambling to decrease its energy dependence on Russia over the offensive, which Western countries have described as unprovoked, and unless alternative suppliers are found, the continent risks plunging into a major energy crisis.

Gas prices have already hit record highs in the days since the Russian offensive began, disrupting energy markets.

Iranian MP: Iran to sign deal in Vienna only after resolution of differences

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Abolfazl Amouei said Iran will not sign the deal unless those differences are resolved.
The lawmaker added that Iran is demanding the US remove sanctions against the Islamic republic and enable international cooperation per Paragraph 29 of the deal.

Referring to the Russian foreign minister’s remarks about receiving a guarantee from the United States, he noted that is Russia’s demand from the US and has nothing to do with Iran.

Amouei noted that the US and Russia must resolve their differences with each other because it is about their bilateral relations that are currently affected by the Ukraine crisis.

He added that Iran has done its best to keep the Vienna talks away from the Ukraine crisis or developments in Eastern Europe.

“The fact is that today worries about the US adherence to its obligations are beyond Iran, and various countries are concerned about whether the Americans will stick by their commitments under this agreement if the nuclear deal, JCPOA, is revived, and in this regard, Iran wants to get a guarantee” Amouei noted.

He also said this is a logical demand and the Islamic Republic insists on obtaining guarantees for the sustainable implementation of the JCPOA

Houthis, UN ink deal to offload abandoned oil tanker off Yemen

By
IFP Media Wire
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The decaying SAFER FSO tanker contains an estimated 1.1 million barrels of oil and has been moored and left without maintenance near the Yemeni port of Ras Isa in the Red Sea since 2015s.

The 45-year-old ship, long used as a floating oil storage platform, is threatening to break up or explode in what would be an ecological and humanitarian catastrophe.

It would normally transfer Yemeni oil into other tankers for shipment, but the Saudi-led war has put a stop to oil trade in the country, shuttering its pipelines and ports.

In a post on his Twitter account on Saturday, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of Yemen’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee, announced a deal with the UN to avert oil spill.

“A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the United Nations for the Safer tanker,” he added.

A deal had earlier been reached for a technical UN team to inspect the vessel and conduct repairs, but final agreement on logistical arrangements did not materialize.

Previously, Ansarullah demanded safeguards from the UN to be able to sell oil extracted from the aging vessel. However, illegal sanctions have made it impossible.

Independent studies have warned that an oil spill could destroy ecosystems in the Red Sea, shut down Yemen’s lifeline Hudaydah port and expose millions of people to high levels of pollution.

Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war against Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and several Western states.

The objective was to return to power the former Riyadh-backed regime and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective government in Yemen.

The war has stopped well shy of all of its goals, despite killing tens of thousands of Yemenis and turning entire Yemen into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Yemeni forces have continued to grow stronger in the face of the Saudi-led invaders, advancing toward strategic areas held by Saudi-led mercenaries, including Ma’rib province, and conducting several rounds of counterstrikes against Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent months.

Iranian Parliament votes to eliminate subsidized exchange rate: Report

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran Parliament

In a session debating the Iranian administration’s proposed budget plan for the next Iranian calendar year on Sunday, Iranian lawmakers voted 194 to 42 to eliminate the low exchange rate, IRNA reported.

An amended article in the budget plan stipulates that the Iranian administration will have to offer “electronic coupons” for those imported essential goods that would have been eligible for the subsidized exchange rate to ensure that the Iranian people will be able to purchase these goods at the same rate of mid-September 2021.

However, later on Sunday, Rahim Zare’, a spokesman for the Iranian Parliament’s Budget Review Committee, denied reports that the Parliament had voted to eliminate the subsidized exchange rate.

He said the Iranian lawmakers had merely stipulated that the Iranian administration would have to offer electronic coupons for goods if it chooses to remove them from a list of imported commodities eligible for the subsidized exchange rate.

Zare’ said the Iranian administration had been given the discretion to eliminate or keep the subsidized exchange rate for the next Iranian calendar year.

Iran currently uses three different exchange rates, the subsidized rate, the market rate, and a rate controlled by the Central Bank known as the NIMA rate

Covid kills 201 people in 24 hours in Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The latest deaths push to 137,948 the total number of people killed by Covid since the pandemic began two years ago.

Meanwhile, 5,586 new cases were logged that include 1,014 hospitalizations.

The daily caseload has overall dropped compared to several days ago.

Nearly 24 million people in Iran are triple-vaxxed while the total number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country stands at over 142.8 million.

Many of the new cases of Covid in Iran are Omicron, the latest strain of the virus that is highly contagious.

Experts deny a popular belief that Omicron is not as deadly as the previous variants of the virus, urging people to be wary of strain.

Omicron also differs from other variants of Covid in that it also infects children in large numbers.

Now most Iranian cities are marked red and orange, which respectively denote the highest level of risk from the disease. A few cities are blue, the color of normality in terms of danger from Covid.

Palestinian youth shot dead by Israeli troops in Jerusalem

By
IFP Media Wire
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Israeli police claimed that its officers opened fire at Kareem Jamal Qawasmi, 19, after he allegedly attempted to stab two of them with a knife.

According to witnesses, the young man was left bleeding helplessly on the ground until he died of his critical wounds in a few minutes.

Following the incident, the Israeli police locked down all the entrances to the old city and set up checkpoints at the roads leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the east side of the old city.

Leader calls for development of clean energies, protection of environment

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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“Developing non-fossil energies such as the nuclear energy, which is being increasingly used across the world and countries in our region are also moving in that direction, as well [developing] wind and solar power, should be seriously pursued,” the leader said in a ceremony to mark the National Tree-Planting Day.

During the ceremony, Ayatollah Khamenei also planted two saplings to mark the National Tree-Planting Day and Week of Natural Resources.

“Destruction of forests and environment and vegetation is tantamount to destruction of national interests and razing part of forests for construction, except in emergency cases, definitely hurts the nation,” the leader stressed.

Ayatollah Khamenei also called for protection of water and soil as “two great assets and vital reserves of nations”, adding that officials should use experts’ opinion in this regard.

The leader then tasked the Department of Environment and the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad to prevent conversion
of farmlands.

he said such conversions hurt national interests, noting that farmlands should, rather, expand.

The leader then addressed the issue of poaching, noting that any illegal hunting is banned by the law and religious teachings.

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