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Iran condemns terror attack in Lahore, Pakistan

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh expressed sympathy with those affected by the incident, the families of the victims and the brotherly government of Pakistan.

Khatibzadeh said such acts of terror once again highlight the need to fight terrorist groups in order to establish peace and stability in the region.

The terrorist attack, a bombing, happened in a crowded bazaar on Thursday in Lahore. The explosion killed 2 people and wounded dozens more.

A newly formed separatist group from southwestern Baluchistan Province claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier condemned the bombing in a statement

Raisi: Iran, Russia can join forces to break US dollar’s dominance

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Upon returning home from Moscow, Raisi said on Friday that his talks in Russia centered on the realization of the Iranian foreign policy’s macrp goals, namely “maximum interaction” with all world countries, especially aligned states and allies.

Undoubtedly, he added, the expansion of ties with Russia would contribute to the security and prosperity of both nations and would, at the same time, build security in the region and the entire world.

Raisi referred to the talks on the financial and banking issues between the two sides and said, “Both states can take steps to break the dollar’s dominance on bilateral financial and banking relations and do business in their national currencies.”

He said during his visit, senior Iranian and Russian authorities explored ways to remove the obstacles in the way of boosting trade and take a leap forward in that sphere.

“In the first step, the two counties agreed to increase the value of bilateral commerce to $10 billion per year,” said the president, adding that the current volume of trade between the two sides is unacceptable.

Raisi said Iran and Russia also held good talks on activating the North-South Transport Corridor and broadening cooperation in the fields of energy, defense, aerospace and space.

He expressed hope that the agreements reached with Russia during the trip would be operationalized as soon as possible, saying, “Iran-Russia cooperation will certainly help the resolution of regional and international issues and promote security, stability, peace and justice.”

Raisi: US, EU, failed to fulfill obligations under JCPOA

By
IFP Media Wire
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Iran took the Vienna negotiations on restoring the 2015 nuclear agreement “very seriously”, Raisi told RT in an exclusive interview.

He added that the barrier to restoring the treaty remains Washington’s refusal to abide by its terms.

“What we have seen so far is a violation of obligations on the part of the Americans,” Raisi stated.

The US has “officially violated the treaty”, Raisi said, referring to the Donald Trump administration’s decision to officially exit from the agreement, negotiated by its predecessor.

The nuclear deal was negotiated by the Barack Obama administration in 2015. Tehran agreed to strict oversight of its nuclear energy program in exchange for relief from sanctions imposed by the United Nations at US urging. The Trump administration unilaterally reimposed those sanctions in 2018.

Raisi noted that the European parties to the treaty – France, Germany and the UK – have “also failed to fulfill their obligations” under the JCPOA through “the lack of new appropriate measures” to deal with the US violation.

“The International Atomic Energy Agency stated 15 times that Iran had fulfilled its obligations, that Iran was committed to its obligations,” Raisi told RT, stating, “So, we have fulfilled our obligations, but they have violated theirs. They must fulfill their obligations. We didn’t break anything.”

Upon taking office in January 2021, US President Joe Biden said he was open to returning to the JCPOA if Iran came back into compliance. Tehran responded that Washington needs to come into compliance first, starting with the removal of sanctions.

“If the parties are ready to lift sanctions, the ground for reaching an agreement on nuclear issues is absolutely ready,” added Raisi, who became president in August 2021, after previously serving as Iran’s chief justice and attorney general.

Taliban reject Biden remarks over disunity in Afghanistan

By
IFP Media Wire
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Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry Abdul Qahar Balkhi wrote on Twitter Biden’s remarks over “Afghanistan being the graveyard of empires” reflect the fact that Afghan people have been united.

The spokesperson admitted that the people of Afghanistan have not been united when being under the occupation but added that the people have always fought against transgressors together and with unity.

“Separated nations cannot defeat superpowers; these are only the united nations that eliminate empires and superpowers. We see that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has ensured security across Afghanistan, has united people, and has established a centralized government after the defeat of occupants,” he added.

“Disunity is a phenomenon that has been used by occupants as a tool and means for their survival but Afghan people have fought them with shared Islamic faith and shared historical gains,” he continued.

Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Biden claimed that no one can unite the Afghan people under the umbrella of a single government.

US says Iran’s nuclear talks at ‘urgent’ point

By
IFP Media Wire
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“There is real urgency and it’s really now a matter of weeks, where we determine whether or not we can return to mutual compliance with the agreement,” Blinken told a joint news conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Thursday.

Baerbock also stated that “urgent progress” is needed at talks aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear deal, after a meeting with Blinken.

“The window for finding a solution is closing,” she told reporters in Berlin, adding, “The negotiations are in a decisive phase. We need urgent, urgent progress, otherwise we will not be successful in reaching a joint accord.”

Iran has rejected Western officials’ remarks about a deadline for reaching an agreement and stressed the country is only after a good agreement. Tehran says the Iranian negotiators in Vienna talks on removal of US sanctions will continue their presence in the Austrian capital as long as needed and will not pay attention to the deadlines set by the other sides.
Iran and the five remaining parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — Germany, Britain, France, Russia and China — began the talks in the Austrian capital in April with the aim of removing the sanctions after the US voiced its willingness to return to the agreement.

During the seventh round of the Vienna talks, the first under President Ebrahim Raeisi, Iran presented two draft texts which address, separately, the removal of US sanctions and Iran’s return to its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA. Tehran also said it was preparing a third draft text on the verification of the sanctions removal.

The eighth round of talks kicked off in Vienna in late December. The negotiations seek to restore the JCPOA in its original form and bring the US back into the agreement.

Iran insists that the talks must lead to the removal of all American sanctions that were imposed against Tehran following Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the landmark agreement in May 2018. Tehran has also demanded credible guarantees that Washington will not abandon the deal again.

Heavy snow, flooding block dozens of roads across Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Ali Akbar Ashouri said on Thursday that efforts have been ongoing round the clock to open the blocked roads as soon as possible.

Due to heavy snow storms, rain and floods in some parts of the country, it is necessary to travel with snow chains and other winter equipment in mountainous areas, he said.
Some of the worst affected provinces are Golestan, Mazandaran, Semnan, Hamedan, Kordestan, Zanjan and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad.

Many parts of Iran have experienced their heaviest snowfalls in years leading to transport disruptions, cancelation of flights and closure of roads.

Meanwhile, in the southern Hormozgan province, torrential rains over the past two weeks have caused extensive damage to people’s houses and farms.

The worst affected are the cities of Minab and Rudan, where many roads have been inundated.

Iranian pres. meets head of Russian muftis in Moscow

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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At the meeting, Raisi said his trip to Russia will mark a turning point in economic, political and, in particular, cultural ties between the two nations.

He added that relations with Russia’s Muslims are very important for Iran.
He also spoke about the threat of extremism, saying what is worrying today alongside atheism is the issue of extremism.

He added that extremism and the Takfiri ideology have dealt a blow to Muslims, saying all Muslims should be sensitive to the Takfiri ideology.

The president then referred to Iran and Russia’s role in Syria, adding the two countries fought puppets of the global arrogance and the Zionist regime in the Arab country.
He underlined the need to prevent deviations among Muslims.

Ravil Einoddin for his part expressed pleasure at Raisi’s visit to Russia, describing it as very important for Russian Muslims.

Einoddin also referred to a picture showing Ayatollah Raisi praying at the Kremlin during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He hailed Raisi’s prayer as super symbolic and outstanding.

Einoddin said he heard from some people who sent him messages about the picture that the Iranian president’s prayer brought blessings to the Kremlin.

Iran, Russia, China to hold joint naval drill

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The IRIB quoted the Public relations Office of the Iranian Army as saying that the combined drill code-named 2022 Maritime Security Belt will involve surface and flight units of the navies of Iran, Russia and China.

Rear Admiral Mostafa Tajeddini, spokesman for Naval Security Belt 2022, said this is the third combined exercise that will continue in the future with its message being peace and friendship.

He said that the exercise will be held in accordance with pre-arranged plans.

Rear Admiral Tajeddini added that the purpose of this drill is to strengthen security in the region and expand multilateral cooperation between the three countries.

Rear Admiral Tajeddini went on to say that this exercise envisions various tactical exercises such as rescuing a floating vessel, securing a hijacked vessel, shooting at specific targets, shooting at air targets at night and other tactical and operational exercises.

He added the goals of this exercise also include strengthening the security of international maritime trade, combating piracy and maritime terrorism, exchanging information regarding maritime rescue and exchanging operational and tactical experiences.

Kahatibzadeh: Iran to continue supporting ‘one-China policy’

By
IFP Media Wire
-

As their foreign ministers exchanged visits to deepen their partnership in the past year, Iran and China are now “facing a new horizon of cooperation”, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Khatibzadeh stated besides the geographical proximity between Iran and China, it is history, culture, politics, and people-to-people relations that connect the two nations which have been connected by the Silk Road since ancient times.

Notably, the establishment of their comprehensive strategic partnership in January 2016 marked “a very important moment, and a turning point in terms of creating new pillars for the bilateral relationship”, he added.

China and Iran signed a comprehensive cooperation plan during a visit paid by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Tehran last year when the two countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

When Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian visited China in mid-January, the two sides jointly initiated the implementation of the 25-year plan after “a very comprehensive and lengthy discussion between the two foreign ministers”, the spokesperson noted.

With recent developments in bilateral ties, the two countries now have “a good start to go into more details” of how they can implement their consensus in different sections and fields, Khatibzadeh continued.

Iran has always supported China in its core concerns over the one-China policy and other issues, while China has also assisted Iran in different fields like the fight against COVID-19 in this very hard time, the spokesman said.

The Iran-China relationship not only benefits the two countries, but also the region and the whole world, as they jointly confront unilateralism and “the policy of coercion that Washington is trying to dictate to the international arena”, he added.

Khatibzadeh, also the president of the Center for Public Diplomacy at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said that it is a necessity to take into consideration people-to-people contacts and communications, and carefully “draft, craft and calibrate” and enhance ties in public diplomacy.

Both countries have decided to cooperate to bring their people closer, he added, highlighting the need for Iranians and Chinese to better understand each other.

The two countries have been proactively promoting people-to-people exchanges. Iran has decided to waive visas for Chinese tourists, and now new Chinese movies are hitting screens in Iran. They have launched new Chinese language courses in Iranian universities, and Persian in Chinese universities, with frequent interaction between institutions of the two sides.

Additionally, various exhibitions and fairs have been held by Chinese organizers in Iran, while Iran also plans to organize similar events in China, Khatibzadeh noted.

More importantly, Iran and China are trying to help each other confront misinformation campaigns targeting the two countries, launched by the United States and other Western countries, he said, adding, “We have to work together more to avoid this propaganda that is trying to sabotage our relations.”

With regard to the plots to politicize “this very common sports event” — the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, Khatibzadeh stated Iran has repeatedly condemned such attempts “to misuse this opportunity to advance their ill political agenda”.

“We not only condemn them, but we are also trying to orchestrate a voice in our region and around the globe that everybody should seize this very opportunity of the Winter Olympics to work together,” he continued.

Stressing that “the spirit of Olympics dictates everybody attend regardless of differences”, Khatibzadeh announced Iran will participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics and “represent at the highest level possible”.

Deadly blast targets Lahore’s shopping district

By
IFP Media Wire
-

At least three people were killed and 20 injured Thursday after a bomb blast rocked a busy shopping market of Lahore, Pakistan police confirmed.

“Initial investigations show that it was a time-controlled device on a motorbike which was the cause of the blast,” Rana Arif, spokesman for Lahore police, told news agency AFP.

The blast that shattered windows of nearby shops and buildings took place at the Paan Mandi in Lahore’s famous Anarkali market, where Indian commodities are sold.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but there have been a series of blasts and attacks against police since December, when a truce between the government and Pakistan’s Taliban lapsed.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — a home-grown movement that shares common roots with the Afghan Taliban — has claimed responsibility for most of those incidents.

“We are ascertaining the nature of blast. Over 20 people have been injured in blast and shifted to hospitals,” Deputy Inspector General Police Operation Dr Mohammad Abid told reporters at the site of the blast.

The Counter Terrorism Department and Bomb Disposal Squad officials have reached the spot and are examining the nature of the blast, he added.

The injured have been shifted to the Mayo Hospital where two succumbed to their injuries, according to the Rescue 1122.

Mayo Hospital medical superintendent Dr Iftikhar said that two persons including a boy succumbed to their wounds. He added the condition of four injured brought to the hospital is critical.

Several motorcycles and vendors’ stalls were also damaged on the blast and Police have cordoned off the area. The whole Anarkali Bazaar has been shut after the blast.

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