Healthy Ministry figures on Monday shows that 42 people died of the disease over the past 24.
The total Covid fatalities stand at 130,764. The number of new cases and hospitalizations also decreased considerably. Since Sunday, 2706 new infections of Covid were logged including 442 hospitalizations.
The total caseload is 6,157,519 people. The majority of them, that is, 5,975,404 people have recovered from Covid.
The downward trend in Covid deaths and injections has not dissuaded authorities from pressing ahead with the nationwide vaccination campaign. The total number of doses administered in Iran is now 111,084,738 doses. The doses include 2,745,192 booster shots.
Currently there are no red zones in Iran in terms of Covid risk while 321 cities and towns are marked blue, the lowest level of danger from the disease. Meanwhile, 8 cities are orange and 119 ones are yellow.
Iran Covid: Daily death toll falls below 50
Report: Iran protests new US bans during Vienna talks
According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, the measures by the US have raised objections both by Iran and some other delegations in the talks between Tehran and the P4+1 group of countries, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germnany.
The objections reportedly center on the fact that the sanctions were timed to be imposed on the eve of the talks.
According to the report, the Iranian negotiating team has announced that Washington cannot claim to seek return to the nuclear agreement while it is simultaneously intensifying its campaign of the so-called maximum pressure against the Iranian nation, through fresh sanctions.
The report says the Iranian side has reiterated that continuation of this approach by the US will backfire and lead to greater complications in the process of the talks.
The US imposed its latest set of sanctions on Iranian entities and individuals as well as their alleged foreign partners just before the resumption of the seventh round of the Vienna talks Thursday.
Iran has repeatedly stressed that removal of all sanctions introduced or re-imposed since the Donald Trump administration’s withdrawal from the nuclear accord in 2018 is the only way forward to return of the US to the deal.
Closing ceremony of the 20th Festival of Ritual and Traditional Drama
From among 285 works contesting various sections of Iran’s 20th Festival of Ritual and Traditional Drama, 96 works competed in sections of scene, field, ritual (imitation and Ta’zieh), Iranian dramas, traditional dolls, Iran’s shoots, coffeehouse and international seminar. The event lasted one week and ended on Sunday.
Iran sanctions US individuals, entities for human rights violations
“There is the subject of reciprocity in the law and Iran has taken action on the same basis and some individuals and legal persons in the US, including people involved in the field of human rights, have been sanctioned,” Deputy Judiciary Chief and the council’s secretary Kazem Gharibabadi said.
He touched on the US travel bans and asset freezes on Iranian individuals and entities over the past two years, saying the sanctions by Iran are a response to such measures.
“We will not stay silent against violations of the law by the US. We may not have the strong financial backing to impose sanctions on the US, but we can, at least, do what we can and announce the names of individuals and say that they have violated human rights,” he stressed.
Israeli PM meets UAE Crown Prince in Abu Dhabi
It marked the first official visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to the United Arab Emirates and comes 15 months after the signing of a normalization agreement between the two countries.
Bennett had earlier highlighted growing trade ties between his country and the UAE in an interview with WAM, the Emirates’ state-run news agency. But there was no mention in the agency’s write-up of the interview of tensions with Iran.
“The volume of mutual trade has expedited within a few months with limitless future opportunities to develop it. Israel, like the UAE, is a regional hub for trade. Our cooperation provides unprecedented economic opportunities not only for us, but for more countries, which is another element for enhancing stability and prosperity in this region,” Bennett is quoted as saying.
The Israeli leader mentioned cyber security, health, education and aviation as four areas where the two countries were enjoying fruitful trade and investment, WAM wrote.
In addition to trade, the normalization agreement signed between Israel and the UAE, one of a series of such agreements inked between Israel and Arab states in the last months of the Donald Trump administration, is also seen in Israel as having a strong regional security component to it, specifically, shared concerns over Iran.
But the interview made only the slightest possible nod in that direction, writing: ‘On the UAE’s efforts to enhance international cooperation for facing common challenges, the Israeli Prime Minister stressed, “The values of tolerance, peace and dialogue are common, and that is why the friendship that unites us developed at such a high speed.’”
Three Hamas members killed in Lebanon camp shooting
Hamas official Raafat al-Murra said people from the rival Fatah movement “shot at the funeral procession” of a Palestinian killed in a blast on Friday at the Burj al-Shemali camp, outside the port city of Tyre.
Six people were wounded, he added.
Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since 2007 when the former defeated party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in parliamentary elections in besieged Gaza Strip.
One camp resident told the AFP news agency that there was a dispute “when the funeral procession arrived at the camp cemetery and suddenly there was shooting towards the crowd”, adding that in the chaos it was unclear who was shooting at whom.
Another resident said that “when the shooting started, the funeral procession pulled back … and people fled.” The resident added that Fatah was on alert following the incident.
An electrical short circuit in a store containing oxygen supplies for COVID patients caused Friday’s blast, Hamas had claimed, denying reports that an arms depot blew up.
The explosion blackened the walls and shattered the windows of a nearby mosque.
“The fire caused damage to property but the impact was limited,” Hamas said.
According to a Palestinian official, one man died of his injuries from the explosion, which also left several people wounded.
On Sunday, mourners had been out on the streets of the Burj al-Shemali camp, shouting pro-Hamas slogans.
Armed elements of both Fatah and Hamas had been deployed before the funeral.
Lebanon is home to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Many live in the 12 refugee camps that are scattered across the small Mediterranean country.
A number of armed Palestinian factions, including those linked to Hamas and Fatah, hold effective control over the camps, which Lebanese authorities by custom do not enter.
‘Serious doubts about Canada’s goodwill over human rights
Mirza Ali Varzzadeh is accused of sending the cases of 8,000 people to higher echelons of SAVAK, which constitutes violation of human rights.
The writer of the commentary says regardless of the value of the former SAVAK agent in terms of revealing the crimes of the Pahlavi regime, there are serious doubts about Canada’s goodwill in defending human rights. Hessameddin Ghamous Moghaddam also referred to the participation of Canada’s former prime minister Stephen Harper at an annual meeting of anti-Iran terrorist group, MKO and addressed other participants in the event.
He added that this was a gathering organized by a terrorist cult that has the blood of 12,000 people on its hands.
Ghamous Moghaddam asks, “Canada should name a member of the MKO it deported for the violation of human rights”.
The MKO aside, the legal expert added, Canada has given refuge to the notorious suspect behind one of the biggest financial corruption cases in Iranian history, Mahmoudreza Khavari and it has refused to cooperate with the Interpol in extradition of the man. If Canada is worried about human rights, it must understand that the Iranian people have a right to put on trial those who plundered their wealth, he said.
Ghamous Moghaddam added that extraditing the likes of Mirza Ali and giving refuge to people like Khavari and MKO terrorists only further expose Western double standards toward the issue of human rights.
Palestinian youth killed by Israeli troops in WB
The Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported the atrocity on Monday, identifying the victim as a young male, who lost his life during a raid by the forces at Nablus’ Old City.
Reuters reported Israel’s paramilitary border police said undercover forces opened fire at Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus.
The agency claimed that the fatality was caused, when the forces confronted Palestinians, who were “hurling explosive devices” at the forces.
It also alleged that the skirmish erupted after the forces hunted down a “wanted” Palestinian.
The Palestinian resistance movement of the Islamic Jihad mourned the youth’s martyrdom in a statement, but did not identify him as one of its members.
Also on Monday, Israeli forces assaulted the al-Ain refugee camp in Nablus as well as the city of Bethlehem in the west-central part of the West Bank.
Israeli forces fired teargas canisters to disperse the Palestinians during the latter raid.
The developments come only two days after Israeli troops killed a young Palestinian and injured as many as 68 others, attacking the southern part of Nablus.
The Israeli regime occupied the West Bank in 1967 before starting to dot the Palestinian territory with illegal settlements and severely restricting the Palestinians’ freedom of movement there.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights also said in a report that the murder of Palestinian youth Jamil Abu Ayyash, 31, in the occupied West Bank village of Beita on Friday was a result of the excessive use of force by the Israeli occupation army, amounting to a war crime, WAFA news agency reported.
According to PCHR’s investigations, the Israeli occupation army directly targeted the Abu Ayyash in the head at a close range of 50 meters, without any justification or posing threat to the soldiers’ lives, which, according to the report, proves unjustifiable lenient shooting standards in the Israeli army in disregard of Palestinian civilians’ lives.
“These crimes reflect the excessive use of force in circumstances where there was no imminent threat to the soldiers’ lives and prove Israeli lenient shooting standards against the Palestinian civilians,” the report added.
PCHR urged the international community to act immediately to stop the Israeli crimes, and renewed its call on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e. to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention and guarantee Palestinian civilians’ right to protection in the occupied Palestinian Territory.
Air quality in Tehran remains unhealthy for sensitive groups
The Iranian capital city’s air quality index was at 145 in the late hours of Sunday.
Tehran has had 195 days with acceptable air quality and 64 days with air quality unhealthy for sensitive groups as well as 6 days rated unhealthy for all since the beginning of the new Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21.
High pollution rate during the cold seasons have turned into a major problem in large Iranian cities over the past years.
Officials say fossil fuels used by millions of vehicles, power plants and factories are the main culprits for the air pollution.
Russia: Iran proposals show Tehran’s seriousness over restoring JCPOA
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik the chances of reaching an agreement on restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have increased.
“I think that now, the likelihood that we will come to an agreement has increased compared to what it was before the resumption of negotiations. I would rather say that there are reasons to expect some progress, not fast but at least clear, without any kickbacks and additional factors that can complicate [the situation]” Ryabkov said.
Besides, the proposals put forward by Iran at the Vienna-hosted talks on the JCPOA, according to Ryabkov, demonstrate Tehran’s utmost seriousness about restoring the nuclear deal.
“There are other proposals presented not only by Iran. Negotiations are for finding a common denominator. It is not hopeless. On the contrary, there is material for consideration. As for the Iranian proposals, I can only say one thing — they have demonstrated the utmost seriousness of their approach to the task,” Ryabkov added.
At the same time, the deputy foreign minister noted, that it is counterproductive to threaten Iran with sanctions against the background of the nuclear talks in Vienna – something the US does.
“This is their usual method — trying to drive someone to heaven with sticks. We constantly explain to the Americans the counterproductiveness of this approach,” Ryabkov stated.
