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Analyst: West Should End Sanctions, Excessive Demands to Get Iran Back to Nuclear Deal

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Mohammad Marandi, who is a US affairs expert, says the Europeans and Americans are after a nuclear deal other than the one agreed among the P5+1 in 2015.

“They want Iran to agree to a new deal, which contains altered and prolonged obligations, and is also tied to negotiations on regional issues and [Iran’s] missiles. Iran has so far resisted these demands and has not accepted them,” Marandi told IRNA.

“Iran is only ready for revival of the nuclear deal in its previously-agreed form on the condition that all sanctions are effectively removed. The visit by the EU’s deputy foreign policy chief and their repeated and futile insistence shows the weakness of Europe and the US, especially seeing the current crude oil prices of 80 dollars, which will possibly rise to 100 dollars, as well as the instability in Iraq, which is not in the interest of western countries, and can further shoot up oil prices.”

Marandi added that the sanctions on Iran, especially on its oil, are no longer sustainable and the western governments have no other means to pressure Iran.

“The US has withdrawn from Afghanistan and is seeking to draw down its presence in the Middle East and concentrate its focus on China to counter them. This calls for the US reducing its costs in West Asia, and deescalating and controlling tensions and confrontation with Iran comes into play here,” he said.

Marandi noted that things have changed in favor of Iran and the western governments need to fulfill their obligations under the nuclear deal in a verifiable manner if they want to see Iran return to its obligations under the accord.

Several American missionaries kidnapped in Haiti

By
IFP Media Wire
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Haiti officials say up to 17 American missionaries have been kidnapped in Haiti on Saturday, The New York Times reported.

The Christian missionaries were leaving an orphanage and traveling to the airport to drop some members off when they were kidnapped by a gang in Port-au-Prince.

Haitian officials were shocked by the act of abducting such a large group of Americans despite how common kidnappings have become in the country.

There are no other details regarding the kidnapping with the State Department telling the outlet it has no comment on the situation.

The Times notes gang activity and kidnappings have only grown in the country, with gangs taking children on their way to school and open firing at school buses.

Haiti has been in political upheaval for years, with the assassination of its president over the summer exacerbating the issues. 

In Port-au-Prince, some say gangs control half the city as officials fight over control of the government.

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry says the country will have presidential and legislative elections in 2022 following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Talks on Iran Nuclear Deal to Resume in Coming Days: Iranian MP

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Tuesday Talks in Vienna to Focus Merely on JCPOA Legal Discussions: Iran

Behrouz Mohebbi made the comment in a tweet on the sidelines of a closed-door meeting with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian while highlighting the effectiveness of the Strategic Action Plan to Lift Sanctions and Protect Iranian Nation’s Interests passed by the Iranian parliament.

“By the Iranian foreign minister’s own admission, the Strategic Action Plan to Lift Sanctions has drawn the attention of influential world countries,” he said.

“All of them have received a clear and serious message,” he explained.

“The government will begin the talks this week with this powerful tool,” he added.

Iran and world powers, including the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, struck the JCPOA on July 14, 2015. Under the accord, Iran agreed to scale back some of its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

However, the US, under former President Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the deal three years later and reinstated crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic, although the country had been fully compliant with the agreement.

Iran and the remaining signatories to the JCPOA have already held six rounds of talks in Vienna, which began after the US administration of President Joe Biden voiced willingness to rejoin the nuclear agreement, three years after Trump’s withdrawal.

Negotiators took a break from the talks after Ebrahim Raeisi emerged victorious in Iran’s June presidential election, waiting for Iran’s democratic transition to take place in order for them to be able to continue the talks, as differences on key issues remained unresolved.

Since the beginning of the Vienna talks, Tehran has argued that the US—as the first party that violated the JCPOA—needs to take the first step by returning to full compliance with the agreement. Tehran also says it will resume all of its nuclear commitments under the deal only after the US lifts all the sanctions.

Taliban vows tightened security at mosques after bloody bombings

By
IFP Media Wire
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The Taliban announced their forces will be tasked with providing security at Shia mosques in in the southern city of Kandahar, in the wake of a “brutal attack” on Friday prayers, which killed at least 60 worshippers.

The head of Kandahar’s police, Maulvi Mehmood, said on Saturday that Shia mosques had so far been guarded by local volunteer forces with special permission to carry weapons. But after the Friday attack on the Bibi Fatima mosque, the Taliban would take charge of its protection.

“Unfortunately, they could not protect this area and in future we will assign special security guards for the protection of mosques and Madrasas,” Mehmood stated. 

He made the remarks as hundreds of people gathered on Saturday to bury the victims of the Friday bomb attack.

According to religious authorities, the toll from the bombing had reached 60. Health officials say the casualties could rise further as “some of the wounded are in a critical condition and we are trying to transfer them to Kabul”.

The massacre came just a week after another Shia mosque in Afghanistan’s northern city of Kunduz was targeted in a bombing during Friday prayers, leaving at least 150 people dead and over 200 others injured.

Both tragedies were claimed by a local affiliate of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, which has a long history of attacking Afghanistan’s Shia minority.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the killings as a “despicable attack” and demanded those using violence to restrict Afghans’ religious freedom be brought to justice.

The Friday attack was the fourth since the Taliban took power in mid-August. The Taliban first ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when the United States invaded the country and toppled the Taliban-run government on the pretext of fighting terrorism following the September 11 attacks in the US.

27th Shipment of COVID-19 Vaccines Arrives in Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The shipment has been provided through the good offices of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS).

“The order now in place with regards to the continuation of vaccine imports is the result of cooperation among relevant institutions together with effective monitoring and prudence by the first vice president, which saw the IRCS import 4 cargos containing a total of 24 million doses of vaccines over the past week,” said IRCS President Karim Hemmati.

“The IRCS has imported some 76 million 390 thousand doses of the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine since May,” he said.

He noted 75% of the country’s population have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus so far.

“According to the health minister, the country’s senior officials have fortunately reached a consensus on the provision of vaccines and expansion of the inoculation drive,” he said.

“By continuing this trend, we can soon vaccinate the whole population,” Hemmati said.

He urged people to get vaccinated as soon as possible as, according to the National Coronavirus Task Force, the sixth peak of the disease looms large.

Now that mobile vaccination teams are operating across the nation 24/7, he said, all citizens across the country have the chance to get vaccinated and weather the sixth coronavirus surge.

According to the health ministry, more than 48 thousand people have received their first COVID-19 dose so far, with over 23.7 million getting their second jab as well.

Damascus: Israel assassinates ex-Syrian lawmaker

By
IFP Media Wire
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Syria has accused Israel of assassinating on Saturday a former member of the Syrian parliament who, state news agency SANA reported.

Medhat al-Saleh “was martyred as the Israeli enemy targeted him with fire while returning home” on Saturday, according to SANA. The shooting took place in Ain al-Tineh, a village inside Syria overlooking the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights’ Majdal Shams.

Saleh was killed by gunfire, according to reports, though it was not clear if he was shot from an aircraft or from the ground.

Locals told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that there had been a heavy presence of helicopters and drones in Majdal Shams on Saturday.

The Syrian government denounced the killing as a “cowardly criminal act”.

Israel has declined to comment, with a military spokesperson telling Reuters that the military does not comment on foreign reports.

Saleh, 54, was released from prison in 1998 after serving 12 years on charges of “resistance” to Israeli authorities. He later served in the Syrian parliament. In 2005, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appointed Saleh to the Golan Heights’ portfolio.

Saleh was a well-known figure in the Golan Heights, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel’s takeover led to the expulsion of 131,00 Syrians from the cities of Quneitra and Fiq, as well as some 137 villages and 112 farms in the area, according to official Syrian figures.

N Khorasan Exports Rise by 250 Percent in First Half of Year

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Director of the organization Hassan Haj Baglou says petrochemical products accounted for 80.6 percent of the exports in the period. That is 148,000 tons of such products worth 58.3 million dollars.

Haj Baglou added that industrial products were the second largest exports of the province in the period, accounting for 18.3 of the total exports. That is 65,700 tons of products worth 13.3 million dollars.

He added that Northern Khorasan’s industrial exports also surged by 118 percent in terms of value in the first six months of the year. The province’s industrial exports focused on steel, aluminum and cement, worth 6.5, 4.2 and 1.1 million dollars, respectively.

According to Haj Baglou, the province has so far also exported 1,500 tons of food and agricultural products worth 800,000 dollars. That is an 84-percent rise compared to the same period the previous year.

EU Says Thinking of No ‘Plan B’ on Iran Nuclear Talks

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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EU Says Thinking of No ‘Plan B’ on Iran Nuclear Talks

The EU foreign policy chief says the bloc has currently no decision to go for what some media reports are calling a “Plan B” on Iran.
“It’s time to go back to the negotiating table. And I don’t want to think about Plan Bs because no… Plan B that I could imagine would be a good one,” Josep Borrell said.
He added that he is open to discussions with Iranian officials in Brussels as part of efforts to revive the talks with Iran on the 2015 nuclear deal, but warned that ‘time is running out’.
His comments come after a recent meeting between the EU’s Coordinator for the nuclear talks Enrique Mora and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Baqeri in Tehran.
During the meeting, Baqeri, who is Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, said Tehran is after tangible results in any new talks with the parties to the nuclear deal.
He said Tehran is always ready for serious negotiations that result in an agreement that translates into action.
The talks in Vienna on revival of the nuclear deal were halted due the change in administration in Iran. Tehran says it will return to the talks as soon as the new negotiating team is ready, but has warned that it will not take part in endless negotiations.

Persepolis suffers defeat against Al Hilal in 2021 ACL quarters

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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It was in the 27th minute of the match when Salem Al-Dawsari gave the hosts at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium a valuable lead.

Al-Hilal’s French striker Bafetimbi Gomis scored twice in the 50th and 70th minute to put the result beyond doubt.

Al Hilal will lock horns with Al Nassr on Tuesday in an all-Saudi Arabian semi-final.

On Friday, Persepolis officially protested against a lack of proper coordination in holding training sessions, and allocating all stadium seats to Al Hilal.

The Iranian club has sent an official protest letter to the AFC.

Also on Wednesday, players and coaches of Persepolis had to head back home from Tehran Mehrabad Airport after their flight to Saudi Arabia was canceled because the kingdom failed to issue a permit for their flight. The team flew to Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening instead.

Austria official says Vienna has common concerns with Tehran over Daesh

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

In this meeting, Amirabdollahian called the ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Austria age-old and said, “We attach great importance to these relations”.

Amirabdullahian expressed hope for increased economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. He also appreciated the donation of vaccine by Austria to the Islamic Republic and called for more cooperation with Vienna on the Covid pandemic and vaccine.

The Iranian foreign minister called on the European Union to adopt a more responsible approach to the rights of displaced Afghans and condemned the terrorist attacks in recent weeks in Afghanistan.

The Iranian foreign minister also described the rise of Daesh and Takfiri terror groups in Afghanistan as dangerous.

Secretary General of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peter Launsky, also praised the friendly relations between his country and Iran and expressed hope that the Iran nuclear deal will be revived with the cooperation of all parties.

Launsky also condemned the recent terrorist acts in Afghanistan, noting that the Islamic Republic of Iran and Austria have common concerns about Daesh terrorists.

He also stressed Austria’s support for meetings of Afghanistan’s neighbors to resolve the country’s problems.

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