Vienna Talks Have Nothing to Do with Iran’s Presidential Elections: Spokesman

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June 1, 2021

Ali Rabiei, however, expressed hope the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which is a key subject of the talks in Vienna, will be revived by the end of the tenure of incumbent Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s administration.

“There are no major obstacles to the revival of the JCPOA. It is natural that some events have happened due to the complexities caused by the Trump-era sanctions as well as the progress we have made,” he said.

“With the willpower which exists in capitals, this issue will be resolved, too,” he added.

He also expressed hope sanctions will soon be lifted. He made it clear that Iran is in no rush in the talks, but at the same time wouldn’t like to see the negotiations drag on.

Technical Failure at F-5 Jet Fighter Leads to Deaths of Two Iranian Pilots

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 1, 2021

The pilots of two-seater jet were killed as a result of the abnormal activation of the ejection seats, according to the IRIB news agency.

The incident took place on Tuesday morning at the Dezful air force base in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

In 2018, another F-5 fighter jet had crashed in southern Iran, killing its pilot. The co-pilot managed to survive. The cause of the incident wasn’t revealed.

Iran bought its F-5 fighters from the United States before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic fighter jets, initially designed in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. In some countries, it remains in service to support training exercises.

Earlier this month, a Swiss Air Force F-5 jet crashed in the central canton of Obwalden. The pilot of the F-5 Tiger successfully ejected from the cockpit and survived the crash.

Iran Arrests Chinese National for Releasing Private Pictures of Iranian Girls

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 1, 2021

“The release of private pictures of a Chinese national with Iranian girls and women in virtual space has drawn extensive reactions from Iranian citizens,” said the public prosecutor of the city of Kashan in central Iran.

“Private plaintiffs had also lodged complaints in this [legal] case,” the prosecutor added.
“Given the sensitivity of the issue, the case was put on the agenda of judicial and law enforcement officials,” he explained.

“This person was arrested last night by the law enforcement and intelligence agents at the pay-toll stop on Kashan highway,” he said.

“The accused was briefed on charges brought against him, and will be transferred to Tehran under guard,” he noted.

Remains of 12,000-Year-Old Infant Discovered in Hotu Cave in Northern Iran

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 1, 2021

The director general of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department of Mazandaran Province said the exploration team, led by Hassan Fazeli Nashli, found the skeleton of a child while scanning the lower layers of the Hotu cave. Seifollah Farzaneh said the child is buried in a sitting position and has a necklace of wolf teeth around her neck, which is the first archaeological discovery with such adornments.

“The discovered skeleton belongs to a six to eight-months-old infant and dates back to the epipaleolithic period, which goes back more than 12,000 years,” Farzaneh said.

“Based on the report by the head of the archaeological team all main parts of the infant’s skull are painted red with ocher and a necklace seems to be wrapped around its neck twice. Three teeth belonging to a predator, probably a wolf, are also discovered among the neck vertebrae, which in terms of precedence in Iran, are among the oldest archaeological finds on hunter gatherers with such adornments.”

The official also said the research team believes no such rich evidence on hunter humans has previously been found in Iran. He further explained that two archaeologists, Hamed Vahdati-Nasab and Hassan Fazeli Nashli, each had previously found a single wolf bone during exploration of Komishan cave and its archaeological site. But he said these were not obtained from inside graves and were spotted on their own within cultural layers.

Farzaneh also said the noble burial should apparently be considered a manifestation of one of the most sentimental episodes of the life of hunter humans in Mazandaran Province.

Hotu and Kamarband caves are among the most famous archaeological caves of Iran. They are located near the city of Behshahr and next to Shahid Abad (Trojan) village, which lies on the slopes Alborz mountain range. These caves were first discovered and explored by a team of American archaeologists from Pennsylvania University, headed by Carlton Kon. The caves are significant as they put on display the dwellings of the last cave dwellers in Iran just before the ruralism period began. Hotu and Kamarband caves contain archaeological layers from Epipaleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic periods as well as the Stone Age and Iron Age and Parthian Period.

Some Key Issues Remain to Be Settled in Vienna Talks: Iran

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 1, 2021

Iran has reacted to comments by Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative at the JCPOA Joint Commission, who has indicated that the current negotiations in Vienna could be the last and final round of talks.

“We once again announce the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran; we carefully move forward with the talks we are holding in Vienna,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.

“Any round of talks could have been the last one, but the negotiations continued as some issues had still remained [unresolved],” said the spokesman in a press conference on Monday.

“If the outstanding key issues are settled, the talks could be the last round, but otherwise, they will continue,” he said.

“Basically, we shouldn’t rush to judgement about which round of talks could be the last one,” he noted.

“Good and considerable progress has been made with the negotiations in all three working groups, but key issues remain. These issue should be settled carefully, too,” the spokesman added.

He noted all US sanctions should be lifted and Iran should verify that the sanctions have actually been removed.

“This verification will take place within the framework of the formulas being discussed in Vienna,” he said.

After that, he added, Iran will roll back the measures it has adopted in response to the US and other parties’ failure to live up to their commitments.

“There are no deadlocks in the Vienna talks, and we have come to reviewing key issues,” said Khatibzadeh.

“Neither are we in a rush to reach an agreement, nor do we allow the talks to drag on,” he said.

“If decisions need to be made in Tehran with regards to the talks, the issue will definitely be brought up in the capital,” said the spokesman.

He said people’s rights and interests are the yardstick against which to measure other things.

“Accordingly, the Iranian negotiating team has moved forward with the talks based on the executive instructions of the capital,” he added.

He reiterated that all sanctions imposed on Iran by former US President Donald Trump are aimed at depriving Iranian people of the benefits of the JCPOA.

Negotiation Not Sole Way Forward: Presidential Candidate Jalili

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 1, 2021

Jalili, who once led Iran’s negotiating team in nuclear talks with world powers, believes success hinges on holding leverage and planning to effectively neutralise sanctions.

Jalili also touched on his role as the Iranian negotiator in the pre-2013 talks with western powers, saying he does not oppose negotiations.

However, he said it would be wrong to put all eggs in one basket and wait for negotiations to resolve all problems. Jalili said the same is true “if we give ground and get unwarranted promises, in exchange.”

“Our country should not be awaiting blessings by murderers of Qassem Soleimani,” Jalili said, in a reference to the assassination of the former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps by the US in Iraq.

“A wrong approach and a weak performance cannot raise the country to the apex it expects. A wrong approach means we settle for the minimum, say we resolve today’s problems and do not have a plan for the future.”

The former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council also said enemies should be divested from sanctions, which they use as leverage. He said he has plans to neutralise sanctions, including by the power of advanced technology. Jalili stressed that enemies should come to regret imposing sanctions on Iran.

Iran Fully Cooperating with IAEA to Help Vienna Talks Bear Fruit: Salehi

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 1, 2021

“In this letter, it is mentioned that Iran has decided not to extend a joint technical agreement, but the country will continue to register and keep data for another month in order to help Iran-IAEA talks come to fruition,” said Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna.

The letter also underlines that Iran has, so far, cooperated with the IAEA by offering the necessary explanations and answers.

“We welcome the IAEA’s readiness to have active interaction with Iran aimed at settling a number of issues pertaining to the Safeguards Agreement without delay,” added Gharibabadi.

“We expect this mutual interaction will soon lead to practical results in this area,” he noted.

Iran Says Vienna Talks Ongoing in Serious, Intensive Way

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IFP Editorial Staff

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May 31, 2021

The meetings have been held even on holidays without any change in the schedule, and have lasted even until late night.

In one of these meetings, the heads of the Iranian, Chinese, and Russian delegations held a trilateral meeting on Monday at Vienna Grand Hotel to discuss and exchange views on the latest status of the talks and to coordinate their stances.

In this meeting, the Iranian delegation explained to the Chinese and Russian sides Tehran’s viewpoints regarding the draft text and the remaining issues.

The Chinese and Russian delegations, in turn, provided explanations and shared certain comments, and once again underlined their full support for Iran’s stances.

All the three delegations stressed the significance of continuing the work in a serious way and free from any haste or unnecessary delay.

Immediately after the trilateral meeting with China and Russia, Iran’s chief negotiator Seyyed Abbas Araqchi started a quadrilateral meeting with the delegations of the European Union and the E3 (Germany, Britain, and France).