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IRGC Unveils Underground Missile Base in Persian Gulf

This photo shows an underground missile base in a Persian Gulf coast unveiled by IRGC in January 2020.

In his visit to the missile base, General Salami was accompanied by IRGC Navy Commander Brigadier General Alireza Tangsiri.

Speaking on the sidelines of the visit to the units and missile systems deployed in the base, General Salami the base is one of the several bases housing the Navy’s strategic missiles.

“These missiles have ranges of hundreds of kilometres, enjoy pinpoint accuracy and huge destruction power, and can overcome the enemy’s electronic warfare equipment.

He said the IRGC Navy’s missiles are among the world’s most advanced missiles used in coast-to-sea, air-to-air, air-to-sea, and sea-to-air battles.

He made it clear that the country is going to reinforce its power in order to defend its territorial integrity.

World Concerned by Trump’s ‘Unchecked Authority’ to Start Nuke War: Iran

“A rogue president who sought vengeance against his OWN people has been doing much worse to our people—and others—in the past 4 years,” Zarif said in a Thursday tweet.

“What’s disturbing is that the same man has the UNCHECKED authority to start a nuclear war; a security concern for the entire int’l community,” he added.In his controversial four-year term in office, Trump pulled Washington out of several international agreements, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty with Russia.

By leaving the agreements, he stopped the US commitment to underway regimes that are aimed at reducing the threat of nuclear weapons to the world.

Seoul Sends Delegation to Tehran ahead of Senior Korean Diplomat’s Visit

Khatibzadeh made the remarks on Thursday when asked about the arrival in Tehran of a South Korean delegation who is reportedly being hosted by the country’s ambassador to Iran.

“The delegation’s visit had been agreed upon before the seizure of the offending Korean vessel,” the Iranian spokesman said.

“Negotiation on how to give Iran access to its financial resources in Korea is the delegation’s main agenda in Tehran,” he added.

On Tuesday, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said a delegation, led by Director-General for African and Middle Eastern Affairs Koh Kyung-sok, would soon leave for Tehran to resolve the issue of the seizure of MT Hankuk Chemi tanker through negotiations.

The upcoming visit comes as Iranian authorities have been pressing South Korea to release between $6.5 billion and $9 billion dollars in funds that had been frozen since 2018 when the United States imposed its unilateral sanctions on Iran.
The release of the funds would enable Tehran to purchase medicine and medical equipment needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Iran Hopes Biden Administration Will Return US to Path of Law

Es’haq Jahangiri said on Thursday Iran cannot continue to see the United States’ cruel acts against the regional nations.

“The US government’s cruel policies have discredited this country,” he said.

He then praised Iranian people for “tolerating problems with patience.”

The vice president then described General Qassem Soleimani as a “national hero” whose actions will go down in the history of Iran and the region.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the vice president defended the Iranian government’s performance with regards to circumventing sanctions and increasing the society’s tolerance.

“The soldiers at the forefront of the economic war made sacrifices. We should not take them for granted,” he added.

He also said restrictions imposed on imports into free trade zones will be lifted as conditions change.

US’ True Colours Further Revealed during Trump’s Tenure: Iran

Mahmoud Vaezi, the chief of staff of the Iranian president’s office, said the uncensored image of the United States was particularly revealed following the country’s presidential election.

“What we have seen over the past two months following the United States’ presidential election has been part of the unretouched image of the US Establishment, which has been further unmasked over the past four years with the Trump administration in office,” he said.

“Part of Trump’s domestic legacy is the issue of vote rigging [claims] as well as street unrest and the attack on Congress, which disrupted an official congressional session,” the vice president said.

“Over the past four years, the Trump administration’s destructive and wrong policies have not only increased the United States’ decline, but has triggered insecurity as well as political and economic instability around the world,” he added.

Vaezi then touched upon Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“When Trump breached the US commitment and unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and other international agreements, and afterwards illegally slapped sanctions on our people through the ‘maximum pressure’ policy and imposed an economic war on them and, in a cowardly act, assassinated general Soleimani, we said repeatedly that he will discredit the US government and put an end to his political life,” he said.

“Those warnings may now be understood better after that shameful day for the US-style democracy in Congress,” Vaezi noted.

“The Trump administration’s populist policies and their destructive results in the United States and on the international stage should be an object lesson for the new US president, who should make up for the past and not repeat the mistakes of the Trump administration with other methods with regards to pressuring independent countries and withdrawing from international agreements,” he added.

Iran Can Easily Enrich Uranium Up to 90 Percent: Spokesman

'Iran Has Strong Reasons for Not Responding to IAEA Groundless Questions'

“We have made so much progress that we can easily produce enriched uranium at any level, even beyond this (20-percent) purity level, up to 40 percent, 60 percent, and 90 percent,” Behrouz Kamalvandi told reporters Thursday.

“The text of the Parliament’s legislation allows the (Atomic Energy) Organization to go beyond 20 percent if there is a need for it in the country,” he noted.

“We are studying other fields (to see if there is such a need). We have this capacity today. That is, if we decide right now to produce enriched uranium with a purity of beyond 20 percent, we can easily do it.

We are now studying the possible areas of need,” he added.

Iran’s COVID-19 Fatalities Rise to 56,000: Ministry

In a press briefing on Thursday, the Ministry’s spokeswoman Sima-Sadat Lari reported 6,360 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total number of cases to 1,268,263.

So far, Lari added, 1,050,553 patients have recovered from the disease or been discharged from the hospital.

Lari said 4,745 patients are also in critical conditions caused by more severe infection.

The spokeswoman noted that 7,993,502 COVID-19 tests have been taken across the country so far.

She said currently the four cities of Sari, Amol, Ramsar and Northern Savadkooh are in the “red” zone, 43 cities are in the “orange zone” and 401 are in the “yellow zone” in terms of coronavirus outbreak.

Probe Still Underway into Ukrainian Plane Crash: Tehran Prosecutor

Gholamabbas Torki said a probe was launched immediately after the incident happened.
“On the night of January 10, 2020, a number of people stationed at the air defence base as well as higher-ups were summoned as defendants. An extensive investigation was conducted and one of the accused was arrested,” he said.

“During the process of the probe, 5 other people were prosecuted as accused individuals, and were arrested on a legal warrant,” he explained.

“At the moment, only one defendant is in custody, and the rest have been freed on bail,” the prosecutor noted.

“The incident was simulated with the presence of 40 experts by conducting two flights and observing all the features of the downed flight,” he said.

“Hypotheses such as a possible cyber attack, the hacking of the air defense system and disruption in the plane’s systems were put forward, but they were rejected based on conclusive evidence,” he said.

Tehran’s Old Alleys Get New ‘Colourful’ Life

The Khosro Qadiani alley in Tehran’s District 9 is the first alley whose old cement walls have been painted in colours chosen by the residents.

The kids in the neighbourhood can also colour the pavements in the way they like.

The project has given a new life to the old neighbourhood, and revived the souls of residents who are sick and tired of all the economic woes.

What follows are YJC’s photos of the alley:

Capitol Siege Proves Weakness of Western Democracy: Rouhani

Capitol Siege Proves Weakness of Western Democracy

“What we saw in the US last night and today really showed that first how floppy and weak the Western democracy is, and how weak its foundations are,” Rouhani said on Thursday.

“We saw how much influence populism has in these countries, despite all the progress in science and industry,” he added.

“We saw that a populist [Donald Trump] came to office and what damage he caused to his own country. He tainted his country’s reputation and credibility. He disrupted the US relations with the entire world,” Rouhani said.

He pointed to the “huge damages” Trump caused to the West Asia, particularly to Palestine, Syria, and Yemen, and all regions in the world.

“Well we see when a (mentally) unhealthy person comes and takes office, what problems he creates for his own country and the world,” he noted.

Rouhani expressed hope that the next rulers in the White House would return it to the position of wisdom, rule of law, and commitment that the great nation of America deserves.