During the Friday visit, booth holders and some publishers attending the book fair elaborated on their most recent publications as well as activities regarding books.
The Leader, for his part, referred to book and reading as the necessities of people’s daily lives, particularly that of young people.
He also expressed the hope that books restore their elevated position in the society.
What follows are photos of the visit:
In a Friday statement, Qassemi offered sympathy to the South African nation and government, and the bereaved families of the victims of the heinous crime, in which a worshipper was killed, several others were wounded, and the Imam Hussein Mosque was set on fire.
Qassemi underlined the necessity of launching an immediate probe into the attack to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
“The crime has been committed with the aim of causing insecurity and fanning the flames of sectarian conflict and sedition,” he noted.
He also stressed the need for all countries in the world to remain vigilant, and prioritise the serious fight against extremism and radical groups and eradication of terrorism.
The attack on the mosque in Verulam‚ north of Durban‚ has been widely condemned‚ with organisations calling for a speedy investigation into the matter.
One man was killed and two others were critically injured in the attack‚ in which three men stormed the building shortly after afternoon prayers on Thursday.
In a Friday statement, Qassemi slammed as “irresponsible and inept” the OIC chief’s recent anti-Iran statement, which was in full support of the US government’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
Qassemi said the statement released by Al-Othaimeen is way beyond the scope of his job, violates the OIC General Secretariat’s neutrality principle, and is in line with the anti-Islam policies of the US, the Zionist regime, and the Saudi governments.
He also described it as another move to undermine the position and reputation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Qassemi pointed to the “biased and unconstructive” stances earlier held by the OIC chief, saying that Al-Othaimeen had earlier showed his incorrect understanding of the sensitive situation of the region and the Muslim world, particularly the effective and decisive position of the OIC in fight against the Zionist regime and support for the cause of the liberation of Palestine and the Holy Quds.
“We advise him to stop taking such biased stances, which serve the interests of the global arrogance and the Zionist regime,” he added.
The Iranian spokesman referred to Tehran’s concerns over the OIC secretary-general’s stances on different occasions, which have clearly violated the General Secretariat’s neutrality principle, and highlighted the frequent requests by the OIC member states to revise its structure and regulations.
Qassemi finally reiterated the Islamic Republic’s proposal that the OIC should hold a meeting at the highest level in a place outside Saudi Arabia to deal with the Al Saud regime’s abuses of its role as the host.
In the statement shortly released after Trump’s decision, Al-Othaimeen stressed the importance that the US decision would lead to addressing what he called the danger being posed by Iran’s policies to destabilise the security and stability of Islamic countries.
US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night the country will walk out of the pact. The US withdrawal has so far met with widespread criticisms across the globe as it was a violation of Washington’s commitments under the multilateral deal.
Pointing to the high turnout of people from all walks of life, particularly youth, Qassemi said this is a sign of political maturity of the Malaysian nation.
In his Friday statement, the spokesman congratulated the people and winners of election, expressing hope that relations between Iran and Malaysia could further develop in the upcoming years.
The parliamentary elections were held in Malaysia on Wednesday.
The country’s opposition alliance headed by veteran ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92, has won a historic election victory, official results showed Thursday, ending the six-decade rule of the Barisan Nasional coalition.
Mahathir became the world’s oldest prime minister after he took oath on Thursday, replacing Najib Razak, who has become embroiled in massive corruption scandal.
During the talks, which were held in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the the two diplomats mainly conferred on the implementation of JCPOA and how to keep the deal in place without the US.
The Russian diplomat expressed regret over the US pull-out, describing the move as a threat to international peace and security.
Ryabkov said Russia is fully committed to the implementation of JCPOA, and stressed the need to cooperate with other parties to keep the accord alive.
The Russian diplomat also said Moscow will continue to deepen its cooperation with Iran in all aspects.
For his part, Araqchi pointed to various cases of US violation of its obligations during the JCPOA, saying Iran will continue to talk with JCPOA parties to see if it is possible to keep the deal in place.
The Iranian diplomat said it could be feasible to save JCPOA if other parties to the accord provide firm assurances that Iran’s interests will be served and compensate for the repercussions of the US pull-out.
US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night the country will walk out of the pact.
The US withdrawal met with widespread criticism across the globe.
The leaders of Britain, Germany and France, which were signatories to the deal along with China and Russia, said in a joint statement that Trump’s decision was a source of “regret and concern.”
Russia and China have announced they would try to block any US attempt to sabotage the nuclear deal, which imposed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear work in return for the removal of anti-Tehran sanctions.
The Iranian government has announced it will wait a few weeks before deciding its JCPOA approach, in the hope that other parties will cooperate to keep the deal alive.
In a Thursday statement, Qassemi said Israel’s strikes on the Syrian territory amounted to an act of aggression.
“The Zionist regime’s multiple strikes on the Syrian soil and the blatant violation of the country’s sovereignty, especially in recent days, was a clear act of aggression and a potent example of the crisis-seeking, lie-oriented and domineering nature of this regime, which wouldn’t like to see stability, security and tranquility in the region, and believes its security is contingent upon the insecurity and instability of the region,” he said.
“The Zionist regime’s constant attacks on Syrian soil, which came under self-made and baseless pretexts, amount to a breach of Syria’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and runs counter to all international rules, regulations and norms, and the silence of countries and international circles in the face of such acts and aggressive behaviour by the Zionist regime is tantamount to a green light to the regime in order to continue its acts of aggression,” he noted.
He said the resistant Syrian government and nation have the right to legitimate and mutual defence.
“Over the past seven years, the Syrian nation and government resisted brutal and customized attacks by terrorist groups on behalf of the Zionist regime, the US and some of their regional allies, and, by imposing defeats on them, kept their supporters from achieving their goals,” he said.
“Today, the main sponsors of these terror groups have directly launched attacks against Syria, hoping to make up for the heavy defeats suffered by the same terrorists that they themselves created, and tip the balance in favour of these moribund groups,” said Qassemi.
Angela Merkel made the comment in a phone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
She expressed regret over Washington’s withdrawal from the JCPOA, and underlined that Europe attaches great importance to the maintenance of, and compliance with the agreement.
She also underscored the significance of upcoming foreign ministerial and expert meetings between Iran and the three European countries, namely Britain, France and Germany, as well as the EU foreign policy chief.
Merkel said the details of the steps to be taken should be clarified in those meetings, and the need to implement those details should be stressed.
The Iranian president, in turn, underlined that Tehran’s interests in the JCPOA should be clearly guaranteed.
Rouhani called on the European Union, especially the E3, to announce their position in the limited time they have and clarify how they would secure Iran’s interests under the deal.
In a Thursday statement, Qassemi said the US president is suffering from illusion.
“By rehashing his brazen, threadbare and repetitive claims against Iran, Trump showed that more than one year on since he was elected, he still has not got out of his old business atmosphere and has not been able to adapt his character as a politician for the new situation,” he noted.
Qassemi also noted that Trump has failed to replace illusion and pipe dreams with farsightedness and realism.
“The untrue and hostile claims by the US president regarding Iran’s activities in the region come as the US, by making excessive demands and maintaining its domineering temperament, makes efforts to increase its unwarranted presence in the region day by day, and advance its interests in the Middle East directly or through proxy elements by using financial resources and via some of its reactionary allies,” Qassemi said.
He then criticized the US for supporting terrorist groups, including ISIS.
“Trump accused Iran of terrorism at a time when it is lost on no one that this country (the US) and its allies back terrorism, and even American politicians have admitted that this country has had a role in creating Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other similar groups.”
“They confess before regional governments and people, especially in Iraq and Syria, that Iran plays a key role in fighting terrorism,” the spokesman said.
“Trump has made his ludicrous claims about terrorism at a time when his associates are notorious for constantly making efforts to support other terrorist groups, and time has shown that they have denied terrorists no support, both financial and military,” he said.
Qassemi then took a swipe at the United States for arming certain regional countries with deadly arms.
“The US president makes the false claim that the JCPOA triggers an arms race in the [Middle Eat] region while the US itself is the biggest exporter of different types of lethal weapons to some regional countries, and has caused instability, tension and aggression against Yemen as well as many other problems in the region today,” he noted.
“Trump has downgraded the dignity of the United States and its people in the world,” he noted.
“By creating different challenges on the international stage, he seeks to deflect the attention of the general public in the US from the political and moral crises that the US is grappling with inside the country,” Qassemi said.
Speaking in the Thursday meeting, Keshavarz-Zadeh pointed to the 120-year-long history of relations between Iran and Brazil, saying there are huge capacities for expansion of relations in industrial, agricultural, economic and trade sectors.
The director general stressed the need for using these opportunities in line with interests of the two nations.
The head of the Brazilian friendship group, in turn, pointed to the important role of Iran in the Middle East developments and hailed Tehran’s efforts to promote peace in the region.
Stressing that the relations between Iran and Brazil are friendly, he said the Brazilian parliament is ready to help further improve bilateral relations.
Spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Seyyed Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, says due to the US dark record, Iran had predicted that Washington would not remain committed to its pledges under the deal.
In an interview with the Tasnim News Agency, he underlined that since the deal was clinched back in 2015, the US violated it for over 20 times and showed that it pays no respect to the international accords.
“The US withdrawal from the accord made at least two points clear for the international community: First, the Islamic Republic of Iran is after dialogue and remains committed to the international law and second, the US is not seeking negotiations and mocks all international agreements and treaties,” he said.
Touching on Iran’s reaction to the US decision to pull out of the nuclear accord, the lawmaker said all relevant bodies in the Islamic Republic of Iran are united and completely prepared for the new situation.
“We are giving some weeks to the European sides to make their final decision about the Iran deal. During this time, we will hold talks with them to know their stance towards the JCPOA.”
He underlined that if the five states remaining in the nuclear deal – China, Russia, Germany, the UK and France – provide Iran with assurance that the US pullout will not inflict any blow on the country’s interests, then Iran will certainly remain in the deal.
“Otherwise, if we come to the conclusion that they are undecided about their stance towards the JCPOA, we will press ahead with our new scenario and leave the deal for sure,” he concluded.
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