Iran’s Petropars to Develop South Pars 11 Alone after CNPC’s Pullout

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October 6, 2019

In 2015, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed a contract with a consortium of Total, CNPC International and Petropars to develop the offshore project in Persian Gulf waters.

Following US’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal back in May 2018 and imposition of new sanctions and restrictions for foreign companies working in Iran, Total pulled out of the contract.

On Sunday, Zangeneh told reporters that CNPC International had also exited the project, meaning that Petropars would deal with the project alone.

“The fate of the South Pars Phase 11 has been determined and Petropars will continue developing the project alone and by the end of the this [Iranian calendar] year (by March 20, 2020), the first jacket will be installed in the phase for a platform with 500 mcf/d of gas production capacity,” Zangeneh said during a visit to MAPNA Group’s turbine workshop near Tehran.

He further said that the issues concerning the pressure booster platform in the project would depend on the ongoing talks between MAPNA and other companies, SHANA reported.

Asked why the project was not initially awarded to Petropars Co., Zangeneh said: “We had intended to attract foreign capital for developing the project, besides the fact that the pressure booster platform was very important for us and Petropars was supposed to learn from other companies in the consortium.”

Asked whether CNPC International had pulled out of the project, he said, “Yes. It is no longer in the project.”

Iran Suing US for Cyber Attacks: Security Official

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IFP Media Wire

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October 6, 2019

In an interview with Tasnim, Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali said the US has made cyber threats and launched cyber attacks against Iran several times.

The US is held legally accountable for the anti-Iran moves, the general said, adding that the country’s judicial bodies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were seriously pursuing those cases.

Jalali also highlighted the preparatory work his organization has done to boost Iran’s cyber defense capabilities, saying more than 120 drills have been held over the past 6 months, with around 70 percent of which exercising tactics to counter cyber attacks against the energy sector, including oil refineries, petrochemical plants, and gas and petroleum transport installations.

In comments in May, Jalali said Iran has become the top power in the region in terms of cyber security.

In 2018, Iran’s Civil Defense Organization made a series of arrangements to counter the US hostile strategies and its potential move to block Iran’s access to the Internet.

Iran launched the first phase of its national data network in 2016 after a gap of eleven years.

The national network offers a new internet system with higher security which officials say would be up to 60 times faster than the best speeds currently available. It is also designed to be more secure to potential cyberattacks.

Iran Set to Further Cut Commitments under 2015 Nuclear Deal

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 6, 2019

Iran to Scale Back JCPOA Commitments ‘Step by Step’

Deputy Director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi said “next steps are in the offing if the other parties fail to take action.”

He recalled that Iran’s reduction of its obligations under the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was in response to the United States’ illegal withdrawal from the agreement and aimed at “striking a balance between the rights and obligations” of the signatories.

Speaking at a ceremony in Tehran, Kamalvandi highlighted Iran-Europe cooperation with a focus on nuclear safety and relevant projects. He also referred to the holding of three high-level Iran-EU seminars.

“Despite all problems and predicaments, cooperation continues in a bid to improve cooperation and exchange information in line with the implementation of projects related to the third annex to the JCPOA,” he noted.

He also said holding specialized and legal courses will be a turning point.

“Holding such courses is of great significance as such a move is in keeping with the exchange of relevant legal information, especially with regards to the issue resolving the problem of disarmament,” he said.

Iran Plans to Send Astronauts to Space, Launch High-Resolution Imaging Satellite

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 6, 2019

Addressing a Saturday conference on World Space Week, held in Tehran, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said efforts are underway to send Iranian astronauts to space in cooperation with the other countries, “whether US President Donald Trump likes it or not”.

He also noted that an Iranian imaging satellite capable of taking images with a resolution of one metre will be put into orbit by 2021.

For a brief review of Iran’s achievements in various fields of science and technology, check the book “Science and Technology in Iran: A Brief Review – 2019”

Highlighting the importance of the space industry in the contemporary era, the minister said Iranian start-ups in the space industry have made great advances under the auspices of the Iranian Space Agency.

Azari Jahromi said his ministry managed to carry out a detailed assessment of damages from the last spring’s floods across Iran with space technology and to save a lot of costs.

The young minister finally noted that Iran’s progress in the space industry has been so unbearable for the US that it imposed sanctions on three Iranian space centres on a single night, which are engaged in civilian and peaceful activities.

Last month, the Trump administration announced the first-ever sanctions against the Iranian Space Agency.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the sanctions target both the space agency and two of its research institutions.

Curfew in Baghdad Lifted as Life Returns to Normal after Unrest

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IFP Media Wire

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October 6, 2019

Reuters reported on Saturday that traffic ran as usual in Baghdad, with streets and main squares being otherwise quite.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi had announced the curfew on Thursday.

The country’s National Security Council had issued a statement on Thursday saying that the measure was required to “protect citizens and public and private properties”.

Affirming the demonstrators’ “right to protest”, the council condemned “acts of vandalism that accompanied the protests.”

The curfew came after several days of Iraqi protests against mismanagement and corruption, with certain elements turning to acts of violence.

A number of protesters and security personnel have been killed as a result of the provocations.

On Friday, Iraqi police said in a statement that “unidentified snipers” killed two security forces and two civilians across the capital Baghdad earlier in the day.

Washington’s plan

Arab media outlets and observes have published reports revealing that the US seeks to drive recent anti-corruption protests in Iraq into chaos in a bid to install a pro-US regime.

“Despite the legitimate demands of the Iraqi people in fighting corruption”, recent developments in Iraq have been a “manifestation of an American plot to abuse such grievances,” the Lebanese Arabic-language daily newspaper al-Akhbar reported.

The paper added that Iraqi security officials have uncovered a plan that seeks to provoke major clashes between Iraqi protesters and security forces.

The clashes, hyped with provocative media coverage, are meant to produce a major security vacuum that can set the stage for the emergence of a US-affiliated Iraqi military commander who can take on the leadership role of a “savior government”.

The plan will seek to ultimately strengthen US control over the country.

The report, however, added that the Iraqi government was well aware of the plan and had adopted several policies to counter it.

Security sources speaking to al-Akhbar earlier this year had said that 2019 would be a tense year for the “people of Iraq”.

Writing for the Arabic-language al-Ahd news website, Ali Matar, an analyst in Arab political affairs, said that Washington sought to create insecurity in the country so that Iraq would remain “hostage” to the US in a bit to exploit its resources.

Matar added that Washington sought to revive ISIS Takfiri terror cells and sabotage the protests.

The Arab analyst said that Washington had always sought to undermine Iraq when it was close to attaining certain points of political and economic breakthrough.

Matar highlighted that the tensions came shortly after the Abdul-Mahdi government reopened the country’s Al-Qa’im crossing with Syria and accused Israel of orchestrating a string of recent drone strikes on Iraqi popular mobilization forces.

Abdul-Mahdi had also entered talks with Beijing and Moscow in a bid to acquire air defenses against the attacks, he noted.

The US seeks to “get revenge” from Abdul-Mahdi’s government, he added.

Seyyed Reza Sadr-alhoseini, an Iranian Middle East analyst, also echoed Matar’s analysis.

“The American’s thought that Baghdad would be more cooperative with them. However, the policies of Abdul-Mahdi, the Iraqi parliament and its president did not allow Washington to achieve its goals,” he said.

Hossien Sheikholeslam, another political analyst, highlighted that Iraq’s current troubles are largely rooted in the “corrupt system set up by the Americans in the country following the overthrow of Saddam”.

Sheikholeslam added that current tensions in the country were a product of American plans seeking to weaken “the Resistance”, an alliance that has gradually formed in the region in a bid to counter foreign-backed intervention in the Middle East.

Nearly 19% of State Managerial Posts Run by Women: Iran VP

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 6, 2019

Massoumeh Ebtekar said only 13.8 percent of managers at state institutions were women in 2017, but the figure rose to 18.8 percent this year, and will further increase.

“Forty-one percent of civil servants are also women at the moment,” said Ebtekar at a meeting with women managers and entrepreneurs as well as authorities at NGOs for women and family.

She also recalled an order by President Hassan Rouhani to allocate 30 percent of managerial position to women and youth, and said gender equality has always been a key issue in Iranian society.

“Equality has always been part of important issues in our society given our culture and religious beliefs as well as values and ideals set forth by the Islamic Revolution,” she added.

“In addition to economic, social and political dimensions, justice has also another important aspect which has come under the spotlight in religious, revolutionary and the late Imam Khomeini’s points of view, and that is gender equality,” she added.

Ebtekar said the indicators of “gender justice” have been drawn up by the Rouhani administration and announced to relevant institutions.

Here’s Why You Should Always Tell Your Employees They’re Being Monitored

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IFP Media Wire

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October 6, 2019

But, employees usually aren’t very happy when it comes to gathering information about their work. In this article, we’ll talk about how to prepare employees for such a thing and how to gain their trust.

Benefits

What we need to discuss first are the benefits which employee monitoring software brings to the company.

The main advantage of such software is that you can monitor your employees and see whether they spend their working hours productively or not. Next, you can also see what kind of sites they visit and how much time they spend on each task. Furthermore, you can categorize sites as productive, unproductive or neutral.

The information you get from such platform is something you can’t gather in any other way. Computer spy monitoring software is really one of a kind and if you look at it the right way, it can become your best friend when it comes to employee evaluation.

Be Specific and Upfront

To avoid paranoia, be specific and clear in identifying what is monitored and why, as well as in explaining how the monitoring will work. Imagine the last time you’ve done something new to you. It wasn’t like standing on the solid ground right? But, when you got familiar with it, it became easier each time you’ve done it.

It’s the same with employee monitoring tools. If you’re transparent with your workers and you establish a clear policy about such tool, it will go a long way toward countering uncomfortable or negative situations.

It goes without saying that you should always have a proper reason for implementing a tracking tool into your business. If you don’t, your employees will ask questions you don’t have an answer to. Why should you even monitor them if they’re doing everything correctly?

Emphasize the benefits of best tracking software for PC and make sure they understand it’s there for their own good, as a tool to improve the way they work.

Working Environment

Since your employees are coming to work every single day, it’s something like their other home. You’re also talking to them on a daily basis and you’ve built a connection which is extremely important for further work.

This is why having a proper reason and telling your employees about employee monitoring builds trust and preserves the relationship you have with them.

Not only they’ll know you won’t do anything behind their backs, but they’ll also feel happy and respected if you advise them when it comes to important decisions like this one.

Leadership and Bigger Picture

Great business leaders know how important it really is to stay at par with the competition and always know their organizations will keep progressing. You need to transfer this mindset to your employees as well. They need to embrace the fact that upgrading the way you work is necessary for progress. And implementing the best PC monitoring software is no different.

You need to look at it as a pitstop for further goals of your business and realize that technology can only help you and make your company better.

Conclusion

Let’s face it, implementing computer monitoring software is a big deal. It’s not like buying a new piece of office furniture or a new printer. You need to be steady with it in order for the implementation to go right.

But, if you are straightforward with your employees about it and you follow some of the tips in this article, you won’t have any issue to use such a software to its full potential.

Iranian Official: Arbaeen Pilgrims Going to Iraq, Full Security Prevails

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 5, 2019

In remarks on Saturday, Alireza Rashidian said the recent protests in Iraq have not hampered the dispatch of pilgrims visiting Iraq to pay tribute to Imam Hussein (PBUH).

The Iranian travelers are going to Iraq by plane or via three land border crossings –Shalamche, Chazzabe and Mehran—without any trouble, he added.

Rashidian noted that Iraq has fully ensured security of the pilgrims along the routes to Karbala, stressing that the situation is normal in spite of the wrong reports by the “hostile and Western” media about the recent unrest in Iraq.

He emphasized that the Western media campaign has not had any impact on the Iraqi people’s hospitality during the Arbaeen season.

According to the official, more than two million Iranians have applied to travel to Iraq for Arbaeen as of Saturday.

Last week, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said the number of Iranian pilgrims visiting Iraq for Arbaeen was expected to reach three million.

Arbaeen, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of the third Shiite Imam.

Every year, a huge crowd of Shiites flock to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (PBUH) is located, to perform mourning rites.

Iran Vice President: Women’s Entry into Stadiums A Step Forward

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 5, 2019

In an interview with Iran daily, Masoumeh Ebtekar said the Iranian women have been finally allowed entry into football stadiums after two years of efforts to prepare the necessary infrastructures.

She said more than 4,000 tickets have been sold to women as of Saturday for Iran’s upcoming match against Cambodia in a home game of the FIFA 2022 qualifying competition, noting that although the number of the seats allocated to women is very low in comparison to the 100,000 seats available at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, this is yet the result of “very positive steps” that have been taken in recent years.

Ebtekar said the administration has been struggling to fulfill the women’s demands in compliance with the law, religion, and regulations, citing a recently-approved law that allows children with an Iranian mother and a non-Iranian father to obtain the country’s citizenship.

She also called on the spectators and football fans to take the presence of women in the stadiums into consideration, stressing that the sports arenas must be among the healthiest parts of the society.

In September, president of football’s world governing body, FIFA, said his organization has been assured by Iran that women will be allowed to attend men’s football matches from the next international game.

Gianni Infantino said this important move has been long overdue. “We have been assured that as of the next international game of Iran, which is to be played on the 10th of October, women will be allowed to enter football stadiums. This is something very important.”

“Since 40 years this was not happening, with a couple of exceptions. But it is important to move to the next level and to the next stage with, of course, our thoughts to all the women of Iran, but also all the women around the world,” Infantino added.