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US Targets within Range of Iranian Missiles: IRGC

Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh said Iran’s downing of a US drone which had violated the Iranian airspace was a warning to the Americans.

“In this operation, in addition to downing the US [MQ-4] drone, which had intruded just a few kilometres into the airspace of our country, we could have also struck their P8 manned aircraft which had 35 people on board, but we didn’t,” said General Hajizadeh, the commander of the Aerospace Division of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

He said if the US had reacted to Iran’s downing of its drone, the Islamic Republic would have responded.

The top commander said Iranian forces were on high alert and ready to strike three American targets in the region in case of US reaction. He said the targets included the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, and a US warship in the Sea of Oman.

Meanwhile, the top general reiterated that neither Tehran, nor Washington have any intention of waging war. Still, he said, Iran is always prepared for a full-scale war.

Mr. Olympia 2019: Hadi Choopan of Iran Wins People Choice Award

Mr. Olympia 2019: Hadi Choopan of Iran Wins People Choice Award

By winning the people’s choice award, Choopan dethroned 2018 winner Roelly Winklaar in the 55th Mr. Olympia competition, a weekend-long bodybuilding contest.

Brandon Curry won the overall title and became the new Mr. Olympia. William Bonac also won the second title. The fourth and fifth places also went to Dexter Jackson and Roelly Winklaar.

In his first ever Olympia 2019 posing routine, Choopan started out impressively in the Men’s Open during the Friday night’s prejudging, where he surprised the judges and spectators by standing among the top 4.

Only one Iranian bodybuilder had succeeded to compete in Mr. Olympia games before Choopan. Late athlete, Beitollah Abbaspoor, had ranked 5th in 2014.

Mr. Olympia 2019: Hadi Choopan of Iran Wins People Choice Award

Garmsari Meat Tahchin; A Luxury Persian Meal

Garmsari meat Tahchin is one of the local foods of the Iranian Semnan province.

Generally, meat and rice is one of the oldest luxury foods of central regions in Iran. It is a fatty and high-calorie food, which is expensive, too.

People of Garmsar city in Semnan province also call meat and rice “Tahchin.” It is also commonly cooked as Nazri, the free takeaway food cooked on religious occasions and distributed among people.

Tahchin is also served for dinner in wedding ceremonies.

 

Ingredients:

Meat (preferably lamb): 300gr

Rice: 3 cupfuls

Prunes (if you like): 200gr, or 1 spoonful of verjuice powder

Average-sized onions: 2 onions

Sultanas: 1 cupful

Thick saffron syrup: 2 spoonfuls

Salt and pepper: as much as necessary

Spices: 1 spoonful (4 units of rose powder, 2 units of cinnamon powder, plus caraway, ginger, clove, true cardamom and nutmeg powder, 1 unit each)

Shredded pistachios and almonds for decoration

Potatoes to be sliced and placed on the bottom of the casserole to make tahdig

Butter (if you like to put it on the rice): 1 spoonful

Lukewarm water: 1 cupful

 

Recipe

  1. Chop the meat into pieces 3cm wide and 1cm thick. If it is lam ribs, that will make the food more delicious. However, beef will become darker in colour after being cooked.
  2. Let sultanas and shredded almonds soak in lukewarm water for half an hour. Then take them out and sauté the sultanas.
  3. Mix meat and prunes (which you have already soaked in water) with onions and spices and salt and pepper and leave them in the fridge for two hours.
  4. Chop an onion into very small pieces and fry it.
  5. Wash the rice and soak it in water and salt for 2 hours.

Fill a casserole with water. After it begins to boil, add salt. Remove water from the rice and add it to the boiling water until rice is half-cooked. It takes less time to half-cook rice than to cook it. Then sieve the rice to remove water.

Put two spoonfuls of oil in a casserole, put sliced potatoes on the bottom of the casserole and add salt and saffron to them. Place chopped meat on the rice, put prunes onto the meat and then sprinkle spices onto them. Also add some saffron syrup. Then add the rest of the rice on other ingredients and keep going till the ingredients take a conical shape. (The rice will get dry at the edge as the cooking time is rather long).

Then put the casserole on mild heat and add one cupful of boiling water. Let the rice boil and steam for 5 minutes. Then turn down the heat very low. Afterwards, add sauté sultanas to the rice. Then add some saffron syrup and put the lid on and leave the rice to stay for 4 to 5 hours, so that the meat will be cooked through.

Put a spoonful of oil in a small frying pan. Sauté almonds, which you have already soaked in water. In a corner of the pan, only sauté washed shredded pistachios.

After it is cooked for 4 to 5 hours, pour melted butter onto rice, if you like. Take sultanas and empty the rice onto another dish and decorate it with sultanas as well as shredded almonds and pistachios.

Saudi Oil Output Cut by Half after Yemeni Drone Attacks

The attacks will cut the kingdom’s output by 5.7 million barrels per day (bpd), according to a statement from state-run oil company Saudi Aramco, or more than 5% of global oil supply, Reuters reported.

The pre-dawn strikes on Saturday follow earlier cross-border retaliatory attacks on Saudi oil installations and on oil tankers in Persian Gulf waters, but these were the most brazen yet, temporarily crippling much of the nation’s production capacity.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest exporter, shipping more than 7 million barrels of oil to global destinations every day, and for years has served as the supplier of last resort to markets.

The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces said on Saturday that the Arab country’s combat drones had launched retaliatory attacks against the Saudi major Aramco facility in the eastern city of Abqaiq, inflicting major losses on the kingdom’s largest oil plant.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree further warned the number of similar attacks against the kingdom would rise if the Saudi-led war against Yemen continued.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 91,000 lives over the past four and a half years.

Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said an investigation had been launched into who planned and executed the strikes on oil facilities. He said the Western-backed alliance would counter threats to global energy security and economic stability.

Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said there were no casualties from the attacks.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said Aramco would have more information within 48 hours, and it will draw down oil in storage to compensate for the loss. Aramco is in the process of planning what is expected to be the world’s largest initial public offering.

Hawkish Senator Calls for Bombing Iran’s Refineries after Aramco Attacks

“It is now time for the US to put on the table an attack on Iranian oil refineries if they continue their provocations or increase nuclear enrichment,” said the veteran Republican lawmaker from South Carolina on Twitter Saturday.

“Iran will not stop their misbehavior until the consequences become more real, like attacking their refineries, which will break the regime’s back,” added the fervently pro-Israel Senator, who sits on the Senate foreign Relations Committee and has established himself as a leading detractor against the Islamic Republic.

Back in June, Graham also blurted provocative rhetorical attack against Tehran following Iran’s shot down of a US spy drone that intruded into Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, threatening that the Islamic Republic should prepare for “severe pain.”

It is customary of US lawmakers financed by the powerful pro-Israel lobby groups in the country to harshly criticize Iran or sponsor legislative measures against the Islamic Republic to prove their loyalty to the regime occupying Palestine.

In the aftermath of Iran’s shot down of the US surveillance drone, US President Donald Trump claimed that he withdrew an order to strike Iran in the last minute citing potential of the resulting loss of lives. Iranian authorities, however, had warned that any US strike against the country would be severely retaliated.

The warmongering rhetoric by Graham, who is closely allied with Trump, is nothing new. Last June, he also suggested that the United States should take military action against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro so countries opposing the US would be intimidated and surrender to Washington’s demands.

To handle foreign conflicts “we need points on the board,” said Graham during an interview with right-wing broadcaster Fox News, further insisting that Washington needed to resolve its issues with other countries using military force.

“Do what Reagan did in Grenada. Put military force on the table … start with your own backyard,” he underlined.

Also in July, the Republican senator even threatened Washington’s Western allies, saying that the US should sanction “to the ground” European countries that continue to trade with Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal and refuse to join America’s pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic.

Speaking to Fox News, Graham further said the European signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the UK, France and Germany – were too “weak” too abide by America’s unilateral sanctions against Tehran.

“I will tell the Europeans, ‘If you want to side with the Iranians, be my guest, but you won’t use an American bank or do business with the American economy,'” he added.

The remarks came days after Tehran announced it was beginning to cut back on its commitments under the nuclear deal in response to the Europe’s inability to protect bilateral trade from US sanctions.

Graham’s latest threatening remarks against Iran came on the same day Yemeni forces staged a massive drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s huge Aramco oil facilities in retaliation to persisting Saudi aerial strikes mostly against Yemeni population centers and public infrastructures.

“Air Force of the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees, Saturday morning carried out a large-scale operation with 10 drones, targeting Abqaiq and Khurais refineries east of Saudi Arabia,” said Yemen’s Brig. Gen. Yahya Sare’e, further insisting that operations will “expand” and be “more painful” as Saudi Arabia continues its military aggression against Yemen.

The US-backed Saudi air campaign against neighboring Yemen has so far killed thousands of civilians, caused millions to leave or lose their homes, and sparked widespread starvation.

The Yemeni army and volunteer forces led by the country’s popular Houthi movement have attacked refineries in Saudi Arabia in the past in efforts to strike at the despotic regime’s major economic sectors. Saturday’s drone strike, however, hit target that were about 500 miles deep into the Saudi territory and was one of the largest operations the Yemeni forces have launched so far.

Iranian Official Decries Canadian State-Sponsored Economic Terrorism

In a post on his Twitter account on Saturday, Abbas-Ali Kadkhodai said the Canadian government’s expropriation of the Iranian assets amounts to an act of state-sponsored economic terrorism.

“Economic terrorism is a ploy in which the Western governments misuse the legal instruments to impound or expropriate the economic interests and resources of the other nations, without fair judicial procedures. Canada’s expropriation of Iran’s state-owned assets is a blatant example of state-sponsored economic terrorism,” he said.

The Ottawa government’s action against Iran contradicts the principles of international law, including the sovereignty of states, Kadkhodai added, calling on the Iranian Judiciary to take action against Canada in accordance with a law passed in March 2012 which authorizes the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Justice system to hear lawsuits against the foreign governments.

Global News announced on Thursday that tens of millions worth of seized Iranian properties have been sold off in Canada and the proceeds handed to victims of terrorist attacks blamed on Iran and its proxy groups.

According to a document filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice last month, the victims got a share of the money earned through the sale of Iran’s buildings in Ottawa and Toronto.

The Ottawa property, which had been the Iranian Cultural Centre, was particularly valuable.

Marketed as a “transit-oriented development opportunity on the apron of the University of Ottawa,” it sold to a Montreal developer for $26.5-million.

In addition to the proceeds of the sale of the properties, the victims were awarded a share of some $2.6-million seized from Iran’s bank accounts. Documents also list a Toyota Camry and Mazda MPV.

‘Iranian Wolf’ Stuns Judges at 2019 Mr. Olympia

Hadi Choopan - 'Iranian Wolf' Stuns Judges at 2019 Mr. Olympia

The highly-experienced bodybuilder, known as the Iranian Wolf, gave a stunning performance in the 55th Mr. Olympia competition, a weekend-long bodybuilding contest held in the US city of Las Vegas.

In his first ever Olympia 2019 posing routine, Hadi Choopan started out impressively in the Men’s Open.

Hadi Choopan - 'Iranian Wolf' Stuns Judges at 2019 Mr. Olympia
Hadi Choopan – Iranian Wolf

The Friday night prejudging surprised the judges and spectators when Choopan could stand among the top 4.

Many believe that the Iranian athlete will be able to even win the title in the finals.

Mr. Olympia 2019: Hadi Choopan of Iran Wins People Choice Award

Only one Iranian bodybuilder had succeeded to compete in Mr. Olympia games before Choopan.

Late athlete, Beitollah Abbaspoor, had ranked 17th in 2013.

Hadi Choopan - 'Iranian Wolf' Stuns Judges at 2019 Mr. Olympia
Hadi Choopan – Iranian Wolf

Iran to Host Exhibition of 300 Historical Spanish Artworks

Director of the National Museum of Iran Jebreil Nokandeh says after the end of the Iranian exhibition in Spain, all the 196 historical items borrowed from Iranian museums, along with 300 ancient Spanish works, were returned to Iran on Thursday, September 5.

These items were escorted to the National Museum of Iran by the Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts after the customs procedure, he said.

The Spanish works have been selected from the Alicante Museum of Archaeology, and will be displayed in an exhibition in Tehran entitled “The Archaeology of Spain”, along with the works of the “Iran: Cradle of Civilisation”, Nokandeh said.

The exhibition will be launched on September 22 in the presence of political and cultural figures, he added.

“The collection comprises 300 works such as figurines, earthenware, and paintings that tell the story of ancient Spanish land in the eastern Mediterranean from various pre-historic times to recent centuries.”

Iran to Host Exhibition of 300 Historical Spanish ArtworksNokandeh further referred to the “Iran: The Cradle of Cilivisation” exhibition, and said it has been selected as the best museum exhibition in the world.

According to Nokandeh, the Iranian collection was on display during the first phase of its journey from June 16 in the Dutch Drents Museum. After five months of impressive activity, it attracted more than 115,000 visitors and won first prize as the best museum exhibition of the year, ISNA quoted Nokandeh as saying.

Following the request of the Archaeological Museum of Alicante in eastern Spain, it began its next show on March 14, where it received over 100,000 visits by mid-September.

All the works of the Dutch Archeology and Art Exhibition, exhibited at the National Museum of Iran from October 2, 2018 to July 31, 2019, were returned to their original source, the Drents Museum in Assen, on Thursday, September 12. The exhibition was able to recount 50,000-year history of the Dutch land to visitors in a variety of ways.

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on November 19

Abrar:
1- Trump May Agree with Opening $15bn LC for Iran
2- Netanyahu: War in Gaza May Break Out Before Elections

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Aftab-e Yazd:
1- Rumours Say Trump Agrees with Macron’s Plan
2- Secret behind Iran’s Oil Sale
* Iran Oil Minister Successful Both in Iran, Abroad

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Asrar:
1- Iran Strongly Protest Canada’s Sale of Iranian Assets

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Donya-ye Eqtesad:
1- American, Zionist Sources: Trump Backs Off from Sanctioning Iran?

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Ebtekar:
1- Erdogan Getting Isolated
* Davudoglu Officially Leaves Erdogan’s Party
2- Rumours Show White House Changing Its Iran Calculations

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Etemad:
1- Problems of Iran, US Too Big to Be Resolved with One Turnaround
2- Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: Marriage Under Age of 13 Not Legitimate

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Ettela’at:
1- World Condemns Netanyahu’s Expansionist Remarks
2- Western Sources: US May Ease Iran Sanctions
3- 40 Iranian Universities in Times’ List of World’s Top Ranks

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Hamshahri:
1- Abbasabad, New Destination for World Tourists
* Tehran’s Most Important Tourist Spot Joins WTO
2- G3 to Hold Summit in Ankara: Rouhani, Putin, Erdogan to Hold Talks on Syria

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Javan:
1- Firing Bolton Not to Change Anything about Iran
* US Officials Stress Continuation of Maximum Pressure on Tehran after Bolton
2- US to Replace Taliban with ISIS

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Jomhouri Eslami:
1- World Raps Netanyahu’s Anti-Palestine Promise
2- Deputy Oil Minister: Talks Underway with Europe for Exporting Iran’s Gas

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Kayhan:
1- Theft of Iranian Assets by Canadian Government Shouldn’t Remain Unanswered
2- NY Times: Trump Needs Talks with Iran for Winning Elections

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Sazandegi:
1- Post-Bolton Trump
* Trump’s Policies Seem to Be in New Era after Firing Bolton

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Setareh Sobh:
1- Bolton’s Gone; Will Pompeo Remain Trump’s Last Radical Ally?

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Shargh:
1- Ankara to Host Trilateral Talks between Iran, Russia, Turkey
2- Why Muqtada Sadr Came to Iran

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14


 

Sobh-e Now:
1- Resistance Awake in Latin America
* Venezuela Envoy Says Countries Obeying US Are Changing Policies

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 14

Saudi Oil Facilities Set Ablaze by 10 Yemeni Drones

Iran Refutes UN's Allegations about Aramco Missile Attack
Photo of fire at Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia, caused by Yemeni drone attacks / Photo by Reuters

Footage released on Saturday showed a huge blaze at Buqayq, site of Aramco’s largest oil processing plant, while a second drone attack started fires in the Khurais oilfield.

The huge fires are now under control at both facilities, state media said.

A spokesman for the Ansarullah group in Yemen said it had deployed 10 drones in the attacks.

The military spokesman told al-Masirah TV that further attacks could be expected in the future.

“At 04:00 (01:00 GMT), the industrial security teams of Aramco started dealing with fires at two of its facilities in Buqayq and Khurais as a result of… drones,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Yemeni group has promised to widen the range of its attacks on Saudi Arabia, which has waged a war against Yemeni people since 2015.

“These attacks are our right, and we warn the Saudis that our targets will keep expanding,” spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement read out on Al Masirah TV.

“We have the right to strike back in retaliation to the air strikes and the targeting of our civilians for the last five years.”

An official with Yemeni Ansarullah movement has warned that Houthi fighters will capture Riyadh, the Saudi capital, if KSA does not stop its invasion of Yemen

The Saudi-led war has killed tens of thousands of people and sparked what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.