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Diplomat Reveals Reason for Shift in Emirati, Saudi Policy on Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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UAE de facto leader Mohammed bin Zayed (left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

While Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s administration has always advocated dialogue with the neighbours, Saudi Arabia has taken a tough line on interaction with Iran, at least until lately.

In a speech in Sweden during his tour of Scandinavia, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated on Tuesday that Tehran was ready to pay a price for friendly ties with the neighbours.

Relations between Tehran and Riyadh have strained over the past years after their conflicting views on regional developments, particularly on Yemen and Syria, became more noticeable.

The relations further deteriorated after a crush of pilgrims in Mina, near Saudi Arabia’s Mecca, in September 2015, which killed over 7,000 Hajj pilgrims, including 465 Iranians.

Tehran has blamed the deaths on the Al Saud’s mismanagement of the Hajj pilgrimage and criticized Riyadh for “lack of cooperation” on restoring the rights of families of the victims.

The row between Iran and Saudi Arabia escalated further in January 2016, following Riyadh’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, and a subsequent attack by outraged Iranian protesters on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, which resulted in the Arab country’s decision to sever its ties with the Islamic Republic.

However, there have been signs of a thaw in Iran’s ties with Saudi Arabia’s close ally, the United Arab Emirates, in recent weeks.

In late July, an Emirati military delegation visited Iran and signed a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperation on common border security with Iran.

Many believe that the shift in the Abu Dhabi’s policy on Iran reflects a change in the policies of its close ally, Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, Saudis have given the Iranian Hajj pilgrims a warm welcome in this year’s pilgrimage.

In interview with Fararu news website, Nosratollah Tajik, a Middle East expert and Iran’s former ambassador to Jordan, has explained how a shift in the regional situation has made Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – known as Iran’s regional rivals in the Arab world – decide to improve ties with Iran.

“Different hardware and software factors have led to such relative thaw or shift in the Saudi and Emirati policies towards Iran. The instances in the hardware arena are the issue of oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and the downing of the US drone. These have disappointed Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s hopes for a hundred percent American support for their policies against Iran, forcing them to resolve the disputes with Iran politically, not militarily,” the former Foreign Ministry advisor said.

“The other part relates to the prolonged war on Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are under pressure of the international public opinion for the crimes that Saudi Arabia has committed in Yemen, among other things,” Tajik added.

“In the software arena, I believe that we should mainly monitor the political developments in the region. The UAE’s internal disputes, Saudi Arabia’s difference with the UAE, and all of these factors force them to address their issues with Iran politically, instead of entering the military phase,” he added.

“In the UAE, the internal rifts between Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the influential Emirati crown prince, and the other six emirs over Yemen and Iran have led them to the conclusion that they should prevent further damages and settle the disputes with Iran. Another reason behind the UAE’s new policy was the outflow of capital of the Iranian residents, and the UAE’s vulnerability to the outflow of capital because of its heavy dependence on foreign investment. The UAE is more susceptible to the Persian Gulf security developments than Saudi Arabia, so it is natural for it to shift its policy towards Iran more rapidly than Saudi Arabia,” he added.

“As regards the Saudi stance, there is a part relating to the Yemen war and another part is that Saudis are willing to hold the next year’s G-20 summit in Riyadh. As a result, Saudis would naturally adopt the ‘zero tension policy’ in order to portray a good image of them and demonstrate a safe picture from Saudi Arabia as the world will be watching the G-20 leaders there,” Tajik added.

The former ambassador to Jordan also commented on the future prospect of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the ways to improve the ties, as cited by Zarif, saying, “We have a lot of differences. Sadly, we live in an undeveloped region; nonetheless, no country could choose its neighbour. We need to be realistic and try to achieve a mechanism on the basis of commonalities. I believe that the traditional patterns of collective security are not working anymore. We must move towards modern patterns, and preferably towards establishment of peace through economic interaction.”

“The governments are in charge of the traditional patterns of security, and since the governments in this region are suspicious about each other and have doubts and fears, we’d better exercise economic interaction and make the private sectors of countries involved in the economic interests, with which the security will be also ensured,” Tajik concluded.

Iran Unveils Homegrown ‘Bavar-373’ Missile Defence System

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The system was unveiled in a Thursday ceremony held on the occasion of National Day of Defence Industry.

A distinguishing feature of Bavar-373 is its vertical launching system with square launchers, mostly used for air defence on warships.

Bavar-373 uses a long-range, phased array fire-control radar, dubbed Me’raj-4.

The air defence system employs three different types of missiles to hit targets at various altitudes.

Iranian military technicians have in recent years made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere.

Tehran has always assured other nations that its military might poses no threat to regional countries, saying that the Islamic Republic’s defence doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.

US Main Source of Insecurity in West Asia: Iran FM

By
IFP Media Wire
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Speaking at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) during a visit to Sweden, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made the comments Wednesday amid the US military presence in the Persian Gulf.

He added that Iran has already fulfilled all of its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which enshrines it.

“This is an agreement, this was not a diktat,” he said. “We did not dictate it to the other side obviously, but the other side did not obviously dictate it to us to some people’s chagrin.”

“Iran according to 15 reports of the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency) … has complied with the Resolution 2231 and with the JCPOA,” he said. “Even five IAEA reports came after US withdrawal, it still showed that we don’t violate [the deal].”

Washington abandoned the landmark deal in May 2018, when President Donald Trump said he was going to use sanctions and other measures in his power to force Iran into renegotiating another deal that addresses the country’s missile program and its growing role in the Middle East region.

Zarif noted that the US, under Trump, is unpredictable and does not comply to the international law.

He said Iran behaves in a predictable manner and expects predictable behavior in response.

“Mutual unpredictability will lead to chaos. Because President Trump cannot expect to be unpredictable and expect other people to be predictable. Unpredictability will lead to mutual unpredictability and unpredictability is chaotic,” Zarif said.

Since Trump’s exit, Iran has ruled out the possibility of revising the current JCPOA or negotiating a new one. It has also warned the other signatories — the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany — to either salvage the deal by meeting their commitments or watch the Islamic Republic also stop implementing the JCPOA.

While China and Russia have signaled that they would continue trade with Iran at highest possible levels, the UK, France and Germany have been struggling to come up with a response to US pressure.

They had promised Iran that they would continue trade as usual using a special payment channel called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) but have yet to make it operational months after its much-delayed official launch in January 2019.

Zarif said the European “failed” to deliver their commitments and needed to take action if they wanted to save the deal.

In a display of impatience with the Europeans, Tehran has on two occasions reduced its commitments under the JCPOA in accord with mechanisms that the agreement provides for dealing with non-compliance, including increasing its enriched uranium stockpiles beyond the 300-kg limit and enriching uranium to purity levels beyond the 3.67 percent agreed in the deal.

Zarif defended Iran’s response to the non-compliance at the SIPRI and said the third stage would bring about bigger changes.

“If the other side violates the deal we have a right at a remedy to reduce our commitments to the deal,” he argued. “This is written in the deal.”

Zarif also decried the US military presence in the region, asserting that it would increase insecurity.

“No amount of foreign military presence (in the Persian Gulf) can prevent insecurity in this region. Security is a common global commodity. We have to accept either security for everybody or insecurity for everybody,” said the top Iranian diplomat. “You cannot have an island of security by your fleet in the Persian Gulf when the United States is waging an economic war against Iran. When the United States is forcing countries to seize our ships in Gibraltar, in the Suez Canal, in Singapore. That’s insecurity. Global security is intertwined.”

Tehran, Stockholm Discuss Parliamentary Cooperation

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

In the Wednesday meeting, the two sides discussed various issues in bilateral relations, especially collaborations and parliamentary visits between Iran and Sweden.

They also conferred on the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) and the latest regional and international developments.

Tehran, Stockholm Discuss Parliamentary Cooperation

Tourists Taking Motorcycle Tour from Paris to Isfahan

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

“The tour includes 40 tourists from France, Switzerland and United Kingdom travelling to Iran, with Isfahan and Shiraz as their main destinations,” announced Sadeq Namdar, the head of Bazargan’s Customs Administration, to IRNA.

According to Namdar, the tourists have come to Iran with 25 motorcycles and four cars to visit the country’s historical sites and travel through its nature along the way.

The tourists, who arrived at Iran’s Bazargan border on August 17, are to stay in Iran for 11 days, he added.

“Some members will fly to Istanbul on August 27, while five motorcyclists will leave Iran from Bazargan border at the same date.”

Bazargan in Iran’s northwest is one of the country’s largest land borders, considered Iran’s gateway to Europe.

Tourists Taking Motorcycle Tour from Paris to Isfahan

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 21

By
Seyedeh Maryam Hosseini Lahijani
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A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on November 19

Abrar:
1- Zarif: Iran Has No Interest in Negotiating with US on JCPOA
2- Iran Leader Grants Clemency to Hundreds of Prisoners
3- Macron Underlines Need to Maintain Iran Nuclear Deal
4- Araqchi: Use of Economic Sanctions Is US’ Most Important Weapon against Iran, N Korea
5- UK Tanker Must Await Court Ruling: Foreign Ministry

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 21

 

Besharat-e Now:
1- Parliament Speaker: Iran Welcomes Development of Business Ties with N Korea
2- Government Spokesman: Saudi Arabia, UAE Different from US for Iran

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 21

 

Etemad:
1- Iranian Women Volleyball Players Book Place at Asian Quarters
2- Zarif’s European Tour to End in Paris: Flight of Diplomacy over Sanctions

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 21

 

Ettela’at:
1- Europe Welcomes Iran’s Active Diplomacy
2- Zarif: I’ll Visit Paris Friday to Meet Macron, Le Drian
3- Hamas Chief: I Received Message from Gen. Soleimani on Support for Palestine Resistance

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 21

 

Javan:
1- Zarif: We Have No Interest in Renegotiation of JCPOA with US
2- Iranian Oil Tanker Sails against Direction of US’ Will

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 21

 

Jomhouri Eslami:
1- Larijani Defends JCPOA in Interview with NBC News
2- Sanctions Not Aimed at Negotiation, but at Making Iran Surrender: Shamkhani
3- Zarif: Iran’s Oil Sales Not Sanctioned by Any Int’l Body
4- Pompeo Outraged by Release of Iranian Tanker Adrian Darya

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 21

 

Kayhan:
1- Correct but Late Stance by Shamkhani: We Shouldn’t Have Signed JCPOA
2- Judiciary Chief: Release of Iranian Tanker Not Enough; They Must Pay Compensation
3- Zarif in Sweden: Who Would Believe US and Europe Advocate Human Rights?
4- Iran Leader Pardons, Commutes Sentences of Many Convicts on Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Ghadeer

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 21

 

Mardom Salari:
1- France, Russia Presidents Underline Need to Maintain JCPOA
2- Damascus’ Strategic Success in Khan Shaykhun
* Syrian Army to Conquer Last Rebel Stronghold

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 21

 

Shargh:
1- JCPOA Threat Beyond Iran: Ban Ki-moon in Exclusive Interview with Shargh

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 21

Disabled Woman Using Her Mouth to Paint (+Video)

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

35-year-old Samaneh Ehsaninia recently held her seventh individual painting exhibition. She has painted all her beautiful and fabulous works with a brush in her mouth, which is the result of her efforts and creativity.

She had her spinal cord severed at the neck in a car accident 15 years ago. Samaneh herself says she suffers from the most severe form of disability and cannot live on her own, just like an infant who cannot do anything alone. The only difference is that she can talk.

She started painting professionally seven years ago. Now, she has come to a point where she has achieved a considerable degree of financial independence by selling her works of art. She even has an assistant who receives salary from her. Samaneh’s paintings displayed at an art gallery in Tehran were priced at 30 million rials and above, each. The paintings were greatly welcomed by visitors who bought them.

So far, she has put her paintings on show at 16 exhibitions, nine of which have been individual exhibits.

Samaneh has not limited her activities to painting alone. She is also working as an anchor and writer. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of a theatre group of physically disabled individuals. She has been playing the harmonica for a year now.

Excerpts from Fars News Agency’s interview with her follow:

– What techniques are used in your paintings? Do you use acrylic or oil paint or other styles of painting?

My paintings are drawn by water colour and acrylic. They are a combination of different styles such as realism, surrealism and impressionism.

– Your paintings come in big sizes. Please explain how you create such large paintings with your mouth.

These works have been done in the form of modules, i.e. they are drawn in the form of puzzles. First, small canvases are designed and painted; then, they are pieced together to form a large tableau.

– Who have you been inspired by when it comes to this style of painting?

Due to my interest in artistic activities and my experience in the field of art before I was disabled such as acting on the theatre stage, photography and marquetry, I felt I needed to take up a new branch of art. When I was in the rehab centre I was invited to visit an exhibition in the city of Mashhad where works of art by disabled people was on display. They had drawn the paintings with their hands and feet. I was motivated by those works very much and felt if disabled people can paint with their feet, I can definitely paint with my mouth, too.

At the beginning, I began painting with my friends and other helpful people at the rehab centre. However, when I left there and decided to start my own life independently, I met some masters in painting who helped me press ahead with my painting career more professionally. So, I began painting with my mouth in 2008 and have continued this job till now. I have been financially independent for almost 5 years now. You know, I suffer from the most severe form of disability. I am like an infant who cannot do anything alone. I can only talk.

– How did you get along with your disability?

Naturally, for somebody who used to walk on her own feet, made efforts and achieved success during the time she was able to walk, it would be difficult to get on with a situation which is very much different from that of the past.

When I was at the rehabilitation centre and saw the lifestyles of individuals who had a similar situation to mine, I began to ponder whether it would be possible to live under such circumstances. I thought if so many people can, I can, too, and that I only needed to find a way. Where there is a will, there is a way, but if there is no will, there will be excuses in order not to do something.

I had two options before me. I had to either wait to die, or fight for my dreams and try to create a new life for myself. Undoubtedly, I chose the second option.

I began to study and create an art in my life, and that was nothing but “painting,” which taught me that disability is pointless and the physical body is only 3 percent of the whole thing and that our souls make up 97 percent of our existence.

As I had pulled off many successes 20 years ago before I became disabled, I secured many achievements over the past 15 years, too. Definitely, my disability helped me turn into a new discoverer and enabled me to live in a new world with a new lifestyle.

– What do you do when you get tired or exhausted?

I try to close my eyes and think about my dreams and the things I’d like to create in my life.

– What other art do you like to experience, but you are unable to because of your disability?

I have never thought about “being unable to.” Of course, I have thought about what I like and how I can do it. For example, I loved music and picked an instrument which I could play without hands. I chose the harmonica. Where there is a will, there is a will.

– What is your biggest wish?

My biggest wish is to be able to present my works at art galleries in other countries as an Iranian artist and to be able to donate the hope and light shining in my heart to all people around the world.

Iran Says US Weapons Turning Mideast into Powder Keg

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Addressing a UN Security Council meeting on Middle East peace and security challenges in New York on Tuesday, Majid Takht Ravanchi slammed the deployment of more than 70,000 US troops into the region as a main reason behind the insecurity and instability in the Middle East.

The US has an active military presence in all Persian Gulf states except in Iran, the envoy noted, adding, “The number of foreign military installations in the Middle East has jumped from four in 1991 to 41 in 2018. Nearly all of them belong to the US, which marks the highest concentration of military sites in the world.”

Takht Ravanchi further referred to the unilateral withdrawal of the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as another source of instability in the Middle East.

He said the unbridled flow of American weaponry into this region has “turned it into a powder keg.”

“The sole beneficiary of weapons stockpiling in the region is the defense industry of the exporting countries. We should not ignore the US ‘divide and rule’ mechanism, which seeks to sow seeds of permanent discord among regional states. The Iranophobia remarks by American officials are meant to accomplish such an objective,” the Iranian envoy added, Mehr news agency reported.

“They have leveled unfounded accusations against Iran in order to justify their regional policies, and prevent the country from performing its role in the region,” he deplored.

“While we are not seeking confrontation, we cannot and will not remain indifferent to the violation of our sovereignty. Therefore, in order to secure our borders and interests, we will vigorously exercise our inherent right to self-defense,” the ambassador underlined.

Takht Ravanchi also said that Tehran will continue to ensure the security of maritime navigation in the Middle East, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the US’ attempts to set up a military coalition in the Persian Gulf to counter what it calls the “Iran threat” will fail.

Zeroing Out Iran’s Oil Exports to Threaten Safety of Int’l Waterways: Rouhani

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

“World powers know that in the case that oil is completely sanctioned and Iran’s oil exports are brought down to zero, international waterways can’t have the same security as before,” Rouhani said on Wednesday.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

“So unilateral pressure against Iran can’t be to their advantage and won’t guarantee their security in the region and the world,” Rouhani added.

 

Iran Can Stop Reducing JCPOA Commitments If Talks Successful

He further pointed to Iran’s move to reduce its JCPOA commitments, saying, “We have chosen the right path in reducing our commitments, and we have reiterated that there is a limit to our patience.”

Rouhani noted that if the 4+1 negotiations are successful, it can change the circumstances. “If the negotiations are unsuccessful, we will continue this path.”

He also noted that if all organs and branches stand together and support each other, we will overcome the sanctions with a faster pace, and bring the United States to its knees.

Washington has been tightening the screws on Tehran’s main source of income, aiming to cut Iran’s oil sales to zero, after President Donald Trump re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic in November.

The US withdrew last year from an international nuclear deal signed with Tehran in 2015. It is ratcheting up sanctions in efforts to return Iran to negotiating table for a new deal to curb the country’s missile capabilities and its anti-Israeli role in the region.

Lately, the US has raised the ante by ordering military reinforcements, including a strike group, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, to the Middle East to confront unspecified Iranian threats.

Earlier this month, Iran’s Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said the United States has had no success in its “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran even as American sanctions have impacted the Iranian economy.

“The Americans have not achieved any success against Iran. They wanted to bring oil sales down to zero but they did not succeed,” Larijani told a parliament session in Tehran on August 6.

“Through economic pressures, they want to have Iran stuck in internal problems. They have ratcheted up pressure on people to stir economic discontent,” he said.

China and other countries are receiving oil shipments from a larger number of Iranian tankers than was previously known, The New York Times reported early August.

At least 12 Iranian tankers have loaded and delivered oil across Asia and the Mediterranean since May 2, the paper said.

At least six of those ships unloaded their cargo at ports in China, while other ships have sailed to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal, it added.

Iran Leader Urges India to Adopt ‘Fair’ Policy on Kashmir

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

“We have very good relations with the Indian government, but the Indian government is expected to adopt a fair policy towards the decent people of Kashmir,” Ayatollah Khamenei said on Wednesday.

He made the remarks in a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and members of his cabinet in Tehran.

The Leader also urged that the Muslim people of Kashmir are not bullied anymore.

He further referred to the United Kingdom’s mischief as the root cause of the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir region and the dispute between India and Pakistan over the issue.

When leaving the Indian Subcontinent, the Leader said, “the Britons intentionally left this wound in this region so that the conflict would continue in Kashmir.”

Tensions in Jammu and Kashmir region have escalated after India scrapped the special status of its portion of Kashmir on August 5. New Delhi claimed that the decision was necessary for Kashmir’s economic development and to stop “terrorism.”

Pakistan, which disputes Kashmir with India, then expelled the Indian ambassador, halted bilateral trade, and suspended cross-border transport services.

Kashmir is divided between India, which rules the populous Kashmir Valley and the Hindu-dominated region around Jammu city, and Pakistan, which controls a piece of territory in the west.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars over the territory.

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