Iran Arrests 17 Professional Spies Trained by CIA (+Video)

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July 22, 2019

According to the Intelligence Ministry’s director-general for counterintelligence, all the operatives are Iranian nationals working as spies on behalf of the CIA throughout the past Iranian calendar year (March 2018 to March 2019).

The suspects were operating in key organizations and institutions mainly in the private sector, the official said on Monday.

“The spies identified were employed in sensitive and vital private sector centres in the economic, nuclear, infrastructural, military and cyber areas… where they collected classified information,” the official said in a statement.

Some of those arrested have received death sentences, and some of them prison terms.

According to the unnamed official, the CIA had recruited the Iranian spies by mainly contacting them over the Internet.

Other tactics used by the US intelligence included issuing or renewing US visas, hiring Iranian specialists, providing necessary equipment and access to certain participants in scientific events abroad, sending emails and messaging through social.

The Intelligence Ministry has also aired a documentary film of the agents it has arrested. The film shows interviews with some of the operatives, and shows how the CIA sent equipment to the agents.

Iran’s Beauties in Photos: Traditional Wheat Harvest

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 22, 2019

The reason for maintaining the traditional way is that mountainous roads don’t allow for the use of industrial machinery.

The region’s land owners use the manpower, including family members, to harvest the wheat.

Despite the successive droughts, Iran has remained self-sufficient in wheat production for the fourth year thanks to its farmers.

What follows are YJC’s photos of traditional wheat harvest:

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UN Nuclear Watchdog’s Chief Yukiya Amano Dies at 72

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 22, 2019

“The Secretariat of the International Atomic Energy Agency regrets to inform with deepest sadness of the passing away of Director General Yukiya Amano,” the IAEA secretariat said in the note, obtained by Reuters.

Amano, a Japanese diplomat, previously served as an international civil servant for the United Nations and its subdivisions.

In 2005, Amano served as the ambassador from Japan to the IAEA. From September 2005 to September 2006, Amano served as the Chairman of the IAEA Board of Governors.

During this time, the IAEA and its Director General Mohamed ElBaradei received the Nobel Peace Prize. Amano represented the IAEA as the chairman at the Nobel Prize award ceremony held in December 2005.

Amano was elected to the position of the IAEA chief in July 2009.

In March 2012, Amano was accused by several former senior IAEA officials of pro-western bias, over-reliance on unverified intelligence and of sidelining sceptics.

Artists Using Secondhand Clothing to Promote Anti-Consumerism in Iran

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 22, 2019

Hana Kamkar and Azita Torkashvand made alterations to their old clothes and attended the Hafez Awards to promote the campaign as a social and cultural move.

The campaign draws attention to the fact that many environmental resources go to waste every year as they are used to produce clothes that are worn just once or twice. Accordingly, the campaign invites artists along with the general public to join this social-cultural move and say “No” to consumerism.

Neda Sormeh is the person who re-designed the clothes of these two actresses.

Artists Using Secondhand Clothing to Promote Anti-Consumerism in Iran — Hard-Line Weekly Shut Down in Iran after Insulting Actors

“Based on the promise that I gave in the 2018 Fashion and Clothes Festival, I launched a campaign to remind people of, and reconstruct this lovely science, which has existed in our culture since long ago,” said Sormeh.

“For this year’s Hafez festival, I invited Azita Torkashvand and Hana Kamkar to join us as the first people to get on board, and to wear outfits which they no longer used and which were redesigned by our team,” she added.

The “Fashion or Consumerism” campaign is now up and running. Artists have been invited to join the campaign to help protect the environment and do away with consumerism.

Similar campaigns have already been launched around the world. High-profile figures such as Michelle Obama (former US President Barack Obama’s wife) and Kate Middleton (the British crown prince’s wife) have, in symbolic moves, put on their old clothes in red-carpet ceremonies and international events such as the Oscars and the Cannes Film Festival to express their protest at consumerism.

‘UK Gets Taste of Own Medicine as Iran Captures Oil Tanker’

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 22, 2019

‘UK Gets Taste of Own Medicine as Iran Captures Oil Tanker’ — IRGC speedboats moving around the UK-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in the Persian Gulf / Photo by ISNA

In an op-ed article on Sunday, the editor-in-chief of Kayhan newspaper lauded Iran’s decision to capture a British-flagged oil tanker at the Strait of Hormuz for violating the maritime law, saying Tehran has exercised its legal right to act in retaliation for the illegitimate seizure of Iranian supertanker by the UK Navy.

Hossein Shariatmadari said Iran has captured the UK oil tanker on legal grounds, because the UK had seized Iran’s vessel illegally.

He also cited the “right of reprisal” in the international law, which recognizes a nation’s right to take retaliatory measures against another state in response to a hostile move.

“As a result, we can, and must, maintain that we have captured the British oil tanker in a retaliatory move in reprisal for the seizure of Iran’s oil tanker by the UK, not because of maritime violations,” the Iranian journalist added.

On July 19, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy captured British oil tanker “Stena Impero” for violating international maritime laws when crossing the high-traffic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

The UK vessel had switched off its GPS locator, in contravention of international regulations, and was sailing into the Strait of Hormuz in a wrong traffic pattern.

The British tanker was entering the strait from the southern route which is an exit path, increasing the risk of an accident

Moreover, Stena Impero had not heeded any of the warnings from the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization.

Iran’s legal action against the British oil tanker came after the British Royal Marines seized Iran’s oil tanker Grace 1 in Gibraltar on July 4 for trying to take oil to Syria allegedly in violation of EU sanctions.

Tehran has made it clear that the supertanker was not bound for Syria and its seizure has taken place at the behest of the US.

Iran Thanks Saudis for Releasing Oil Tanker, Helping Injured Sailor

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 22, 2019

In comments on Sunday, Seyyed Abbas Mousavi gave details of the return of an oil tanker of the Islamic Republic of Iran from Jeddah to Iranian ports, and of the transfer of an injured Iranian national on board a trade ship called Saviz from a hospital in Saudi Arabia’s Jizan to Oman and later to Iran.

“The Happiness oil tanker that had berthed at Saudi Arabia’s port of Jeddah on May 2 due to a technical failure, has finally left Jeddah port for our country’s ports on July 20 after the technical failure was fixed, and following various consultations and the Foreign Ministry’s move to pursue the matter constantly in contact with the relevant parties,” he added.

“Moreover, one of the people aboard the trade vessel Saviz that was on its route in the Red Sea had been injured because of an accident inside the ship on June 3 and was taken to the hospital in Saudi Arabia’s Jizan for treatment.”

“Ultimately, after efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Iranian injured in Saviz ship has been transferred from the hospital of Saudi Arabia’s Jizan to Oman on July 20 and then returned to our country,” Mousavi added.

Citing the severance of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Mousavi added, “Those two subjects were pursued through various diplomatic channels, and we thank and praise Switzerland and Oman, as well as the relevant parties inside Saudi Arabia, for providing the necessary services and facilities in relation to these two issues.”

Saudi Arabia has finally released an Iranian oil tanker that had been stuck at the port city of Jeddah for more than 11 weeks.

Iranian oil tanker ‘Happiness 1’, belonging to the to the National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC), was forced to berth at the Saudi port of Jeddah on April 30 due to a technical failure.

The NITC said a technical problem in the oil tanker caused sea water to leak into the ship’s engine room and stall the engine when the vessel was heading towards the Suez Canal in the Red Sea.

All of the 26 crew on board the oil tanker survived the incident as the ship was taken to the nearest safe port, namely Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah.

However, the kingdom was refusing to let Happiness 1 leave Jeddah after the vessel’s technical problem was resolved. Saudi Arabia was even charging the NITC $200,000 a day for the additional costs of maintenance.

In the other case, Saudi Arabia said on June 4 that its forces had rescued the injured crew member of the Iranian ship Saviz off the coasts of Yemen.

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting against Yemen said the injured sailor had been airlifted from Saviz, which was more than 170 kilometers northwest of the port of Hudaydah.

Saudis were reportedly dispatched after a distress call from the Iranian ship and took the Iranian national to a military hospital in Jizan.

World Must Stand against US, Israel in Support of Palestine: Iran

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 22, 2019

Speaking at the Palestine Committee of NAM in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, Zarif stressed that today Palestinians are in a precarious and unstable situation while the pursuit of a radical unilateralist policy and the neglect of international law by the current US government has intensified the issue.

Such a policy has had a triple effect, he said, explaining that first, the US government is struggling to push to the sidelines the issue of Palestine which is the main problem in the Middle East.

“It is a pity that some have fallen victim to this, and are focusing on unimportant issues to move towards advancing the agenda of the United States and the Israeli regime.”

“It is important that NAM resist it and take all efforts to neutralise it,” he added.

“Secondly, the US government is now making all efforts to ignore the rights of the people of Palestine, especially their right to self-determination. Thirdly, there are naive and maladroit efforts to impose the so-called deal of the century.”

Zarif maintained that they [US and its allies] are deluded by the idea that peace and economic prosperity can be realised without addressing the issue of occupation, which is at the centre of the Palestinian issue.

He argued that there is no doubt any initiative separated from international law and against the human and political rights of the Palestinians will not be feasible and fair, and therefore it will fail.

“In the current situation, it is our duty to remain united and in line with other similar organisations and the vast majority of the members of the UN General Assembly stand against bullying tactics and violations of international law, and face the hostility of the Israeli regime and the US,” he reiterated.

Trump’s Drone Downing Lie So Big that Even Iran Believed It First: IRGC

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 21, 2019

“After Trump’s claim that the US had shot down an Iranian drone, we checked our various [drone] units for several ties,” IRGC Aerospace Commander Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh said Sunday.

Iran first believed Trump’s claim because “it was not believable for us that he would personally tell such a big lie on the TV,” he added.

“That was why we had a few hours of delay in dismissing the news, and finally we found out that our unmanned aerial vehicle had monitored the US fleet’s activity from the time it entered into the Strait of Hormuz to the time it left the Strait,” he noted.

General Hajizadeh said the US president later blamed his national security advisor John Bolton for the lie.

US President Donald Trump claimed an American warship had destroyed the drone after it came within 914-metres of the USS Boxer amphibious assault ship.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, however, later released footage which exposed Washington’s sheer lies.

Reverse Brain Drain in Iran; Elites Returning to Help Compatriots

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 21, 2019

Statistics show Iran is on the path towards formation of the ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovative businesses, with a major focus on “reverse brain drain”.

The growth of knowledge-based companies from about 80 in 2013 to more than 4,400 now shows that this fast-moving momentum has begun, and every strategy is being used to establish a knowledge-based economy.

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”

Supporting the elites and returning them to work in the country is also one of the measures taken in this regard. So far, more than a thousand elites have returned to the country from 100 reputable universities and are active in knowledge-based companies and startups. This creates the motivation and encouragement for staying in the country to enjoy the unparalleled opportunities created by the entrepreneurial ecosystem and innovative businesses. Among the achievements of these knowledge-based companies one can refer to the following:

Iran-Made Vaccines Eradicate Oriental Sore

Infectious diseases in humans, livestock and poultry cause much damage, but vaccines are the best way to cope with these diseases. One of the country’s leading companies has taken steps to produce a vaccine to eradicate diseases like oriental sore. This diagnostic kit is produced for the first time in the world. However, in addition to the fact that the technical knowledge and manufacturing of the vaccine in Iran varies with the other types of this vaccine, diagnostic kits are also used for the first time to diagnose the disease.

New Generation of Thin-Layer Solar Cells

Researchers at the University of Technology in Isfahan in collaboration with researchers from the Swiss Institute of Polytechnic have succeeded in building a new generation of thin-layer solar cells from the your-cholesterol-faq.com. Perovskite is an oxidising agent for absorbing sunlight that injects energy into the electrical circuit of the system.

Achieving the knowledge of making these cells has created a dramatic development in the field of photovoltaic cells because they have a high-speed efficiency growth. These solar cells are high-performance and inexpensive.

Perovskia Improves Cellular Wounds

The treatment of skin diseases, including ulcers, has been developing with the help of advanced technologies. A knowledge-based company has produced a product that, in addition to the healing of the wounds, speeds up the process of cell proliferation.

Share of Bio-Fertilisers to be Increased in Agriculture

One of the goals of the Biotechnology Development Department at the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology is to supply healthy food chain in the country. This program starts from the farm and reaches to people’s table. In this regard, providing bio-fertilisers is one of the most important infrastructures for the implementation of this plan. Bio-fertilisers are said to contain one or more of the beneficial microorganisms of the soil. These fertilisers are microorganisms that convert soil nutrients into nutritional materials such as vitamins and other minerals in a biological process and feed them into plant roots.

Gene-Therapy Develops with Help of Creative Elements

Iran has made great advances in the field of stem cells and medical rehabilitation, and a bright future is ahead of the market of products and technologies of this field.

Energy Storage Increases

Researchers at Tarbiat Modarres University have been pursuing a project to increase energy storage in super-capacitors. Super-capacitors have a much higher power density than batteries and fuel cells.

At the same time, their energy density is much higher than typical capacitors. For this reason, super-capacitors have been considered as energy storage systems, especially in fields that require high power.

Knowledge-Based Companies Help Smart Transportation

Steps have been taken to create specialised laboratories in the field of transportation and make it smart. These labs will operate in a network to provide a better performance for this strategic industry.

Startups Have Encouraged Great Developments across Iran

Today, all cities and 78 percent of the country’s villages have high-speed Internet and the 3G or 4G mobile Internet.

Buildings Strengthened with Indigenous Technology

A knowledge-based company has created a production line for joist truss structures using native technological devices. With the launch of this production line, the strength of buildings has been increased.

Knowledge-based Companies, Private Sector Bring Traditional Economy to Its End

Implementing different viewpoints, such as the law to protect knowledge-based companies in the past six years has created the ecosystem of knowledge-based economy in the country.