Iran to Take Legal Action against US Drone Encroachment: VP

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June 23, 2019

Laya Joneydi said intrusion into the maritime, land and aerial borders are not acceptable and tolerable at all, and Iran will file a lawsuit against the US in this regard.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced on Thursday that its air defence force had shot down an intruding American spy drone in the country’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan.

The IRGC said in a statement that the US-made Global Hawk surveillance drone was brought down by its Air Force near the Kouh-e Mobarak region, which sits in the central district of Jask County, after the aircraft violated Iranian airspace.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Division said on Friday that Iran has refrained from shooting down a US plane with 35 people on board that was accompanying the downed American spy drone.

“This plane also entered our airspace and we could have targeted it, but we did not because our purpose behind shooting down the American drone was to give a warning to terrorist American forces,” Hajizadeh added.

In a letter addressed to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres and the UN Security Council on Thursday, Iran condemned the violation of its airspace by the US spy drone, saying that the international community needs to confront Washington’s destabilizing actions.

“Iran condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this irresponsible and provocative wrongful act by the United States, which entails its international responsibility,” Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, wrote in the letter.

Iranian Official Warns Arabs against Hosting US Bases

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 22, 2019

In a post on his Twitter account on Saturday, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have been making fun of regional security by offering their soil to the outsiders and allowing the US to carry out acts of espionage with drones and take provocative measures.

“They (Saudis, Emiratis, Bahrainis) do not have a proper understanding of sustainable security and stability, and are playing with the fire in which they are going to burn,” he added.

His warning came after the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the chargé d’affaires of the United Arab Emirates to express Tehran’s strong protest at the incursion of a US spy drone into the Iranian airspace, which had taken off from a US base in the UAE.

In a meeting with the Emirati envoy on Saturday, the director of the Foreign Ministry’s Persian Gulf Department said Iran does not accept that another country provides foreign forces with facilities for any aggression against Iran’s maritime, land, and aerial borders.

“Other countries cannot disclaim their responsibility in such cases,” he added.

The US Global Hawk (RQ-4) drone was shot down on Thursday morning in an area close to Kuhmobarak village in Iran’s Hormozgan province, near the Persian Gulf waters.

In a statement, the IRGC said the ‘Global Hawk’ spy drone took off from a US military base in the UAE at 19:44 GMT on Wednesday (00:14 am local time on Thursday), switched off all of its communication systems, and flew towards the port city of Chabahar in south-eastern Iran via the Strait of Hormuz in maximum stealth.

When flying back to the western part of the region, the unmanned plane violated the Iranian airspace near the Strait of Hormuz and began to spy on Iran and collect information, the statement added.

The IRGC Aerospace Force’s air defence unit shot down the intruding drone in Iran’s airspace at 23:35 GMT, it noted.

The doomed aircraft, an RQ-4C Global Hawk, is one of the world’s most advanced spy drones that costs more than $130 million to build.

The intruding drone was reportedly shot by Iran’s homegrown air defence missile system “3rd of Khordad”.

Iranian Automaker May Use Peugeot Logo on Homegrown Car

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 22, 2019

In an interview with IRIB, Hashem Yekke Zare’ denounced Peugeot for violating its agreement with Iran Khodro and its decision to leave Iran.

Despite the French carmaker’s pullout from Iran, the IKCO manufactured Peugeot 301 single-handedly and is currently producing 80 percent of the compact sedan’s engine inside the country, he added.

“We do not need Peugeot at all,” the CEO noted, saying the local manufacturers of car components joined hands and produced the necessary part of 301, from the dashboard to fenders and headlights.

Yekke Zare’ then noted that the Peugeot company’s deputy chief had claimed that Iran would not be able to make 301 under the sanctions, but the answer he received was, “You have thrown a punch in such condition of sanctions, so you are going to get two punches.”

The French have announced that Iran would not be allowed to use the Peugeot logo on 301, but the IKCO has made it clear that it feels free to use the logo, because Peugeot has pulled out of Iran, he concluded.

The owner of an Iranian manufacturer of car components has told IRIB that 3,000 Peugeot 301s will be produced in the three months of winter alone, while more than 100,000 new ones are expected to be made in the next Iranian year.

In June 2016, Iran Khodro and the French carmaker Peugeot-Citroen (PSA) agreed to launch a joint auto company in Tehran under a joint venture worth 400 million euros.

But in 2018, the French side reneged on the agreement and decided to obey the US sanctions against Tehran by leaving Iran.

Ex-Employee of Iran’s Defence Ministry Executed for Espionage

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 22, 2019

A statement from the judicial organization of the Iranian Armed Forces said the convict, Jalal Hajizavar, was a former contract employee working at the Defence Ministry’s Aerospace Organization.

The culprit who had left his job at the ministry nine years ago was court-martialed after the ministry’s intelligence office detected his acts of espionage.

Hajizavar had confessed to spying for the CIA in exchange for money during interrogation, the statement added, noting that documents, evidence and spying equipment have been found at his home.

The culprit was executed after a wholly legal process with full respect for the rights of defendant, whose attorney was present in all court sessions and different stages of investigation, it added.

The spy’s wife has been also sentenced to 15 years in prison on charge of involvement in espionage, the statement concluded.

Iran-China Banking Ties Facilitated: Official

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 22, 2019

In an interview with Tasnim, Asadollah Asgaroladi said the problems that the Iranian manufacturers and official companies were encountering in banking transactions with China have been all resolved.

“The banking transactions (with China) have fortunately become smooth and there is no trouble in this regard,” he added.

Asgaroladi, however, noted that Iran’s unofficial companies and tourists are still dealing with outstanding problems.

Iran and China are going to hold a series of meetings this week to settle the banking problems of unofficial companies as well, he stated.

Back in June, Vice Chairman of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Pedram Soltani announced plans for the resumption of activity of China’s Bank of Kunlun in Iran by the end of 2019 and “only using Chinese unit of currency yuan and with full observation of US sanctions with regard to the goods, real and legal entities, transport companies and bank.”

China’s Bank of Kunlun is the only Chinese bank that cooperates with Iran.

Iran Threatens to Boycott Asian Boxing Games over Persian Gulf’s Name

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 22, 2019

In a Saturday interview with IRNA, President of the Iranian Boxing Federation, Hossein Soori, said Iran will boycott the Asian Confederation Schoolboys Boxing Championships in Kuwait, unless the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) corrects the mistake of using the fake name of Arabian Gulf.

Deploring the ASBC for distorting the real name of Persian Gulf in its official website, he said Iran stands firm when it comes to the issues concerning the country’s historical identity.

Soori said the Iranian federation is closely pursuing the case by entering into correspondence with the authorities, noting that the results will come out within the next three days.

The Asian Boxing Confederation has referred to the host of the upcoming games, Kuwait City, as a city located on the shore of what it has called the Arabian Gulf.

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on June 22

By

Fatemeh Askarieh

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June 22, 2019

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on November 19

Abrar:
* Attacks on 3 Iranian Sites Planned: Trump
* Iran Must Answer Diplomacy with Diplomacy: Hook
* 2nd Phase of Iran’s JCPOA Plans to be Launched on July 7: Zarif
* US Military Attack on Iran Disaterous for Region: Putin

Afkar:
• We Could Hit US Plane with 35 Crew instead of Drone: IRGC Commander
• Switzerland Envoy Summoned to Iran Foreign Minioster after US Provocative Moves

Aftab-e Yazd:
• FATF Contiues to Keep Iran Off the Blacklist
• Tehran’s Clear Message to White House
• Us Has Launched Economic Terrorism against Iran: Zarif
• We Are Not Seeking War, but Defend Our Territories Strongly: FM Zarif

Arman- Emrouz:
• Diplomacy in War Imminency
• What Were Consequences of Iran’s Shooting Down of US Drone?
• Irans Sue against US at US: Zarif
• Retstricted Attack Order on Iran Issues: New York Times

Ebtekar:
• FATF Suspends Decision to Blacklist Iran Again
• 2nd Phase of Iran’s Steps Regarding JCPOA to Begin on June 7

Etemad:
• Double Compensation
• Hitting US Drone Fades America’s Military Might
• Reformer’s Letter to UNSG/ Force Washington to Return to JCPOA

Etela’at:
• Iran Beging 2nd Phase of JCPOA Measures on June 7: Zarif
• House of Reps Reduces Trump’s Power to Wage War

Kayhan:
• Iran’s Strong Strike on US; Saudi Arabia, UAE Must Wait Their Turn
• Ansarullah’s Criuse Missile Hits Sadi Power Plant

Mardomsalari:
• Senate’s Warning to Trump over Iran
• Washington Worried about Wage of War in Region
• No Spying/Details of Shooting Encroached US Drone Explained

Sazandegi:
• Defending Iranian Territory
• I Do not Want An Endless War; I want to Leave Middle East: Trump
• Iran’s Day of Showing Might
• Political Repercussions of Downing US Drone in International Relations

Setareh Sobh:
• Repercussions of Downing A Drone
• Trump Says He Called off Attack on 3 Iranian Sites Due to Probable Casualties
• Moscow Worried about Heightening Tension Between Tehran, Washington: Russia

Sharq:
• Story of Global Hawk Downing
• US Drone Hit by IRGC Aerospace Forces
• FATF Continues to Suspend Blacklisting Iran

Exclusive: Leaked Audio Shows Saudi-MKO Collusion over Tanker Attacks

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 22, 2019

In the audio, which is being released by the Iran Front Page for the first time, Shahram Fakhteh, an official member and the person in charge of MKO’s cyber operations, is heard talking with a US-based MKO sympathizer named Daei-ul-Eslam in Persian.

In this conversation, the two elements discuss the MKO’s efforts to introduce Iran as the culprit behind the recent tanker attacks in the Persian Gulf, and how the Saudis contacted them to pursue the issue.

“In the past week we did our best to blame the [Iranian] regime for the [oil tanker] blasts. Saudis have called Sister Maryam [Rajavi]’s office to follow up on the results, [to get] a conclusion of what has been done, and the possible consequences,” Fakhteh is heard saying.

“I guess this can have different consequences. It can send the case to the UN Security Council or even result in military intervention. It can have any consequence,” Daei-ul-Eslam says.

Attacks on two commercial oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on June 13, and an earlier attack on four oil tankers off the UAE’s Fujairah port on May 12, have escalated tensions in the Middle East and raised the prospect of a military confrontation between Iran and the United States.

The US, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have rushed to blame Iran for the incidents, with the US military releasing a grainy video it claimed shows Iranian forces in a patrol boat removing an unexploded mine from the side of a Japanese-owned tanker which caught fire earlier this month.

It later released some images of the purported Iranian operation after the video was seriously challenged by experts and Washington’s own allies.

The MKO which has assassinated over 17,000 Iranians receives support from the US and its allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia.

The MKO which is said to be a cult which turns humans into obedient robots, turned against Iran after the 1979 Revolution and has carried out several terrorist attacks killing senior officials in Iran; yet the West which says cultism is wrong and claims to be against terrorism, supports this terrorist group officially.

After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the MKO began its enmity against Iran by killings and terrorist activities.

Iran Summons UAE Envoy over US Drone’s Intrusion

By

IFP Editorial Staff

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June 22, 2019

Iran Appoints Female Ambassador to Denmark