Iran Slams Macron’s Unconstructive Comments on JCPOA

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June 7, 2019

Mousavi made the remarks on Friday in reaction Emmanuel Macron’s remarks in his meeting with US President Donald Trump.

“Despite [making] some remarks and [issuing] political statements, the European parties have failed so far to fulfil their commitments under the JCPOA and their obligations following the US’ illegal withdrawal from the agreement,” Mousavi said.

The Europeans, he added, have failed to prepare the grounds for Iran to fully benefit from the multilateral agreement.

“Under the current circumstances, their move to raise issues beyond the JCPOA will not only fail to help save the JCPOA, but will also pave the way for further distrust among the parties remaining in the 2015 agreement,” the spokesman said.

He also noted that such moves will take the US closer to the goal it pursued when leaving the Iran nuclear deal, which was nothing but its collapse.

Mousavi also rejected the hackneyed, contradictory, and groundless claims made by the US president, saying that such invalid allegations do not deserve a new reaction.

The Iranian spokesman’s comments came after Macron told Trump he doesn’t think Paris and Washington have differences over Iran.

“I think we do share the same objective on Iran,” the French leader said.

He listed four common priorities of the US and France in addressing Iranian behaviour moving forward: preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, reducing Iran’s ballistic activity, containing Iran’s regional activity and establishing peace in the region.

“All the other debates are about technicalities,” he said, calling for fresh negotiations to extend the terms of the JCPOA and to achieve those goals.

Trump also asserted on Thursday that sanctions imposed by the US after pulling out of the agreement have crippled Iran’s economy and left the nation in tatters.

“They’re doing very poorly as a nation,” he said. “They’re failing as a nation. And I don’t want them to fail as a nation. We can turn that around very quickly, but the sanctions have been extraordinary how powerful they’ve been, and other things. I understand they want to talk and if they want to talk that’s fine.”

German FM Due in Iran Monday

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 7, 2019

German Foreign minister Heiko Maas gives a joint press conference with President of Commission Jean Claude Juncker (unseen) after their bilateral meeting on April 13, 2018 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. / Photo by AFP

“During his one-day visit, the German top diplomat will hold talks with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani,” Mousavi said on Thursday.

“Bilateral relations between Iran and Germany, the most important regional and international issues, and the latest developments regarding the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) will be discussed in this trip,” he added.

Earlier, a German foreign ministry spokeswoman had declared that Maas will visit Iran as part of a three-country Middle East tour, during which he will explore options for preserving the Iran nuclear deal.

The trip, timed to coincide with the end of the Muslim festival of Ramadan, will take in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates as well as Tehran, ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr told a regular news conference on Thursday.

She added that the trip had been agreed and coordinated with Britain and France, both of which support the nuclear deal signed with Iran, and had also been discussed with Mike Pompeo, chief diplomat of the United States, which has repudiated the agreement.

During the visit, Maas will also be accompanied by Per Fischer, the German head of The Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a special purpose vehicle established by the European Union to circumvent US sanctions and keep some semblance of business channels open to Iran.

Initiated with much fanfare, the special purpose vehicle has been relegated by the Europeans to handle food and medical trade which is theoretically not subject to US sanctions.

Germany, France, and the UK, however, have been struggling to operationalize it, raising serious doubts about their determination to compensate for last year’s unilateral US pullout from an international 2015 nuclear deal Iran.

Back on May 8, Iran stopped some commitments under the deal and notified the remaining signatories of the accord that unless they protect its economy from US sanctions within 60 days, Tehran will start enriching uranium at higher levels.

Chinese Bank ‘Kunlun’ Starts Work in Iran

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IFP Media Wire

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June 7, 2019

In his twitter account, he wrote, “China’s Bank of Kunlun has announced that it will continue its banking transactions with the Islamic Republic of Iran by the end of the current year in 2019 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 the Islamic Republic of Iran, he added.

Iran Condoles with Hezbollah Chief over Sister’s Demise

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 6, 2019

In a message on Thursday, Zarif condoled with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the tragedy.

He also wished divine mercy for his late sister and patience and divine reward for the survivors.

Iran Condemns Attack on Egypt Military Forces

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 6, 2019

In a Thursday statement, Mousavi offered sympathy to the families of the victims as well as the Egyptian nation and government.

He also underlined the Islamic Republic’s principled policy of condemning acts of terrorism and said, “Such moves are aimed at preoccupying Islamic and regional countries with trivial issues and keeping them away from the first and top priority of the Muslim world, namely supporting the people of Palestine and defending the holy Quds.”

He also stressed the necessity for cooperation and solidarity among regional states in fight against extremism and terrorism.

Fighters have killed eight Egyptian security personnel at a security checkpoint in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula, the interior ministry said.

“Terrorist elements targeted a checkpoint west of El Arish early this morning… The exchange of fire killed fire terrorist elements and eight police were martyred,” a ministry statement said on Wednesday.

Some fighters escaped and security forces are following “their movements”, the ministry added.

“Eight killed and three wounded were transferred to El Arish public hospital. All of the victims were Central Security Force personnel,” a medical source told the AFP news agency.

Egyptian state TV said there were fears the death toll could rise as there were reports of attacks on multiple checkpoints.

‘Trump Tells Iran He’s Ready to Fire Bolton Ahead of Talks’

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 6, 2019

Citing an unnamed senior Iranian government official, the Al Jazeera said in a new report that the letter might be delivered by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is due in Tehran next week.

The unnamed source within Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed to Al Jazeera that Washington was indeed attempting to change its behavior in order to pave the way for talks but Iran was not interested.

The source said Iran would consider talks only if the US returned to the 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump abandoned in May last year. This is while, he said, Washington insists talks are necessary to prevent a military conflict.

He said the US letter stated that Trump was ready to sack Bolton but Iran did not trust the US and viewed the attempts as political theatre ahead of the 2020 US presidential elections.

If true, the U-turn on Washington’s part signals a growing will to de-escalate tensions with Iran especially since it is following a decision by the Trump administration to delay a new round of sanctions against Iran’s petrochemical industry.

It also comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to Switzerland, where he announced Washington was ready to ditch all of its preconditions and sit down for talks with Tehran on equal grounds.

Iran’s response, however, was not what the US expected.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the offer was testament to Iran’s power but Iran would only agree to talks once the US makes up for its policies in the past and approaches the Islamic Republic with respect.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not pay attention to wordplay and expression of hidden agenda in new forms,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi.

Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei made it clear last month that any negotiations with the US were “poisonous” and that a war was simply not possible as Washington knew it would lose any such confrontation with Iran.

A known Iran hawk, Bolton is believed to be the mastermind behind most of Trump’s anti-Iran policies.

He has also been an avid advocate of “regime change” in Iran and had even promised a 2017 gathering of the anti-Iran MEK terrorists in the French capital of Paris that he looked forward to hold the next conference in Tehran in a year’s time.

Iran’s Minister of Education Resigns

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 6, 2019

“The resignation has been formally tendered to President Hassan Rouhani at the recent session of the cabinet,” a source said.

“The resignation has personal reasons and it is not clear whether the president will accept it or not.”

Public relations of the Ministry of Education hasdenied the “acceptance” of the resignation.Some other reports published by Iranian local media also reflected that the president will not accept the minister’s resignation, and that Bathaei is likely to stay in his position.

The Iranian Parliament gave a vote of confidence to Bathaei as the minister of education in August 2017.

Bathaei was in the initial list of the nominees for cabinet posts that Rouhani had proposed to the Parliament days after being sworn in as the president for a second term.

Iran Develops Indigenous Smart Remote Control Systems for Homes

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 6, 2019

They have designed systems which can not only be used to ensure the security of homes, but, generally speaking, turn homes into smart houses.
It makes household chores and other domestic work easier for family members and gives them assurances about the home environment.

Majid Shamlooi is one of the researchers at a knowledge-based company who have developed the idea of designing and producing automated smart equipment for the construction industry as well as electromechanical devices. He said their job generally focuses on turning homes into smart ones.

“You will be able to control electrical devices in your home such as heating and cooling devices, TV, automatic doors and all other electrical devices through an application installed on your mobile phone,” he says.

Remote controls are usually associated with problems such as being affected by moisture, being lost and running out of charge. However, all these problems will be removed and you well have a high-security system if you get a smart remote control. You can put codes on it and give residents of your apartment block as many remote controls as needed. You can even determine the level of access for each remote control. You can install the remote system in the garage of your home. Then you will not need any remote control. Rather, all functions of remote controls can be fed into your mobile phone via an application.

You can also check the security of your home from far away. Should a burglar break into your house, the system will send you an alarm through your mobile phone.

Iran President Says Not after Tension with Big Powers

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IFP Media Wire

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June 5, 2019

“The Islamic Republic of Iran seeks the promotion of security in the region and is not willing at all to get involved in a conflict with other countries or big powers, but if they initiate a foolish act it will definitely be met with a firm response that will make them regret,” Rouhani said in a Wednesday phone call with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Rouhani said regional problems cannot be solved through military means, adding, “We believe threats, pressures, blockade and economic sanctions are a wrong path in relations between governments.”

He said that any solution to regional conflicts, including the Saudi-led row with Qatar and the Riyadh-led war against Yemen, should take into consideration the interests of the nations of the region and not those of super powers, warning that such problems could harm the entire region.

Rouhani said that Iran’s positions during former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s occupation of Kuwait in 1990, the ongoing Saudi and UAE invasion of Yemen and the blockade of the Qatari government proves that Tehran is opposed to wars, pressures and sanctions in the region.

He also welcomed the expansion of ties with Doha, and said the Iranian nation and government will continue to stand by the Qataris.

The Qatari emir, for his part, said Tehran and Doha have convergent view towards many regional issues and said the two sides have been in constant constructive consultations.

He described dialog as the only solution to ease any tension in the region.

He praised Tehran-Doha tie as historical and thanked Iran for supporting Qatar in the face of the Saudi-led blockade.

The Qatari emir also called for the promotion of bilateral ties with Iran in all sectors.

Tensions have continued to rise in the Middle East after Washington left a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers and reimposed unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Washington further intensified tensions after it decided to build up its military presence in the Persian Gulf region, when it dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group, a bomber task force, and an amphibious assault ship to the Persian Gulf, citing an alleged Iranian threat.

Iran says it poses no threat to anyone but would defend itself against any aggression.

Qom’s Natural Sight Turns Green after 10 Years

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 5, 2019

The province’s plains and roadsides, once arid and barren, are now covered in green with various plants growing all over them.

Meteorological experts say that the volume of rainfall has been unprecedented in 32 years. However, they still forecast a hot summer for Qom, so here’s hoping that the greenery can survive the heat.

Here you can see ISNA’s photos of Qom’s beautiful nature:

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