A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on January 6

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January 6, 2019

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on November 19

The top story in almost all papers today was the Expediency Council’s decision to ratify the second of the four bills proposed by the government of Hassan Rouhani to get Iran out of the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering body.

Also a top story was the visit of Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi to Kabul, where he held a fresh round of talks with Afghan officials one week after negotiating with the Taliban militants in Tehran.

The above issues, as well as many more, are highlighted in the following headlines and top stories:

Aftab-e Yazd:

1- Iranian Officials Discussing Budget Bill on Social Media!

2- Major FATF Bill Finally Passed by Expediency Council

Arman-e Emrooz:

1- CFT, One Step Ahead

* One of the Four FATF Bills Finally Passed

2- Emirati Media Unfair towards Iran National Football Team

Ebtekar:

1- I’ll Keep Gov’t Shut Down for Months and Years If Needed: Trump

2- Key to Afghan Peace Lies in Tehran

* Araqchi Departs for Kabul One Week after Talks with Taliban in Iran

Etemad:

1- Conflicting Reports about Torture of Detained Worker Bakhshi

2- Araqchi Holds Two Hours of Security-Political Talks in Kabul

3- One Parliament and Two Guardian Councils?

* Expediency Council Endorses One of FATF Bills after Guardian Council’s Opposition

Ettela’at:

1- Law on Combating Money Laundering Finally Ratified

2- Saudis Hampering Process of Clarifying Khashoggi’s Case: Washington

3- ISESCO Names 2019 as Year of Islamic Cultural Heritage

Iran:

1- A Report on Iran-Afghanistan Talks over Taliban

2- 121,000 People Deprived of Education in Sistan and Baluchestan Province: MP

Javan:

1- Iran to Send Message of Friendship to Space

2- 16% of Americans Seeking to Escape from Their Country

Jomhouri Eslami:

1- Number of Iran’s Oil Clients Rises

2- 40,000 Indian Workers Die in Saudi Arabia, UAE

3- Trump Is America’s Gorbachev: Afghan MP

Kayhan:

1- It’s Now January 2019: No Sign of Europe’s SPV!

2- Trump Increases US’ Debts to $22 Trillion

Shargh:

1- First Expediency Council Session Chaired by Ayatollah Amoli Larijani

2- Pompeo to Visit Middle East

3- Winter of Privatization

Iran Exports Nano-Antibacterial Towel to Iraq, Canada

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IFP Editorial Staff

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January 5, 2019

Being built on the technical know-how of Nanoparticles, the towels are capable of removing bacterium and fungus without triggering any type of skin allergy.

“To produce the towels, the Iranian scientists have used Silver Nanoparticles,” Hasan Eslahi, one of the members of the Iranian scientific team which has produced the towels was quoted as saying in a report by ISNA.

He went on to say that Silver Nanoparticles are mass produced inside the country and added the particles are added to the fibers of towels during the washing stage.

The new towels can remove various bacterium like Escherichia Coli widely (E Coli) and Staphylococcus Aureus (S Aureus). They are made one hundred percent of cotton fibers women-sensitivity.com more amount of water compared with their ordinary types.

The towels have been produced at the request of a growing number of consumers. So far, the knowledge-based firms have received several orders by several hotels to produce at least 10 tons of the towels.

The new product has an anti-fungi feature as well. Various tests show that the towel lose its anti-bacterial feature after being used for 100 times.

Makhmalkuh in Iran’s Lorestan Known as Velvet Mountains

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IFP Editorial Staff

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January 5, 2019

As part of the historical valley of Khayedalou, the city of Khorramabad is partially located in at the foot of this mountain.

This mountain has a sedimentary surface and is mostly covered with moss and lichen, and for this reason it is called Makhmalkuh (mountain covered with velvet).

With the onset of the rainy seasons, the lichens turn black. Therefore, parts of the mountains that are less exposed to the sunshine are greener and more attractive. It becomes just like a black and green velvet.

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Iran Accuses Britain of Interfering in Its Internal Affairs

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IFP Editorial Staff

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January 5, 2019

In a Saturday statement, Qassemi condemned Hunt for his anti-Iran claims as well as his use of improper and false words against the Islamic Republic and expressed regret over use of such words by the British politician.

“Unfortunately, over the past few days, the British foreign secretary has uttered, on several occasions, some unconsidered and false remarks on an issue which has nothing to do with his country,” he said.

According to Qassemi the remarks reveal the British politician’s lack of understanding of the mentioned issue and amounts to meddling in the internal affairs of an independent country.

“It’s better for the British foreign secretary to make a review of his country’s record in the Middle East over the past years and decades and explore why the UK’s policies and its supports for terrorist groups and aggressive states have led to such humanitarian catastrophes and crises in the Middle East,” he noted.

The spokesman then added a review of the plights of people in Yemen, Syria, Palestine and [many other parts of the region] including massive ruins, diseases, displacement, poverty and hunger and particularly the crisis created today in Yemen by the aggressive states reveals the role played by the British government as well as the states which received billions of British weaponries and used them for fanning the flame of war, hatred and destruction in the region. Their move has led to a shameful and catastrophic situation in the region,” he added.

The spokesman underlined that the UK should be ashamed of its political support for the aggressive states in war on Yemen, export of deadly weapons for murdering civilians and creation of catastrophes in the [war-torn] country.

Back on Friday, Hunt urged Prime Minister Theresa May not to sit by while Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual citizen suffers in an Iranian jail. He added, empathy is not enough – the British government must call an end to the media circus and bare its teeth in demanding her release

Iran’s intelligence authorities arrested Zaghari at the Imam Khomeini International Airport in April 2016 as she was on her way back to London. She was subsequently put on trial and handed a five-year jail term after being found guilty of spying and spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

As per the released documents, Zaghari had played an active and leading role in holding training courses for recruits at BBC World Service Trust and the ZigZag Academy. The ZigZag academy, the documents suggest, pursued two main goals, namely training and recruitment of human resources for the launch of BBC Persian Service and deployment of undercover reporters in Iran to gather intelligence.

‘Over 63,000 Iranians Suffer Chemical Weapons Injuries’

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IFP Editorial Staff

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January 5, 2019

“According to estimates, around 400,000 people were exposed to chemical gas during the Iran-Iraq war. The injury of over 63,000 of whom has been confirmed by medical commissions,” said Mohammadreza Sediqi Moqaddam, the head of the chemical warfare victims of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs.

He noted that over 100,000 people had undergone medical treatment following the Iraqi chemical attacks, but some of them did not suffer long-term complications, Fars News Agency reported.

“These [63,000] people have been diagnosed with chronic complications and approved to be disabled by medical commissions,” he noted.

The medical commissions are still active as injuries caused by chemical warfare agent exposure could go severe anytime, underlined Sediqi Moqaddam.

Iran has accused western governments, notably France and Germany, with providing the former Iraqi dictator with requirements for building chemical weapons.

Sardasht in western Iran is the first town in the world to be attacked with poisonous gas and the third city, after Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to be deliberately targeted with weapons of mass destruction.

In total, the Iran-Iraq war left over 225,000 Iranians martyred and over 574,000 people injured.

Senior Iranian Diplomat, Afghan President Discuss Iran-Taliban Talks

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IFP Editorial Staff

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January 5, 2019

Karabakh Crisis to Be Settled Despite Failure of Talks: Iran

The discussions were held in a meeting in Kabul on Saturday, as the Afghan government has accelerated efforts to bring Taliban into the Afghan politics and put an end to the decades-long militancy in the country.

Araqchi, who led the Iranian delegation in talks with Taliban members in Tehran last week, said Iran is committed to respecting the Afghan government’s role in pushing forward the peace process in the country.

Last week, Secretary for Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani revealed that Iran has engaged in talks with the Afghan Taliban under the Afghan government’s guidance.

The developments came following talks last week between the US and Taliban officials in the United Arab Emirates.

The Taliban announced they have also held meetings with officials from the UAE, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Need for Closer Cooperation on Chabahar Port

In the meeting, the two sides also discussed ways of improving bilateral relations, particularly to increase cooperation on the strategic Chabahar port.

The port, located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman, is expected to play a significant role in facilitating trade between regional countries, particularly the land-locked Central Asian countries.

India, Afghanistan and Iran signed a trilateral transit agreement on the expansion of Chabahar Port in 2016.

The Iranian port will have four phases, of which one has gone operational so far.

Araqchi, who is in Kabul for a one-day trip, is to hold a separate meeting with Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah to discuss bilateral relations and Afghanistan’s peace process.

Araqchi is also expected to follow up on a document for strategic cooperation, which has been in the making for months.

This is the second trip of Araqchi to Afghanistan in the past three months.

Iran’s Expediency Council Ratifies Second FATF-Related Bill

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IFP Editorial Staff

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January 5, 2019

Foreign Ministry Condemns FATF’s Blacklisting of Iran

Gholamreza Mesbahi Moqaddam, a member of the Expediency Council, told Fars News Agency on Saturday the body had accepted the parliament’s view on some cases and admitted GC’s stance in the others.

The council is in charge of settling differences between the parliament and the GC, the legislative watchdog.

The member said the bill will be sent to Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani to be submitted to the government.

Iran’s accession to the FATF Iran’s accession to the G7-created FATF has faced obstacles in recent months, mainly over concerns among some officials that the move could endanger Iran’s national security interests.

This is while proponents of the FATF accession say the measure would smooth the path for Iran’s increased financial transactions with the world and allow Iranian financial sector to function more easily in the international economy.

Out of four parliamentary bills required for Iran’s accession to the global anti-money laundering body, only the first one has so far went into effect and the fate of other three were in limbo.

An amendment to Iran’s Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) law and a bill on Iran’s accession to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime are still problematic in the Guardian Council’s view.

Parliament, GC to Discuss CFT

This is while on Saturday morning, some media outlets had mistakenly reported the CG has approved the CFT bill.

The GC has found 22 faults at the CFT bill, and talks are ongoing between the watchdog and the parliament to settle the differences.

A senior lawmaker said the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission is to hold another meeting with the GC on their differences over the CFT bill on Sunday.

Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the spokesman for the commission, told ISNA that the meeting will be focused on 12 of 22 objections raised by the GC.

The lawmaker said the previous meetings between the panel and the GC has led three objections to be settled.

The remaining differences, seven, are to be decided by the Expediency Council.

This while the GC spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodaei said only two of GC objections have been settled, Tasnim News Agency reported.

The FATF announced last month once again it extends the deadline for Iran to complete reforms to meet conditions for getting out of the body’s black list.

Some Iranian figures have argued for quicker approval of parliamentary legislations, as Israel’s accession into the global money laundering late last year could make it more difficult for Iran to join the FATF.

Fishing Season Begins in Northern Iran

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IFP Editorial Staff

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January 5, 2019

The Caspian Sea located to the north of Iran is the world’s largest lake. The fishing season there begins on October 12 and ends on April 4 the next year. Different species of fish live in the sea.

The Caspian Sea accounts for a large portion of the world’s sturgeon. With the arrival of autumn, thousands of fishermen in north of Iran prepare their nets and head for the sea.

Fishing is a local tradition of this region going back a thousand years, and seagulls as well as pelicans have always been on the scene together with fishermen.

Among the fish caught in this season are whitefish, mullets and common carp. Whitefish accounts for the better part of the catch. The fish are not only caught by fishermen, but serve as a source of food for seabirds as well.

The following are images of fishing by both fishermen and seabirds retrieved from Mizan News Agency.

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“Taliban Not to Attend Afghanistan Peace Talks in Jeddah”

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IFP Editorial Staff

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January 5, 2019

After the Taliban’s multilateral talks with US officials in Abu Dhabi, it was decided that the next round of negotiations be held in the Saudi city of Jeddah, reports Tasnim News Agency.

Zabihollah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said the group has no plans to hold peace talks in Saudi Arabia, but will continue its negotiations with the United States.

He said the Taliban will soon decide on its next round of talks with Washington authorities and will announce the details to media.

Last week, media reported that the next round of the Taliban’s multilateral talks with the US would be held in Jeddah with envoys from Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in attendance. However, these countries have apparently failed to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table for talks with Afghanistan.

The Afghan government had already announced that if the Taliban refused to hold Talks with Kabul, the Afghan government would not dispatch a delegation to the Jeddah meeting.

This comes as the Taliban had already reiterated that its position had not changed and it would not sit down for talks with the Afghan government.

A former Taliban official says the group refused to hold talks with the US in Jeddah, and some people said the next meeting would be held in Saudi Arabia. He said those people made those remarks to gain concessions, but it is not yet clear where the next meeting would be held.

Many experts believe the Taliban do not trust Saudi Arabia because Riyadh had tried before to challenge the legitimacy of this group by holding a meeting of Muslim scholars.

Iranian Shepherd Constructs First New Underground City of Mideast

By

Fatemeh Askarieh

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January 5, 2019

There are not many underground cities in the country, but the ones that have been discovered so far are the main attractions of the country.

Many domestic and foreign tourists visit these cities including Samen underground city in Hamedan or the Noushabad underground city in Kashan.

According to Mehr News Agency, now, a farmer has created such an attraction in a farm. This residential complex has been created in a situation that the establishment of a small accommodation facility costs billions of dollars, and the import of facilities for these residential centres is hindered by sanctions.

Bahram Nik Eghbal is a miner from the city of Garmsar in Iran’s Semnan province, who took some 400 hectares of his father’s farm a few years ago to run a business there. He was keen in studying various sciences, including geology, and since a long time ago, he was thinking of creating a residence for himself and his family. Last year, he decided to dig in his paternal land to reach its underground.

He decided to create another space below the land on which hundreds of sheep were kept. This idea came to his mind without talking to any other managers of underground cities. His plan was to construct a castle on the ground and a residential complex 8 to 10 metres underground. Because only at that depth there’s enough oxygen and there’s no risk of landslide.

He started digging with traditional methods. He went so far that he could create a city or a large residence underground after a year. This underground city has 15 rooms, each of which can accommodate approximately five people. Each of the rooms has a ventilator. An auditorium and a natural waterfall with corridors, each designed with special craftsmanship, are the components of this terrestrial residence. In the corridors, there are spaces to put handicrafts, and lights. There is also a secret way or emergency exit at this residence, which only the owner knows.

To see the city, you can drive to Garmsar. Crossing the agricultural lands and reaching the castle gate, reminds everyone that they have entered a new world. This is the world of Bahram far from the ado. Here, there is no mobile phone signals and everyone prefers to set aside his cell.

Each building here symbolises something. There is a chamber made in the form of Sassanid castles and there is a large pool surrounded by it. One of the oldest buildings is a hundred-year-old structure that has turned into a restaurant. There are plenty of ovens there as the visitors are not supposed to eat cooked food. In this traditional restaurant, they sit on a felt in the same style as the old people of the city of Aradan.

Several camels are going to be brought to this city in order to give ride to travelers and take them through the path. Passengers sit down in the desert until midnight and drink tea, and then return to their underground rooms on camels.

There are also salt lakes near this underground city. There is a seasonal river that usually salt crystals are formed alongside it. This gives a beautiful appearance to the deserts of Semnan province.

Nick Eghbal wants to name this castle-like underground city, the Secret Castle of Bahram. He and his family have invited all provincial officials to see their project. The General Directorate of Environment, Health, and Cultural Heritage Department of Semnan Province as well as other institutions have visited this site and approved this project.

“Our motto is to work together and eat together. We want to show people in other cities and even tourists from other countries the hospitality and lifestyle of Iranians,” says Nick Eghbal.

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