‘Pakistani Army Starts Operation to Release Iranian Border Guards’

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March 17, 2019

Four Terrorists Nabbed in South-Eastern Iran

That was announced on Sunday by Brigadier General Qassem Rezaei, the chief of Iran’s Border Guard Command.

He said following up the issue of the border guards abducted by Pakistan-based terrorists is one of the main concerns of his command and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.

“Iran’s police chief has always focused on this issue and, following his order, there has been a lot of efforts to return the abducted border guards to the country.”

Referring to the meetings with Pakistani officials and some tribal chiefs in this regard, Rezaei said, “Based on the latest follow ups, the border guards are in Pakistan and alive.”

“We believe the Pakistani government has a strong army and strong security forces, and if wants, it can definitely release our guards,” underlined the commander.

Referring to the strong relations and friendship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan, he emphasized, “We must not allow the disrupters of security to do whatever they want, and certainly we expect the Pakistani government to deal seriously with the members of the terrorist groups.”

Twelve Iranian security personnel were abducted by the Jaish ul-Adl terror group, which is based in Pakistan, back in October.

Iran’s IRGC commander announced in November that five of the guards abducted by terrorists at a border post in the city of Mirjaveh, southeast Iran, have been released.

The others, however, are still held by the terrorists, and efforts are underway to secure their release.

Europeans Need to Know More about Iran: Danish Archaeologist

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 17, 2019

Tobias Richter, an Associate Professor at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen, says Iran has the most significant ancient areas in the world.

“The areas symbolize some of the most important turning points in history. I personally prefer the ancient areas of the northwestern province of Kermanshah for research because Kermanshah is the first city in the world in which wild animals were domesticated,” he noted.

“In fact, the city was the first scene in the world on which humans and animals began to live together in peace,” he was quoted as saying in a report by ILNA.

He went on to say that most archaeologists are familiar with Iran’s ancient areas but there are still many things which they are not aware of. “Iran enjoys various capacities which should be presented to the whole world.”

In response to a question on whether or not efforts to internationally promote Iran’s archaeological attractions are enough, he said, “It is not easy to give a clear-cut answer to this question but as said earlier, Europeans need to know more about Iran.”

“In some areas, the efforts have been fruitful. But we need to give the youths more chances to gain experiences,” he added.

He went on to say that Iranians themselves should become more familiar with their history and ancient heritage and do more to preserve them.

“The historical and ancient findings of Iran should be shared with and presented to the whole world including Europeans to attract them. The move will expand mutual cultural exchanges in the world,” he noted.

Richter said more efforts needed to be done in promotion of Iran’s archaeological heritage and added there is no end to archaeological studies and Iran has many untapped capacities in this area.

He then referred to the studies he has conducted in Jordan, Turkey, Syria and Iran, and said he has begun to work on cultural commonalities between Iran and Jordan and published his findings in an academic article after finding new evidence on bread baking in Jordan.

The Danish professor then described Jordan as beautiful as Iran and said he has done various studies in the Arab country’s archaeological area.

Richter along with one of his colleagues visited Iran within a memorandum of understanding signed between the University of Razi from Iran and the University of Copenhagen from Denmark. The Danish archaeologists’ visits to Iran had decreased since late 1970s.

Richter and his colleague are working on Iranian agriculture during Neolithic era. He has already made various studies on Paleolithic and Neolithic eras in the Middle East in countries like Iran, Syria, Turkey and Jordan.

Iran Inaugurates Four New Phases of South Pars Gas Field

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 17, 2019

With the launch of these four new phases, Iran for the first time will overtake Qatar in extracting gas from the joint oil and gas field.

President Rouhani, who has travelled to Bushehr province, attended the opening ceremony of Phases 13 22, 23, and 24 of South Pars in the port city of Kangan.

In his speech, Rouhani praised Iranian engineers for completing the construction of the new phases in the giant gas field despite the US sanctions, and once again slammed Washington for its “very unfair” bans.

“This is a crime against humanity. It has affected the quality of our public services, making it difficult to protect our environment and public health. However, God is with us. Together, we can and we will defeat US sanctions.”

During the ceremony, the Minister of Oil and the managers and experts of these phases, explained the process of building this huge complex.

Earlier, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said the $10-billion projects can produce 112 million cubic metres of gas per day, overtaking Qatar, with which Iran shares the offshore field.

Iran has divided the development of South Pars to 24 onshore phases, all of which are now operational except for phases 11 and 14.

Foreign Governments Likely behind New Zealand Attack: Iran

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 17, 2019

Iran Threatens to Reconsider Nuclear Cooperation with IAEA

“We are suspicious of whether the New Zealand terrorist incident was just an attack or a racist incident,” Larijani said Sunday.

“We are suspicious that more important things are hidden behind the curtains or some governments may be involved,” he noted, adding that the dimensions of the incident must be investigated.

A gunman broadcast live footage on Facebook of his terrorist attack on Muslim worshippers in two mosques, which killed at least 49 and injured 50 others.

13 people including a 4-year-old are in critical condition.

The Friday attack in the city of Christchurch was the worst ever peacetime mass killing in New Zealand.

Iran Foreign Ministry Summons Kenyan Envoy

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 17, 2019

Iran Appoints Female Ambassador to Denmark

According to Qassemi, the envoy was summoned after a Kenyan judge revoked an earlier ruling to release two Iranian prisoners, Ahmed Abolfat’hi and Seyyed Mansour Mousavi.

The Director-General of the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Department of African Affairs expressed Tehran’s protest against the court decision in his meeting with the Kenyan ambassador, Qassemi said.

In the meeting, the official expressed Iran’s dissatisfaction with the unfair ruling, declaring that the Islamic Republic of Iran has recalled its ambassador to Kenya for consultations.

In turn, the Kenyan ambassador said during the meeting that she will inform the Kenyan government about the Islamic Republic’s protest and dissatisfaction.

Qassemi said the Kenyan Supreme Court had issued a ruling to release two Iranian prisoners last February after reviewing the cases and cleared them of the charges.

However, he added, with non-judicial intervention in the process, the Kenyan police prevented the release and return of the two prisoners to Iran, and unfortunately last Friday, the Supreme Court of Kenya overturned the decision to acquit the two Iranians.

Azerbaijan Opens Bridge on Highway to Iran: Report

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 17, 2019

The opening ceremony of the bridge on the River Kur was held on Saturday.

The bridge had been built 25 years ago, but was closed for repair on June 1, 2018. It was reconstructed under the control of the State Motor Road Agency of Azerbaijan and resumed its operation.

The opening ceremony was attended by chairman of the management board of the State Motor Road Agency Saleh Mammadov, representatives of Salyan District Executive Power and MPs.

The bridge is located on one of the main highways running to Iran. Its length is 316 metres and the width is 12 metres with pedestrian crossings and has 6 spans.

Iran Says to Launch Mechanism Proportionate to INSTEX

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IFP Media Wire

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March 17, 2019

“Registration of the system in no way means Iran’s waiting for operationalization of the European mechanism and we will continue our strategy for meeting the country’s financial and trade needs in sanctions era through the methods we have designed, especially through neighbors and other trade partners,” he said.

“During the talks made with representative of three countries and INSTEX director, my colleagues elaborated on the Iranian mechanism proportionate to that of the Europeans and we are waiting for practical measures by the EU,” he said.

Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian Top Generals in Damascus for Trilateral Talks

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 17, 2019

Iran Will Definitely Change Approach to UAE: Top General

During the trilateral talks in Damascus, the three top commanders are to discuss issues related to military cooperation and enhancing security along the borderline between Syria and Iraq.

Promoting defence and military cooperation, the fight against terrorism, and boosting collaborations between the three countries of Iran, Iraq and Syria to confront terrorist groups are among the goals of the meeting.

They will also review the latest strategies to achieve stability and security in the region.

General Baqeri is also scheduled to visit the military advisors of Iran in Syria to appreciate their sacrifices.

All Occupied Territories within Range of Hezbollah’s Missiles: IRGC

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 17, 2019

All Occupied Territories within Range of Hezbollah’s Missiles: IRGC — Undated photo of rockets belonging to the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah / Photo by EPA

In an interview with the Persian-language Soroush Magazine on the 40^th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution’s victory in Iran, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said over the past 50 years, the Zionists always dreamt of expanding their rule over the Nile-to-Euphrates region but the dream never came true.

“Today, the fake regime of Israel is besieged completely, losing main parts of its occupied lands,” he said.

He then referred to the resistance of the Palestinians particularly the residents of the Gaza Strip against Israeli aggression and said the current situation in the region is a result of resistance by the Islamic Revolution Front.

Iranian Forces Sharing Their Experiences in Iraq

The top commander then referred to the mobilization of 100,000 voluntary forces in Iraq and added some Iranian forces are stationed in Iraq to share experiences with the Iraqis and contribute to the organization of the Iraqi forces.

He also noted that unlike the US which has spent hefty amount of money in Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to make huge achievements without spending any money in the Arab country.