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Iran President Officially Rejects FM Zarif’s Resignation

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The full text of the president’s letter in which he turned down Zarif’s offer to step down follows.

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Dr Zarif, the respected foreign minister

Hello and greetings,

I saw your resignation letter dated February 25, 2019.

I understand and approve of your concerns about maintaining the dignity and credibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Minister as the highest-ranking official in implementing the country’s foreign policy.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles foreign relations and lays the groundwork for ensuring security and national interests. Therefore, as I have instructed [government institutions] time and again, all state institutions should act in full coordination with this ministry when it comes to foreign relations.

I appreciate your relentless efforts during the period of time you have shouldered the heavy responsibility of leading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the eleventh and twelfth administrations. Since I consider you to be “trustworthy, valiant, brave and modest” as the Supreme Leader has put it, and to be at the forefront of resistance against the United States’ extensive pressure, I deem your resignation to be against national interests and will not accept it.

I am well aware of the pressure exerted on the country’s diplomacy apparatus, government and even the president elected by people. We will remain committed to the allegiance we have pledged to God and the nation to the end, and I am confident that we will pass through this tough stage by God’s grace.

Only in the past few months, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has achieved considerable successes in countering US plots in New York, Vienna, Brussels, the Hague, Warsaw, Munich, etc., as well as notable political victories at the regional and international levels.

The happiness and joy of the sworn enemies of these people, such the Zionist regime [of Israel], over your resignation is the best testimony to the success of “Mohammad Javad Zarif” and all the more reason for you to continue your work as Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

I, the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially the Supreme Leader, trust you.

Continue on your path with power, bravery and prudence as God is with the faithful.

Hassan Rouhani

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

General Soleimani Throws His Weight behind FM Zarif

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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General Soleimani Throws His Weight behind FM Zarif

Zarif had announced his resignation Monday night, after he was not invited to a meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, where General Soleimani was present.

In a statement carried by Sepah News on Wednesday, General Soleimani said evidence shows Zarif’s absence from the meeting was not intentional, and was just caused by a lack of coordination in the government.

General Soleimani said Zarif has taken great steps to advance national interests as the main person responsible for Iran’s foreign policy.

The general said Zarif is definitely the one in charge of Iran’s foreign policy, and is highly respected by top Iranian officials, including Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

“He has taken valuable measures at various levels to advance the country’s national interests and has made necessary participation in the path to fight sworn enemies of the Islamic Revolution and the Iranian nation,” he said.

General Soleimani said Zarif’s resignation has pleased adversaries of the Iranian nation, but they must know that it won’t hinder the trend of the resistance front’s brilliant victories, and the country will continue to safeguard its national interests.

Zarif’s Resignation Not Accepted by Rouhani: Foreign Ministry

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran Appoints Female Ambassador to Denmark

In a Tuesday statement, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said as the Iranian President’s chief of staff said earlier today, the resignation has not been accepted.

Qassemi then slammed “certain circles” for attempting to reap political and factional gains from Zarif’s announcement, and described it as a totally unacceptable move.

Since taking office, FM Zarif has been doing his utmost to promote the authority, prestige and esteem of the Iranian foreign policy, Qassemi added.

“Therefore, any move to downgrade the priceless idea of strengthening and protecting our foreign policy to some emotional and excited behaviours and personalizing our country’s national and macro policies is unfair and runs counter to the sacred ideals of the Islamic revolution and our religious ethics as well as our national interests and preferences,” he said.

The spokesman then rejected as baseless reports by certain media outlets on possible mass resignation of a number of foreign ministry directors and ambassadors.

“As Mr Zarif said,the Foreign Ministry and all its directors and ambassadors will continue their sensitive jobs strongly and seriously to press ahead Iran’s foreign policy and meet our national interests as well as security needs,” he noted.

With all in his power and relying on his deep knowledge and long experience in diplomacy and international affairs, Mr Zarif has relentlessly attempted to promote the status of Iran’s foreign policy in bilateral, regional and international relations, Qassemi said.

It goes without saying that the wise and informed nation of Iran is well aware of his effective efforts and pay tribute to him, the spokesman added.

On Monday, Zarif said he was stepping down in an announcement posted on his Instagram account. Zarif has served as President Hassan Rouhani’s foreign minister since August 2013.

Tehran Hosts Int’l Event on Women, Sustainability, Peace, Security

By
Reza Khaasteh
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Tehran Hosts Int’l Event on Women, Sustainability, Peace, Security
A photo of high-profile guests participating in the second edition of International Event on Women, Sustainability, Peace, and Security held in Tehran on Feb. 26, 2019

The Tuesday event was opened by the speech of Mohammad Naciri, the regional director of UN’s Women for Asia and Pacific, who called for implementation of UN resolutions on women, and greater accountability on the side of member states regarding these regulations.

Sedaghat Ghahraman Ava, the Chair of Azerbaijan Republic’s state committee for family, women, and children affairs, was the second speaker of the conference, who elaborated on her country’s measures in the field of eliminating violence against women and children.

She said Baku is one of the supporters of establishing peace and security in the world by settling existing conflicts and finding ways to resolve conflicts.

“Women and children undergo physical and mental exploitation in conflicts,” she said, expressing regret that the Azerbaijan Republic is engaged in a military conflict with Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Following Ghahraman Ava’s speech, a message by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Gholam-Hossein Dehqani was read out to the participants by Forouzandeh Vadiati, the Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for Women and Human Rights Affairs.

During his speech, Dehqani said real fight against terrorism begins with complete eradication of the Wahhabi ideology promoted by Saudi Arabia and its allies in the region.

“Real fight against these moves must start from thoughts and ideologies, which are guided by a network and funded by reactionary states,” Dehqani said.

Delbar Nazari, the Afghan minister of women’s affairs, was the next speaker who elaborated on the measures carried out by the government of Afghanistan to decrease violence against women and achieve sustainable security.

The opening ceremonies were wrapped up with a speech by Iranian Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs Massoumeh Ebtekar.

‘Iranian Women Running Economic Campaign against US Bans’

Later in the day-long event, two panel discussions were held, with high-profile speakers discussing the role of gender in peace-building and conflict resolution.

The first panel discussed the effective implementation of mechanisms in the field, and the second one conferred discussed building local capacity of women’s NGOs.

The first panel was chaired by Forouzandeh Vadiati and attended by former presidential aide Shahindokht Molaverdi, Swedish Ambassador to Tehran Helena Sangeland, UNICEF Representative to Iran Will Parks, and university professors Nasrin Mosaffa and Pouria Askari.

The second panel was also chaired by Fatemeh Ashrafi, the executive director of Association for Protection of Refugees, Women, and Children.

It was attended by Mohammad Naciri, the UNFPA Representative to Iran Leila Joudane, senior politician and university professor Elaheh Koolaee, and expert in the field of refugees’ studies Katayoun Hossein-Nejad.

Tehran Hosts Int’l Event on Women, Sustainability, Peace, Security
Photo of the first panel of the second edition of International Event on Women, Sustainability, Peace, and Security held in Tehran on Feb. 26, 2019

Iran Leader Calls for Increased Efforts to Protect Family Foundation

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Supreme Leader Ayatllah Khamenei

“The family system is a divine tradition, but enemies of the mankind, the international and Zionist capitalist current, have decided to eliminate the foundation of family in the world,” the Leader said in a Tuesday meeting in Tehran.

“Therefore, efforts are needed to protect and strengthen the foundation of the family system in the society,” he said.

The Leader said promoting moral corruption through ideas such as “white marriage”, encouraging beliefs that the youth should not get married when they are young and that the married couples should have few children are among plans to weaken the Iranian society.

Ayatollah Khamenei said facilitating marriage for youth is the “most effective solution for countering plots and protecting the revolution and the Islamic Republic system”.

Iran Adversaries Weak

The Leader said the Islamic revolution has taken big strides toward reaching its goals and adversaries of the Iranian nation have suffered major blows.

“In these forty years, enemies have formed lines in front of the Islamic Revolution with full potential and facilities and they have dealt blows,” he said.

However, the Iranian nation has managed to overcome plots and is now stronger than ever and adversaries are weak.

Cabinet to Discuss Bill Equalizing Blood Money for Women, Men: VP

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Speaking to state radio on Tuesday, Ebtekar said the body under her watch has consulted theologians in the Qom Seminary and they have given the green light for the bill.

The vice president said Quran has not explicitly ordered unequal blood money for men and women and fatwas by Muslim jurists are in fact interpretations of related verses in Quran.

Ebtekar said she believes that considering significant changes in the societies in the past decades, related verses need new interpretation.

Given the increased participation of women in the society and their strong presence in the job market, today’s society is quite different and women make significant contributions to the country’s GDP, she said.

For example, she said, over 40 percent of products in Iranian villages and over 75 percent of handicrafts are produced by women.

The bill needs to be confirmed by the Cabinet before being presented to the Iranian parliament.

Iran Calls for Restraint as India-Pakistan Tension Heightens

By
Emad Askarieh
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The ministry’s spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic of Iran calls on the two countries to do more to reduce tension and resolve disputes and problems peacefully through dialogue.

He added that the Islamic Republic of Iran, as one of the victims of terrorism in the world, believes that the only way to fight terrorism and extremism is all-out and unbiased cooperation between all countries of the world.

India on Tuesday confirmed that it has carried out airstrikes in Pakistan. The Indian government said its air force targeted militant camps in the neighbouring country and completely destroyed them. The Pakistani military earlier said Indian aircraft violated the country’s airspace. It claimed the planes released a payload, but there were no casualties or damage.

Last week, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan authorized the military to respond decisively and comprehensively to any attack by neighbouring India.

Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours are high since a car bomb attack by a Pakistan-based militant group in Indian-controlled Kashmir on February 14 killed 40 Indian paramilitary policemen. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the attack, but Pakistan denied complicity.

Iranian Baby Girl Becomes Nursing Mother for Blind Brother

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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February 26 marks Mother’s Day in Iran. The mother plays major and tough roles in life which not everyone can play well.

There are ladies who assume heavy responsibilities despite their low age. This time, 5-year-old Aynaz, from a village on the outskirts of Maraveh town in northern Golestan province, has become a nursing mother for her blind brother, Assef.

According to Aynaz’s mother and father, Aynaz is a perfect mother and does most of her brother’s works. She feeds him, takes him out, goes shopping for him and plays different games with him. She takes care of Assef as much as she can without her parents’ help.

Although Assef is visually impaired, he can see the beauties of life thanks to her younger sister.

The following are photos of this brother and sister, courtesy of Mehr News Agency.

‘Iranian Women Running Economic Campaign against US Bans’

By
Reza Khaasteh
-
‘Iranian Women Running Economic Campaign against US Bans’
Iranian Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs Massoumeh Ebtekar addresses the second edition of International Event on Women, Sustainability, Peace, and Security held in Tehran on Feb. 26, 2019

She made the remarks in an address to the second edition of International Event on Women, Sustainability, Peace, and Security held on Tuesday in Tehran.

Ebtekar said women in Iran play an important role in countering the US sanctions, and are currently promoting an “economic campaign” against the bans.

“Many women in Iran are working in the economic sphere as entrepreneurs,” she said.

“We are very proud that Iranians have taken all these steps,” she noted, praising the role played by women during the past four decades.

She said the Islamic Republic has not achieved a utopia since its establishment in 1979, but the country has progressed towards a “future of hope” for women and their security.

“Iranian women have stood and progressed since 1979…. Imam Khomeini drew a roadmap for progress of Iranian women within a paradigm in which women could flourish while protecting their dignity,” she added.

Ebtekar said the majority of the international community is currently standing by Iran on promoting these objectives.

The majority of the world is with Iran because they look for a future of peace and security and look forward to working with Iran economic and politically, the vice-president said.

Ebtekar further highlighted women’s important role in global peace today, and said great work needs to be done to address such issues as atrocities against women, sexual abuse, refugees who are mostly women and children, the sufferings, and the pain they endure.

She further noted that despite efforts made so far, violence, terror, and extremism affecting women’s lives still exist in Middle East and other parts of the world.

“We have to be the voice of the voiceless. The voice of women in Yemen, Palestine and Gaza – the girls imprisoned in Gaza Strip, girls dying of hunger in Yemen, we should be the voice of women in Syria who have been forced to move from their cities for fear of ISIS and other groups,” she said.

“We have to listen to the voice of people in Rohingya who have been displaced from their homes. We have to be voice of Afghan women who suffered a lot of pressure; those in Iraq and in Libya, and many others.”

She said the world must stand up and speak for the importance of peace and take action against those selling arms and increase conflicts in the region.

“These weapons will have collateral damages, including damage to families, because male soldiers and men who die are sons and husbands initially.”

Ebtekar regretted that the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and other international treaties on women have been mostly overlooked, and highlighted the need to understand that women are targeted both specifically and through collateral damage in war, instances of terror, and violence.

“We recently experienced a terrible case of attack on our young soldiers [in Sistan and Baluchestan],” she said, adding that as a target of terror, Iran has been playing an important role in confronting terrorism in region.

“We’ve worked with neighbours to confront terror and the ideology that has nothing to do with Islam,” she said, adding that Islam is a religion that calls upon us to resist pressure, to understand brotherly and sisterly relations.

Rouhani Sends Signal Zarif’s Resignation Won’t Be Accepted

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

Zarif had announced his resignation Monday night, after he was not invited to meetings between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Rouhani.

Rouhani said Tueaday Assad’s trip was not diplomatic and he merely wanted to thank Iran for providing support for Syria during the long-running conflict in the Arab country, alluding this was the reason behind the decision not to invite Zarif.

“Mr. Bashar Assad said my trip is not diplomatic and I’m in Iran only to thank you,” he said, while addressing a gathering at the Central Bank of Iran.

He also noted that part of Iran’s regional victory was thanks to IRGC and part of it to the foreign ministry and Iran’s economy.

Assad in the Monday meeting explicitly thanked the foreign ministry, he added.

Rouhani also praised the foreign ministry for standing against the US and especially thanked Zarif.

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