A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on September 17

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September 17, 2018

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on November 19

Several papers today reported the decision by US Defence Secretary Jimmy Mattis to leave the government of Donald Trump after the US mid-term elections.

The controversy surrounding former US Secretary of State John Kerry and his spat with Trump over his meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also remained a top story today.

A number of reports also highlighted Zarif’s protest against Twitter’s move to block the accounts of Iranian netizens and its silence over the fake accounts run by MKO terrorist group against Iran.

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

Abrar:

1- Army General: 100% of Equipment Needed in Iran Produced Domestically

2- Suspects for Attack on Iran Consulate in Basra Arrested

Aftab-e Yazd:

1- MP Talks of Foreigners Flocking to Iran Border Towns for Shopping

They Can Buy Part of Our Border Markets with $100

2- Kerry Not a Traitor; Why US Society Can’t Accept GOP’s Criticism of Kerry

Arman-e Emrooz:

1- People of Tehran Moving Elsewhere Due to Price Hikes

2- Iraq, Main Destination of Goods Scarce in Iranian Market

A Report on Foreigners’ Flock to Iran’s Border Markets

Donya-ye Eqtesad:

1- Trump Says Mattis Sympathizing with Democrats

2- Iran’s Economic Growth Rate Slowed Down

Etemad:

1- A Report on Growing Trend of Swearing at Reformists in Social Media

2- Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Insult [Editorial]

3- Opposition Figures Resorting to Social Media Robots

MKO Running Network of Fake Accounts against Iran

Ettela’at:

1- Member of Expediency Council Asks Rouhani to Have Strong Presence in UNSC

Iran Must Turn UN Security Council Meeting to Session for Impeachment of Trump

2- Tehran Mayor: 22 Districts in Tehran to Be Governed by Women

3- Iran Leader Sends Gift to School Students in Deprived Areas

Haft-e Sobh:

1- Iran Will Never Turn into Venezuela; Four Analysts Discuss Prospect of Iran Economy

Javan:

1- Kerry: We Felt Relieved after Rouhani’s Victory and Zarif’s Appointment

2- Israeli Missiles Intercepted in Damascus Sky

Kayhan:

1- Government Waiting for Foreign Ministry; Foreign Ministry Waiting for Kerry

2- US Testing Biological Weapons in Georgia, Afghanistan

Sazandegi:

1- Both Partner and Rival: A Review of Iran-Russia Oil Ties

2- Farewell to Mad Dog: Mattis to Leave Trump Administration after US Elections

Setareh Sobh:

1- Iran Envoy to OPEC: Russia Gives Green Light to Sanctions on Iran Oil Exports!

2- Russia Incapable of Resolving Its Domestic Issues: Analyst

How Russia War Games Weakened Russia

Shahrvand:

1- 55 Luxury Cars Confiscated by Police for Wandering in Tehran Streets

Social Ill or a Game for Super Rich Kids?

2- People Can Turn in Retired Officials Still at Work

Shargh:

1- Reports on Meeting between General Soleimani, US Envoy Rejected

2- Details of Iranian Presidential Aide Mowlaverdi’s Controversial Interview with AP

3- Kerry, Zarif Committed to Settle Iran-US Dispute Secretly

Sobh-e Now:

1- Trump’s Dummy Set on Fire in Front of Basra Consulate

2- Controversial Woman: Consequences of Mowlaverdi’s Interview with AP

Iran Rejects Concerns over Delayed Appointment of Envoys to India, China

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IFP Media Wire

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September 17, 2018

In comments on Sunday, Bahram Qassemi criticized “certain people in the country’s bureaucratic or legislative bodies” who are unfamiliar with the lengthy and complicated process of selection of ambassadors but repeatedly voice concern, either deliberately or unintentionally, about the absence of ambassador to a few foreign capitals.

The spokesperson then gave a detailed explanation of the process for selection, introduction, ratification and appointment of an ambassador to a foreign country, saying the country’s diplomatic missions carry out their tasks in the normal way even without an ambassador.

Qassemi’s comments came after member of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Hossein Naqvi Hosseini urged the Foreign Ministry to immediately appoint ambassadors to Beijing and New Delhi, deploring the lengthy absence of envoys to the major partners of the country.

Iraq No Base for Anti-Iran Attacks: New Parliament Speaker

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IFP Editorial Staff

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September 17, 2018

“We won’t accept [dealing] damages to Iran from the Iraqi soil. We should protect the country and our neighbours,” Mohammed al-Halbousi said in his first TV appearance after being elected as the Iraqi parliament speaker on Saturday.

Also in a Monday phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani, Halbousi described the US sanctions on Iran as “unjust”.

“Iraqi lawmakers are totally against any pressure or economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic and reject the measures as injustice. We will remain behind the Iranian nation,” he said.

The Iraqi parliament speaker then referred to the current regional instability and insecurity and said Iraq is ready to contribute to efforts underway to restore peace and security to the region along with Iran.

Halbousi further expressed his gratitude to the Islamic Republic for its support for him and said the Iraqi nation and lawmakers have always been thankful to Iran for its unconditional support for Iraq in the past and present, particularly in the liberation of the country from the grip of the ISIS terrorist group.

He also officially invited his Iranian counterpart to visit Iraq.

Iran to Keep Standing by Iraq

Larijani in turn congratulated Halbousi on his election as Iraq’s new parliament speaker and expressed hope that the Arab country could move towards further stability.

“I hope with the efforts made by you and other Iraqi lawmakers, we could see the completion of Iraq’s political process by the election of the new prime minister and president,” he said.

This could lead the country towards political, economic and social stability, security and social welfare, Larijani added.

He then told his Iraqi counterpart that the role played by the Iraqi parliament speaker in restoring peace to Iraq is highly critical under the current situation.

The election of the Sunni lawmaker paved the way for the creation of a new government four months after the general election.

Halbousi is the former governor of Anbar province and was the nominee of the pro-Iran bloc inside parliament.

Under an unofficial agreement among Iraqi politicians dating back to 2003, the prime minister position is reserved for Shiites, the president is a Kurd, and the parliament speaker a Sunni.

His election triggers a 90-day process that will eventually lead to a new government.

Confectionery Exhibition Underway in Tehran

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IFP Editorial Staff

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September 17, 2018

This exhibition opened on Saturday September 15 and will run through September 18.

As the largest and only specialized sweets and chocolate exhibition in the Middle East, it is held in three main sectors including final products, raw materials and the machinery.

What follows are IRNA’s photos of the event:

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Iran’s Embassy in Greece Attacked by Kurdish Militants’ Affiliates

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IFP Editorial Staff

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September 17, 2018

The attackers, about 10 people, have hurled bottles of paint at the embassy and left the scene on their motorcycles.

Police have not arrested anyone in connection with the incident, Greek Reporter news website said.

According to Tasnim News Agency, a spokesperson for the group said on his Facebook page the attack was carried out in response to what he called “Iran’s crackdown on Kurds”.

Earlier, the Iranian embassy in Paris also came under assault by supporters of a terrorist group calling itself the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan.

The attacks seem to be in retaliation for a missile attack by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) at the terrorist group’s headquarters in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on September 9.

The IRGC said the missile strikes were in response to recent terrorist activities along the Iranian border with Iraq and came after terrorist ringleaders ignored serious warnings by officials from the Iraqi Kurdistan region about the Islamic Republic’s determination to dismantle their bases and the need to end their activities against Iran.

Iran FM Censures Twitter for Blocking Iranians’ Accounts

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IFP Editorial Staff

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September 17, 2018

In a tweet on Sunday, Zarif took his complaint to the CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, highlighting the network’s double standards.

“Hello Jack. Twitter has shuttered accounts of real Iranians, including TV presenters & students, for supposedly being part of an ‘influence op’. How about looking at actual bots in Tirana used to prop up ‘regime change’ propaganda spewed out of DC?” Zarif said.

Last month, Google, Facebook and Twitter announced the blocking of pages and accounts they said were part of an alleged influence operation linked to Iran.

Twitter announced it had suspended 284 accounts for “coordinated manipulation,” shortly after Facebook announced it had removed 652 pages for the same reason.

Zarif’s tweet comes shortly after the Doha-based Al-Jazeera network aired a program exploring the extent of the operation to spread anti-Iran propaganda by MKO.

Members of the MKO are highly active on Twitter, using fake accounts to spread their anti-Iran propaganda on the network.

The group is hated by most Iranians inside and outside the country for its killing of thousands of Iranians in early years of the 1979 revolution and siding with Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

Iran, Russia Discuss Closer Nuclear Cooperation

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IFP Editorial Staff

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September 17, 2018

Ali-Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on Monday the AEOI is interested in mutual scientific collaboration as well as cooperation in the fields of research and development in the domain of peaceful nuclear energy and its peaceful applications on different fronts.

He made the remarks in the meeting with Alexey Likhachev, the CEO of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM.

Salehi also expressed gratitude over the growing peaceful nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

The two sides also reviewed the latest situation of new power stations currently under construction. They further discussed the production of stable isotopes used in industry and medicine. The two sides further reviewed grounds for the establishment of laboratories needed in that regard.

Likhachev, for his part, reiterated his country’s support for the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He also described as successful Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent trip to Tehran, welcoming further deepening of mutual cooperation in different areas in the nuclear industry sector.

He said ROSATAM stands ready for bilateral cooperation with the AEOI to produce reactors with average power in order to generate electricity and desalinate water.

The IAEA meeting opened in Vienna on Monday and will run for four days. High on the agenda is the IAEA’s latest report on Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA.

Shah Hussein Gouyan; A Muharram Ritual in Iran’s Azarbaijan

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IFP Editorial Staff

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September 17, 2018

During the mourning ceremony, people shout the name of the Third Shiite Imam, Hussein Ibn Ali (AS), and praise him as the leader of all martyrs.

The ritual is held in most parts of Azarbaijan province and is widely popular in Tabriz.

The ceremony starts a few days before the month of Muharram and lasts until the 10th day of the same month, Ashura, when Imam Hussein was martyred some 14 centuries ago.

In the Turkish language, people call the ritual “Shakhsi” which is the short form of “Shah Hussein”.

What follows are photos of the religious ceremony retrieved from Mehr News Agency:

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Iran Says May Hold Meeting with JCPOA FMs in New York

By

IFP Editorial Staff

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September 17, 2018

Speaking in a regular presser on Monday, Bahram Qassemi said talks among JCPOA parties on ways of protecting the deal from US President Donald Trump are going forward “in the right direction” and quicker than previous months.

Qassemi said the EU has made new offers to convince Iran to remain in the accord.

“We set aside previous plans that either could not be implemented or could not be guaranteed. Alternative plans have been offered and we are formulating mechanisms to prepare the ground for economic cooperation between Iran and Europe,” he said.

The US walked out of the pact early May and is currently pushing the world to cut trade with Iran.

Iran has demanded Europe to offer binding assurances that its interests will be served if it keeps up honouring its JCOPA obligations.

Iran and the EU are currently in talks over the package drafted by the UK, Germany and France, which supports European investment in Iran and facilitates trade between the two sides.

Tehran Hosting Exhibit of Desert Photos by Italian Photographer

By

IFP Editorial Staff

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September 16, 2018

The event, which is part of the “Inhabited Deserts” project, is a window to the vast central Iranian desert.

The Inhabited Deserts collection is being completed to be published in a book with the same name in 2019. He took the photos during his trips to different deserts around the world during which he saw for himself how the passage of time, history and people had affected those mysterious places.

Most people are indifferent toward deserts. Deserts are “remote and located somewhere else.” They are thousands of kilometers away and symbolize “emptiness.”

People get to know deserts from school books, and their understanding of deserts barely goes beyond the “dry, dead, mysterious, frightening, secretive, flat, hot, cold, beautiful, ugly and dangerous” frontier. There is nothing to see, but sand and rock. And although people travel to deserts, they never live there.

The conflict between light and shade, black and white, and the harmony between gray shades, coupled with the simplicity of shapes and complexity of details make things more similar to the human situation in a place where there are no human beings.

Born in 1958, John R. Pepper received a Pentax camera from his father at the age of 12. He graduated in the History of Art from Princeton University in 1976 and joined a civil painting program. He received the fellowship of the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1975. He has spent the past thirty years doing photography and directing movies and stage performances (theatre).

The exhibit opened on September 14, 2018 and will run until October 1, 2018.

What follows are Honar Online’s photos of the event:

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