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10 Palestinians Killed, Hundreds Wounded by Israeli Troops in Gaza Protests

Palestine
Palestinian video journalist Yaser Mortaga was shot in stomach by Israeli troops during yesterday’s protests in Gaza, and later succumbed to wounds

In a statement on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said over 1,350 were also injured by the Israeli army during the protests.

The mass protests were held on the second consecutive Friday, after 21 people were killed last week.

On March 30, Palestinians marched to the fence separating Gaza from the occupied territories at the start of a six-week protest, dubbed “The Great March of Return,” demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland.

The demonstrations turned violent after Israeli forces used tear gas and live ammunition against the protesters.

The Palestinian protesters burned tires and threw stones at Israeli soldiers.

An estimated 20,000 demonstrators rallied at the border this week, down from some 40,000 last week.

The Return rallies are expected to culminate on May 15, the anniversary of the creation of the Israeli regime in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven out of their homes.

On Friday, the US blocked a United Nations Security Council statement calling for an investigation into Israel’s killing of the Gazans and supporting the Palestinians’ right to demonstrate peacefully, AP reported.

The statement brought by Kuwait to the UNSC was similar to the one it submitted last week. It was also blocked by Washington.

The Palestinian territories have remained tense since last December, when US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital, drawing widespread condemnation from across the world.

In the almost three months since, Palestinians in the West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip have frequently held rallies to protest the controversial US decision.

The US administration plans to officially move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in mid-May.

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on November 18

Several papers today covered the latest escalation of tension in the Gaza Strip, especially after the Israeli troopers opened fire on Palestinian protesters, killing 10 and wounding hundreds of people.

Also a top story was Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s participation in the mid-term ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in the Azeri capital of Baku.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s latest anti-Iran allegations, and Tehran’s response to the “baseless” claims, also received great coverage today.

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

 

19 Dey:

  • Increase in Forex Rates Turned into Mystery
  • Zarif: Terrorist Groups Suspiciously Moved

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Abrar:

  • Former Korean President Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison
  • Iraqi President: Our Ties with Iran Not Detrimental to Anyone
  • Bin Salman Repeats Baseless Allegations against Iran
  • UK Opens First Permanent Military Base in Persian Gulf

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Abrar-e Eqtesadi:

  • Decline in Oil Price after Trump’s New Threat

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Afkar:

  • Savagery in DNA of Zionists: Iranian Cleric

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Aftab-e Yazd:

  • Zarif Side-lined Two Years after Being Called National Hero for Iran Deal
  • Iran Nuclear Chief: Riyadh Seeking Enrichment, but Zionist Lobby Won’t Allow It
  • Trump to Arab Rulers: You Won’t Survive More than Two Weeks without US

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Arman-e Emrooz:

  • Labour Minister: 136,000 Children Deprived of Education in Iran

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Asrar:

  • We Will Have Special Surprise for Those Violating Iran Nuclear Deal: Salehi

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Ebtekar

  • Iran FM Attends NAM Ministerial Meeting in Baku
  • Rouhani’s Gov’t Engaged in Domino of Incidents
  • A Report on Administration’s Economic Approach

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Etemad:

  • Europe’s Step-by-Step Arrival in Middle East: Britain to Return to West Asia

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Ettela’at:

  • Zarif Calls for Int’l Prosecution of Israeli Criminals at NAM Summit
  • Iran Is Common Enemy of Saudi Arabia, Israel: Bin Salman

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Hemayat:

  • US Threatens Iran with Return of Sanctions!
  • Haley Says US to Withdraw from Iran Nuclear Deal If It Is Not Revised

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Iran:

  • Palestine Outraged in Both Sides of Gaza Strip
  • Protesters Set Fire on Photos of King, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Javan:

  • Iran’s Uranium Enrichment Resumption Turned into Europe’s Nightmare
  • France: Before Scrapping JCPOA, US Must Say What It’d Do with Enrichment Resumption
  • Palestinians’ New War against Bin Salman, Netanyahu

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Kayhan:

  • Haley: Iran to Stay in JCPOA Even If US Withdraws from It!

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Khorasan:

  • Russia Gives Ultimatum, Britain Issues Warning to Telegram
  • Trump Continues Trade War against China
  • Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: We Have No Such Thing as Islamic Medicine
  • Two Top Clerics Slam Those Who Advocate So-Called Islamic Medicine

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Resalat:

  • Iran Leader: We Feel Duty-Bound to Support Palestine
  • Tehran Friday Prayers Leader: Saudi Regime Must Be Tried at Islamic Court

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Sazandegi:

  • Rise of US Dollar: What’s Going on in Forex Market?

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Shahrvand:

  • Roman Mythical Figures Censored in Iran
  • Iran State TV’s Move to Censor AS Rome’s Logo Mocked by Foreign Media

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Shargh:

  • Rouhani’s Aide: Prejudice, Intolerance Threats to National Security

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Siasat-e Rooz:

  • DM: Iran to Fight against Terrorism with All Its Might

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Tejarat:

  • Iran to Cooperate with 9 Countries in Stock Exchange
  • Iran’s Stock Exchange Market to Be Globalised

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7


 

Vatan-e Emrooz:

  • Iran Foreign Ministry Blasts Saudi Crown Prince’s Insulting Remarks
  • Bin Salman Has Chronic Disease

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 7

 

FM Zarif to Discuss Future of Iran Nuclear Deal in New York

Mohammad Javad Zarif
Iranian Foreign Minister

According to the CFR’s website, Zarif is going to discuss US-Iran relations, regional politics in the Middle East, and the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The session, which will be chaired by Stephen J. Hadley, is due to be held on April 23 at 6:00 pm EDT.

US President Donald Trump has been a vociferous critic of the nuclear accord signed between Tehran and six world powers in 2015. He has called the JCPOA the “worst deal ever” and even threatened to tear it up.

In January, he decided to stick with JCPOA for now, but gave the European signatories a May 12 deadline to “fix the terrible flaws” of the accord or he will refuse to extend US sanctions relief on Iran.

Late last month, White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah said that Trump is “prepared to potentially withdraw” from the Iran deal if changes to the agreement are not made.

Iran maintains that it will not renegotiate JCPOA, an international document endorsed by the Security Council Resolution 2231.

Other parties to the agreement, namely Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France, have all criticized Trump’s hostile views, saying the deal is sound and has proven to be functioning.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is tasked with monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities, has repeatedly verified Tehran’s full commitment to its side of the bargain.

Iranian Databases Target of Attacks Caused by Cisco Switch Flaw

Reports say that important Iranian services and websites have become out of reach due to a problem in the datacentres of major internet service providers Afranet, Shatel, Sabanet, etc.

According to a security report from the Cisco Talos team as many as 168,000 systems in the world may be affected by the flaw.

A blog post by Cisco’s Talos security unit says the cyber-attacks are exploiting what Cisco officials are calling a “protocol misuse” situation in Cisco’s Smart Install Client, which is designed to enable the no-touch installation and deployment of new Cisco hardware, in particular Cisco switches.

Attackers have targeted a protocol issue with the Cisco Smart Install Client. If a user does not configure or turn off the Cisco Smart Install, it will hang out in the background waiting for commands on what to do.

For a brief review of Iran’s achievements in various fields of science and technology, check the book “Science and Technology in Iran: A Brief Review

Some reports indicate that some issues in the datacentres have created problems in using some of the popular sites, apps, and messengers in Iran as well many other countries. This has been caused by a disruption or potential attack on the communications infrastructure network in the past few hours.

Iran’s Communication and Information Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi has confirmed the attack on the country’s datacentres in a tweet.

Iranian Databases Target of Attacks Caused by Cisco Switch FlawThe Iranian minister has also said that initial investigations indicate the settings of switching software have been attacked. A picture posted by Azari Jahromi shows the United States’ flag being in the background and a sentence that reads “don’t mess with our (US) elections.” Azari Jahromi has stressed that the attacks are not limited to Iran noting in another tweet that so far, more than 95 percent of switches have resumed their service.

Cisco has issued a warning and urged Smart Install client users to patch and securely configure the software.

Attackers are exploiting a “protocol misuse” issue in Cisco’s Smart Install Client to gain entry to critical infrastructure providers, according to researchers at Cisco’s Talos Intelligence group.

Cisco’s warning over the Smart Install client, a tool for rapidly deploying new switches, comes a week after it released a patch for a critical remote code execution flaw affecting the software.

On March 29, Cisco had warned that at least 8.5 million switches are open to attack.

Researchers have found that millions of Cisco network devices have been left vulnerable by an open TCP 4786 port.

Cisco has also seen a huge uptick in traffic to the TCP 4786 port that began around November 2017 and then spiked in April 2018.

According to Cisco, organizations can determine if a device is impacted by the Smart Install issues by running the command “show vstack config,” which will show if the Smart Install Client is active.

The easiest way to mitigate the issue is to run the command “no vstack” on the affected device. If this isn’t possible, the best option is to restrict access through an access control list for the interface.

Cisco in February 2017 issued an alert after discovering a rise in the number of internet scans for systems where the Smart Install Client was not turned off or configured with the property security controls. Without the right security controls, hackers can send new commands to the switches running Cisco’s IOS or IOS XE network operating system.

Iranian Cleric Warns Israel against Attack on Hezbollah

Addressing a gathering of worshipers in Tehran on Friday, Ayatollah Khatami denounced recent remarks made by Israeli officials, who have threatened to attack Hezbollah by the end of 2018, and said the Zionist regime has already “tried its chance” in the past and was defeated by the movement.

Hezbollah (then) turned the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa into “ghost towns” with its 70km-range missiles, he said, adding that Hezbollah is now much more powerful than before.

“If you want Haifa and Tel Aviv to be razed to the ground, you can try your chance once again,” the Iranian cleric stated.

Back in February, A senior Israeli commander warned that the chances of war were higher than ever for 2018 in light of the battlefield victories in Syria by the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, Iran, and Hezbollah.

“The year 2018 has the potential for escalation (of military conflict), not necessarily because either side wants to initiate it, but because of a gradual deterioration. This has led us to raise the level of preparedness,” Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, head of IDF Operations, told Army Radio in a rare interview, according to local Israeli reports.

The Tel Aviv regime launched a war on Lebanon in the summer of 2006. About 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians, were killed in the 33-Day War of 2006.

Hezbollah fighters defeated the Israeli forces and Tel Aviv was forced to retreat without achieving any of its objectives.

Inspired by Plasco Tragedy, Scientists Build Firefighter Robot

Researchers at the Mechatronics Research Centre of Qazvin Azad University have designed a robotic firefighter that can put out fires of between 700 to 1000 degrees Celsius.

In a Farsi interview with ISNA, Mohammad Moshfeqi, the executor of the project, says the tragic fire incident at Plasco building in Tehran made the team think about designing such a robot one and a half years ago.

The Plasco Building was a 17-story high-rise landmark building in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. The building collapsed on 19 January 2017 during a skyscraper fire. At the time of the fire, the Plasco building was used as a commercial building, with a major shopping centre on its ground floor, and many clothing workshops.

“The robot is made to approach and enter the ablaze environments as its body is double-surfaced and designed in such a way that the cool water rotates inside it,” Moshfeqi added.

He further mentioned that all the accessories of the robot are placed inside a box that fire, heat or smoke cannot affect it.

For a brief review of Iran’s achievements in various fields of science and technology, check the book “Science and Technology in Iran: A Brief Review

Speaking about the performance of the robot, he noted that when the fire hose is connected to the robot, it gets into the areas that a human cannot, and puts out the fire from inside.

“In general, there are 19 major hazards for firefighters that this robot is capable of dealing with. For example, a firefighter in special clothes can tolerate the heat only a few minutes, but this robot has no limits to stay in fire.”

According to him, due to the use of metals, silicon and carbon fibres, this robot can stay in flames longer.

Stressing that its water canon is of a 360-degree flexibility, Moshfeqi said that such a robot is designed for fire incidents in the cities.

“Among the other advantages of this robotic firefighter is its ability of crossing non-smooth surfaces and stairs.”

He also noted that if the robot’s connection with the operator is interrupted, it can return to its original position while it can report its temperature to the operator.

According to this researcher, the cost of making this robot is one-third of the cost of insurance for a firefighter.

Bin Salman’s Praise of Israel Major Disgrace for Saudi Arabia: Iran

In a statement on Friday, Bahram Qassemi blasted the fresh comments by cynical Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman in an interview with the American Time magazine. In his interview, bin Salman described the Saudi regime, which has launched aggression on Yemen, and the usurper Israeli regime, as having common interests and enemies such as Iran.

“The ambitiousness of the skeptical Saudi heir to the throne has exceeded the limits and is turning into an incurable and chronic illness,” said Qassemi.

“In the power struggle going on inside the [Saudi] monarchial dynasty and in order to win the support of the US and, recently, the Israeli regime, which has occupied Quds, he not only paid billions of dollars from the wealth of his own people, but also makes whatever ridiculous and embarrassing remark he can,” the spokesman said.

“This power-and-fame-seeking novice has turned a blind eye to all historical realities and seven decades of crimes committed by the usurper and child-killing Zionist regime, and speaks of recognition of, and alignment with this illegitimate regime in a great and blatant betrayal of the cause of Palestine,” Qassemi added.

“His words show he has neither studied history, nor knows geography, nor understands the cause of its people and of freedom-seekers around the world, nor understands the oppression exerted against the Muslim community and Palestinian people, nor can differentiate between Palestine, the Arab world, and the Muslim world, nor can tell friend from foe,” the spokesman said.

“We warn that all the divisive plots hatched in recent years among Muslim countries plus the creation and expansion of terrorist and extremist groups such as ISIS and the like, have been orchestrated and executed with the aim of triggering divisions and rifts in the Islamic world and gradually burying the cause of Palestine into oblivion and creating a margin of safety for the fabricated and usurper Zionist regime.”

“The policies adopted recently by the Saudis amount to a very sad tragedy as those polices have downgraded an Islamic country, with all its ostentatious claims, to the level of a person who praised the Zionist regime, which has occupied Quds,” Qassemi said.

“This humiliation and self-inflicting move bodes ill for those behind this historical regression and will be regarded as a major disgrace for Saudi Arabia during the course of developments in the Muslim world,” he noted.

“Iran’s Tabriz, Nakhchivan Must Boost Ties as Tourism, Cultural Capitals of Muslim World”

In a Friday meeting with Vasif Talibov, the Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Zarif pointed to the selection of Iran’s Tabriz as the tourism capital and Nakhchivan as the cultural capital of Muslim world in 2018, and said the two cities can have further cooperation in this regard.

The Iranian top diplomat also underlined the reinforcement of banking ties, academic relations and exchange of students, facilitation of travel, and expansion of provincial ties between Nakhchivan and cities of Iran’s East and West Azarbaijan provinces.

Zarif, who was on an official visit to Nakhchivan, said the reciprocal ties of Iran and Azerbaijan Republic and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic are developing.

“Power plant and dam construction projects have been operationalised, and there are good grounds for expansion of mutual cooperation in the fields of intensive animal farming, health, supply of pharmaceuticals and construction of drug production facilities, dispatch of doctors and export of medical equipment, tourism, facilitation of transport, food industries, and joint production,” he added.

Talibov, for his part, expressed his pleasure with the visit of Zarif and his entourage to Nakhchivan, and said relations between the two sides are on the right track in various areas.

“People of Iran and Nakhchivan are easily travelling [to the two Republics], the number of tourists has increased, and Iranian university students are pursuing their education without any problem,” he noted.

Talibov also highlighted the significance of customs [regulations] in the development of bilateral relations between the two sides, and called for further expansion of cooperation in this field.

“Iran’s Tabriz, Nakhchivan Must Boost Ties as Tourism, Cultural Capitals of Muslim World”Zarif and Talibov had earlier in December held talks in Tehran. In that meeting, Talibov said Nakhchivan is ready to increase its cooperation with Iran in the fields of energy, tourism and transportation.

In late December 2016, Iran launched a direct passenger train service between its northeastern city of Mashhad and Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan.

The train from Nakhchivan travels to Iran’s northwestern city of Tabriz through Jolfa and thereon to Tehran and finally Mashhad.

 

Iran Promises “Special Surprise” for Enemies in Case JCPOA Violated

“The enemies should know that in case the JCPOA is reversed – even though we are never looking for such a situation – special conditions will arise, and when the high-ranking (Iranian) officials decide, we would have a special surprise for those who scrap the deal,” Salehi said in a speech on Thursday.

“We are seriously seeking to preserve our national interests and sovereignty, but if the US withdraws (from the JCPOA) and Europe and other major powers retreat from this agreement, we would definitely act differently,” he added.

The Iranian nuclear chief further denounced US President Donald Trump as a businessman, who has mixed trade with politics, trying to advance his agendas in the international arena with “his unpredictable decisions”.

The nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) was reached in July 2015 and came into force in January 2016.

Ever since the deal took effect, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA in all quarterly reports, but some other parties, especially the US, have failed to live up to their undertakings.

Trump has on various occasions called for renegotiating the JCPOA or terminating it but Iran and most other parties to the deal say the nuclear agreement is a valid multilateral international document that would not be renegotiated.

Policies of US, Mideast Allies Embolden Israel: Zarif

“Regrettably, short-sighted policies of some regional governments in befriending the Zionists and sidelining our Palestinian cause have made the apartheid Zionist regime and its supporters more brazen in their ongoing criminal acts,” Zarif told a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Committee on Palestine in the Azerbaijani capital Baku on Thursday.

The remarks came days after a controversial interview by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, where he appeared to publicly recognize the Israeli regime’s existence.

While both Riyadh and Tel Aviv had admitted to having established secret ties over the past years, the young prince’s announcement was a slap in the face for Palestinians in the wake of a brutal Israeli crackdown on peaceful anti-occupation protests in the Gaza Strip.

‘Premeditated’ violence

Israeli military forces have killed 20 protesters while injuring dozens more since March 30, when thousands of Gazans marched to the fence separating Israelis and Palestinians to mark the start of a six-week protest dubbed, “The Great March of Return.”

Undeterred by international condemnation, Israeli officials have pledged “a reaction of the harshest kind” if the protests continue.

Calling the Israeli violence “premeditated and deliberate,” Zarif said “those who support and enable the Israeli regime to commit these types of crimes have also the Palestinians’ blood on their hands.”

Trump’s embassy move

According to Zarif, the decision in December by US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s new capital was another reason that exacerbated the problem.

“These measures, which contravene international law and relevant UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, have demonstrated that the United States could have never been an impartial broker in dealing with the issue,” he added.

Israel lays claim to the entirety of Jerusalem al-Quds as its “capital” while Palestinians want its eastern part as the capital of a future state for themselves.

Palestinian leaders have warned that the planned relocation would fuel strong reaction in the region and deliver a death blow to any prospect of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

NAM’s responsibility

Commending NAM’s longtime support for Palestine, Zarif said the movement still had a lot to do to help end the violence through “collective action” in the United Nations General Assembly while ensuring that the UN Security Council would take the necessary steps to punish the perpetrators.

“Our movement has been right in placing emphasis on Palestine since its inception,” he stated, adding that this attention should lead to an organized effort towards “the realization of the basic rights of the Palestinian people.”

The Iranian FM said in conclusion that the movement needs to “call for full restoration of the rights of Palestinians, in particular the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital, and to demand an immediate end to the siege on the Gaza Strip.”