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Iran Condemns UNHCR Extension of Special Rapporteur’s Mandate

March 25, 2018

In a Sunday statement, Qassemi noted that the resolution was approved by the votes of members of a political bloc and some regional countries that are top violators of human rights.

He described the resolution as a condemned and unacceptable one which was not supported by a significant number of Human Rights Council members.

“In our view, the one-year extension of the mission of special rapporteur on Iran’s human rights situationwas unprofessional and unnecessary,” he said.

“Such a rapporteur will have big problemsregardingauthenticity and legitimacy,” he said.

The spokesman said Iran supports theUniversal Periodic Review mechanism as the fairest method for addressing human rights issues, as it covers all countries, has a non-discriminatoryand non-selective approach, respects the principle of equality and does not allowpolitically-motivated moves.

The resolution was adopted on Friday, in the closing meeting of the 37th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in the UN headquarters in Geneva.

Some 21 members of the Council voted in favour of the resolution, while 7 others voted against, with 19 abstentions.

In the UNHRC meeting,UN members discussed the latest report of the late UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani lawyer who took the post in September 2016.

She had frequently delivered reports to UN bodies censuring the Iranian government for what she called widespread rights violations before she died of cardiac arrest early February.

The Council has not yet appointed a successor to Jahangir.

Iran has refused to allow the UN special rapporteurs to visit the country, arguing the use of country-specific mechanisms to address human rights issues is unacceptable.

Besides, Iran says the situation of human rights in Iran by no means is a special situation to warrant a special mandate.

Tehran says the appointment of a UN special rapporteur on Iran results from the heavy influence of western governments in the UN and part of its pressure campaign against Iran since the Islamic Revolution toppled the rule of US-backed dictator Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

“Iran Must Develop Ties with Russia, China to Counter US Hardliners”

IFP Media Wire

March 25, 2018

“The use of hardline elements against the Islamic Republic of Iran shows that the Americans seek to exert more pressure on Iran,” Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi told ISNA on Saturday.

He added that the harsher US stance vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic is mainly aimed at appeasing the Israeli regime and Saudi Arabia to solve Washington’s economic issues, saying, “Therefore, it was predictable that we would witness toughened US policies in this regard.”

The US president announced on Thursday that he is replacing his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, with John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the UN and a military intervention hawk.

Trump announced the replacement, making Bolton his third national security adviser since coming to office and continuing a shake-up that creates one of the most hawkish national security teams of any White House in recent history.

Bolton, an outspoken advocate of military action who served in the administration of former US president George W. Bush, has called for action against Iran and North Korea.

Elsewhere in his comments, the Iranian lawmaker said Tehran must continue its active presence in the Middle East and turn to Eastern countries to thwart US policies.

“We must strengthen our relations with important countries like China and Russia, which have also been subjected to US sanctions and face serious challenges from that country,” Boroujerdi added.

“China and Russia are two important and influential members of the [UN] Security Council and the expansion of relations will help neutralize and reduce the impact of US pressure,” he said.

He emphasized that Trump was working to reassure the Zionists and Saudi Arabia.

Boroujerdi also said the US president has always sought to destroy the landmark nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran signed with the P5+1 group of countries in 2015.

However, he failed to achieve his goal due to the opposition of European countries and former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, he added.

Trump is a stern critic of the nuclear deal which lifted nuclear-related sanctions put in place against Iran in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program.

He has repeatedly described the JCPOA, which was negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama, as “the worst and most one-sided transaction Washington has ever entered into,” a characterization he often used during his presidential campaign, and threatened to tear it up.

The US president delivered a 120-day ultimatum to America’s European allies on January 12 that they must agree to “fix the terrible flaws of the Iran nuclear deal” or he would refuse to extend US sanctions relief on Iran and would pull out of the deal.

On March 13, Trump fired Tillerson after a series of public rifts over issues including Iran, Russia and North Korea, replacing his top diplomat with CIA Director and former congressman Mike Pompeo, who has a tough stance on the Islamic Republic.

Tillerson’s departure had been widely anticipated for months. Tillerson’s exit makes his time in office the shortest of any secretary of state in nearly 120 years.

Ancient Art of Woodcarving in Northern Iran

IFP Editorial Staff

March 25, 2018

Laktarashi means the art of carving wooden vessels and containers engraved by shapes and pattern from the region’s mythologies and history.

This form of art has been passed from one generation to another in northern provinces of Mazandaran, Golestan and Gilan, which enjoy thick jungles with abundant wood.

Laktarashi entails both laborious hand work and creativity. Golestan woodcarving artists have included their rich cultural history in their artworks, resulting in artworks that are both practical and artistic.

Laktarashi artists are creative people who turn a raw log of wood into objects only by using simple tools. They have a good knowledge of trees’ species in the region and know what wood is suitable for each vessel.

However, according to an official at Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, this practice is now considered as one of the endangered trades, due to the arrival of new technologies and the emigration of young people from the rural areas.

Ebrahim Karimi said, “In the past, Laktarashi was very common amongst the rural population in north of Iran, but now it is becoming an endangered form of art, with many forgetting about it altogether”.

Pointing to the hay days of the trade, he said, “In the past, the products were made according to the needs of the market”.

In March 2018, Laktarashi was registered in the list of Iranian intangible heritage.

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Animals Escape Zoo in Iran, but “Citizens Not in Danger”

IFP Editorial Staff

March 25, 2018

The director of the Environment Department of West Azarbaijan Province said all the wild animals that escaped following a strong storm are under control and “no danger is threatening the citizens of Urmia (the provincial capital).”

Parviz Arasteh confirmed that some of the animals broke out of the zoo after strong winds swept across Urmia.

“Minutes ago, an assessment team of the Environment Department of the province was dispatched to the area to look into and follow up on the incident,” said the official.

He said assessments indicate that two Armenian rams, four wolves, a vulture and a wild cat have got out of the zoo, but “no wild animal has escaped the zoo and species such as lions and bears are under control inside the zoo.”

“Rangers are looking for the animals which have escaped from the zoo. The zoo is adjacent to the Urmia National Park around 40 kilometres from the city,” said the official.

As soon as the wolves are sighted, the official said, they will be anaesthesised and caught alive.

A storm, with a speed reaching 80 km/h in some areas, ripped across Urmia, leaving at least one dead and over a dozen injured. It also destroyed the walls of the zoo, brought down trees and knocked down billboards.

Sepahsalar Mosque; A Mixture of Persian, Ottoman Architecture

IFP Editorial Staff

March 25, 2018

Sepahsalar Mosque accompanied by a seminary with the same name is located at the south-eastern part of Baharestan Square; next to the Parliament compound.

The mosque is a combination of sophisticated Persian architecture and that of Istanbul’s legendary mosques.

According to a Farsi report by Hamshahri news website, the mosque was built in the Qajar era, during the rule of Nasereddin Shah (1831-1896); by the order of the then-chancellor Mirza Hassan Khan Sepahsalar (1828–1881) who had spent years in Istanbul as Iran’s ambassador.

The mosque was designed by engineer Mahdi Khan Motamen-ul-Doleh Sheghaghi and constructed by Haj Hassan Qomi in the 19th century.

In general, the mosque’s design is inspired by Isfahan Jameh Mosque, Isfahan Chaharbagh School and Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul.

The building is 61 metres in length and 61 metres in width. It includes two floors with 60 rooms for its seminary students to live in.

The complex, made largely of bricks, has eight minarets, a two-storey building, a roofed hall for worshipers to pray (Shabestan), a gateway, a large dome and a huge library.

Its majestic dome has been modelled after Turkish mosques. The minarets are what make this building so unique. Its prayer hall dome, 37m in height, is supported by 44 columns.

Tiles with full-blown floral motifs in typically flamboyant Qajar style decorate the building’s courtyard. A tile’s inscription band gives details of the original endowment. The mosque’s library hosts more than 4,200 handwritten and about 10 thousand lithographic books.

What follows are photos of Sepahsalar Mosque retrieved from its official website:

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Iran’s Northern Forests Burning in Fire (+Video)

IFP Editorial Staff

March 24, 2018

Mehdi Valipour, the provincial head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, said that firemen and environmental forces are working to extinguish the fire before it could spread and create more havoc.

Valipour said the forest fire could threaten rural areas near Lahijan, Siahkal, Langroud, Masal and Shaft cities.

“Considering the strong warm wind in the area, the fire could spread to other regions,” he told Mehr News Agency in a Farsi interview on Saturday night, expressing hope it could be put out by Sunday morning.

Gilan Province is the scene of sporadic forest fires, mainly caused byhuman negligence.

The province is currently hosting thousands of Iranians taking New Year holidays.

Lights Out at Milad Tower to Commemorate Earth Hour (+Video)

IFP Editorial Staff

March 24, 2018

Ali Darvishpour, the top executive of Milad Tower, the world’s sixth tallest telecoms giant, told the Persian-language ISNA on Saturday that the move is aimed at uniting people to protect the planet.

“The move aims to [encourage] collective action to save the planet. We, as guardians of earth, have a duty to respect the globe,” he said.

Earth Hour was also commemorated by urban symbols in other Iranian cities, including Rasht, Kerman, Ahvaz, Urmia and Isfahan.

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement aimed at drawing attentions to the global warming caused by burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, factories and power plants.

The movement was first organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) conservation group in Sydney, Australia, in 2007.

Since then Earth Hour has grown to engage more than 7000 cities and towns across 187 countries.

Iran joined the global initiative in 2011.

The Earth Hour event coincides with Norouz, the Persian New Year celebration, which literally means “new day” and represents freshness and renewal

The United Nations Headquarters and the Empire State Building in New York, Paris’ Eiffel Tower, Moscow’s Kremlin, Sydney’s Opera House and Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor are among the iconic structures that plunged into darkness on Saturday.

Persian Architecture in Photos: Qavami Mansion

IFP Editorial Staff

March 24, 2018

The old edifice belonged to Reza Qavami also known as Moayyeddin. He was the son of Abdolhossein Qavam ul-Islam (the representatives of the people of Neyshabur in the former Iranian Parliament known as the National Consultative Assembly in 1909).

What follows are IRNA’s photos of the mansion:

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Iran Condemns Terrorist Acts in France, Afghanistan, Egypt

IFP Editorial Staff

March 24, 2018

In a Saturday statement, Bahram Qassemi condemned the acts of terror in the French city of Trebes, the city of Lashkargah in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, and the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, expressing condolences to the families of the victims.

Qassemi said the geographical dispersion of the incidents shows terrorism is a global scourge and has a global solution.

“The only way to eradicate this global threat is to counter the key sources of ideological, financial and logistical support for terrorism,” the spokesman said.

At least four people were killed and 16 wounded at a hostage-taking incident at a supermarket in Trebes on Friday.The incident happenedwhen a man claiming allegiance to the ISIS terror group entered the supermarket at around 11.15 amand shots were heard.

In another incident, at least 14 people were killed and dozens wounded when a car bomb went off near a sports facility inLashkargah. It happened close to a stadium where a wrestling match was taking place.

Also, an explosion in Alexandria left at least two people dead and four wounded. The blast described by authorities as an assassination attempt occurred near the motorcade of a top security official.

Nowruz in Northern Iran Sweetened with Homemade Pastry, Halva

IFP Editorial Staff

March 24, 2018

Apart from cooking the pastry and halva, women in this village make shawls with knitting machine a few weeks ahead of Nowruz.

Once the pastries are ready, boys and men also start performing the traditional ritual of “Nowruz-Khani”, accompanied by their mothers, sisters, and wives who offer the sweet homemade pastries to other villagers.

In Nowruz-Khani ritual, men sing songs and play instruments to herald the advent of the New Year. Nowruz Khans improvise their songs and poems. An experienced Nowruz-Khan is the one who is more skilled at extemporizing. Sometimes, their performance features music and, sometimes, only singing. Most of the poems and songs are recited or sung either in the local dialect or Farsi.

Nowruz-Khani is a pretext for preserving the ancient tradition of the ancestors, commemorate and respect life, create happiness and bring people joy. The tradition is aimed at promoting friendship among people and bringing them greater satisfaction prior to the arrival of the New Year.

The youths developing an interest in Nowruz-Khani over the past few years and it being upheld and practiced in Iranian festivals, have been effective in keeping the tradition alive.

Here are IRNA’s photos of the ceremony held a few days ago in Ardeh:

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