Razif; A Traditional Sword Dance in Southern Iran

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April 26, 2018

Razif is a work-related ritual. Therefore, with the change of the conditions and necessities of seafaring, the sails were replaced by motorboats and things like sailing or pulling anchors besides fishing and collecting the fishing net have disappeared completely.

To preserve and maintain this tradition, people in the south perform a combination of bamboo dance and such practices at wedding parties to preserve this heritage of their fathers, and also remember how their ancestors suffered to make a living. The practice will also help convey this tradition to future generations.

Razif used to be a form of sword dance in the past, and today is performed to create unity and solidarity. So, it is considered a sort of epic music to persuade people to defend their land.

The name Razif refers to the presence of people in two rows at the time of performance.

Here are Mehr News Agency’s photos of the ceremony in the historic port city of Kong in the Central District of Bandar Lengeh County of Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province:

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Iran, China, Russia Must Adopt Common Strategy against US: Shamkhani

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 26, 2018

Shamkhani said that China, Russia and Iran are on the list of US national security threats and sanctions are imposed against these three countries.

Therefore, he noted, adopting a joint strategy to counter Washington’s comprehensive attempts to harm these countries is necessary, Shamkhani said.

He made the comments in a meeting with Chinese public security minister Guo Shengkun on the second day of his visit to Russia to attend an international security conference in the Russian resort city of Sochi.

The Iranian security official described terrorism as a fragile threat to international peace and security, saying that Takfiri terrorism has lost its position in Syria and Iraq.

Therefore, the United States and its Western and regional allies are trying to defend Takfiri terrorist currents in this country by fabrications and lies like the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government in Duma, he noted.

Shamkhani also pointed to the current efforts made by the supporters of Takfiri terrorism to relocate the remnants of these militant groups to Afghanistan, warning that the relocation of terrorist groups to Afghan territories will pose major threats to the borders of Iran, China and Russia.

He also emphasised the need for close cooperation between Iran, China, Russia, Pakistan and Afghanistan to counter the spread of terrorism in the region, and called for a joint intelligence, security and operational mechanism to stop the transfer and relocation of terrorist groups to Afghanistan.

Shamkhani also referred to willingness of senior Chinese and Iranian officials to expand the mutual ties, adding that joint efforts to remove some obstacles, including banking and financial issues, must be the main priority.

For his part, the Chinese official noted that the US supports elements of insecurrity in the region to restrict these three countries by imposing sanction on them.

Beijing understands the worries of the Islamic Republic in this regard, he added.

“Iran has a special place in the new international strategy of China, and the security forces of the two countries can play a decisive role in realizing the will of the leaders of the two countries to develop relations,” underlined Guo Shengkun.

He added that Tehran and Beijing can build new partnerships in the context of “One Belt, One Road” initiative in the areas of security, counter-terrorism, organised crimes, cyber security, energy projects and railways.

Shengkun further touched upon the significance of inviting the Iranian president to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, saying “We support Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and we believe that Iran’s presence in the upcoming summit as an observer country can pave the ground to achieve this goal.”

Expressing regret over US non-compliance with the nuclear deal, he asserted that China, as one of the main members of the P5+1, believes that all parties to the agreement must fulfil their commitments.

Shengkun also invited Shamkhani to visit China, and announced Beijing’s readiness to exchange information with Iran to fight against terrorism.

Legendary Iranian Photographer Abbas Attar Dies at 74

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 26, 2018

His passing was announced by his employer Magnum photo agency, which did not give the cause of death.

Born in Iran in 1944, Abbas began his career as a photojournalist in the late 1960s, and was a member of the French news photo agencies SIPA and Gamma during the 1970s.

He joined the prestigious Magnum Photos cooperative in 1981 and became a full member in 1985.

Attar covered the Islamic Revolution in Iran from 1978 to 1980, then spent 17 years travelling and photographing around the world in voluntary exile from his homeland.

As a result of the revolution, though, much of his subsequent work focused on the global rise of Islamism as well as other religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism.

Abbas covered conflicts and unrests in Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Middle East, Chile and Cuba and documented South Africa under apartheid, Magnum said.

He also documented life in Mexico over several years, and pursued a lifelong interest in religion and its intersection with society.

He returned to the country in 1997.

Abbas published several books, including a personal interpretation of Iranian history titled Iran Diary 1971-2002; Return to Mexico: Journeys Beyond the Mask (1992), Allah O Akbar: A Journey Through Militant Islam (1994), and In Whose Name?: The Islamic World after 9/11 (2009).

He has also published Faces of Christianity: A Photographic Journey (2000) and Gods I’ve Seen (2016), a book about Hinduism.

At the time of his death he had been working on a project about Judaism.

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Iranian, American Girls Play “Friendly” Football Match in Italy

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 26, 2018

The Iranian U-17 team lost to the US, in the match that opened the Torneo delle Nazioni tournament.

Iran have been drawn with host Italy, the U.S. and Slovenia in Group A, according to a report by the Persian-language Khabar Online news website.

The Iranian girls will face Slovenia on Thursday and meet Italy on Saturday.

Group B consists of Japan, England, Norway and Russia.

The Torneo delle Nazioni has been held for boys for the past 15 years, but this is just the third time it has been held for women.

Trump’s Remarks on Arab States Humiliation of Muslim World: Iran Leader

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 26, 2018

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei described Trump’s recent “flagrant” comments on Arab countries as a humiliation of Islamic states, saying the humiliation is a sickness and nothing is worse than this.

“We [Muslims] have not referred to the holy Quran, and this is why we cannot find a treatment for this sickness,” stressed the Leader in an address to the participants of the 35th International Quran Competition in Tehran on Thursday.

“Today, we [Muslims] need the Quran because the best way for Muslim societies and Ummah is to act according to the holy Quran.”

Elsewhere in his statements, Ayatollah Khamenei noted that Muslims must stand against the US bullying and the rest of world bullies.

“If they (Muslim nations) do not comply, if they do not pay attention to these things, they will be humiliated and corrupted. Unfortunately, this has happened at the moment.”

The Leader of Islamic Revolution further underlined that “Today, in our Muslim region, there exists a civil war, and the countries are under great pressures.”

“[Today] the foolish governments of some countries wage war against some others and commit crimes. The Yemeni people are in such a misery! Their wedding ceremony turns into a funeral. They are bombarded and people in the streets and mosques are killed. The same is happening in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria as well,” he noted.

“That is because we Muslims have forgotten the unity among believers. That is because we do not act according to the holy Quran. If we act according to the Quran, we will retain dignity. This is the only way to bring happiness to Muslims.”

Tel Aviv Pressurizing Italy into Voting for Iran Sanctions: Report

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 26, 2018

Earlier this month, Yuval Rotem, the Director General of Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs, summoned Italy’s ambassador to Israel, Gianluigi Benedetti, to express his dissatisfaction with Italy’s move to prevent the imposition of further sanctions on Iran.

According to Israel’s Channel 10, the pressure comes as the consent of all 28 member states of the bloc is necessary to approve the new sanctions on Iran and Italy is the only country in the bloc opposing the new sanctions.

In the meeting, Rotem told the Italian ambassador that Israel expected Italy to re-consider its position.

During the meeting, the Italian ambassador clarified that his country was blocking sanctions against Iran because they believed the timing was not suitable, the report said.

Meanwhile, it was agreed that a delegation of the Foreign Ministry and representatives of the Israeli security apparatus make a visit to Rome to discuss Israel’s information on Iran’s activities in the region and the missile program with the aim of persuading the Italians to change their position.

The new sanctions have been introduced by Britain, France and Germany to stop Iran’s missile program as well activities in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. According to the English version of Jerusalem Post, the sanctions are aimed at showing Trump administration that the EU is serious in its activity against Iran and thus persuade Washington not to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

A senior Israeli official told the paper that Italy’s opposition to imposing new sanctions on Iran stems from a series of business contracts signed by Italian companies in Iran.

This comes as the deadline of May 12 for the overhaul of the JCPOA set by Trump is approaching rapidly. Back in January, Trump gave Europeans 120 days to agree to changes made to the nuclear agreement and threatened that if his revisions were rejected, he would scrap the deal.

In response, Iranian officials have threatened that if the JCPOA was discarded, Iran would be able to restore its halted uranium enrichment process within a matter of days, and that Iran was indeed preparing for every potential scenario.

On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron, who is on an official visit to the US, said Sunday that there is no other option but to preserve the deal. Meanwhile, UN High representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu urged on Monday all parties to the nuclear deal not to abandon it.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Monday he had agreed with his Chinese counterpart that Moscow and Beijing try to block any US attempt to sabotage the nuclear deal.

Staffer Wounded in Attack on Iran Interests Section in US; Assailant Arrested

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IFP Media Wire

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April 26, 2018

Shouting slogans against the Islamic Republic, the armed assailant entered the office of Iran in the Pakistani embassy on Wednesday, injuring an employee who was later taken to the hospital.

The incident has closed the office, which only provides consular services for the Iranian nationals residing in the US and Canada and is not engaged in any political or diplomatic activities.

The US police have not still provided information on the attacker’s identity or motives.

The US Secret Service said in a statement that agents responded to reports of shots fired. The agents determined that no shots had been fired, but they arrested a man in possession of a weapon. He was charged with assault.

Sponsors of Terror Seeking to Transfer Terrorists to Afghanistan: Iran

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 26, 2018

Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani made the comment in a Thursday meeting with Mohammad Hanif Atmar, a national security advisor to the Afghan president.

The two top officials met on the sidelines of the ninth meeting of senior authorities of the five continents in Russia, said a report by the Persian-language Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

During their talks, the two sides discussed the latest political and security developments in the region as well as the trend of mutual cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan on economic, political and security fronts.

The Iranian official expressed regret over the recent acts of terror in Afghanistan which killed a large number of innocent people.

He stressed the need to expedite the activities of the five committees dealing with joint cooperation to achieve practical results that would ensure stability and security in the region.

“Joint intelligence and security cooperation between Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and Russia can, through concentrating and exchanging the potentialities of the five countries, set the stage to halt destabilising schemes launched by certain Western countries and their regional allies,” he said.

Atmar, in turn, described as very significant, noteworthy and realistic the speech delivered by Shamkhani at the 9^th Russia Security Conference. He further said cordial and growing relations between Tehran and Kabul are not against any country and are not swayed by the political approaches of other states.

He touched upon the apprehension, by Afghan intelligence services, of a large number of foreign nationals who were members of the ISIS terrorist group and who had recently entered Afghanistan illegally.

He said such moves are signs of a dangerous plan to use Afghanistan’s geography to once again organise terror groups, adding Kabul should tackle this trend with more sensitivity than ever.

Iranian Airlines Sign Deal to Buy 40 Russian Planes

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 26, 2018

The Iran Aseman Airlines and Iran Air Tours signed the MoUs on the sidelines of Eurasia Airshow 2018 in Turkey’s Anatolia to purchase 20 Sukhoi Superjet 100 planes each.

“Following in-depth studies, Iran Air Tours Airline sealed an MoU with Sukhoi to purchase 20 SSJ100. The deliveries of the planes would start next year, and each plane would add 100 seats to the company’s passenger capacity,” Marziyeh Jafarzadeh, the Director of the Iran Air Tours’ Public Relations Department was quoted as saying in a report by the Persian-language Fars News Agency.

She went on to say that the one-billion-dollar deal was signed during the Eurasia Airshow 2018 in Turkey in a ceremony attended by Russia’ Deputy Minister for Industry, the CEO of Sukhoi Company as well as the Director General and the owner of Iran Air Tours.

Negotiations to seal the deal began last year after Sukhoi started technical talks to obtain the required authorizations from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Earlier, Hossein Alaei, the Head of the Iran Aseman Airlines announced that the company was engaged in negotiation with Sukhoi as well as several other leading global plane makers to renovate its fleet.

According to Alaei, Sukhoi conducted trial flights of its Superjet 100 in Tehran in December 2016 at the invitation of Aseman Airlines.

Iran’s flag carrier airline Iran Air has already signed a number of deals with global aviation giants such as Boeing and Airbus to purchase over 100 new planes. The airline has received several planes from Airbus, but deliveries by Boeing have yet to start.

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 26

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 26, 2018

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on November 19

The top story in all newspapers today was the talks between US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron over a new deal on Iran, and Tehran’s harsh reactions to the idea.

Several papers also covered the remarks made by Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, on the need for seminaries to take philosophy more seriously.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to the city of Tabriz in north-western Iran, his surprise visit to the bazaar of shoemakers, and his participation in a ceremony to inaugurate the Tabriz 2018 tourism event also received great coverage. Tabriz 2018 is an event to mark the designation of Tabriz as the tourism capital of Muslim world in 2018.

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

Abrar:

Zarif: We’ll Retaliate US Withdrawal from Iran Nuclear Deal
Macron after Talks with Trump: We Can Achieve New Deal on Iran
Shiite Movements’ Close Competition in Iraq’s Parliamentary Elections

Afkar:

Philosophy Must Be Promoted in Seminaries of Qom, Tehran: Iran Leader
Iran DM: We’ll Implement Our Plan If US Leaves JCPOA

Aftab-e Yazd:

Tehran, Moscow against Messaging App
Iran-Russia Cooperation to Block Telegram?

Arman-e Emrooz:

Rouhani: JCPOA Can Be Preserved by Actions, Not Words

Amin:

Rouhani Officially Inaugurates Tabriz 2018 Tourism Event

Arman-e Melli:

Politician: Rouhani’s Executives Not Loyal to His Gov’t

Ebtekar:

Mysterious Player of the Middle East
What Is Jordan Doing in Regional Developments?

Etemad:

Bazaar of Shoemakers
Rouhani Makes Surprise Visit to Bazaar of Tariz

Ettela’at:

Shamkhani: Any Europe-US Agreement to Revise Iran Nuclear Deal Invalid
Trump: Persian Gulf Arabs Not to Survive without Us Even for One Week
12 American Scientists to Attend Tehran Continental Congress of Dermatology despite US Bans