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Azeri President Welcomes Closer Cooperation with Iran

February 21, 2018

Speaking in a Wednesday meeting with Iranian Defence Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami, Aliyev said he is pleased to see bonds of friendship between the two countries being strengthened, adding that Tehran-Baku partnership could act as a model for the region.

Stressing the need for greater unity among regional states in the face of common threats, the Azeri president said interventions by outside powers and external support for terrorist outfits and separatist movements are biggest dangers to the region, IRIB news agency said in a Farsi report.

Aliyev hailed successful development of the friendly and brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Iran in different areas, including military and military-technical fields.

Emphasizing regular high-level reciprocal visits, President Aliyev described the fact that the Azerbaijani and Iranian presidents have held nearly 10 meetings in recent years as a sign of high-level relations between the two countries.

He referred to his last visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, saying he had fruitful discussions with the Leader and President of the country.

President Aliyev expressed his confidence that Hatami’s visit would create a good opportunity to discuss the current state and prospects of Azerbaijan-Iran cooperation in military and military-technical areas.

For his part, Hatami said his trip to Azerbaijan, which follows the formation of Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Defence Commission, shows the two governments are willing to work towards closer relations and compensate for the past shortcomings in the development of bilateral cooperation.

The joint commission the defence minister was referring to held its first meeting late October in Baku, in which senior defence officials from the two countries explored ways of boosting defence cooperation.

Hatami said the Iranian government is ready to transfer its anti-terror experience to Baku, responding to concerns that terrorist outfits who have been operating in Syria and Iraq so far could target other countries of the region as calm is returning to the two countries.

The Iranian general said Tehran urges creating regional mechanisms for settling West Asia problems, believing nations in the region can better decide how to solve their issues.

General Hatami arrived in Baku earlier in the day, heading a high-ranking delegation, and plans to hold talks with senior Azeri officials during his two-day stay.

Acts of Violence by Any Group Not Tolerated: Iran President

IFP Editorial Staff

February 21, 2018

Hassan Rouhani said in a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that violence against, and disrespect for police cannot be tolerated, whatsoever.

“While respecting all ideologies and beliefs and accepting diversity of ideas and cultures, we categorically condemn violent behaviour by any group,” President Rouhani underscored, reacting to the recent clash between police forces and a number of rioters affiliated with dervishes, during which three soldiers and two Basij forces were killed.

Rouhani said he will instruct relevant institutions to launch an investigation into the root causes of such incidents in a bid to boost national integrity and solidarity and boost unity and convergence.

Rouhani also expressed condolences to the families of those killed in recent violence in Tehran.

The security forces were killed by so-called dervishes who recently raided a police station in Tehran.

One of the Basij troops was killed in a car ramming and another lost his life in a knife attack. It came after three members of security forces were killed in a bus attack by the agitators.

The violence also left 30 policemen and a number of attackers injured. Police said more than 300 people were arrested in the violence that erupted during an illegal rally by dervishes in Tehran’s Pasdaran neighbourhood.

Reinforcements were immediately deployed to the area to maintain public order. Police said agitators also damaged public property and smashed the windows of nearby houses.

Iran Ready to Hold Talks with EU over Mideast Security: Rouhani

IFP Editorial Staff

February 21, 2018

Speaking in a Wednesday meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag, President Hassan Rouhani stressed that Iran is prepared to hold negotiations with its friends in the European Union on boosting security and stability in the Middle East and continuing the fight against terrorism.

The Iranian president particularly referred to the Saudi-led coalition’s war on Yemen, and said Tehran supports any attempts made to end the aggression.

He rejected as utterly baseless and untrue the accusation that Tehran has supplied Yemen with weapons, saying that pressing charges as such will not help solve problems.

“Instead of such blame games, efforts should focus on putting an immediate end to war, establishing a ceasefire, helping Yemeni people, who desperately need assistance, and preparing the ground for intra-Yemeni talks to start,” said Rouhani as quoted by the president’s official website.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani lashed out at the propaganda campaigns launched by certain countries against Tehran’s nuclear program.

He said international circles turned a blind eye to the Iraqi missile attacks on Iranian cities during Baghdad’s eight-year imposed war on Iran in the 1980s.

Rouhani said other countries refused to sell missiles to Iran to respond in kind to Saddam Hussein’s regime.

“With this historical experience which is related to their country’s national security, our people are sensitive about any issue in that regard, and rightly believe the country’s defence power is not negotiable,” President Rouhani noted.

“Still, we are interested to hold talks with our friends regarding the massive sales, mostly by Western countries, of destructive weapons to the countries in the region, especially the sales of the deadly aircraft and missiles used to kill and displace people and destroy Yemen’s residential areas and infrastructure” he said.

President Rouhani also said Iran and the Netherlands have great potential to enhance their cooperation in different areas, including trade, banking, economy, energy and tourism.

The top Dutch diplomat, for her part, said Dutch companies are prepared to play a more active role in implementing projects in Iran.

Dozens of Bodies Recovered from Plane Crash Site in Central Iran

IFP Editorial Staff

February 21, 2018

Managing Director of the Iranian Red Crescent Society’s Provincial Branch in Isfahan Mohsen Momeni said the bodies are being transferred down the mountains even though severe weather has slowed down the operation.

“32 bags [containing remnants of victims] are being transferred down [by climbers]”, ISNA quoted him as saying in a Farsi report, while noting that medical examinations are needed to determine the identity of the bodies.

“Considering the weather condition, helicopters cannot land [in the area]. However, they are ready to move climbers down as soon as they reach a proper place,” Momeni said.

The incident occurred on Sunday morning, when an ATR-72 flight operated by the Iran Aseman Airlines crashed into the mountain peak, 50 minutes after taking off from Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport and before making it to Yasuj in western Iran.

The wreckage of the passenger plane was found Tuesday, with all people on board, comprising 59 passengers and 6 crew members, confirmed dead.

The search and rescue operation started shortly after the tragic incident, but bad weather, including dense fog, snow, and high winds, as well as the remote location of the crash site and rugged terrain hampered the recovery efforts in the Dena mountain range.

The chopper pilot who found the debris said the crash could be avoided if the plane was flying only 50 metres higher.

The flight altitude has been way lower than what it was supposed to be and the reason will become clear once the black box is found.

“Iranians Have Always Fought for Peace throughout History”

IFP Editorial Staff

February 21, 2018

Beheshti, the Head of Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT), underlines that in the eyes of Iranians, peace holds when everything is in the right place.

“In the Iranian culture, peace means everything should be in the place it belongs to, but in the Western culture, peace means everything should be in the place that they say,” said the official as quoted by the Persian-language Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

He described as “holy” any defence which is based on truth and peace.

The official said Iranians emerged victorious during the eight-year war imposed by Iraq on Iran in the 1980s because “we defended our homeland responsibly and honestly.”

He then said one of the topics the research institute has focused on is the issue of “holy defence.”

“The reason that the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism has turned to holy defence is that defence is one of the key manifestations of our culture, and holy defence has its roots in our history,” he added.

Beheshti made the comments at a scientific conference on intellectual, cultural and civilizational analyses of the history of defence in Iran.

Iran DM in Baku to Boost Defence Ties

IFP Editorial Staff

February 21, 2018

Iran DM in Baku to Boost Defence Ties — Iran's Defence Minister Amir Hatami meeting his Azeri counterpart in Baku on February 21, 2018/ Photo retrieved from IRIB News Agency

Brigadier General Amir Hatami on Wednesday held talks with his Azeri counterpart Zakir Hasanov and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.

During his two-day stay, he will also meet with Prime Minister Artur Rasizade and other senior officials to discuss bilateral cooperation and exchange views on international issues of mutual concern.

Speaking to IRIB News upon his arrival on Wednesday, General Hatami said the two neighbours could finalize agreements on technological and technical cooperation between their defence industries, including joint production of military equipment.

“I hope we can engage in meaningful negotiations with Azeri officials on bilateral and regional cooperation … which could help boost stability in the region and improve Tehran-Baku relations”, Hatami said.

Back in late October, Tehran and Baku formed a joint commission on defence cooperation, signalling their will to strengthen bonds of friendship.

Iran to Promote Use of Locally-Developed Messaging Apps

IFP Editorial Staff

February 21, 2018

Iran’s minister of communications and information technology recently underlined the need for using locally developed messengers in the domain of national security.

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi further said messengers constitute part of the country’s economic infrastructure, and added the information circulating through them should remain within local messengers, according to the Persian-language Fars News Agency.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the minister said the cyberspace should be ruled by laws and regulations, adding any country abides by a certain framework and specific standards in that regard.

“We won’t allow just any content to be published in this space (cyberspace),” the minister said.

He further said the cyberspace is transforming the future of governments across the globe.

“Now, we are speaking of digital economy as the fourth industrial revolution, so that society will learn what’s going on, but that’s no reason for us to give in to that and accept whatever they develop in this arena,” he noted.

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”

The minister said every effort will be made to adapt the whole infrastructure of the national information network to the decree of the Supreme Cyberspace Council in this regard.

He noted that Iran does not have the software to develop a search engine which can rival the ones such as Google.

“Due to a lack of political relations, search engines such as Google wouldn’t listen to us when it comes to the establishment of an internet system for children,” the minister noted.

He said it is necessary to have operating systems in the country to develop cell phones for children and control the phones imported into Iran.

Two Qatari Fishing Boats Seized in Iranian Waters

IFP Editorial Staff

February 21, 2018

The fishing boats were intercepted by local border guards, says the chief of the Border Guards Department in southern Hormozgan province.

Investigations conducted suggest the boats had entered Iranian waters for fishing.

Some 400 kilograms of fish were seized from them. Ten people have also been arrested in connection with the incident, according to media reports.

Iran Holds Vintage Car Rally

IFP Editorial Staff

February 20, 2018

The rally was held on February 15 and 16 between the capital Tehran and the historical village of Abyaneh in the central district of Natanz County, Isfahan province.
“The rally was aimed at promoting safe driving culture and domestic tourism, introducing our national and historical capacities and assets in the automotive industry, making the rally’s participants more familiar with the Tehran-Abyaneh route’s tourist attractions and preserving vintage vehicles,” the public relation of Iran’s Touring and Automobile Club said in a statement.

Head of Touring and Automobile Club, Salman Yarmohammadi, said Iran’s traffic laws ban some vintage vehicles from the roads and this has put them on the verge of ruin. “It’s up to us to prevent them from turning into a wreck by holding tourist rallies like Tehran-
Abyaneh rally and showcase them in special exhibitions.”

He went on to say vintage vehicles with over 25 years of age attended the rally which began on February 15 from Niavaran Cultural and Historical complex in Tehran. “Despite being old, the cars enjoyed appropriate technical features.”

According to Yarmohammadi, endurance of the drivers along the route, their decision-making skills to avoid crashes, ability to make correct routing and right navigation and capability of making accurate calculations to reach the control centres on time were among the main criteria to choose the final winner.

He said the rally was held in two parts. Having reached Abyaneh village, the drivers left behind the first day of the rally and prepared for the second part on February 16.

“On the second day, the drivers began their journey back to Tehran,” he concluded.

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