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Iran Signs $2 Billion Rail Deal with India

Iran Congratulates India on Republic Day

The agreement was inked Friday in India’s capital New Delhi in the presence of Abbas Akhoundi, Iran’s minister of roads and urban development, and his Indian counterpart Nitin Gadkari, the report said, according to Xinhua news agency.

The deal included a memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth 600 million dollars that will enable Iran to purchase locomotives and freight cars from India.

Akhoundi said the project will be fully implemented within three years.

For his part, Gadkari said the new trains will help transport passengers and freight in Iran.

“They will also be used in the Chabahar-Zahedan railroad to accelerate development of the Chabahar Port in line with India’s goal to connect to Central Asia and ultimately Europe through this Iranian port,” he said.

Iran and India, two major members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), have increased efforts in recent years to establish closer trade ties.

India is one of the major customers of Iran’s crude oil.

Iran Will Never Allow IAEA to Inspect Military Sites: Spokesman

Behrouz Kamalvandi made the remarks on Sunday, in response to US threats over scraping Iran’s nuclear deal or inspection of the sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“No one in Iran will permit the IAEA access to military sites, such access is not part of the nuclear deal, the additional protocol or its safeguard agreement,” Kamalvandi (seen below) stressed.

The AEOI spokesman went on to note that no nuclear activities are being carried out in his country’s military sites, while reiterating Tehran’s stance that the country’s defensive capabilities are non-negotiable.

He also noted that Iran is in complete compliance with the IAEA, a fact which has on multiple occasions been confirmed by the agency.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump extended waivers of economic sanctions on Iran for another 120 days but said he was doing so “for the last time.”

Trump said he wanted Congress to pass a bill requiring “timely, sufficient, and immediate inspections” at all sites by inspectors of IAEA, and the indefinite extension of limits on Iran’s uranium enrichment and other nuclear activities.

Following Trump’s announcement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced that the country will commit to no obligation beyond those it has already agreed to under the international nuclear deal.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

Iran Leader Expresses Sympathy over Oil Tanker Tragedy

Ayatollah Khamenei: ‘Housekeeping Involves Bringing Up Cosmos’ Most Majestic Product’

In his Sunday message, the Leader expressed his “sincere condolences to the bereaved families and relatives of the sailors who died after their oil tanker [Sanchi] caught fire and sank.”

Ayatollah Khamenei described the incident as a bitter, heart-wrenching, truly catastrophic and saddening one, and besought God Almighty “to bring consolation and peace upon their sorrowful hearts.”

“Those loved ones lost their lives in the line of duty and while serving their country, and this is a great honour which may alleviate the burden of this grief and console the hearts of those affected,” the Leader added.

“I ask God Almighty for mercy and blessing [upon the souls] of them (the victims) and fortitude and reward for their survivors,” he noted.

The Leader’s message came as the country will observe a day of national mourning on Monday, according to a decision by President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet.

Iranian oil tanker Sanchi caught fire last Saturday night after it collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter carrying wheat from the US, about 160 nautical miles east of the Yangtze estuary.

Despite efforts by rescue teams during the past week, only three bodies were recovered from the ship, and the fate of the remaining sailors remained unclear. Those efforts were hampered because of the scale of the fire and heat.

The vessel finally fully sank on Sunday, January 14, and all hopes for finding the missing people faded.

Available evidence indicates that all crew members died soon after it collided with another vessel and a powerful blast ensued.

Mohammad Rastad, a spokesman for the Special Task Force established over the incident, said on Saturday that there was no hope to find the crew members alive.

Thirty two crew members were on board, comprising 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.

Saudi Arabia Restricts Entry of Lonely Women

In a meeting between the representatives of Saudi Interior Ministry and members of the country’s Tourism and National Heritage Commission, the participants developed a draft law which limits the visit of women tourists to the country.

According to the draft law, women under 25 have to be accompanied by a family member if they want to visit the kingdom, a Farsi report by ISNA said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, women above 25 need to be a member of a tour recognized by the tourism agencies.

To bring a lonely female tourist to Saudi Arabia, foreign tourism agencies must earlier receive the required certificates from their own countries.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabian National Tourism Agency as well as other tourism agencies working in the country need to receive the required certificates from the Tourism and National Heritage Commission to bring women tourists to the kingdom.

According to the new law, all tourist visas will be issued only after the date, duration and residence of the tours are finalized. The tourists should also respect all the laws and traditions of Saudi Arabia.

If a tourist is lost in Saudi Arabia for more than 24 hours, the tour guide has to report the missing to the officials, the draft law said.

Meanwhile, the law added that if a tourism agency decides to cancel a tour with at least 100 tourists after their visas are issued, the Saudi government will nullify the agency’s work permit.

Belgium Centre for Fine Arts to Pay Tribute to Abbas Kiarostami

Kiarostami

The films “24 Frames” and “Take Me Home” by Kiarostami will be screened by the centre on January 16. They will also screen a documentary film named “76 Minutes and 15 Seconds with Kiarostami” by Iranian filmmaker Seifollah Samadian on January 25.

According to a Farsi report by ILNA, Agnès Devictor, an expert on the Iranian cinema, and her husband Jean-Michel Frodon, will talk about Kiarostami’s movies during the ceremony.

Abbas Kiarostami was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer and film producer who died in 2016. An active film-maker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries.

Kiarostami attained critical acclaim for directing the Koker trilogy (1987–94), Close-Up (1990), Taste of Cherry (1997) – which was awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival that year – and The Wind Will Carry Us (1999). In his later works, Certified Copy (2010) and Like Someone in Love (2012), he filmed for the first time outside Iran: in Italy and Japan, respectively.

He was also a poet, photographer, painter, illustrator, and graphic designer. He was part of a generation of filmmakers in the Iranian New Wave, a Persian cinema movement that started in the late 1960s.

Iran to Take Part in Spain Int’l Tourism Fair

During the 38th round of Fitur fair, Iran will put on display its latest achievements and capacities in the field of tourism.

Iran’s Ambassador to Madrid Mohammad Hassan Fadaeifar said Iran will have a strong presence in Madrid Tourism Fair, a Farsi report by ISNA said on Saturday.

“Iran’s booth is always among the most-visited booths of the exhibition,” he said, adding that each year the participant countries showcase their latest achievements and innovations in tourism field.

The ambassador also said during the exhibition, the participants will also exchanges knowledge and explore grounds for establishing bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

“This year, under the patronage of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) as well as a number of tourism organizations, 23 Iranian tourism companies will take part in Fitur in Madrid,” he said.

Iran’s Vice-President and the ICHTO Chief Ali Asghar Moonesan will also travel to Madrid to visit the exhibition.

During his stay in Madrid, Moonesan will visit the latest achievements in the exhibition and hold talks with his Spanish counterpart as well as officials in tourism field of other participant countries. He is also expected to meet the head of hotel-owners association of Spain.

According to Fadaeifar, Iran and Spain have doubled their exchange of tourists by facilitating the visa regime and establishing direct flight routes between Iran and Spain.

He expressed hope that a direct flight be established between Tehran and Madrid to help the tourists of both sides to visit the other country more easily.

Fitur is one of the most significant fairs in the field of tourism across the world which is held annually on a 65,000-square-metre land in Madrid. It is attended by at least 10,000 companies from 165 countries. Estimates say that each year about 245,000 people including 134,000 specialists on average visit the exhibition.

By attracting about 82 million visitors and achieving 87 billion euros in 2017, Spain managed to rank second among the most-visited countries in the world.

President Rouhani Offers Condolences over Deaths of Iranian Seafarers

In a message on Sunday, Rouhani said the heartbreaking incident for the Iranian oil tanker in Eastern China waters, which killed all its crew members and personnel, saddened the entire Iranian nation.

He offered his sincere sympathy, and condoled with the great nation of Iran, particularly the bereaved families of the victims, from the bottom of his heart.

The Iranian president wished patience and health for the survivors, and peace for the innocent victims, who were key to the Iranian economy and national might.

“It is now necessary to focus all efforts on identifying the bodies of the victims and decrease the pains of their bereaved families,” he added.

He at the same time urged all relevant bodies, including the ministries of Roads and Urban Development, Petroleum, and Foreign Affairs, to probe into the tragic incident and legally pursue the issue to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents.

Iranian oil tanker Sanchi caught fire last Saturday night after it collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter carrying wheat from the US, about 160 nautical miles east of the Yangtze estuary.

Despite efforts by rescue teams during the past week, only three bodies were recovered from the ship, and the fate of the remaining sailors remained unclear. Those efforts were hampered because of the scale of the fire and heat.

The vessel finally fully sank on Sunday, January 14, and all hopes for finding the missing people faded.

Available evidence indicates that all crew members died soon after it collided with another vessel and a powerful blast ensued.

Mohammad Rastad, a spokesman for the Special Task Force established over the incident, said on Saturday that there was no hope to find the crew members alive.

Thirty two crew members were on board, comprising 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.

President Rouhani Offers Condolences over Deaths of Iranian SeafarersThe list of their names and occupations follows:

1- Majid Ghassabi Orouji – Captain

2- Farid Mohebbi – Chief Engineer

3- Majid Naqiyan – First Officer

4- Hossein Jahani Helabad – Second Officer

5- Ehsan Aboli Qassem-Abadi – Second Officer

6- Milad Enayati – Third Officer

7- Hamed Bahari – Second Engineer

8- Mohammad-Reza Rezazadeh Masouleh – Third Engineer

9- Mahdi Sadegi – Third Engineer

10- Hassan Roumiani – Fourth Engineer

11- Mohammad Kavousi Takab – Procurement Officer

12- Bahram Ettehad – Electricity Officer

13- Abdolghani Sameri – Chief Sailor

14- Abouzar Nezami – Assitant Chief Sailor

15- Seyyed Javad Heydari – First Sailor

16- Mohammad Sajeb Ali-Miridha – First Sailor

17- Mohammad-Haroun Rashid – First Sailor

18- Alireza Najafifar – Second Sailor

19- Ali Heydariyeh Kohan – Second Sailor

20- Bahram Pouryani – Mechanic

21- Yavar Afshari – Lube Technician

22- Milad Arvi – Lube Technician

23- Moslem Alizadeh Nodehi – Lube Technician

24- Abdolkarim Besharatipour – Chef

25- Omid Ziyaei – Assistant Chef

26- Ayyub Mozaffari Abdgah – Attendant

27- Ehsan Faraji – Attendant

28- Saeid Dehqani – Apprentice

29- Pourya Eydipour – Apprentice

30- Sajjad Abdollahi – Apprentice

31- Mohammad Piryaei – Apprentice

32- Saghi Fa’al – Wife of Hossein Jahani Helabad

Entire World Unanimously Stands against US: Iran President

Addressing the closing ceremony of the 9th Farabi International Award, Rouhani said the US suffered defeats in two fronts during the past weeks.

“Their first defeat came when they wanted to stand against the world’s public opinion and violate an international commitment,” he noted.

“In the past few days they aimed not to comply with their international commitments, but you saw that many countries stood against it. All countries in the world, except one or two hated regimes, unanimously stood against them,” noted Rouhani.

The Iranian president further mentioned that if the obligations are not respected, it is the end of civilization era in the societies and the world.

“While science and industry develops but the international regulations, religious values, and norms are not respected, and a state does not accept to comply with the commitments of its previous administration, then no commitment would be made anymore.”

Expressing his satisfaction with the failure of the White House to overturn international obligations and wriggle out of commitments to the UN Security Council resolutions, Rouhani said, “This is a great victory for humanity, ethics and law.”

He further noted that with the nuclear deal, we have told the world that the complicated regional and international problems can be resolved at the negotiating table.”

Therefore, he added, this agreement will be maintained forever.

“We proved that the world’s problems can be resolved at the negotiation table. We proved that Iran is honest and our enemies are lying and Iran has never been looking for a nuclear weapon. This has been proven during the negotiations and all inspections, and the IAEA has confirmed it by consensus.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani highlighted that when the IAEA announces the PMD as a complex technical and international case is terminated, it means that Iran has been honest and its enemies have been lying; therefore, this victory remains forever.

The president stressed that the Islamic Republic was working to make the world understand that Iran has the right to continue its nuclear research and development.

“This was something that they had previously banned the Islamic Republic from having access to because of what they were calling Iran’s violations. However, through the negotiations held by all countries and a resolution, the UN admitted that Iran has the right to continue its research and development, and this victory is secured and cannot be ruled out.”

Rouhani also stated that some still do not touch on all aspects of the JCPOA.

“The nuclear deal has some permanent effects that will remain in force forever, but it has some other effects that may or may not remain.”

He went on to say that when the implementation of the deal began on January 16, 2016, the country’s oil revenues have doubled and this is not reversible.

“We also had hundreds of foreign investments. These investments have been made in factories, enterprises, power plants, ports, locomotives and aircraft, and they are irreversible.”

The president added that “our diplomats sealed an agreement that had some deficiencies, but was an accord that Donald Trump has not been able to break down since more than a year ago. This proves the solidity of the deal and the victory of the international obligations against dictatorship.”

Referring to the recent protests in Iran, the president cited the second defeat of the US in its intervention in Iran’s internal affairs.

“Fortunately, Washington suffered defeat both in its intervention in Iran’s internal affairs and also in the case of nuclear deal and the Iranian nation emerged victorious in both,” added Rouhani.

Beautiful Sky of Iran’s Oroumiyeh at Nights

Despite the expansion of urbanization at the present time, the sky of Oroumiyeh display a very beautiful and spectacular scenery.

Here are IRNA’s photos of the Iranian city’s beautiful nights:

Iran Parliament Speaker Rejects Any Changes to Nuclear Deal

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the country’s legislature does not accept any changes in the structure of the nuclear deal that Tehran signed with six world powers in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The top parliamentarian made the comment in reaction to recent remarks by US President Donald Trump who said Washington would pull out of the deal unless changes were made to the agreement.

Larijani said Trump’s speaking of changes would amount to the scuttling of the whole JCPOA, reported the Persian-language Mehr News Agency.

“If they (the Americans) have such thoughts in mind, they needn’t wait for several more months, and they must know that they will end up in failure,” said Larijani.

The speaker also lashed out at the United States for slapping sanctions on some Iranian natural and legal persons.

“The United States’ eccentric behaviour in this regard is such that sanctions have cost the individuals [who are under sanctions] their reputation,” Larijani said.

He also noted that Washington’s excessive demands coupled with its business-like policies have had a negative impact on diplomatic relations.