People in Tehran, delighted by the winter’s first heavy snowfall, have flocked to the streets to enjoy the snow, particularly by making snowmen and throwing snowballs to each other.
Here are photos of the snowy Tehran retrieved from various news agencies:
A member of IKIA’s board of directors told Tasnim that the flights to and from the international airport have resumed since Sunday morning.
He also noted that the Tehran-bound flights going to alternative airports in the cities of Isfahan and Mashhad, 450 km south and 920 northeast of Tehran respectively, can resume landing in Tehran.
According to Ali Rostami, the passengers stranded in Imam Khomeini International Airport have been accommodated in a hotel at the airport complex and provided with blankets and free servings.
After sweeping Iran’s west and north, a winter air mass lashed capital Tehran on Saturday night, grounding flights, shuttering schools, blocking highways, and above all surprising people to see heavy snowfall after ten years.
The snowstorm that has blanketed much of Iran’s western and northern parts has also caused power outages and rising gas consumption in some areas.
The snowfall has in the meantime raised hopes for better water reserves, as low precipitation had caused concerns about drought and a harsh summer in Iran.
In a Sunday statement, Qassemi pointed to the claims by King Abdullah II about an “Iranian crescent” and “Iran’s meddling in the region” and stressed that they are against the calls by the people and most countries of the Middle East for establishing lasting peace and security in the region.
“Such unfair statements cannot deny Iran’s stabilizing role, relentless efforts in fight against terrorism and its contribution to establishing security in the region.”
The spokesman went on to say uttering such remarks amid the critical and hard conditions of the region does not meet the interests of the regional governments and nations at all.
“Such remarks only benefit the ill-wishers, occupiers and aggressors who cannot put up with the peace, economic development, territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the states in this sensitive region of the world.”
He said as long as policies adopted in the region are against the public interests and there is no strong will to trace and eradicate the root causes of the current crises and tensions, there will be no bright prospect for lasting stability and security in the Middle East.
The spokesman also touched on new initiatives by the Islamic Republic to establish an environment free from tensions among the regional states including the establishment of an assembly for regional dialogue in the Persian Gulf.
“The principal, lasting and unchangeable policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been based on contributing to regional peace, stability and security,” he said, adding that Iran spares no efforts to invite other states to dialogue and prepare the ground for putting an end to the regional plight and problems.
Qassemi also said the Islamic Republic will continue to invite regional states to constructive dialogue with a focus on constructive outcomes in order to clear up misunderstandings and start multilateral cooperation among the states of the region.
“We have always welcomed any positive and stabilizing initiatives with the aim of further strengthening peace and stability in the region,” he concluded.
Qassemi’s statement came after King Abdullah II accused Iran of meddling in a number of Arab countries’ affairs on Friday.
He told CNN that Saudi Arabia was not the only country concerned about Iran’s “destabilizing activities, but also all states in the region, especially after we saw the repercussions of these policies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.”
The Jordanian monarch also claimed he did not believe that Iran would change its foreign policy, which was adopted decades ago.
A senior media official of the Yemeni Ansarullah movement has underlined that the key to settling the crisis gripping the country is in the hands of the coalition of countries which has launched aggression against Yemen and has destroyed all available mechanisms for talks.
Abdolquds al-Shahari also criticized the role of former UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmad, saying he was more like a representative of the Saudi-led coalition rather than an impartial person, reported the Persian-language Fars News Agency.
Fars also quoted al-Shahari as telling Sputnik that he is optimistic about changes in Yemen, given the UN choosing a new pointman on Yemen as well as signs that fresh talks are going to kick off in Oman.
He underscored that big countries have differences and disputes over the Yemen crisis, but seek to work out solutions to the crisis in such a way that their interests are not affected. However, he added, the solution to the crisis should be an intra-Yemeni one which is not swayed by regional and foreign pressure.
Al-Shahari also spoke of a new type of missile which, he added, will probably change the military trend of war in the future phase.
He underlined that Ansarullah is a peace dove and has given numerous concessions to help work out a solution to the Yemen crisis. Nevertheless, he added, major countries in the region and in the world do not see eye to eye on the crisis and seek to agree upon solutions that would not impact on their interests.
The Ansarullah movement targeted the Yamamah Palace in Riyadh recently with a ballistic missile, marking the 1000th day since Saudi Arabia launched its aggression on Yemen.
The missile was fired at a time when Saudi officials were at a meeting in the west of Riyadh. The firing of the projectile had a message: More than 1000 days on since the start of the Saudi attacks, Ansarullah is now capable of precisely identifying and striking Saudi targets.
After US media carried reports on Yemen’s missile power and claimed that the fired missile had been Iranian-made, some analysts warned that if the Yemenis have managed to develop missiles with a range of more than 1,300 kilometers, that means they have not only managed to modernize their old missiles, but produced new ones as well. So, it can be concluded that they have enough missiles in their depots to be able to strike future targets. A statement released by the Yemen arm makes the threat that Saudi economic and oil centers will be the next targets.
During the Sunday meeting, the two sides discussed the latest developments in Iraq, the importance of promoting stability and security in this country, and the need to continue to confront the remnants of ISIS elements.
Zarif and Kubiš also conferred on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iraq and the need for the participation of all political groups and parties in the elections.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Iraq on 12 May 2018. The elections decide the 328 members of the Council of Representatives who will in turn elect the Iraqi President and Prime Minister.
Almost all newspapers today dedicated their front pages to the heavy snowfall in Tehran and Alborz provinces, which covered the capital in snow and made people happy after several dry months.
Also a top story was the tragic terrorist attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul which killed and wounded dozens of people on Saturday.
The above issues, as well as many more, are highlighted in the following headlines and top stories:
19 Dey:
1- Iran Finally Blanketed in Snow
2- Health Minister: Annual Costs of Cancer in Iran Almost $1 Trillion
Abrar:
1- 95 Killed, 155 Wounded in Taliban’s Suicide Attack in Kabul
2- Alwaleed bin Talal Released
3- Russia: We’ll Retaliate US Sanctions
Afkar:
1- The Forgotten People: MP Says Majority of Quake-Hit People Don’t Have Conex
Aftab-e Yazd:
1- Iran Leader: Students Must Prepare Themselves for Current Time’s Developments
Arman-e Emrooz:
1- MP Urges Rouhani to Decrease His Distance from Reformists
Ebtekar:
1- Princes Surrender to Crown Prince
Etemad:
1- Oil Money Not Missing
Ettela’at:
1- Iran First VP: Average Age of Executive Managers Must Decrease by 8 Years
Iran:
1- Happiness of Precipitation: Snowfall, Rainfall across Iran Make People Smile
2- Bloody Attack on Heart of Kabul
Javan:
1- Ansarullah: Our New Missile to Change Direction of War
2- 13th Terrorist Attack Hits Afghanistan after Trump’s Strategy Announcement
3- IRGC Clashes with ISIS in Western Iran
Jomhouri Eslami:
1- Iran First VP: Iran Top Producer of Sponge Iron in World
2- Iraqi People Outraged by New US Crime
Kayhan:
1- Gov’t Talking of Transparency despite Its 80% Offences in Past Year’s Budget
2- Farms Happy with Snowfall as Mountains Covered with Heavy Snow
3- Middle East Eye: Conditions in Saudi Arabia Ready for Islamic Revolution
Khorasan:
1- Iran Army to Withdraw from Economic Activities by 2019
Resalat:
1- Systematic Violation of Human Rights in Bahrain
Shargh:
1- MPs to Visit Evin Prison
Sobh-e Now:
1- 16 ISIS Members Arrested by IRGC
The destroyer, which reportedly sank on Sunday, January 28, had crashed with Anzali Port’s jetty on January 10 and suffered minor damages when docking at the port.
Increasing wind speed and severe storm in the Caspian Sea was the cause of the crash; however, the Navy had declared it would be repaired in a short time.
Damavand, a 100-metre-long destroyer weighing more than 1300 tons, officially joined the Navy’s northern fleet in the Caspian Sea in March 2015.
More than 700 industrial, research and academic Iranian centres cooperated in designing and producing the military vessel, which was also a training warship.
Experts at Iran’s Defence Ministry had installed 25 homegrown electronics and communication systems on Damavand, including advanced naval radars and systems for communication, detection and interception.
Damavand was a Jamaran-class destroyer with unique features to meet the demands of the Iranian naval forces in the country’s northern waters.
The advanced destroyer was capable of tracking aerial, surface and sub-surface targets simultaneously.
In an address to a meeting in the southwestern province of Fars, Jahangiri said over $30 billion of the MoUs have already turned into inter-banking contracts.
“We need to take more advantages of foreign resources for further investments in Iran to press ahead with our projects,” he said, as quoted in a Farsi report by IRNA.
He cited the JCPOA as an international accord and said, “Unfortunately, instead of helping Iran reap the benefits of the deal, some groups spare no efforts to hamper its implementation.”
He blamed the US for hampering the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers and said the JCPOA can be used for further development of Iran.
“Our main economic, social, regional and international problems are deeply rooted in politics and we should not waste our time by looking for over-complicated economic and social solutions,” he noted.
He called the Middle East a region filled with “chaos” and added most of the regional problems cannot be resolved without Iran’s contribution.
“Even the US with its deep animosity towards Iran knows it well that to tackle its regional problems it needs to hold talks with Iran,” he added.
He referred to US President Donald Trump’s undiplomatic remarks and behaviours and added the Zionist lobby in the US is seeking to use Trump to inflict blows on Iran.
Jahangiri underlined that Iran is capable of leaving behind regional and international crises by drawing on its human resources and transit capacities.
He called Iran a safe hub for investment and said the enemies can’t hamper Iran’s progress in the region.
Addressing the group of protesters on Saturday, National Policy and Advocacy Director Lakshmi Sridaran reported that hate violence in the US increased by 45 percent “from the year before leading up to the presidential election cycle.”
President of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) Mark Hatfield called Trump’s travel ban “the ultimate insult to those who perished in the Holocaust.”
Trump signed an executive order on January 27, 2017, banning citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the US. The order was met with nationwide protests and court moves to block the ban.
The US Supreme Court plans to issue a final ruling in late June on the legality of the latest version of the ban, which affects residents from six countries (Iran, Chad, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen) instead of the original seven.
147 plays from Iran and other countries are being performed during the event, which will be running until January 29.
The festival kicked off on January 18 with the motto of “The Celebration of Dialogue in Iran’s Theatre” and will come to an end by honouring top performances at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall.
The festival is organized by the General Office of Performing Arts at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the Iranian Dramatic Arts Association and the International Theatre Institute (ITI).
It includes sections like Theatre of Iran, International Theatre, Iran Theatre Contest, International Theatre Competition, Posters, Visual Identity, Photo Competition, etc.
The countries participating in the 36th Fajr Theatre Festival include Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Brazil, Georgia, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland and Greece.
Fajr International Theatre Festival (est. 1983) occurs annually in Iran, featuring local and international theatrical works and performers.
Here are photos of street theatres performed in the Iranian capital during the festival:
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