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Saudis Dissatisfied with Iran-Oman Deal to Lift Visa: MP

Masoud Goodarzi, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said close and tension-free relations between Iran and Oman prompted the two sides to lift visa regime with the aim of facilitating the reciprocal visits of Iranian and Omani businessmen.

“It goes without saying that some countries like Saudi Arabia are not satisfied with the expansion of Iran-Oman ties,” he was quoted as saying in a Farsi interview with ICANA on Monday.

The lawmaker added the deal to remove visa requirements between Iran and Oman is to be implemented in the near future.

Goodarzi went on to say the Islamic Republic intends to sign visa facilitation deals with more countries. “Our priority is to sign the deal with those states which have good and mutually beneficial relations with Iran in politics and economy.”

He underlined that Oman is one of the regional countries which has had good economic exchanges with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“In the economic field, Oman has been among the countries which unlike others, maintained their relations with Iran when Tehran was under international sanctions,” he noted.

Goodarzi said Oman has had good economic relations with the southern regions of Iran particularly Hormozgan province. “On the other hand, there are many Iranian nationals living in Oman and the new deal to lift visa regime can pave the way for further expansion of ties between two sides.”

Iran’s Beauties in Photos: Fiery Mount of Ramhormoz

Tashkooh, which is also called Atashkooh (literally Fire Moumtain), is known for its permanent flames. The mount is one of the tourist attractions of Khuzestan province that is registered as a national heritage.

According to experts, this mount is always fiery because of the sulfur vapors rising from the porous layer of mountain surface. At night, its light is more visible. The interesting point is that due to the existence of gas in the air, you cannot light a fire near the mount.

Here are photos of the mountain retrieved from various sources:

Iran Probing into Haley’s Claim about Yemeni Missile

“Iranian technicians are studying the claim made by US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley that Iran supplied Yemen’s Ansarullah [movement] with weapons,” said Iran’s Defence Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami.

According to a report by the Persian-language Tasnim News Agency, he said the Iranian defence apparatus has filed a complaint, “so that we can complain to the UN in this regard for transparency.”

“The enemies of the Islamic Republic can make any claim, but now that the complaint is filed, the Islamic Republic demands a part of those missiles be handed over to Iran, so that Iran can study it and announce its final viewpoint,” he noted.

He said Iran cannot respond to Haley’s claim from a distance and without having reviewed it first.

“So, Iran’s complaint will soon be referred to the UN in the form of a request,” the defence chief said.

Saudis Slam New York Times for Publishing Iran FM’s Op-Ed

Writing in Arabic on his Twitter page, Faisal bin Farhan, a “senior advisor” at Saudi Arabia’s Washington Embassy, said the Saudi envoy had recently asked to write a piece for The New York Times but received what was a polite but unmistakably chilling response.

“The response was an apology on the grounds that the article by Thomas Friedman was very positive, so there is no need for an official Saudi voice on their pages,” Faisal bin Farhan wrote, referring to a feature article by Friedman, a foreign affairs columnist at the daily, in which he portrayed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a curiously positive light.

“Their exact words were: ‘Wasn’t the Friedman piece’ enough for you?'” continued Faisal bin Farhan, who couldn’t conceal his emotions: “Of course a week later, an article was published by Javad Zarif.”

The article by Friedman was widely criticized for crudely depicting the Saudi crown prince as a “reformer.” Critics said the piece fell short of meeting The New York Times‘ often high standards and Friedman, who interviewed Mohammed bin Salman over “lamb dishes” and surrounded by his loyalists, was too comfortably charmed by the Saudis.

Foreign Minister Zarif of Iran, abundantly media-savvy and fluent in English, has been prominently featured on the pages of The New York Times and on many other leading American media outlets on numerous occasions.

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on November 5

The severe air pollution in Tehran and other big cities of Iran was the top story in several newspapers today. The pollution has led to the shut-down of schools in many Iranian cities on Monday, and is expected to get worse on Tuesday.

The controversies over the budget proposed by the Rouhani government for the next fiscal year also continued to grab headlines. Iranian lawmakers are also under fire for sharply raising their wages in the next year’s budget.

The issue of Jerusalem al-Quds and the protest rallies held across the world against the US president’s controversial decision also remained a top story today.

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

 

Aftab-e Yazd:

1- A Report on Alleged Increase in MPs’ Salaries

  • Lawmakers Not Satisfied with Their Wages

2- Tehran City Council Chairman: Number of Subway Vendors More than Passengers!

3- Top Sunni Cleric: Don’t Attack Rouhani

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18


 

Arman-e Emrooz:

1- Erdogan: Turkish Embassy to Be Opened in East Jerusalem

2- Ahmadinejad Threatens Judiciary Chief

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18


 

Etemad:

1- Clash in Iran Parliament over Vetting Role of Guardian Council

2- Bad Performance, Main Problem of Iranian Music: Musicians

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18


 

Ettela’at:

1- Shutdown: Most Important Decision to Counter Air Pollution!

2- Intelligence Minister: Sustainable Security Prerequisite of Investment, Development

3- Environment Chief: People Have Low General Knowledge about Environmental Protection

4- Interior Minister: Smuggling Contraband Goods Using Porters to Be Stopped

5- UNSC Puts on Vote Resolution to Condemn Trump’s Decision on Al-Quds

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18


 

Iran:

1- Alarm of Pollution: All Schools in Tehran, Tabriz, Urmia Closed Down

2- Business of Contraband Porters in Border Bazaars

3- Building Construction on Faults to Be Banned in Tehran, 10 Other Cities

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18


 

Javan:

1- Cash Subsidies of 30 Million Iranians to Be Cut

2- Saudi FM: We Have Roadmap for Normalising Ties with Israel

3- Pupils’ Suffering Caused by Smoke of Adults’ Cars

4- ISIS Now in Pakistan: Quetta’s Bloody Attack One Day after Pentagon Report

5- Those Who Created Current Situation Now Turn into Opponents of Rouhani’s Gov’t!

  • Reformist MPs Start Criticising Rouhani

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18


 

Jomhouri Eslami:

1- Iran Air CEO: Airbus to Finance Purchase of New Planes

2- Massive Rallies against Trump’s Decision on al-Quds in US, Other Countries

3- Spokesman: Gov’t Ready to Modify Increase of Taxes, Fuel Prices in Next Budget

4- Saudi Jet Fighters Turn Wedding Ceremony in Yemen into Funeral

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18


 

Kayhan:

1- Advocates of Reformism to Leave Gov’t Alone to Evade Accountability

2- Even US Media Ridicule Haley’s Propaganda Show

3- Hezbollah: Impact of Palestinian Children’s Stones More than Arab Countries’ Summits

4- Gov’t Approves Plan to Increase Petrol Price: Senior Official

5- Al Saud Paints Its Dream of Confronting Iran in Animated Clip!

6- Gov’t Spokesman’s Late Confession: Foreign Revenues Not Transferred into Iran

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18


 

Khorasan:

1- Development of Public Transportation, Precondition for Increase in Fuel Price

2- Reformist MP’s Controversial Speech Leads to Tension in Parliament

3- Unofficial Reports of Increase in Prices of Petrol, Gasoline

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18


 

Shargh:

1- Thousands of Trouble-Making Emails Disclosed on Russia Case

2- How Much Salary Does Each MP Receive? A Report on Complicated Equation of Parliament

3- Five People Have Received Illegal Permissions to Import 5,000 Cars

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18


 

Vatan-e Emrooz:

1- Ayatollah Javadi Amoli: Quran Says Signatures, Deals of Infidels Cannot Be Trusted

2- Velayati: French President Turned into Trump’s Flunkey in Europe

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 18

 

TV Interview Left Unfinished after Israel Kills Disabled Palestinian

Ibrahim Abu Soraya was the guest of a Palestinian TV channel for an interview on the Palestinians’ outrage at the latest US provocative decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital; however, the interview was left unfinished after Israeli forces killed him during an anti-US rally in the Gaza Strip.

During protests against the US’ decision on the second Friday of rage in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces killed at least four Palestinians including Abu Soraya, a Farsi report by Fars New Agency said.

Abu Soraya who had lost his two legs earlier during a Palestinian war against Israel was shot dead on the head by an Israeli sniper during a rally in the impoverished enclave.

Palestine TV had a short interview with Abu Soraya on Friday before the anti-US rally began. During the interview, Abu Soraya underlined he would take part in the rally and fight for the liberation of Jerusalem al-Quds from the Zionists.

Following the interview conducted at Abu Soraya’s home, the Palestine TV reporter said his crew would follow Abu Soraya during the rally and continue the interview on the street. But with the death of Abu Soraya, 29, the interview remained unfinished.

On December 6, Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital and relocate the US embassy in the occupied territories from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.

The dramatic shift in Washington’s policy triggered demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco and several other Muslim countries.

Jerusalem al-Quds remains at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Palestinians hoping that the eastern part of the city would eventually serve as the capital of a future independent Palestinian state.

Iran, Qatar to Boost Banking Relations

The Persian-language Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) has, in an article, expounded on the growing banking relations between Iran and Qatar. The highlights of the article follows.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition severed its diplomatic ties with Qatar in early 2017, prompting Doha to open up its markets to regional exporters such as Iran and Turkey. Qatar’s food imports amount to around $3 billion a year. A third of that used to be imported directly from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before economic sanctions were slapped on Doha.

Still, a lack of banking relations between Iran and Qatar was the key impediment to Iranian exporters’ strong presence in Qatar’s markets. So, the improvement of mutual banking ties has been on the agenda of talks between the two countries over the past seven months.

Accordingly, Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al-Thani, the governor of the Central Bank of Qatar, sat down with Director of the Iranian Association of Private Banks and Credit Institutes Kourosh Parvizian and a host of Iranian bank managers.

In the meeting held in Qatar, Al Thani said the prospects of Iran-Qatar banking cooperation look bright. He said Qatari banks will make every effort to remove the obstacles to the promotion of banking cooperation between the two sides as soon as possible.

Parvizian, in turn, thanked the Central Bank of Qatar for hosting the meeting, and added, “Recently, several Iranian private banks have established a fiduciary relationship with the Qatar National Bank, have opened their accounts and stand ready to offer services to Iranian and Qatari businessmen.

In the meeting, the Qatari side said it will put on its agenda plans to remove the existing impediments to promotion of mutual banking relations.

Another meeting was also held between bank authorities from both countries. In the meeting, they proposed that banking transactions between the two countries be conducted with regional currencies rather than other monetary units such as the Euro.

Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari says Tehran-Doha trade currently stands at less than $1 billion, which is planned to reach $5 billion.

Remnants of Ancient Human Unearthed in Central Iran

Head of the Archaeological Excavation Department of Hamadan Province Mohammad Sha’bani said this is the oldest body unearthed in the province.

“The body belongs to a 10-year-old child,” he was quoted as saying in a Farsi report by IRNA.

According to Sha’bani, archaeologists have also unearthed another corpse, and will continue investigating into the new discovery.

“The newly discovered bodies lack any historical belongings,” Sha’bani said, adding during their search operations, the archaeologists have uncovered a column base dating back to an ancient age – possibly Seleucid era – and an oil crack.

Hamadan has been home to one of the oldest civilisations in the world. The remains of an ancient city were unearthed by archaeologists in Hamadan province about five months ago. The series of underground subterranean tunnels dating back more than 2,000 years were discovered near Samen. The tunnels connect 25 rooms that served as houses around the time Jesus Christ would have lived.

Back in October, Iranian archaeologists started investigating two ancient skeletons of a man and a woman discovered in Hamadan. The skeletons were discovered while municipality workers were working on a project to renew water networks. During the digging process, they found two stone boxes similar to coffins.

The historical pieces grabbed the headlines as the most significant signs of Iran’s long history and civilisation. The archaeologists are proceeding with their excavation operations in the region.

Officials are working on a plan to establish a website showcasing the unearthed historic pieces from the region.

Studies on the skeletons had revealed that they belong to the Parthian era, over 2000 years ago.

Iran to Host Meeting of OIC Parliaments on Palestine

Participants at the Monday meeting are scheduled to discuss the latest developments in Palestine following US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s “capital.”

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani will deliver a speech at the meeting.

On December 6, the US president defied global warnings and said Washington formally recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and would begin the process of moving its embassy to the occupied city, breaking with decades of American policy.

Trump’s declaration has sent shock waves throughout the Muslim world, and even prompted warnings from Washington’s allies in the West that it would bring more chaos to the region.

The dramatic shift in Washington’s policy vis-à-vis the city triggered demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco and other Muslim countries.

Representatives from 57 OIC members attended an urgent summit in Istanbul on December 13 on Washington’s contentious declaration on Jerusalem al-Quds.

Jerusalem al-Quds is under Israel’s control. The international community views the regime’s grip on the eastern part of the city, which came after the Six-Day War of 1967, as illegal, and urges talks to decide the fate of the entire city in any future peace deal.

Jerusalem al-Quds remains at the core of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, with Palestinians hoping that the eastern part of the city would eventually serve as the capital of a future independent Palestinian state.

Iranian “Queen of Snakes” Breaks Record of Kissing Forked Tongues

The story goes back to fifteen years ago, when Faezeh was only seven. Her father read the story of a Chinese girl’s kiss on the head of a poisonous snake in a newspaper, and was encouraged to register Faezeh’s name in the Guinness Book of Records. Faezeh’s father also held the title of “Iran’s Sultan of Snakes” at that time. In fact, he took a brave decision and encouraged his seven-year-old kid to kiss the tongue of a Cobra; a dreadful creature that no antidotes have been discovered for its poison yet!

This was the beginning for a girl, who had become friend with the snakes since she was three, and finally at the age of seven she set a Guinness record.

Little Faezeh was accompanying her father from a city to another to display snakes to the people. When she was 11, the daredevil girl could play with different species of poisonous snakes along with her younger brother for 12 hours in a small aquarium without any problems. Many people assume snakes may become friends with their owners, but the reality is that snakes never can be tamed, and this little girl has experienced snake bites repeatedly.

In a Farsi interview with the Shahrvand newspaper, she has talked about her strange life and her amazing experience in dealing with snakes. “Iran’s Queen of Snakes” is now 20 and is studying psychology at Shahrekord University.

When did you start to feel comfortable with snakes?

Since the age of three, I began to know the snakes and communicate with them. However, after my record at the age of seven, I felt I could become more involved with this creature.

Weren’t you scared when you wanted to kiss the tip of a snake’s tongue for the first time?

At that time I was seven, so I was not afraid of the snakes, as I was curious about animals, especially snakes. My father’s teachings also helped me not to be afraid of the snakes. As far as I remember, I was very eager to set a Guinness record and show everyone what a Bakhtiari girl is like (Bakhtiari is an Iranian tribe).

Apart from that record, you’ve spent 12 hours with snakes. In that 12 hours, were you feeling any fear or something?

Iranian “Queen of Snakes” Breaks Record of Kissing Forked TonguesAt the age of 11, along with my 6-year-old brother, we spent 12 hours in an aquarium with 30 poisonous snakes. My father is an experienced person. When we were at the aquarium he was there, and if something happened, he could help very soon. Of course, you should keep in mind that we had been trained for a long time, and as I was older than my brother, the space inside the aquarium was under my control. I was talking to my brother telling him about my first record, or about the nature and beauties of the snakes. In this way, I calmed him, and we played with snakes not to let them feel we are scared. Because in 50% of the cases snakes bite when they feel you are terrified.

Have you ever been bitten?

Yes. Snake are wild animals and cannot be tamed. Snakes get used to the situation, but they do not get friends with humans because they do not know a friend or foe. My father lost a finger because of the snake’s bite. He was also bitten by a viper once. Even a Cobra bit me when we were at a show in Mashhad city. Thank God and thanks to the experience of my father, who had antidotes, I survived. The worst injury I’ve ever suffered was a few years ago, when a Cobra bit my lip during a show, and I survived again. That was due to the inattention of one of the spectators. Before the show my father warned the spectators against using camera flashes, because the snake’s eyes are sensitive to the flash light. However, the audience did not take any notice of this and the flash lights caused the snake to bite me.

Are you ready to compete with anyone who breaks your record in kissing a snake?

I do not think anyone could break my record. If they could, they would have broken my record till now.