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Iran Raps Myanmar for Continued Violence against Rohingyas

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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In a statement on Friday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi strongly criticized the Myanmar government for turning a blind eye to warnings and demands by other countries, international organizations and the world public opinion, which are calling for an end to acts of violence against the Rohingya Muslims.

“Unfortunately, every day that passes, the crisis becomes more complicated, the sufferings of the refugees increase and the responsibility of countries and international organizations becomes heavier, and more importantly, the chance to stop the crisis and make up for the ensuing damage is lost,” he noted.

“Such a complicated situation can turn the current circumstances into one of the worst human disasters of the current era,” Qassemi said.

“Despite giving awareness, warnings and demands by countries, international organizations, officials and the world public opinion, we are witnessing that the Myanmar government is disregarding the international community’s demand, which is unacceptable.”

“We believe that no action should annul the Myanmar government’s responsibility to stop the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims, and no action should be used as a pretext to further aggravate the crisis and prevent the dispatch of the international community’s humanitarian aid to the crisis-hit areas in the country,” the spokesman added.

“Iran was among the first countries to react to the crisis based on its human and ideological responsibility. At least two letters sent by the Iranian foreign minister to the UN secretary general, several telephone conversations and contacts between the Iranian president and foreign minister and heads of Muslim states and their foreign ministers, bringing up the issue with the other parties in all meetings the Iranian president and foreign minister held in Tehran and New York over the past month, sending humanitarian aid provided by the Iranian nation to the refugees in Myanmar and Bangladesh as well as efforts by Iran’s local and international media to mirror the harrowing situation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have been only part of the Islamic Republic’s political and diplomatic efforts to help settle the crisis and allay the sufferings of the Myanmarese refugees as soon as possible.”

From the outset of the fresh wave of crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, said Qassemi, the Myanmar government has been repeatedly asked to allow an Iranian delegation led by the deputy foreign minister along with humanitarian aid to be sent to that country; however, despite the promises made, it has not been possible to make the arrangements to that end.

Qassemi then referred to the Bangladesh government’s admitting the influx of Myanmarese refugees.

“The move by Bangladesh is invaluable from a humanitarian perspective, and the international community, including countries and international circles and all NGOs should, along with Bangladesh, act with more seriousness and better organization and make more effective efforts to stop the displacement of Rohingya Muslims and help send more aid to them and take care of their situation,” he concluded.

 

Kurdish Independence Harder to Achieve after Referendum

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The following are the highlights of an editorial by Mohammad Saeed Ahmadian, the chief of the Persian-language Khorasan daily, on the consequences of the Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence referendum:

From the Kurdish residents’ point of view, creation of an independent state is a great cause, so holding a referendum on independence means taking a step towards this goal, but let’s examine whether the referendum has made the region closer to independence or has made it more difficult to achieve.

For the following reasons, I believe that Barzani’s policy has not only made the Kurdistan region far from becoming an independent state, but also has caused the region to lose many of its achievements:

1- Economic independence is the most important element in winning independence for a country. The geopolitical features of the Kurdistan region show that it is enclosed among neighbouring countries and has no access to free waters. Therefore, the most important obstacle for Iraqi Kurdistan in gaining independence is its geopolitical features. If they want to achieve independence, they must first resolve this problem by negotiation and diplomacy.

2- Another necessity for Kurdistan’s economic independence is to be in control of Kirkuk’s oil wells, which accounts for 35 percent of Iraq’s total oil. The main issue that we will likely see in the coming days is the deployment of the Iraqi government forces to Kirkuk, and if Barzani forces would not withdraw, it would be taken by force. The Kurdish people have not forgotten that how weak the region’s government is. If it was not for Iran’s help and clever and quick decisions of Major General Qassem Soleimani, the region would fall in the very first days of ISIS invasion. Moreover, it should be noted that this region is not composed of integrated ethnicities; therefore, in addition to military weakness, the separatists will be deprived of unified popular support.

3- Perhaps Barzani has been counting on the support of foreign governments, which is also an incorrect analysis. It is crystal clear that the Zionist regime is supporting the Kurds, but the reality is that this regime, without the help of the United States, cannot do any specific help to overcome the aforementioned problems. Moving along the separatism path with reliance on the United States will create three serious problems for Barzani: First, the United States has repeatedly proved it is an unreliable country, and it will quickly forget all its official and unofficial promises. Second, the US failure in Syria showed that even if they want, they may not be able to help Barzani effectively. And the third problem is that the Americans are smart enough not to bet on the wrong horse.

4- Taking any measure undoubtedly requires a legal background to endorse and guarantee its legitimacy. From this perspective, Barzani’s actions are not only problematic in terms of international law, but also contradict the text of the Iraqi Constitution.

5- Some believe that the referendum was not aimed at gaining independence, but was held to boost Barzani’s bargaining power to gain more privileges. I say this is a probable scenario, but the fact is that Barzani has shown if he pursues such a goal, he does not know much about diplomacy as the game that he had started well is drawing to its bad end because all the privileges had to be achieved before the plebiscite was held. Talking of a referendum was like the Sword of Damocles and it could have brought the Iraqi government to the negotiating table and convince the governments of Iran and Turkey to push Iraq to give more privileges. But by holding the referendum the game turned into a ‘zero-sum ‘ one, based on which one side must lose and the other side must win.

Naturally, the central government of Iraq is clever enough to use Barzani’s flaw to end one of the biggest post-ISIS challenges, i.e. Kirkuk case, so as to restore its sovereignty over the area forever. After the Iraqi government established its dominance over 35 percent of the country’s oil wells, naturally it will not be in a hurry, and will wait for the economic effects of the blockade on the Kurdish region’s borders. It is clear that in the following negotiations, the Kurdish region authorities will have to give more concessions. In this way, not only will they not receive new privileges, but they must manage the crisis-hit region by giving more concessions.

Trump Aware of Dangers of Violating Iran Nuclear Deal: Analyst

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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donald-trump

Shani Hormozi, an expert at the Expediency Council’s Centre for Strategic Studies, has, in an article published in the Persian-language Shargh daily, weighed in on the new US government’s policy on the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

He underlined that the Trump administration is to, once again, report to Congress on Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA on October 15, 2017.

“The reality is that the Trump administration, despite being criticized for its inexperience in the foreign policy arena, is well aware of the dangers of the violation of the JCPOA. So, it seeks to set the stage for pointing the finger at Iran rather than openly withdrawing from the deal. One of the policies adopted [by Washington] in this regard is to lay the groundwork for presenting another definition of ‘compliance,’ whose general framework was delineated by [US Ambassador to the UN] Nikki Haley in a speech,” said the commentator.

Hormozi then referred to Haley’s speech at the American Enterprise Institute.

“Her use of false accusations to offer a new meaning of abidance by the JCPOA as well as using new untrue statements to accuse Iran of not remaining committed to the deal was planned within a meaningful structure,” said Hormozi.

Based on the new concept presented by the US, compliance with the JCPOA is not only a simple and basically technical concept; rather, it has three key components: The JCPOA, UN Security Council Resolution 2231and the law passed by the US Congress to monitor the implementation of the JCPOA.

Then the US says Iran’s compliance should not only be studied from the three above-mentioned perspectives, but, as a whole, it should be reviewed with regard to the nature and history of the Iranian government’s performance. This begs the question of why the Trump administration seeks to link the nature of the Iranian government and its performance since the 1979 Islamic Revolution to the JCPOA. The Trump administration is trying to mention respect for “international regulations” and abidance by “international agreements” together and come to the conclusion that respect for international regulations is a precursor to compliance with international agreements. Although the US has shrewdly crafted this policy to make international players pessimistic about Iran and the future of the country’s compliance with the JCPOA, it suffers from a major shortcoming, which is putting “intention” and “policy” in the wrong order. In fact, Trump first announced he intended not to confirm Iran’s compliance and then called on his Cabinet members and advisors to prepare the ground for announcing the non-compliance. This intention, and not policy, is not lost on media and Washington’s European allies.

Therefore, at least in the short run, arrangements and policies as such, will not be able to persuade key audiences. But what is important is that Trump’s personal traits and character are such that he is as likely to go back on his words as he is to keep them. This gives all players, namely Iran, the message that they should be prepared for all possible scenarios.

GAP Exhibition Presents Contemporary Iranian Architectural Works

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The GAP was established based on an initiative by senior lecturer of the University of Melbourne, Blair Gardiner, and seeks to cultivate cross-cultural ties between Melbourne and cities around the world by organising exhibitions to show the architectural projects of various urban centres.

In the current academic year, Tehran has been selected as the eighth city to display its architectural works. Hence, the GAP has invited 7 prominent Iranian architects who have carried out prominent projects in Tehran to participate in the event.

From Iran, the Keivani Architects Studio, the Huba-Design Architectural Office, the Madjdabadi Architectural Office, the Cloot, the Shift Design Group, the Next office, and the Moj-e-No (New Wave) Architectural Office, have been invited to the exhibition.

Nima Keivani said in an interview with the Mehr News Agency that “the exhibition is a student collective activity that takes place at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning of University of Melbourne, Australia. This is an excellent occasion for further introducing contemporary Iranian architecture and contemporary art to the international community. We see that the media and international organizations are paying great attention to architecture, and it proves that our country’s architectural position in the world is growing.”

At this event, seven well-known architectural offices of Tehran, who had previously carried out noticeable projects, present their works at the exhibition to the public as well as to the students of Designing and Architecture at the University of Melbourne.

On the sidelines of this exhibition, full interviews with Iranian architects will be published on the websites, publications and social pages of the university. They will also be published in the form of books and catalogues along with a full report of the exhibition.

Furthermore, a report and video footage in form of Q&A will be presented to the audience. At this session specialized questions in the field of architecture would be raised and the architects can express their concerns.

The exhibition was started at 6 pm on September 28 at Atrium of the University of Melbourne’s School of Design and will continue until October 12, 2017.

Östersund Player Chooses to Play for Iran despite Sweden Invitation

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The 24-year-old midfielder, whose side Östersund FK tops the Group J of Europa League, was recently called on by Carlos Queiroz to play for Iran while he had played in two friendly matches for Sweden and scored a goal.

On 25 August 2017, Ghoddos revealed in an interview that he acquired his Iranian passport from the embassy. The following day, 26 August, he announced on his Instagram page that he would be joining Iran for their 2018 World Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Syria.

Östersund Player Chooses to Play for Iran despite Sweden InvitationGhoddos was called up for the first time for the Iran senior team training camps on 27 August 2017 by coach Queiroz for Iran’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Korea and Syria.

After Ghoddos couldn’t make his debut for Iran due to administrative issues with FIFA, he was called into Sweden’s World Cup qualification squad on 27 September for matches against Luxembourg and Netherlands.

He told the Swedish side that he will make his decision by Thursday, September 28. Now, Sweden’s Fotbollskanalen says Ghoddos has finally decided to play for Iran.

He later told a Swedish website about his decision that he is grateful to Andersson, the head coach of Sweden, for giving him the extraordinary option, but he has made his final decision and he will play for Iran.

He also wished success for Sweden in the road to FIFA World Cup 2018.

Andersson also noted that he is very upset about Ghoddos’ decision, but he respects that.

Ghoddos had earlier said in an interview with SportExpressen, “I will always love Sweden. I’ve grown up here. It is an honor to live here and to represent Sweden. At the same time, my parents are Iranian. I have Persian blood in my body. I love Iran too.”

1 Killed, 2 Wounded in Army Chopper Crash in Northwestern Iran

By
IFP Media Wire
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Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, local military commander General Habib Shahsavari said the Army’s Bell-214 helicopter crashed on Thursday due to technical failure.

One person has been martyred in the incident and two others have been injured, who are expected to be discharged from the hospital within the next two days, he added.

In separate comments, Colonel Karim Hossein Nejad said the copter has crashed during a test flight.

Three servicemen were on board the doomed chopper, he explained, saying the flight technician has been martyred, while the pilot and co-pilot have suffered injuries.

Israel Main Winner of Iraqi Kurdistan’s Secession: Analysts

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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By triggering the idea of the Iraqi Kurds’ independence, Israel is seeking to disintegrate Iraq in order to undermine the strong Shiite forces fighting ISIS in the war-torn country, wrote in an op-ed the managing director of Persian-language Javan daily, Abdollah Ganji.

Ganji said Israel has raised and contributed to the idea of the Kurdish independence to roll back the latest victories of Iraqi forces backed by Popular Mobilization Units over ISIS.

He went on to say that Tel Aviv is deeply worried that during the upcoming post-ISIS era in Iraq, the united coalition of experienced forces from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Iran will turn their eyes to Israeli forces in the Golan Heights.

“Therefore, to avoid any confrontation, Israel has hatched a plot to involve the forces in a new crisis.”

“As Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah said, the future war in the region would not be limited to Israel and Hezbollah but there will be many other sides including Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan and so on,” Ganji noted.

“Creating a new civil war in Iraq will waste the available energies and capacities in a region far from the Golan Height. Fight against ISIS created a unity between experienced forces and paved the way for a massive campaign against the terrorists. Now the Zionists are deeply worried about the future of these forces in the post-ISIS era.”

“Kirkuk is a potential scene for another war which the Zionists are seeking to trigger. Substantiated reports say the US is seeking to destabilise the region by 2035 and the creation of ISIS and the disintegration of Iraq is part of the plan,” he added.

In another piece in the same newspaper, conservative analyst Abbas Salimi Namin said the latest developments in Iraqi Kurdistan region once again reveals the racial nature of Tel Aviv.

He went on saying the Zionists look at the Iraqi Kurds as an instrument to press ahead with their own interests in the region.

“Unfortunately, it is not clear yet why the head of Kurdistan region, Barzani, has forgotten his father’s recommendation who warned against putting trust in the Zionists. We also don’t know in return for which concessions he has decided to hold the referendum,” he wrote.

It goes without saying that if Iraq faces the tragic fate of Sudan, the least benefit that the Zionist will reap would be putting immense pressure on Baghdad to keep Tehran at bay. “The same story will go on for Iraq and Syria as well,” he added.

Salimi Namin accused the US of adopting double standard policies, saying the US claims it is in the camp of Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Syria when it comes to the independence of the Iraqi Kurds but “the independence vote was not possible without the US and the UK’s support for Iraq’s disintegration.”

“Meanwhile, the Zionists’ plot to fuel ethnic clashes in the region would end up in failure if the US and the UK hadn’t supported it,” he concluded.

‘Iran’s Rank Higher than Russia, Turkey in Tourism Security’

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Isfahan -Foreign Tourists-2017

Iran’s ranking is higher than that of Russia and Turkey when it comes to tourism security, said Mohammad Moheb-Khodaei, the deputy head of the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization for tourism affairs.

According to a Farsi report by Tasnim, he enumerated the features and standards of Iran’s tourism industry based on the figures presented by the World Tourism Organization.

“Iran currently ranks 94th in the world in the tourism industry. Iran has the 79th rank in terms of competitiveness and 86th place when it comes to tourism security, which is higher than that of Turkey and Russia.

He also said Iran’s airports have the 94th rank in the world in the airports sector, the 75th rank in the transportation and ports sector, and 38th in tourism culture.

“So, based on these statistics, we should be witnessing changes in standards of tourism in the country.”

He further noted that the tourism industry contributes to reducing unemployment, saying, “Of every 10 jobs in the world, one is related to tourism, and each job which is created in the tourism sector will create 7 jobs indirectly,”

Speaking in a ceremony marking World Tourism Day, he touched upon efforts made by those active in the field of tourism, tourism institutions, immigration police, university professors working in the field of tourism, journalists and reporters, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Training, aid worker and ambassadors.

“World Tourism Day is very important for those active in the field of tourism,” he said, adding the tourism industry has been the focus of attention by people from all walks of life and authorities during President Hassan Rouhani’s administration.

“In the first year of the 6th National Development Plan, we have envisaged the creation of 70,000 jobs with the implementation of the ‘Resistance Economy’ strategy, which will serve as a model for us,” he said.

He then highlighted two key issues, namely supporting the private sector and paying attention to the tourism economy.

”Cultural and domestic elements as well as local values should be incorporated into the development of tourism, so that we will witness a drop in extravagance, maintenance of natural diversity, local contributions and promotion of marketing in the tourism sector,” he said.

‘West Plotting to Take Advantage of Kurds’ Secessionist Mentality’

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The Persian-language daily Kayhan has, in an opinion piece, weighed in on the West’s new conspiracy for the Middle East region. The following is the full text of the article.

In West Asia, the end of the ISIS terrorist group’s activities is intertwined with a new plot. This time, the US and Israel want to take advantage of a handful of secessionists rather than ISIS to test their chances of implementing an evil plan known as “The Greater Middle East.”

Accordingly, there are secessionists such as Barzani, who have shown in word and in deed that they favour adventurism in dealing with the destiny of Kurdish people in northern Iraq. They have a mission to distort the realities of the past 100 years and disguise the wolf as the shepherd for Kurds and switch the places of benevolent and malevolent individuals.

This mission is quite obvious as it can be understood from the recent remarks made by Masoud Barzani and his aides in recent days. In order to create the impression that the referendum on the secession of Kurdistan was legal, Barzani has flashed back to the gas attack against Kurdish people in the city of Halabja in southern Kurdistan back in 1988 ordered by former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein, but has brazenly enough turned a blind to the fact that the US and Europe were the main accessories to Saddam Hussein’s crimes. The chemical attack against Halabja people by Saddam Hussein was supported by Washington, but Barzani and his aides did not mention this fact and remained silent. This way, instead of the US, Britain and France, the oppressed Arab people, Shiites and Sunnis alike, who had suffered as much as Kurdish people in Iraq had, would be accused, and the places of the wolf and sheep would be changed!

Whose handiwork was ISIS, which has created a reign of terror in recent years? Wasn’t it the ISIS terrorist group that committed heinous crimes against Izadi Kurds and people of other ethnicities? Wasn’t it ISIS that kidnapped Kurdish women? Aren’t thousands of Izadi Kurdish women being held captive by ISIS now?

 

Barzani: ISIS had arrived at the gates of Erbil, and I contacted the US, Turkey, Britain, France and even Saudi Arabia. In response, they said they could not help. Then I contacted General Qassem Soleimani. He answered, ‘Maintain control of the city just tonight. I’ll be in Erbil tomorrow after morning prayers.’ Then he along with 50 special forces went to the battlefield, organized Peshmarga forces, and the situation turned in our favour.

 

Didn’t ISIS terrorists threaten the borders of the Iraqi Kurdistan region in 2014? Didn’t Barzani and his wife pack up and get ready to flee? Barzani himself knows better than anyone else that if it weren’t for the prompt action of Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani, a doomed destiny would have loomed large for the residents of Erbil and other areas in Kurdistan.

In January, 2015, Barzani talked to the Turkish Zaman daily about how Erbil was saved.

“ISIS had arrived at the gates of Erbil, and I contacted the US, Turkey, Britain, France and even Saudi Arabia. In response, they said they could not help. Then I contacted Iran and asked for help. I said ‘We would evacuate the city if you won’t help.’ Then they gave me [general] Qassem Soleimani’s phone number. I called him immediately and told him the story. He then answered, ‘Maintain control of the city just tonight. I’ll be in Erbil tomorrow after morning prayers.’ Then he along with 50 special forces went to the battlefield, organized Peshmarga forces, and the situation turned in our favour,” said Barzani.

How can these organizers of the secession scenario in Iraq cover up the US, Israel, Britain and France’s backing for Takfiris and ISIS in Syria and Iraq?

At the moment, the greatest betrayal to Kurds would be to disguise their real slayers as friends, and friends as foes, and this is what some individuals poised as Kurds are commissioned to do.

It is noteworthy that the United States, Britain, France and the UN had not opposed the referendum in principle in recent days and even asked Erbil to delay the plebiscite for two years in return for their full support for the secessionists.

BBC, which has been enthusiastically covering stories pertaining to the developments in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, recently raised a question cunningly in order to sway certain currents.

“Will independence-seeking currents spread to Afghan borders?!”

This shows BBC favours the disintegration of the regional countries within the framework of the evil Greater Middle East scheme.

Iran Not to Recognize Any Group’s Sovereignty over Northern Iraq

By
IFP Media Wire
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“We do not regard any sovereignty for the parties and groups in North Iraq, and this is a common belief held by the Armed Forces of the both sides (Iran and Iraq),” Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said in a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Major General Othman al-Ghanmi, held in Tehran on Wednesday evening.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes integrated and unified Iraq, and as the Iraqi prime minister has said, Iran’s common frontier with Iraq are the existing legal borders,” the Iranian general noted.

Iran Not to Recognize Any Group's Sovereignty over Northern Iraq

Both Tehran and Baghdad disapprove of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum, Major General Baqeri added, stressing that Iran does not agree with any change in Iraq’s geography or with the secession of any region from that country.

He also noted that he has reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to supporting the Iraqi government, Army, and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) -also known as Hashd al-Shaabi- in the meeting with the visiting Iraqi general.

Iran Not to Recognize Any Group's Sovereignty over Northern Iraq

For his part, Major General Ghanmi said their talks have revolved around military cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad, the necessary coordination amid the current critical situation, and the efforts to ensure security along the common borders.

Separately on Wednesday, Baqeri met with senior military and political officials from Turkey, during which the two sides discussed a variety of issues, including the Kurdish referendum in Iraq.

Baqeri told reporters after the meeting that both the Iranian and Turkish sides were concerned that the Kurdish vote in Iraq could lead to tensions in the Arab country, the repercussions of which could engulf the regional countries.

While Iraq’s Kurds rushed headlong into a vote for independence on Monday, all neighbors and countries in the Middle East, including Iran and Turkey, have voiced opposition to the vote and supported the Baghdad central government.

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