Iran’s largest carmaker Iran Khodro, also known as IKCO, has signed an agreement with France’s Renault for imports of Renault Captur and Clio 4 cars.
IKCO has already said that it plans to import some products of the French company as completely-built units and assemble them after investigating the local market conditions.
The two cars would be available on the market late this year (started on March 21, 2014) or early next year.
IKCO and Renault have also agreed on boosting Dacia Logan 90.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, has emphasized the need for stronger unity and solidarity among all Palestinian groups against the occupying regime of Israel and its Western allies.
In a meeting Monday with Ahmed Jibril, the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), in Tehran, Larijani praised the Palestinian nation’s resistance in the face of the Israeli occupation.
He further said the Muslim world attaches great significance to the liberation of Palestinian lands from the Israeli occupation, adding that Iran’s foreign policy “is to stand by the Palestinian people and support them” against Israeli bullying and the regime’s evil nature.
The top Iranian parliamentarian also condemned the Israeli regime’s recent aerial assault that killed several members of Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah during a field reconnaissance mission in Syria’s southwestern city of Quneitra on Sunday.
The new Israeli crime shows the Zionist regime is working hand in glove with the Takfiri terror groups operating against the Syrian government, Larijani said, adding, “The axis of [anti-Israel] resistance should be strengthened through stronger unity and cohesion among Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese forces.”
On Sunday, an Israeli military helicopter fired two missiles into Amal Farms in the strategic southwestern city of Quneitra, close to line separating the Syrian part of the Golan Heights from the Israeli-occupied sector.
Hezbollah said in a statement that 25-year-old Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of slain Hezbollah top commander Imad Mughniyeh, and five other fighters lost their lives in the fresh Israeli aerial assault against Syria.
Jibril, in turn, thanked the Islamic Republic for backing the Palestinian cause and the liberation of Israeli-occupied al-Quds, adding that the Palestinian nation will always be grateful for Iran’s unwavering support.
The Palestinian official also pointed to the latest developments in the Middle East, describing the ongoing crises in Iraq and Syria as a plot hatched by the hegemonic powers against the anti-Israel resistance front in the region.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi announced on Monday that Tehran is working on responses to the only two remaining questions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“The IAEA had 18 questions and we have responded to all of them but two; they say that they haven’t been convinced and need more answers and we are trying to respond to them,” Salehi told reporters in Tehran.
Stressing that the IAEA is regularly inspecting different nuclear sites in Iran, he said the UN nuclear watchdog has a resident inspector in Iran who is replaced every two weeks.
In relevant remarks in November, the Caretaker of Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN Gholam Hossein Dehqani underscored that Tehran would continue its cooperation with the IAEA to remove any ambiguities about the country’s peaceful nuclear program.
Addressing the UN General Assembly in the presence of Director-General of the IAEA Yukiya Amano in New York, Dehqani rejected alleged military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program, saying that Iran had no weapons program.
[…]
A number of Iranian students staged a small rally on a Tehran street on Sunday to call on adults, including urban officials, to do more to ensure their right to clean air. The rally came on the eve of January 19 which marks the Clean Air Day in Iran. The following is a partial translation of a report the Monday edition of Shahrvand daily ran on the carnival of clean air:
“Polluted air is disgusting. We want clean air,” chanted students in a Tehran park, as they expressed their resentment at air pollution.
The children also called on adults to do what it takes to help the city breathe in clean air.
They were carrying placards which among other things read, “Clean air and earth is our wish” and “Where is the blue sky of our city?” At the rally, the very young participants were asked to draw in deep breaths, and try not to cough in the process.
The students were urged by organizers to use public transport, stop littering and plant trees if they want to make pollution of air and water a thing of the past. The event came to an end with the students planting houseplants.
Iran defeated the United Arab Emirates 1-0 in the final round of the AFC Asian Cup Group-C at the Brisbane Stadium on Monday (January 19).
The win against the UAE in the final Group C encounter helped Iran finish at the top of the group standings, thus avoid holders Japan in the quarter-finals.
The two sides, which had won both of their games already, were guaranteed places in the quarter-finals regardless of Monday’s result.
The UAE needed a draw to finish top of the group, but it was a must-win game for Iran if they were to avoid meeting the reigning champions and red-hot favorites Japan, as they are heavily favored to top Group D.
Also on Monday, Bahrain beat Qatar 2-1 in Sydney to finish third in Group C in a match between two already eliminated teams.
On January 19, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Homayoun Hashemi, the head of the State Welfare Organization of Iran, as saying that his organization has provided welfare families with as many as 68,000 apartments this year [started March 21, 2014]. The following is a partial translation of what Hashemi had to say to IRNA:
An additional 31,000 apartments are set to be handed over to welfare families who meet the requirements.
If the finances needed for electrical wiring and water and gas pipes are provided in time, the apartments will be poised for delivery by March 21, 2015.
Up to 80,000 of the 200,000 apartments the Welfare Organization has committed to constructing have already been handed to families and the rest is under construction.
The families who have more than one disabled member and those which are run by women will be given priority. Fortunately, thanks to the contribution of benefactors, the organization has gone beyond its commitments as far as housing is concerned.
A commission which specializes in housing has been set up and tasked with sizing up the older buildings to have them renovated if needed.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday strongly condemned the Israeli helicopter strike near the border town of Quneitra in the occupied Golan Heights in Syria which killed a number of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement fighters.
The ministry in a statement also condoled with families of martyrs and expressed sympathy with those who survived the terrorist act.
‘The terrorist act indicates that the Syria war is a part of confrontation with the Zionist regime and that Hezbollah has stood firmly on the path of Jihad and martyrdom in the face of the occupation and foreign interference in the affairs of other nations,’ the statement added.
According to reports, a military helicopter gunship operated by the Israeli army fired two missiles into Amal Farms in the strategic city of Quneitra, situated some 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the capital, Damascus, on Sunday. Two remote-controlled reconnaissance drones buzzed overhead as the airborne assault took place.
Following the attack on Sunday, Hezbollah announced that several of its fighters were martyred in the airstrike.
‘A group of Hezbollah combatants were martyred in a Zionist rocket attack in Quneitra, and their names will be revealed later,’ said a message on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar news channel, adding that they were killed during a field reconnaissance mission in the Amal Farms village of Quneitra.
Meanwhile, a Hezbollah official said Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Hezbollah’s slain top military commander, Imad Mughniyeh, and a field commander were killed in the attack.
A Lebanese security source said the strike destroyed one Hezbollah vehicle entirely and damaged another.
The Tel Aviv regime has carried out several airstrikes in Syria since the start of the nearly four-year-old foreign-backed insurgency there.
Damascus says Tel Aviv and its Western allies are aiding Al-Qaeda-linked militant groups operating inside Syria.
The Syrian army has repeatedly seized huge quantities of Israeli-made weapons and advanced military equipment from the foreign-backed militants inside Syria.
The country has been grappling with a foreign-backed deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence has so far claimed the lives of nearly 200,000 people, according to the UN.
Appointment of a deputy interior minister months after the seat was vacated was the front-page news of many dailies on Monday. Also dominating the front pages of several newspapers were the martyrdom of a number of Hezbollah combatants in an Israeli raid on Syria, and the amount of annual bonuses laborers will receive at the end of the year.
Abrar: “For now, there are no orders to dissolve any bank,” said an observer member of the Money and Credit Council. [His comments came after the Central Bank of Iran reported that one bank and a number of financial institutes are operating without proper permits.]
Afarinesh: The Supreme Court has upheld the main part of the ruling issued in the case of former first vice-president [Mohammad Reza Rahimi under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad].
Afarinesh: A ceremony has been held in honor of Mohammad Ali Keshavarz whose artistic career has spanned six decades.
Aftab-e Yazd: Mohammad Hossein Moghimi has been named deputy interior minister for political affairs.
Aftab-e Yazd: The amount of lead in poultry is 47 percent more than the standard level.
Aftab-e Yazd: Between 2009 and 2013 some 90,000 luxury cars were imported.
Arman-e Emrooz: The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has announced that a number of individuals who have committed major sport offenses have been arrested.
Asia: Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu arrives in Tehran on Monday.
Asr-e Iranian: “After the go-ahead of parliament, water, electricity and gas offered to households with low consumption will be free,” said an MP.
Asrar: “As many as 35 million people are exposed to pollution,” said the director of the Environment Protection Organization.
Ebtekar: “Efforts to eliminate reformism [from the political equation] are useless,” said Mohammad Reza Aref, a senior reformist leader.
Ebtekar: “Hurling insults at Muslims will only render them more defiant,” said Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.
Eghtesad-e Pooya: The volume of trade between Iran and Iraq has hit the $12 billion mark.
Etemad: “Nuclear negotiators are moving ahead within the framework [the establishment] has set,” said Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to the Supreme Leader.
Etemad: “I am closer to Mr. Hashemi [Rafsanjani] than to my father,” Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati said.
Ettela’at: A gun-running ring has been busted in Hormozgan Province.
Ettela’at: The Supreme Cultural Revolution Council has met to discuss the explosive growth of higher education in the country.
Hemayat: “The West will pay a dear price for hurling insults at the Prophet Muhammad,” said the Iranian attorney general.
Iran: To mark the Clean Air Day, Iranian children have staged a symbolic rally.
Javan: The son of Imad Mughniyeh [a senior member of Lebanon’s Islamic Jihad Organization and Hezbollah] and a number of Hezbollah combatants were martyred in a Zionist operation in support of terrorists in Syria. Jihad Mughniyeh has joined his father.
Kayhan: Students will gather outside the French embassy in Tehran at 15:00 local time on Monday to protest against the French government’s support for sacrilegious measures of Charlie Hebdo.
Sepid: “As many as 47 million Iranians have unhealthy eating habits,” said a deputy health minister.
Shahrvand: “Iran is the Rhinoplasty capital of the world,” said the secretary of an international body contouring congress.
Siasat-e Rooz: “We can sink a US aircraft carrier,” said the commander of the naval forces of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps.
Tehran Times: First Iranian-made electric car unveiled.
Tehran Times: Iran reiterates support for Iraq in fighting terrorists.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says that the next rounds of negotiations between Iran and 5+1 will be held in Davos and Munich.
Talking to reporters on Monday, he made the remarks when using a Tehran metro line to work. He used the public transportation to mark the ‘Day of Clean Air’ which is celebrated every year in Iran on January 19.
Zarif also said that his talks with his American counterpart John Kerry had been ‘open and frank’, adding that they discussed details and focused on complicated issues.
As it is always the case with international talks, he added, the details are the most difficult part of discussions.
The Iranian top diplomat further said that the overall pattern of negotiations has been already established, adding that Iran has the right to nuclear enrichment and continue its nuclear program. He also stressed the need for the removal of sanctions against Iran once an agreement is reached.
For the next remaining months of the deadline, he said, parties involved in the talks have to focus on details.
It will take long hours to discuss the details such as the number of centrifuges, the foreign minister noted.
“It is a source of pride for the nation to see that the best Western scientists are spending hours and hours to scrutinize what the young Iranian experts have been discussing with them,” Zarif said.
He said what Iran has always emphasized is that the parties to the talks with Iran have to admit the fact that they have to stop bullying if they want to get to any results in the negotiations.
“They could never indulge in the talks and continue their pressures on Iran simultaneously,” he said.
Zarif said this issue seems to be settled with Iran’s partners in the talks as they are just discussing methods now.
The Iranian foreign minister expressed hope that favorable results could be attained in due course of time though it might seem very difficult.
Head of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Council Ali Akbar Velayati described relations between Tehran and Beijing as strategic.
“We are keen to develop ties with China and believe our relations with China are strategic,” Velayati said Sunday in a meeting with a number of Chinese officials, including former deputy foreign minister and current Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Zhang Deguang.
He highlighted the two countries’ numerous cultural, social, political and economic commonalities, and said Tehran and Beijing are determined to expand bilateral cooperation.
Deguang, for his part, underlined that the two countries should enhance the level of relations in regional and international areas.
He added that there are many opportunities for the two countries’ cooperation in political areas and fighting terrorism.
Deguang also hailed Iran’s membership as an observer state in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Iran and China enjoy friendly ties in various political, economic and trade fields.
China is Iran’s largest oil client and the value of bilateral trade between the two countries has reached $47.5 billion from January to November 2014, showing a 36 percent rise, compared with the figure in 2013.
The two countries also share views in many international and regional issues.
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