A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

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April 6, 2017

Almost all newspapers highlighted the powerful earthquake which hit areas near the north-eastern Iranian city of Mashhad. Fortunately, the 6-magnitude quake didn’t have heavy casualties.
They also covered the imminent candidacy of Ebrahim Raeisi, a senior conservative cleric, in the upcoming presidential election.
Iran’s condemnation of the use of chemicals in Syria, and British Prime Minister Theresa May’s anti-Iran remarks during her visit to Riyadh also received great coverage.
Another top story today was the Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhondi’s controversial reaction to a journalist who questioned his ministry’s performance.
The above issues, as well as many more, are highlighted in the following headlines and top stories:

Abrar:

1- UNSC Holds Meeting on Idlib Chemical Attack

2- Theresa May Describes Iran as Threat to Regional Stability, Security

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Aftab-e Yazd:

1- Raeisi, the Candidate Supported by Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi

2- Qalibaf Seeks to Become Raeisi’s First VP!

3- Iran Strongly Condemns Any Use of Chemical Weapons

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Ebtekar:

1- Khorasan Province Shakes

2- Will Raeisi Run for President?

3- Electoral Atmosphere Dominating Tehran Book Fair

4- Cabinet Members to Support Rouhani in May Election

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Etemad:

1- Tehran Mayor Withdraws from Running for Presidency, Attacks Rouhani

2- Oil Minister’s Response to Indians: Threatening Rhetoric Won’t Help Contract

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Ettela’at:

1- Iran’s Gates Should Be Close to Smugglers: Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi

2- Selling, Buying, or Using Old Cars Prohibited

3- Chomsky: US, Not Iran, Threatens World Peace

4- No Cabinet Member Will Run for President

5- Navy Commander: Iran’s Leader Pleased with Our Military Achievements

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Haft-e Sobh:

1- Powerful Quake near Mashhad Didn’t Have Heavy Casualties

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Iran:

1- Conservatives to Introduce Their Final 5 Candidates

2- Storm Exposes 2,500-Year-Old Site in Fahraj

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Jame Jam:

1- Who Will Run for President?

2- The 6-Magnitude Shake

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Javan:

1- Tehran Mayor: I’ll Help Change This Inefficient Government

2- IRGC’s Excellent Work in Ending Deprivation in Kordestan, Kermanshah

IRGC’s Resolve against Deprivation to Stop Trend of Immigration from Border Areas

3- Fresh US Sanctions Temporarily Stopped for Iran Election

US Senator: New Sanctions Postponed Due to EU’s Concerns over Its Impact on Iran Election

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Jomhouri Eslami:

1- Ahmadinejad, Qalibaf Simultaneously Attack Rouhani’s Gov’t

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Kayhan:

1- 43 Days to Election: Who Will Become Next President?

2- Mr Akhondi! Ministers Should Pay Some Respect to Citizens’ Rights!

[Transport Minister Abbas Akhondi’s clash with a reporter sparked controversy on Wednesday. The reporter asked him if it was true that the planes delivered to Iran were the ones earlier ordered by other countries. This made him angry and photos implied that he tried to seize the reporter’s microphone.]

3- West, Takfiris [extremists] Taking Advantage of Explosion in Terrorists’ Chemical Depot

4- MP: Value of Contraband Goods near $35 Billion

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Khorasan:

1- 6-Magnitude Fear

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Shargh:

1- Raeisi’s Candidacy Imminent

2- Ahmadinejad Responds to Journalists’ Questions after 4 Years

3- Iran Dismisses Reports on Luxembourg Court Ruling on Seizure of Assets

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Vatan-e Emrooz:

1- Transport Minister’s Controversial Reaction to Female Journalist

2- Where’s Diplomacy: From Erdogan’s Sedition against Persian Nationalism to British PM’s Anti-Iran Comments

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 6

Female MPs Call for Revision of Iran’s Gender-Biased Laws

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 6, 2017

In a meeting with Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday (April 5), women lawmakers called for extra efforts to revise some of the country’s laws discriminating unfairly against women. They also urged the Iranian Parliament’s further support for them to be able to contribute to this end.

According to a Farsi report by ICANA, in this session, they also asked for the removal of the country’s unpragmatic laws and replacing them with new rules and regulations.

In this brief meeting, the female parliamentarians also requested Larijani to help them gain the trust of other MPs to have a member in the Iranian Parliament’s Board of Directors to help provide further support for the Iranian women in the society.

Addressing the meeting, Larijani said the removal of the women MPs’ worries over women condition in the society greatly depends on their own efforts to this end.

Iran Won’t Register Vehicles without Emission Standards

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 6, 2017

Iranian MPs have passed legislation proscribing the production, importing, and registration of vehicles that do not meet emission standards, according to a Farsi report by ICANA.

“The production and import of different types of vehicles are subject to their meeting emission standards as stipulated in this law and announced by the [National Iranian Standards] Organization,” reads the legislation.

Fuel consumption standards and the importing of standard parts related to the combustion or exhaust systems like exhaust pipes, filters and catalysts, are controlled and monitored by the National Iranian Standards Organization, and offenders will be dealt with according to the law.

The registration of different types of motor vehicles, whether manufactured by local auto makers or imported, is subject to meeting emission standards as stipulated in this legislation and to receiving permission from the National Iranian Standards Organization. The organization is obliged to halt imports of vehicles which are not in compliance with permitted emission levels set out in the legislation. Any sales or advance sales of such vehicles are prohibited.

The organization is obligated to improve emission standards in accordance with modern international standards in accordance with Iran’s Sixth National Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan.

Iranian MPs to Question Four Ministers about Media Activists’ Arrest

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 6, 2017

The Iranian reformist parliamentarian, Bahram Parsaei, says a number of MPs intend to question four ministers [of the country] about the arrest of some social media activists and administrators of Telegram channels in Iran.

From March 14 to 16, twelve administrators of reformist-aligned and pro-government channels in Telegram messaging app were arrested in Iran. In addition to being detained, the contents of the administrators’ channels were deleted and their channels’ names were also changed.

According to a Farsi report by ISNA, Parsaei said, “Following the detention of 12 administrators of Telegram channels and a number of social media activists [in Iran], we sent a letter to President Hassan Rouhani and told him that in case the situation of these detainees and the reason for their arrest is not clarified [as soon as possible], we will question a number of the related ministers in this regard.”

He said no explanation has been given so far about the reason for these individuals’ arrest, adding, moreover, nothing is yet revealed about the way they have been arrested and what their crime has been.

“Also, the time and date of their detention have given rise to a number of uncertainties, as they were arrested a few days prior to Nowruz, a celebration marking the beginning of the new Iranian year (this year started March 20), holidays.”

Therefore, he said, a number of Iranian lawmakers plan to question Iran’s Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, and Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Reza Salehi Amiri about the arrests.

Government is against Such Arrests

Commenting on the arrests, the Iranian Intelligence Minister Alavi said the government is against the detention of the administrators of Telegram channels.

Addressing the reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, he added the government maintains that the issue is required to be resolved in a peaceful manner and that the administrators of Telegram channels should be set free.

Iranian President Orders Rapid Action to Help Quake-Hit Areas

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IFP Media Wire

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April 6, 2017

In a telephone conversation with the governor-general of Khorasan Razavi on Wednesday, President Rouhani was briefed on the latest information about rescue efforts in the disaster-hit region.

He also ordered Khorasan Razavi to ask for help from neighboring provinces if necessary.

On Wednesday morning, a tremor struck some 100 kilometers (62 miles) southeast of Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan Razavi, prompting rescue and rapid response teams to be dispatched to the affected areas.

According to the Iranian Seismological Center of Tehran University, the epicenter of the earthquake was determined at Sefid Sang, a city in Qalandarabad District in the province.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10 km, was determined to be at 35.83 degrees of latitude and 60.26 degrees of longitude.

Reports suggest two people have died and a dozen others have been injured in Sefid Sang.

Several aftershocks have been felt in Mashhad as well as many nearby cities and villages.

Spokesman Rejects Britain’s ‘Baseless’ Anti-Iran Claims

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IFP Media Wire

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April 6, 2017

In comments on Wednesday, Bahram Qassemi said it is not the first time that British Prime Minister Theresa May has resorted to false and groundless allegations instead of telling the truth.

It came after May claimed in an interview with al-Riyadh newspaper that Iran was creating tensions and insecurity in the region by interfering in the affairs of Arab nations.

In response, Qassemi said Ms. May seems to have forgotten her official status and turned a blind eye to the Middle East developments in recent decades.

The bulk of chaos, instability and underdevelopment in the region originates from “colonial, expansionist and unfair” policies of aggression, invasion and creation of wars by her predecessors and Britain’s allies, he added.

Qassemi finally noted that London’s arms sales to the military coalition that is killing the people of Yemen in an “unequal and inhumane war” contradicts May’s claims about Iran.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

The Saudi-led aggression has killed more than 10,000 people, half of them civilians, and unleashed a humanitarian crisis in the poorest country in the Middle East.

The Riyadh regime is a major customer for British defense companies and an important London ally, and the British premier has been trying to build on traditionally strong ties with oil-wealthy Persian Gulf Arab monarchies before Britain leaves the European Union.

Since the start of the conflict, Britain has approved export licenses to Saudi Arabia for more than 3.3 billion pounds worth of aircraft, weapons and munitions

Ahmadinejad, Tehran Mayor Not to Run for President in May Election

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IFP Media Wire

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April 6, 2017

“I do not plan to run for president. I support Hamid Baqaei as the most qualified candidate,” Ahmadinejad said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Baqaei was the chief of staff and vice president for executive affairs during Ahmadinejad’s second term in office. He was also vice president and head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization when Ahmadinejad was in office during his first term.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has advised Ahmadinejad, who was Iran’s president from 2005 to 2013, not to run for president in the May election, saying the prospect of his candidacy could create polar divisions in the country.

Under Iran’s Constitution, presidents are allowed two consecutive four-year terms.

Iranians will go to the polls on May 19 to take part in the country’s 12th presidential election.

Two major political camps are at the heart of Iran’s politics; Reformists and Principlists and anyone not in these two camps is considered an independent.

Tehran mayor not to run for president

Meanwhile, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Wednesday that he had no plan to run in the next presidential election.

“As I mentioned in a letter, I have had and will have no plan to become a [presidential] candidate, but I will do my utmost to help the victory of the desired candidate in the presidential election,” Qalibaf said.

Qalibaf was a candidate in both the 2005 and 2013 presidential elections.

Iran’s Beauties in Photos: Old City of Hamadan

By

Fatemeh Askarieh

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April 5, 2017

Iran’s Beauties in Photos Old City of Hamadan (4) — Mausoleum of Baba Taher, the well-known Iranian poet of 10th century, in Baba Taher Sqaure

Hamadan has a green mountainous area in the foothills of the 3,574-metre Alvand Mountain, and is 1,850 metres above sea level.

The special nature of this old city and its historical sites attract tourists during the summer to this city, located approximately 360 kilometres (220 miles) southwest of Tehran.

In 2006, the Iranian Parliament named Hamadan the ‘Capital of Iranian History and Civilisation’.

It was the first capital city of the first dynasty ruling Iran, namely the Median Empire. However, the oldest relics discovered in Hamadan date back to Achaemenid era.

The main symbols of this city are the Ganj Nameh inscription, the Avicenna monument and the Baba Taher monument.

Here are ISNA’s photos of the old Iranian city:

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31 Killed in ISIS Attack on Iraq’s Tikrit

By

IFP Editorial Staff

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April 5, 2017

31 Killed in ISIS Attack on Iraq’s Tikrit

The ISIS terrorists wore police uniforms and used a police vehicle to enter the city, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police Colonel Khalid Mahmoud told Reuters. He said there were around 10 attackers, including two suicide bombers.

The ISIS’ Amaq news agency said seven suicide fighters attacked a police position and the home of the head of the city’s counter-terrorism service, who was killed. The assailants blew themselves up when they ran out of ammunition, it said.

A total of 31 bodies were taken to hospital, including 14 policemen, said Nawfal Mustafa, a doctor at the city’s main hospital. The death toll rose during the morning as the bodies of civilians killed in their shops were found.

Sand Storm in Southern Iran Unearths Ancient City

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IFP Editorial Staff

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April 5, 2017

Sand Storm in Southern Iran Unearths Ancient City (6)

The sand storm unearthed a large part of an ancient city in Negin-e Kavir County near the city of Fahraj in Kerman province.

Clay relics, bones, and brick walls have been discovered in the historical site. Further archeological investigations will be carried out to discover more about the city.

Here are Mehr’s photos of the unearthed area:

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