Iran’s Aseman Airlines Signs Deal to Buy 60 Boeing Planes

By

-

April 4, 2017

The document was signed on March 18, during a meeting with Boeing representatives in Tehran, Aseman told the Financial Tribune on Tuesday.

Aseman expects to finalize a contract in 2-3 months. The deal is now pending a license from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, according to the airliner.

The airline is also in talks with Boeing’s European rival Airbus to add two A340s and seven A321s to its fleet that is the third largest fleet in Iran, after Iran Air and Mahan.

Aseman’s has three A320-200s, one A340-300, four ATR72-200s, two ATR72-500s, three B727-200s, one B727-200(F), two B737-400s and 19 Fokker 100s.

Iran Aseman Airlines, owned by Iran’s Civil Service Pension Foundation, would be the second Iranian airline to purchase brand new aircraft from Boeing after the lifting of the sanctions in January 2016.

Back in December, Iran Air finalized a deal with Boeing on 80 jets including 50 narrow-body 737max 8s, 15 wide-body 777-300ERs and 15 777-9s, which will be delivered to Iran Air over 10 years.

It was reported that the Iranian airline was set to lease seven A320neo from an undisclosed Irish firm following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization and the Irish Aviation Authority in Tehran in February.

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4

By

IFP Editorial Staff

-

April 4, 2017

Newspapers today mostly covered the speculations about the country’s May presidential election and the possible competition between the incumbent President Hassan Rouhani and the conservative cleric Ebrahim Raeisi.

The deadly terrorist attack in St. Petersburg subway station, Russia, also received great coverage.

Another top story was Britain’s violation of its commitments as per the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

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

Abrar:

1- Rouhani: It’s a Religious, National, Revolutionary Duty to Increase Production, Employment

2- Iran Interested in Purchase of 100 Sukhoi Planes: Russian Minister

3- Trump: I’ll Resolve North Korea Issue Single-Handedly

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-abrar

Aftab-e Yazd:

1- Rouhani’s Performance Is His Most Important Rival: Reformist Politician

2- National Mourning Declared in Russia

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-aftab

Arman-e Emrooz:

1- Conservatives Have Woken Up: Rouhani Is Ours, Not Reformists’!

2- Ahmadinejad May Run for President!

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-arman

Ebtekar:

1- Interior Ministry Fully Prepared to Hold May Elections: Minister

2- Saudi Arabia Playing Based on American Scenario

Saudis Looking for Regional Coalition against Iran

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-ebtekar

Etemad:

1- Judiciary Chief: Not Every Good Man Is Appropriate for Presidency

2- Will These Two Compete with Each Other? [Rouhani vs Raeisi]

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-etemad

Ettela’at:

1- Terrorist Attack on Shiite Pilgrims in Iraq’s Samarra Defused, 40 ISIS Elements Killed

2- Prosecutor-General Urges Those Active in May Election Not to Pollute Country’s Atmosphere

3- Terrorist Attack in St. Petersburg Kills 10, Wounds 50

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-ettelaat

Haft-e Sobh:

1- Fear in St Petersburg

2- Rouhani’s Rivals Will Need 18 Million Votes

3- Secrets behind Brutal Attack on 17-Year-Old Iranian Refugee

London Police Has Arrested 8 Suspects So Far

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-haft e sobh

Iran:

1- Rouhani: Giving up Hope on Ballot Boxes Is End of Democracy

2- Government to Create over 700,000 Jobs in New Year: President

3- Train of Terror Arrives in Russian Station

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-iran

Javan:

1- Rouhani: All JCPOA Objectives Achieved!

Rouhani’s claim is while fresh sanctions are being imposed and banking sanctions are still in place

2- Revenge for Aleppo Defeat Taken in St. Petersburg

3- Trump’s Direct Message to Assad

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-javan

Jomhouri Eslami:

1- British Forces’ Aggression against Northern Syria on Pretext of Cooperation with Armed Groups

2- Iran’s Oil Exports at Highest Level in 7 Years: International Energy Agency

3- Rouhani: We Want to Hold Glorious, Ethical Elections

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-jomhouri

Kayhan:

1- US Concerned about Iran’s Economic Growth after Change in Status Quo

2- Gallop: 47% of American People Grappling with House, Living Problems

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-kayhan

Resalat:

1- Judiciary Chief Urges Candidates, Fans to Observe Electoral Ethics

2- Britain Playing Nuclear Deal Game in US Ground

It’s now London’s turn to violate its commitments

3- Optimism towards Americans Is Ignorance: Senior Cleric

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-resalat

Shargh:

1- Russia’s Brain Targeted

2- 12 Million People Took Trips during Nowruz without Own Cars

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 4-shargh

4 Iranian Works Included in Bologna Children’s Book Fair Catalogue

By

IFP Editorial Staff

-

April 4, 2017

Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which kicked off on Monday, is a 4-day event being held from April 3 to 6 at the Bologna Fair Centre in Bologna, Italy.

The event offers a great chance to discover the latest market trends in the book industry, and to meet the most important illustrators, authors etc. dedicated to children’s books.

Iran’s programs during the event include a special program called ‘Iran’s Day’, a program dedicated to introduction of Iranian culture, literature and illustration, followed by a lecture by Dr. Fatemeh Asgari (Faculty member of Foreign Languages at Tehran University) on the ‘translation of Pinocchio in Iran’.

Two Italian illustrators, Simone Rea and Arianna Vairo, will talk about their experiences while in Tehran. The two illustrators held a workshop at the Iran Cultural Fairs Institute in Tehran in January 27 and on the occasion of Italy being the guest of honour of the 30th Tehran International Book Fair.

65 Iranian titles dedicated to children’s books will be presented to visitors during the fair, Mehr reported.

Works by Rashin Kheyriyeh, Narges Mohammadi, Farshid Shafi’ee, and Hassan Ameh-Kan are shown in the Book Fair’s catalogue along with works by 71 other illustrators from around the world.

Pro-Clinton Columnist Longs for Job in Trump Administration

By

IFP Editorial Staff

-

April 4, 2017

The English website ‘Arab News’ in a recent report announced that it will discontinue publishing articles by US columnist Andrew Bowen.

“The reason behind this decision is the columnist insisting that this newspaper deletes previous articles dating back prior to the recent US election where he was in favour of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton,” the website noted.

“Bowen, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has repeatedly requested the removal of these articles stating that this is needed for him ‘to be cleared’ for what he claims to be a possible job with the new Donald Trump administration’s State Department,” it added.

“Bowen also insinuated — verbally and in writing — that he will seek the support of influential friends and contacts to help remove the articles,” Arab News went on to say.

Arab News referred to such a request as “unprofessional journalistically”, and wished Bowen the best of luck in his job application.

Iran Rejects ‘Ridiculous’ Claims of Support for Taliban

By

IFP Media Wire

-

April 4, 2017

“Today, the representative of Afghanistan’s delegation [to the IPU assembly] raised a baseless claim about support by Iran for Taliban. This allegation is made while Iran is one of the main victims of Taliban,” Gholam Ali Jafarzadeh Imenabadi said in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka on Monday while pointing to the massacre of 11 Iranians, including nine diplomats, in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif by the Taliban in 1998.

He added that Iran was the first country that warned the international community about the adverse consequences of the emergence the Taliban militant group.

“Iran has paid a heavy material and non-material price due to the crisis in Afghanistan,” the legislator said.

Taliban militants were removed from power following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, but they have stepped up activities in recent months, attempting to overrun several provinces.

Thousands of foreign troops are still in Afghanistan, but apparently maintaining security remains an issue amid almost frequent incidents of violence across the country.

Imenabadi noted that the Afghan representative had made the groundless allegation while ignoring the glaring reality of Iran hosting millions of Afghan refugees in over three decades, emphasizing that such moves would neither help Kabul resolve its issue nor serve its interests.

He reiterated that Iran was among the countries that played an important role in reconstructing and assisting Afghanistan with its development process.

He recommended members of the Afghan delegation to avoid making “irrational and destructive” comments and being swayed by ill-wishers.

A Timeline for Iran’s Upcoming Presidential, Local Elections

By

IFP Media Wire

-

April 4, 2017

The following is a timeline of the milestones in the forthcoming elections:

– April 11-15: registration of candidates for the elections

During this period, presidential hopefuls are expected to register for taking part in the forthcoming presidential race. Right now, there are over 220 political parties and factions recognized by the Iranian Interior Ministry, but only 10 percent of them are actively recruiting members and weighing on domestic policies. 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.

Local Elections

– April 16-20: vetting of candidates by the Guardian Council

Presidential elections are monitored by the Guardian Council and the elections of city and village councils are observed by the Parliament. All candidates should be finally vetted by the Guardian Council.

– April 21-25: possible extension of vetting process

During this period, the Guardian Council can decide whether to extend the time considered for the vetting of election candidates. This usually happens when vetting all candidates is not possible during the set time frame or new evidence on the qualifications of candidates emerges, which calls for more work by the Guardian Council.

iran election

– April 25-27: announcement of approved candidates

In this period, the Guardian Council will release the final list of candidates it has approved to run for the election. Following the announcement, the candidates will be given a set time to launch their election campaigns during which they will explain their future plans to people who are to vote for them.

– April 28-May 17: presidential election campaign

Election campaigns for those running for president will officially kick off on April 28. Two major political parties in Iran are Principlists and Reformsits; however, a new political group named Moderates has made its way into political arena after the 2013 presidential elections. Islamic Coalition Party has officially announced that it will nominate Mostafa Mirsalim, a former minister of culture and Islamic guidance, for the election. Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi, a member of the Parliament, announced his nomination as well. Hamid Baqaei, an Iranian politician and senior adviser to former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has also announced his candidacy as an ‘independent’ candidate.

presidential election

– May 18: pre-election campaign silence

On May 18, all presidential candidates will officially wrap up their campaigns as they are legally required to stop all activities aimed at their election as of this day, which precedes the election day.

– May 19: Election day

On this day, Iranians will go to the polls to cast their votes for their next president. Principlists and Reformists are archrivals in the elections. Before President Hassan Rouhani, Ahmadinejad served as Iran’s president for two terms for eight years, but he has decided not to join the race this time around.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has urged Iranian people to show enthusiastic presence in the forthcoming elections, saying that elections is one of two pillars of religious democracy, which make the Iranian nation feel honored before the world.

Iran Condemns St. Petersburg Terrorist Attack

By

IFP Media Wire

-

April 4, 2017

Russian police are hunting for two suspects in the wake of a bomb blast in the St Petersburg metro system that killed at least 11 people and wounded 45 more.

An unidentified explosive device went off on a train after leaving Sennaya Ploshchad station and heading to the Technology Institute station, Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee said.

Russian security agencies found and defused a second explosive device at the Ploschad Vosstaniya station, one of the city’s busiest stations, the committee also said.

Condemning the attack, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi expressed sympathy with bereaved families of the victims.

“We once again remind the necessity for joint international efforts for seriously confronting terrorism regardless of motivations behind it (terrorism) and believe that there is no way to uproot these violent crimes except serious resolve and determination by all states and international bodies…”

Blast Hits St. Petersburg Metro, Casualties Reported

By

IFP Media Wire

-

April 3, 2017

According to preliminary information released by Russia’s TASS news agency, rescue teams are being dispatched to the site of the blast with a witness telling Reuters that eight ambulances were seen near the Sennaya Ploshchad metro station.

Another Russian news agency, RIA Novosti, however, reported that there have been apparently two separate explosions at two metro stations.

Three metro stations have been closed, according to Fontanka local media outlet.

“An evacuation from the stations is ongoing, there are people injured,” the St. Petersburg metro said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies, adding, “An unidentified object supposedly blew up in a (train) carriage.”

Another report by St Petersburg emergency services said indicated that there were blasts in two train carriages at two metro stations.

Russia’s Interfax news agency cited a source as saying that at least one of the blasts involved a device filled with shrapnel, adding that at least 20 people had been injured.

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on April 3

By

IFP Editorial Staff

-

April 3, 2017

After two weeks of New Year holidays in Iran, newspapers were published once again on Monday.

The top story was the remarks made by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei about the Iranian people’s expectations from the government and the call for increased focus on employment and production.

The upcoming presidential and local elections in Iran and the number of those who have run for the local votes also received great coverage.

The end of Nowruz holidays and people’s outdoor picnics on Sizdah Bedar or Nature Day was also a top story today.

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

19 Dey:

1- Iran Leader Calls for High Turnout in Election