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Iran Raps UK for Lack of Commitment to Yellowcake Deal

Iranian parliamentarian Mohammad-Javad Jamali Nobandegani lashed out at the UK’s lack of commitment to its contract with Iran to sell 900 tonnes of concentrated uranium, also known as yellowcake, to the country, saying the issue will soon be addressed in a meeting of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.

According to a Farsi report by ICANA, Jamali Nobandegani noted that Germany, France, the US and the UK each played the role of a bad cop over the course of the nuclear negotiations with Iran, adding the same role was performed by the UK with regard to its contract with Iran when London broke its promises to Tehran.

With the coming into power of Theresa May and Donald Trump as the UK and US prime minister and president, respectively, there has been a change in the division of responsibilities between the world powers, with the British radical conservative being assigned to go back on the UK’s promises to Iran, he said.

The Iranian lawmaker stressed that, “We expect the Iranian officials in charge of supervising the other sides’ commitment to the implementation of the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to give stronger responses to such breaches of commitments by the six world powers.”

“In the past, we were witness to several instances of Washington’s failing to honour its financial and banking commitments to Tehran. This time, the UK is creating problems for the implementation of the deal.”

Commenting on the performance of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in following up the breaches of promises by the sextet with regard to the JCPOA, he said, “The Foreign Ministry has done its utmost to address such issues. Nevertheless, since this one has recently been raised by the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi, we are not adequately informed about the moves made by the ministry in this regard.”

The lawmaker noted that after Rouhani took office [in 2013], the responsibility of following up issues pertaining to the nuclear talks were taken away from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and handed over to the Foreign Ministry.

Therefore, he added, the ministry is expected to react immediately and precisely to such moves by the P5+1 and act transparently in protecting the rights of the Iranian nation.

Jamali Nobandegani said although the Foreign Ministry has done its best to tackle such issues and safeguard the rights and interests of the Iranian people, it has, so far, failed to achieve any outstanding achievements.

“The Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has failed to hold any serious sessions recently, as it has been engaged in the process of reviewing the bills for the budget of the year to mid-March 2018 and the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2017-22). However, it will soon hold a meeting to address this issue.”

Iran Has Saved Jews 3 Times in History: Zarif

zarif

“To sell bigoted lies against a nation which has saved Jews 3 times, Netanyahu [is] resorting to fake history and falsifying Torah. Force of habit. Once again Benjamin Netanyahu not only distorts the realities of today, but also distorts the past — including Jewish scripture,” Zarif noted in a message posted on his official Twitter account on Sunday.

“It is truly regrettable that bigotry gets to the point of making allegations against an entire nation which has saved Jews three times in its history,” he added.

“The Book of Esther tells of how Xerxes I saved Jews from a plot hatched by Haman the Agagite, which is marked on this very day; again, during the time of Cyrus the Great, an Iranian king saved the Jews – this time from captivity in Babylon; and during the Second World War, when Jews were being slaughtered in Europe, Iran gladly took them in,” the Iranian FM went on to say.

The remarks by Iran’s top diplomat came after Netanyahu, during a recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, claimed that Iran had been trying to “destroy the Jewish people” for some 2,500 years.

Earlier on Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said that Netanyahu had both misreported Iran’s pre-Islam history and inverted facts. “Apparently, he is neither acquainted with history, nor has he read the Torah.”

IRGC Rejects Baseless Claims about Its Military Base in Syria

sanae radOn Sunday, Breitbart News online outlet reported that Tehran was close to reaching an agreement with Syrian President Bashar Assad on establishing its naval base in Syria as a payment for Iranian support during the six years of the civil war.

Brigadier General Rasoul Sanaei-Rad, the Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) for Political Affairs, stressed on Monday that Tehran is not planning to establish a military base in the Syrian province of Latakia despite media allegations.

“Our presence in Syria is limited to the presence of military advisers at the request of the Syrian government. We do not plan to create a military base in the Syrian province of Latakia. Such an atmosphere is being formed to destabilise the situation in the region and create disagreements between countries,” Sanaei-Rad announced, as reported by Sputnik.

Iran’s Tourist Attractions Promoted in ITB Berlin 2017

According to a Farsi report by Mehr, the ITB Berlin 02017- the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show- has been underway in the German capital since March 8 and will be open to visitors until March 12.

Participated by 187 countries, the Berlin travel show has allocated a 1,180-square-metre pavilion to Iran’s history and nature.

For the first time, numerous Iranian travel agencies and firms have taken part in the Iran project. Among the participants are 35 tourism agencies, two airlines, and the Iran Railway Company, which promotes the country’s railway tourism.

The Municipality of Tabriz also presents the northeastern Iranian city, which is considered among the top destinations of Muslim world in 2018.

The design of Iran’s pavilion, which has been visited by a large number of international tour guides since the opening, is inspired by the pre-historic and Islamic Iranian architecture masterpieces, as well as Iran’s nature.

Among the visitors were Indian Minister of Tourism Mahesh Sharma, and Taleb Rifai, the current Secretary-General of the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization, who was in Germany to attend the 7th UNWTO Silk Road Ministers Meeting, and visited the Iran pavilion accompanied by Morteza Rahmani Movahhed, Iran’s top tourism official.

On the 50th anniversary of the ITB’s establishment, 50 destinations are displaying their projects in the show; a good opportunity for 50 countries- most of them newly developed tourist attractions- to publicise their tourism.

As one of the most important tourism exhibitions in the world, the ITB had 60,000 professional and 120,000 general visitors last year.

30% of West Mosul Retaken from ISIS: Commander

A commander of the elite Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) announced that 30% of west Mosul has been liberated, according to a report by Reuters.

Federal police and Rapid Response units said they had entered the Bab al-Tob area of the Old City, where the fight is expected to be toughest due to narrow alleyways through which armored vehicles cannot pass.

The militants are vastly outnumbered and outgunned by Iraqi forces backed by a US-led coalition and are defending their last major stronghold in Iraq using suicide car bombs, snipers and mortars.

As many as 600,000 civilians are trapped with the militants inside the city which Iraqi forces have effectively sealed off from the rest of the territory that Islamic State controls in Syria and Iraq.

US Safe Zone Plan in Syria Doomed to Failure: Iranian MP

The Iranian parliamentarian, Mohammd-Ebrahim Rezaei, said the US and a number of Middle Eastern states seek to establish a safe zone in Syria, but they will undoubtedly fail to press ahead with their plan.

According to a Farsi report by ICANA, commenting on the next round of Astana talks, scheduled to be held on March 14 and 15, Rezaei noted that providentially, at present, the Syrian army and the Resistance Axis have managed to make great achievements [in establishing peace and ensuring security] in Syria.

This is while, some Western nations seek to shift the equation in Syria, he added.

“Lately, the officials of the Zionist regime have initiated their political moves and activities to exert their own desired impacts on the situation in the country. They are greatly concerned about being faced with a powerful and resistant nation following the end of the terrorism crisis in Syria.”

He said over the past few years, Western and Arab countries have provided terrorists in Syria with all-out supports, adding at present, they seek to cover up their former heinous and bloody crimes against the nation.

“The Zionist regime, as one of the main sponsors of terrorism in Syria, is, currently, presenting itself as a leading country in combating terrorist groups, masquerading as a fighter against the ISIS.”

At present, the sponsors of terrorism [in Syria] seek to link themselves with the ongoing trend of Syria [political] peace talks to restore their lost status within the international community, as they have failed to achieve any of their goals in the country by providing terrorist groups with armaments as well as military and financial assistance.

“The Americans, along with a number of regional states, seek to go ahead with the plan of creating a safe zone in Syria, which is definitely doomed to failure as those who are currently making decisions about the Syrian issue, are cognizant enough to prevent any interference by the supporters of terrorism in the process of deciding about the country’s future.”

Referring to the US military presence in the Syrian territory, he said such a move by the US government would only be aimed at saving the country from worldwide infamy and ignominy.

“No doubt, the presence of a few hundreds of US soldiers in Syria will fail to have any impact on the equations in the country. By such moves, the US only aims to shift public opinion in its favour and escape any future judgement by the international community.”

The next international meeting on settling the Syrian crisis will be held in Astana on March 14-15, the press service of Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on March 9.

Iran Advises Nationals to Avoid Visiting Turkey over Security Concerns

“Given the imminent coming of Nowruz (the Iranian New Year) holidays and plans of a number of fellow countrymen for travels abroad and given the security situation in Turkey over the past months…, all compatriots who intend to make a trip to turkey in case it is necessary are strongly advised to exercise caution,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Sunday.

In an interview with the Tasnim News Agency on Saturday, a member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission called on citizens to avoid traveling to Turkey in protest at insulting treatment of Iranian nationals by a Turkish officer at the Bazargan-Gurbulak border crossing.

Mohammad Javad Jamali said the commission will certainly follow up on the case of mistreatment of Iranian tourists by Turkish officers at the border crossing.

“I recommend (Iranian) people not to travel to Turkey if possible,” he added, however.

The comments came after a video went viral showing an angry Turkish police officer swearing at an Iranian traveler and hitting him with a nightstick while Iranians were standing in a queue at Gurbulak border crossing, northeast of Turkey.

Though Turkish officials have assured Iran that the officer has been sacked, and photos emerged a few days later showing Turkish security forces welcoming Iranian travelers at the same station with flowers and chocolates, Jamali said the dismissal of that angry officer was not enough and he should face trial.

Netanyahu Knows Nothing about History, Torah: Iran’s Larijani

In a Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that ancient Persia had made a failed attempt to “destroy the Jewish people” some 2,500 years ago. He made the remarks in an attempt to falsely suggest that Iranian people have been anti-Semitic from long times ago.

In reaction, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Netanyahu had misreported Iran’s pre-Islamic era history.

“Apparently, he is neither acquainted with history, nor has read Torah,” he noted, according to a Farsi report by Entekhab.

While scholars do not agree on the accuracy of the Purim story, Netanyahu has constantly referred to the legend as a basis of his anti-Iran arguments in his meetings with different world leaders, Press TV reported.

According to Jewish accounts, Persian King Ahasverous discovered his viceroy’s conspiracy to slaughter Jews some 2,500 years ago and had him executed.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu has been selective in his recount of history, ignoring the Hebrew Bible that has repeatedly praised Persian King Cyrus the Great as the patron and deliverer of the Jews, who put an end to their Babylonian captivity.

Read this article to know more about why the Israeli PM is trying to show Iran as an anti-Semitic nation.

Turkish Tourist Guides Touring Iran

National Day of Saadi commemorated in Iran

A total of 21 Turkish tour leaders, who are members of the Turkish Union of Tourist Guides (TUREB), have taken a week-long trip to Iran to gain further knowledge of the country’s tourist sites and attractions.

This trip has been organised by Iran’s Cultural Consulate in Ankara in cooperation with Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisation (ICHTO), a local travel agency as well as the TUREB, according to a Farsi report by IRNA.

Turkish Tourist GuidesCommenting on the tour, Hassan Safarkhani, Iran’s cultural attaché in Turkey, said, “Last week, a number of the representatives of the TUREB’s travel agencies as well as the Union’s tour leaders went to the Iranian cultural office in Ankara and called for the expansion of tourism ties between Iran and Turkey. Thus, the Iranian consulate, in collaboration with a local travel agency, arranged a one-week tour of Iran for them.”

He added the Turkish tourism delegation are scheduled to visit Iranian tourist attractions in the cities of Qom, Kashan, Isfahan, Shiraz (Fars province) and Tehran during their trip to the country.

“Following their tour of Qom, the 21-strong team of Turkish tourist guides will travel to Kashan and visit the city’s tourist attractions such as Fin Garden, the Borujerdis House and the Tabatabaeis House. They, then, will set out for Isfahan and make a tour of the city’s tourist, cultural, architectural and historical attractions. Shiraz will be their next destination. They will visit the city’s historical sites such as Persepolis and the tombs of Hafez and Saadi, the Iranian poets of the medieval period.”

In Tehran, their final destination, they are planned to visit the National Museum of Iran and National Jewellery Museum as well as the city’s castle museums, historical and cultural sites, modern buildings and structures – including – and Tehran Subway, he said.

Tehran milad Tower

 

Safarkhani stressed that presenting Iran’s cultural, historical and tourist attractions as well as culture, customs and rituals to Turkish tour guides, provides the country with a suitable opportunity to let the world gain greater knowledge of its attractions.

The move will definitely lead to an increase in the number of Turkish travellers to Iran, he added.

Radical Kuwaiti Sheikh Says Photoshop Forbidden

A member from the audience in a ceremony asked the radical Kuwaiti Sheikh ‘Uthman Al-Khamis “can we add effects to our photos?”

Sheikh ‘Uthman replied that editing any part of a photograph is forbidden and not allowed, adding that the photo must stay as it is.

The radical sheikh is well-known for his constant attacks against Shiite Muslims on his TV network and his unorthodox religious claims, Al Masdar News reported.