Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said Friday US use of a chemical attack in Syria as a “pretext for unilateral action is dangerous, destructive and violation of peremptory principles of international laws.”
Some 60 US Tomahawk missiles were fires from US warships deployed to the Mediterranean at the Shayrat airfield southeast of Homs earlier in the day, in an assault slammed by Syria as an “act of aggression.”
In its first plenary session held on Thursday (April 6), the members of the Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces (PFIRF) selected 5 of the 21 conservative figures who sought to run for May 19 presidential election, through voting.
According to a Farsi report by Alef news website, the 21 preliminary applicants were, themselves, selected from 53 individuals who were suggested to the PFIRF’s Founding Board by the PFIRF members based on a number of indices following a two-week process. After holding face-to-face talks with these 53 applicants, the Founding Board had chosen 21 of them based on a number of indices and approved regulations and submitted a list of their names to the PFIRF members.
10 candidates were later elected including the current Chief Custodian of Astan Quds Razavi Ebrahim Raeesi, who resigned from Iran’s High Supervisory Board of [presidential] Elections and sent his representative to the PFIRF plenum to officially announce his candidacy for the presidential elections, the current President of Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation Parviz Fattah Qarabaghi, the Mayor of Tehran Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, former MP Alireza Zakani, current lawmaker Hamid-Reza Haji Babaei, former IRIB chief Ezzatollah Zarghami, former nuclear negotiator Saeid Jalili, former MP Mehrdad Bazrpash, former roads minister Ali Nikzad, and former oil minister Rostam Qassemi.
Raeesi won the majority of the votes, followed by Fattah, Qalibaf, Zakani, Haji Babaei, Zarghami, Jalili, Bazrpash, Nikzad, and Qassemi.
Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei and Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi – Iranian politician and former minister of science, research and technology – were also among the initial 21 applicants.
Later on Thursday, the conservative party members selected their final 5 by putting the 10 candidates into vote. Raeesi, Zakani, Bazrpash, Qalibaf, and Fattah received the highest number of votes.
PFIRF is an Iranian political organization founded in late 2016 by 10 figures from different spectrum of the conservative party.
The group is the main rival for Iran’s incumbent President Hassan Rouhani in the 2017 presidential election, intending to introduce a single candidate from the conservative party.
Meanwhile, certain right-wing figures like Jalili and Ahmadinejad’s ally Baqaei will probably independently run for presidency.
A number of Iranian parliamentarians have censured the recent moves and statements by Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano, urging the IAEA to maintain impartiality in carrying out its responsibilities.
According to a Farsi report by ICANA, earlier, Amano, in an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal, claimed that in 2016 Iran was in two times close to violating its nuclear deal commitments on heavy water production.
Amano said in case those who buy Iran’s heavy water in the US and other countries refuse to continue their purchase, Iran will surpass the 130-metric-ton threshold for heavy water [production] which was agreed upon under its nuclear agreement with the sextet.
He added Iran has maintained its capacity to produce 1.5 metric tons of heavy water per annum, claiming there is a risk that this would lead to a violation of the country’s nuclear commitments in the future.
Amano noted that in case Iran continues its heavy water production, the country’s reserves will reach the threshold of 130 metric tons.
Politically-Motivated Stance
In reaction to Amano’s remarks concerning the possibility of Iran violating the JCPOA due to its exceeding of the limits on heavy water, the Iranian parliamentarian, Hossein Naqavi-Hosseini, said the statements made by the IAEA director general and his stance towards the issue are politically-oriented, as other signatories to the nuclear deal have violated the JCPOA several times in recent years, whereas, the responsible organizations and bodies have adopted no particular stance towards their nonfulfillment of their commitments.
“Currently, Western countries are the ones who are accused of violating the JCPOA due to their failure to honour their promises. Nevertheless, raising such vague issues and accusing Iran of breaching the deal, by the IAEA, will only change the international community’s attitude towards Iran and, thus, impacts the country’s foreign relations.
He added instead of adopting political approaches towards Iran, the IAEA is required to be unbiased in fulfilling its responsibilities.
Blame Is on West
Commenting on Amano’s remarks, another Iranian MP, Mohammad Ebrahim Rezaei, said a number of Western countries seek to pretend that Iran is violating the nuclear deal by broadcasting negative propaganda against the country.
“Since the going into effect of the JCPOA, the IAEA has exercised careful and strict supervision over Iran’s nuclear program and carried out frequent inspections of the country’s nuclear facilities and centres [in this period].”
He said over the past few months, the IAEA has, for several times, confirmed that Iran is committed to the implementation of the nuclear deal’s contents, adding this is while, the same organization is incapable of publically announcing that the Western signatories to the JCPOA have frequently breached the agreement and continue to lack firm commitment to fulfilling their promises with regard to the deal.
Led by the US, the IAEA seeks to put the ball of non-commitment to the JCPOA in Iran’s court, as the international community and public opinion have complaints about the US failure to fulfil its promises about the implementation of the JCPOA.
Escape Forward
Expounding on the statements made by the IAEA’s director general, the Iranian lawmaker, Mohammad-Javad Abtahi, said Amano’s remarks are efforts to escape forward.
“The IAEA’s move and statements are aimed at justifying the US, as well as some western nations’, conspicuous nonfulfillment of its commitments on the implementation of the JCPOA.”
He stressed that, definitely, Iranian officials should give a strong response to Amano’s remarks as, apparently, by making such moves and statements, the IAEA and the US aim to evaluate Iran’s reaction.
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
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
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
Etemad:
1- Tehran Mayor Withdraws from Running for Presidency, Attacks Rouhani
2- Oil Minister’s Response to Indians: Threatening Rhetoric Won’t Help Contract
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
Haft-e Sobh:
1- Powerful Quake near Mashhad Didn’t Have Heavy Casualties
Iran:
1- Conservatives to Introduce Their Final 5 Candidates
2- Storm Exposes 2,500-Year-Old Site in Fahraj
Jame Jam:
1- Who Will Run for President?
2- The 6-Magnitude Shake
Javan:
1- Tehran Mayor: I’ll Help Change This Inefficient Government
2- IRGC’s Excellent Work in Ending Deprivation in Kordestan, Kermanshah
3- Fresh US Sanctions Temporarily Stopped for Iran Election
Jomhouri Eslami:
1- Ahmadinejad, Qalibaf Simultaneously Attack Rouhani’s Gov’t
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
Khorasan:
1- 6-Magnitude Fear
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
“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.
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