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IRGC General Downplays Trump’s Warning on Iran’s Missile Test

Rezaei

“Those who were bigger than you warned Iran and were not able to do anything (against the country),” Rezaei said in a speech on Friday, in response to recent anti-Tehran remarks by Donald Trump.

He further warned the new US president to remain vigilant and not to be deceived by King Salman of Saudi Arabia and the Israeli regime’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying “Mr. Trump think twice.”

The remarks came a day after Trump, on his official twitter account, said, “Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the US made with them!”

Earlier, President Hassan Rouhani had also reacted to the US president’s anti-Iran moves. He said separating nations with walls and banning people from entering a country are measures expected from novice politicians.

Addressing a ceremony in Tehran on Wednesday to mark the National Day of Space Technology, President Rouhani said it would be a mistake for a president to think that if he orders his country’s visa holders from several other countries banned from entering the country, he can separate human beings.

The new order Donald Trump signed last Friday bars all persons from seven countries from entering the US for 90 days and suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days. The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia.

Trump’s order will also cancel the Visa Interview Waiver Program, which once allowed repeat travelers to the United States to be able to forgo an in-person interview to renew their visa. Under the new order, these travelers will now have to have in-person interviews.

Trump also signed a directive to begin the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico. The wall will be stretched across the roughly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) US-Mexico border.

Iranian FM Responds to US President’s Anti-Iran Tweets

Zarif

“Iran unmoved by threats as we derive security from our people,” Zarif said on his official twitter account on Friday.

“We’ll never initiate war, but we can only rely on our own means of defense,” the top diplomat noted.

In a later tweet on Friday, Zarif said, “We will never use our weapons against anyone, except in self-defense. Let us see if any of those who complain can make the same statement.”

Iranian FM Responds to US President's Anti-Iran Tweets

The statements by Zarif came in response to Trump’ tweet on Friday which said, “Iran is playing with fire – they don’t appreciate how “kind” President Obama was to them. Not me!”

Earlier on Thursday, Trump had said on his twitter account that “Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the US made with them!”

It came after a US official claimed on Monday that a new ballistic missile that Iran test-fired recently has exploded after travelling 630 miles (1,013 kilometers).

The Iranian defense minister confirmed news of the test on Wednesday, stressing that the Islamic Republic will not allow the others to interfere in its defense affairs.

Iran Exporting Chewing Gum to Italy, Sweden, Australia

According to the figures released by the Iranian Customs Office, during the 9-month period leading to December 2016, some 1,591 tonnes of sugared and sugar-free gum were exported to 18 different countries, including China, Italy, Sweden, Armenia, Australia, and Iraq.

The exports brought some $8.4 million in revenues, according to a Farsi report by Khabar Online.

Iraq was the biggest importer of Iran’s chewing gum. Gum sales to Iraq amounted to more than $4 million, around half of the total earnings gained from chewing gum exports in the nine-month period.

Iran’s President Congratulates Sri Lanka on National Day

In a message released on Friday to his Sri Lankan counterpart, Maithripala Sirisena, President Rouhani felicitated Sri Lanka on its 69th Independence Day.

He further expressed confidence that amicable ties and coopetition between Tehran and Colombo would further expand in various spheres in light of the political will of the two countries’ officials.

The Iranian president also wished health and success for Sirisena and prosperity and happiness for the Sri Lankan people.

Sri Lanka’s Independence Day is celebrated on February 4 each year, in accordance with Lipass/Joshua Louis Law to commemorate its internal political independence from British rule on that day in 1948.

The day is a national holiday in Sri Lanka. Usually, the main celebration takes place in Colombo, where the President raises the national flag and delivers a nationally televised speech.

Spokesman Blasts Washington’s Provocative Claims on Iran’s Missile Tests

Iran Blasts Saudi Airstrike on Civilians in Yemen

In a statement released on Wednesday, White House national security adviser, Michael Flynn, claimed that Iran’s recent missile tests breached UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was adopted in July 2015 to endorse a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries.

Flynn added that Washington was “officially putting Iran on notice.”

Resolution 2231 urges Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi rejected Flynn’s claims as “baseless, repetitive and provocative,” and said “none of the missiles have been designed to carry nuclear warheads.”

The Iranian official further emphasized that Iran’s missile tests are not in contradiction to Resolution 2231, adding that the country’s “legitimate defense policy complies with international regulations, and is under no circumstances negotiable.”

He added that such remarks “come while the Islamic Republic of Iran’s efforts to fight terror groups in the Middle East are not hidden to anyone; groups which enjoy direct or indirect financial, logistical and intelligence support of the US and its allies.”

Qassemi further expressed regret that instead of expressing gratitude for the Iranian nation’s continued anti-terror struggles, the US administration keeps leveling groundless accusations and adopting unwise policies, which practically promote terrorist groups.

Spokesman Blasts Washington's Provocative Claims on Iran's Missile Tests

Had it not been for Iran’s sincere cooperation with legitimate governments and nations in the region in their battles against terror groups such as Daesh, some capital cities in regional states would have fallen to terrorists, he added.

The official further slammed as “inappropriate and discriminatory” Washington’s recent ban on the entry of travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations as well as refugees into the US

Such a move “proves once again the US officials’ disregard for international laws, rules and norms,” he said.

On January 27, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order, which blocked the entry of citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen into the United States for 90 days. It also suspended entry of all refugees for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian official stressed that the Islamic Republic’s regional policies are transparent, expressing Tehran’s keenness to have friendly ties with all regional states based on mutual respect and non-interference in their domestic affairs.

Defence Minister: Iran’s Missile Test Was Successful

In an interview with the Tasnim News Agency, the minister said the recent missile test has been successful.

He also reiterated that Iran’s missile tests do not violate either the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the UNSC Resolution 2231.

It came after a US official claimed on Monday that a new ballistic missile that Iran test-fired recently has exploded after travelling 630 miles (1,013 kilometers).

The Iranian defense minister confirmed news of the test on Wednesday, stressing that the Islamic Republic will not allow the others to interfere in its defense affairs.

In the meantime, 220 Iranian MPs issued a statement on Wednesday to voice “full-fledged support” for the Armed Forces, saying “reinforcement of the defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in line with deterrence strategy” is an absolute necessity to ensure the country’s security.

After achievement in July 2015 of the JCPOA, a nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), the 15-memebr United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to endorse the accord.

Resolution 2231 calls upon Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”

Iran, however, maintains that none of its missiles have been designed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads, because nuclear weapons have basically no place in the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine.

Iranian Minister Says Trump Can’t Kill Boeing Deal

boeing

Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi told the domestic media that a deal which Iran has sealed with Boeing was “a commercial one” and could not be therefore cancelled through an order by the US president.

“This cannot happen,” Akhoundi emphasized in response to a question on whether Trump could order to kill the deal with Boeing. “This is a commercial deal.”

Boeing announced a $16.6 billion agreement with the national carrier Iran Air in December, saying the orders were on course to support nearly 100,000 new jobs in the United States.

The deal, however, has already run into opposition in the Republican-run Congress and Trump’s travel ban further makes it impossible for pilots, cabin staff and maintenance crews to enter the US for training.

US media earlier this week highlighted concerns that Iran’s deal with Boeing to buy 80 passenger planes had been thrown into doubt following President Trump’s executive order barring travel by Iranians to the US.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan has warned that Iran would seek return of “prepayments with interest” if the Boeing deal were thwarted by Trump’s administration.

The aircraft have to be delivered over 10 years, beginning in 2018. The agreement includes orders for 50 narrow-body 737 passenger jets and 30 wide-body 777 aircraft. Boeing has said the deal was reached under the conditions of a US government license issued in September.

Iran has also signed a deal with the European plane maker Airbus to purchase 100 planes.  It delivered the first plane in January with more deliveries coming up over the next few months.

Trump’s Advisor Puts Iran ‘on Notice’ over Missile Test

Michael Flynn

“We are officially putting Iran on notice,” said White House national security adviser Michael Flynn in a statement on Wednesday.

Flynn repeated the US claims that ballistic missile tests violate a UN Security Council resolution that endorsed Iran’s nuclear deal with the world powers, including Washington.

UN Security Council Resolution 2231 calls on Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”

Iran’s defensive ballistic missile program has been a bone of contention with the West. Tehran says its missile tests do not breach UN resolutions because they are solely for defense purposes and not designed to carry nuclear warheads.

Arms control experts have also said that Iran’s missile tests are not banned under the nuclear agreement and the UNSC resolution, because Iran’s missiles are not meant to deliver nuclear warheads.

In a typically Trumpish tone, Flynn stated that “Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened.”

Trump's Advisor Puts Iran 'on Notice' over Missile Test

Resolution 2231 was adopted in July 2015 to endorse a nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, also including the UK, Russia, Germany, China and France.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, a total of 220 Iranian lawmakers highlighted the “deterrence strategy” in Iran’s missile program.

Arab Leaders Criticized for Silence over Trump’s Biased Order

Abdel Bari Atwan

According to a Farsi report by Fars News Agency, Rai-al-Youm editor-in-chief Abdel Bari Atwan denounced Trump’s embarrassing decision, which has triggered a wave of protests across the Muslim world and inside the United States as well.

However, heads of Arab states have not yet taken any position on the US president’s move, and only the countries affected by Trump’s order have shown reaction so far.

“We have taken the remote controls of our TV sets over the past few days and followed the latest news aired by official and unofficial channels. We have been looking for a strong position taken by Arab and Islamic countries. But it’s been only Iran and top Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr that have taken a firm stance [on Trump’s order],” said Atwan.

He said people expected the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which has recognized the Saudi attacks on Yemen as aggression, to be among the first entities to protest Trump’s executive order and call for an emergency meeting in Jeddah.

The 41 members of a so-called Islamic military alliance led by Saudi Arabia were also expected to hold an emergency meeting and take a stance against Trump’s decision, said the Arab writer.

“But our expectations were not fulfilled,” Atwan noted.

Rather, he said, “these supporters of Trump” seem to have been instructed to remain silent and focus their attention on other issues.

Arab sheikhs did not even tweet anything and most of them kept a low-profile in order to remain off Washington’s blacklist and not enrage their master, the Arab author highlighted.

After all, he added, the Arab sheikhs feel no need to criticize Washington as the US is different from Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

The citizens of the seven countries affected by Trump’s decision pose no threat to the US, said Atwan; rather, they themselves have fallen victim to Washington’s terrorism.

The case in point is what happened in the Yemeni city of Bayda the other day in which some 60 Yemenis, most of them civilians, were killed, he noted.

Arab leaders’ silence comes as no surprise, Atwan said, adding, “It may not be an exaggeration to say some Arab leaders even back Trump’s racist moves.”

Ironically enough, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, which is a non-Muslim country, has announced he will admit Muslim asylum-seekers and stresses the principle of tolerance, said the Arab writer.

The premier has said racial diversity makes Canada more powerful, Atwan noted. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will stand up for the rights of dual-national German citizens, the Arab author added.

He said no Arab leader has even made a single statement about this, nor have they adopted a brave stance on the issue like the position adopted by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. The president cancelled his trip to Washington in protest at Trump’s order to construct a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Weakness and inaction will not bring respect, nor will they change Trump’s racist stance, he wrote. What brings respect is firm action, something that real men can do. But where are these men? There has been not a single man to adopt a position against Trump.

Boeing Highly Likely to Cancel Iran Deal: MP

Iranian lawmaker, Mohammad-Javad Jamali Nobandegani, believes it is highly likely that Boeing would cancel its contract with Iran due to the newly passed travel ban against Iranians by US President Donald Trump, according to a Farsi report by Mizan Online News Agency.

Boeing’s pending $8 billion deal with Iran Air was already in serious doubt before President Trump’s executive order Friday barred travel to the US by nationals and travellers of seven Muslim countries, namely Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, for the next three months, The Seattle Times reported.

The report says the travel ban adds an immediate logistical barrier as pilots, cabin staff and maintenance crews will be unable to enter the US for training on how to fly and safely maintain Boeing airplanes.

Commenting on the issue, Mohammad Yahyavi, an Iranian-born former Boeing vice president who is now retired and living in Bellevue, said the ban leaves Boeing “in a very tough situation.”

“They have a sales commitment and a customer,” Yahyavi said. “On the other hand, they have government policies to obey. I know which will prevail. It’s the government.”

Expounding on the same issue, Jamali Nobandegani said any move or decision is expected from Trump during his terms in office.

Slamming Trump’s moves as unwise and baseless, he stressed, “Undoubtedly, at present, it is highly probable that Boeing would revoke its deal with Iran. This is a possibility which cannot be denied.”

The US is not willing to let Iran benefit from the advantages of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — signed between Iran and P5+1, Jamali Nobandegani said, adding, “We should not expect otherwise. The US hostility towards Iran has been proven to us.”

He stressed that Iran is required to take exigent measures to be prepared to foil the US’ plots in time, particularly those aimed at violating the JCPOA.

“At present, every move by the Trump administration hints at the US government’s disposition to revoke the nuclear deal. We are required to be ready with appropriate countermeasures.”