The humanitarian aid carried by the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) for Assyrian refugees has entered the Iraqi territory, the Assyrians’ secretary noted in a thank you letter.
The representative of Assyrians in Iranian Parliament read the written letter of appreciation sent by the Secretary of Iraqi Assyrians.
According to a Farsi report by Kayhan newspaper, the aid shipment with an approximate weight of nine tons consisted of rice, conserved food and blankets.
On Wednesday night, Rebecca Miller, the daughter of Arthur Miller, referred to Asghar Farhadi as the ‘Master of Suspension’ while presenting him the Best Foreign Language Film award for his latest drama “The Salesman” at the National Board of Review Awards gala in New York.
According to a report by IFP, “The Salesman” is the story of a couple whose relationship begins to turn unfavourable during their performance of “Death of a Salesman”, an acclaimed play by Arthur Miller, Rebecca’s father.
Farhadi has twice previously won this same award for his “A Separation”, which won him an Oscar, and “The Past”, his first film shot outside of his homeland in France.
“The Salesman” is also contending for the Oscar for best foreign-language film this year.
On Saturday, Rouhani issued a congratulatory message addressed at Nana Akufo-Addo, felicitating him on winning Ghana’s presidential race.
Stressing his country’s willingness to have close friendship and ties with Ghana, the Iranian president expressed the hope that Tehran-Accra’s bilateral ties would further enhance in all areas under Akufo-Addo.
Akufo-Addo will be sworn in on Saturday after beating incumbent leader John Dramani Mahama in elections last month.
The 72-year-old former human rights lawyer will take the oath of office at a ceremony in Independence Square in central Accra before more than 6,000 guests and members of the public.
Ghana’s elections, which were held on December 7, came in the wake of a weak economy. The country was unhappy with the ruling party. Seven out of 10 Ghanaians believed that the country was headed in the wrong direction, according to the Ghana Center for Democratic Development.
Newspapers on Saturday covered the remarks made by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in a meeting with the families of Iranian martyrs killed in the fight against terrorism in Syria and Iraq.
Donald Trump’s move to dismiss all US ambassadors appointed by Barack Obama also received great coverage today.
US Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks in his goodbye letter, particularly those calling Trump to maintain pressure on Iran and its missile capabilities, were also widely covered.
The above issues, as well as many more, are highlighted in the following headlines:
Abrar:
1- Iran’s Leader: Those Who Were Martyred to Protect Holy Shrines [in Iraq and Syria] Are Sources of Honour for Entire Nation
2- Kerry: Pressure on Iran Should Be Maintained
3- US Secretary of Defence Underlines Maintaining Nuclear Deal with Iran
4- 85 mcm of Iran’s Gas Output Has Gone Missing!
5- Turkish Army Enters Al-Bab and Kills 38 ISIS Militants
6- Russia’s Intervention in US Election Is beyond Hacking: James Clapper
Abrar-e Eqtesadi:
1- Biggest Oil Deal Signed between Iran and South Korea
2- IMF Explains Trump’s Impact on Global Economy
3- Iran-EU €10-Billion Trade in 10 Months
4- Iran-Russia Industrial-Trade Cooperation Started in 140 Projects
Afkar:
1- Cutting Damascus’ Water Supply Is a War Crime
Aftab-e Yazd:
1- 782% Growth in Incoming Foreign Capitals in Iran Stock Exchange Market in Post-JCPOA Era
2- Analyst: In 2001 Presidential Election, Atmosphere Was against Incumbent Government, but Khatami Received Higher Number of Votes
3- Donald Trump’s New Show [Editorial]
Amin:
1- 4 Afghan Nationals Lose Their Lives in 5.1-Magniture Quake in Southern Iran
2- World’s Oldest Mosaic in Iran’s National Museum
Arman-e Emrooz:
1- Reformist Figure: People’s Pockets Will Become Empty without JCPOA
2- Conservatives Want to Remove Rouhani: Politician
Asrar:
1- Foreign Ministry Spokesman: Turkish Officials Would Better Be Careful about Their Unconstructive Remarks
2- Farhadi’s ‘The Salesman’ Wins Best Foreign Language Film Award at National Board of Review
Ebtekar:
1- Iran’s Leader: Protectors of Holy Shrines [in Syria and Iraq] Have Paralysed the Enemy
2- Women en Route to Presidential Palace: Women’s Candidacy in Presidential Votes
3- Women Not Allowed! Official Says It Is Below Women’s Dignity to Ride Subway Trains!
Etemad:
1- Doctors Who Have Contract with Government Are Now Allowed to Run Personal Office: Physicians in a Dilemma of Choosing between State-Run Hospitals and Private Offices
2- Rouhani Has Had a Reformist Performance: Politician
Ettela’at:
1- Trump Orders Dismissal of All American Diplomats before His Inauguration
2- Oil Minister: We Have No Problem for Increasing Our Gas Output
Haft-e Sobh:
1- Iranian Earthquake in Empires of KIA and Hyundai: Several Famous Korean, Japanese, and German Brands Removed from List of Permitted Car Imports
Hemayat:
1- IRGC Aerospace Commander: We Are Able to Produce Any Type of Missile
Iran:
1- Spokesman: Iran’s Oil Income in Post-JCPOA Era Has Increased $3.3 Billion Each Month
2- Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Petroleum, and Intelligence as Well as Central Bank Announce What They Have Done in Babak Zanjani’s Case
3- Trump: All Obama’s Ambassadors Should Resign
Javan:
1- Iran’s Leader: We Should Fight Enemies in Tehran If We’re Not in Syria
2- Kerry: Now Is the Time for Trump’s Pressure on Iran’s Missile Program
Jomhouri Eslami:
1- 30,000 Barrels Added to Iran’s Daily Oil Production
2- Biden to Trump: Act like Adults
Ka’enat:
1- Kerry’s Farewell: Ties with Iran Will Remain in Dispute; No One Can Predict New Government’s Foreign Policy; Scrapping Nuclear Deal Is a Dangerous Move
Kayhan:
1- Kerry Clarifies Win-Win Solution: We First Dismantled Their Nuclear Industry, Now It’s Time for Their Missile Program
2- Prince Bin Talal’s Unprecedented Confession: ISIS Was Created by Al Saud in Riyadh
Khorasan:
1- Kerry’s Historic Confession: We Let ISIS Gain Power
Mardom Salari:
1- Trump Destroying Roots of American Diplomacy: All US Ambassadors Dismissed
Rah-e Mardom:
1- Takfiris [extremists] Have Repeatedly Tried to Explode Tehran’s Mosalla [Grand Mosque]: IRGC General
2- Kerry: Nuclear Deal Proved Power of Diplomacy
3- Young People’s Hot Fever for Living with Strange and Odd Animals in Capital City
Sayeh:
1- Iran’s Oil Exports to China in 2017 Will Break Records
Shahrvand:
1- Holes of Death under Tehran’s Feet: Danger of Land Subsidence in Various Parts of Southern Tehran Including Mehrabad Airport, Railway Station, and Gas Stations
2- Smugglers Sending Iran’s Fertile Soil to Arab Countries: Plundering Thousand-Year-Old Heritage
Shargh:
1- JCPOA Proponents Are Going: Kerry Writes Goodbye Letter
2- Oil Businessman’s $1-Billion Gift to Iran: First Post-JCPOA Contract Signed
After Katayoun Najafizadeh, the director of Iranian Organ Donation Association participated in Khandevaneh, a popular talk show, to present the online system for organ donation enrolment, 40,000 Iranians signed up in the website in 36 hours.
According to a Farsi report by ISNA, before that, 500 to 1,000 persons a day used to enrol for organ donation.
Iranian Association of Organ Donation has been active for more than 20 years.
By enrolling for these cards, people officially give their consent to donate their organs after death.
Up to now, more than 1.8 million organ donation cards has been issued in Iran.
According to a report by IFP, as a result of the earthquake, which occurred at 6 a.m. local time in Khonj, Fars Province, on Friday, the walls of old buildings crumbled and the local power grid was shut down.
Officials dispatched search and rescue teams to the quake-hit areas. The Iranian Red Crescent Society also distributed dozens of tents among the quake-hit residents.
4 Afghan nationals were killed and four other people wounded, according to Iranian officials.
After Saudi Arabia cut its diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016, Iranian Muslims can’t participate anymore in Hajj- the annual Pilgrimage in Mecca. Now there are rumours that Saudi Arabia has invited Iran to take part in next year’s Hajj.
Although the Foreign Ministry has denied receiving any invitation, Ali Motahari, the Vice-Speaker of Iranian Parliament, believes that if Iran receives Riyadh’s invitation to participate in next year’s Hajj, it should accept it “because such an invitation proves a moderation in policies and should be welcomed.”
“However, to resume its participation in Hajj, Iran will definitely set preconditions for Saudi Arabia. No agreement will be reached until they accept our conditions,” he stressed, according to a Farsi report by ICANA.
This Iranian lawmaker confirmed that it is a good occasion for Iran to claim its rights.
“Saudi Arabia must pay us the blood money of Iranian pilgrims killed in 2015 Mina crush. We can also petition for the blood money of 400 Iranian martyrs of 1987 Hajj.”
According to a Farsi report by ISNA, about 300 jellyfish were found dead in several parts of Jask coast.
“During this season, it is natural to find dead jellyfish,” said Afshin Asgari, Marine Officer of Hormozgan’s Department of Environment.
“Several experts of Environment Department, Hormozgan Fisheries Organisation, and Persian Gulf and Oman Sea Ecological Research Institute are studying the cause of death and mortality rate of jellyfish in Jask.”
“Mortality factors include water pollution, and the algal bloom as a result of increase in water temperature and minerals,” he added, noting that the jellyfish is very important to the marine lifecycle and nourishment.
Living in the average depths of the sea, theses jellyfish are 10 to 20cm in diameters. In Persian, the jellyfish is called “Aroos-e Daryayi” (marine bride) because of its beautiful umbrella-shaped, transparent and gelatinous body.
The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) announced in a statement that it had struggled enough to resolve disputes with Turkmenistan, but had already came to the conclusion that the case needed to be taken to international arbitration.
The NIGC emphasized in its statement that it had already paid for the incoming gas as well as parts of its outstanding debts to Turkmenistan which amounted to $4.5 billion “through different methods and based on goodwill”.
The company added that the debts belonged to the years when Iran could not make cash transfers due to sanctions.
Iran, nevertheless, tried to compensate by guaranteeing hundreds of millions of dollars in goods and services to Turkmenistan, the statement further said, as reported by the media.
This past Sunday, Turkmenistan cut exports of natural gas to Iran on grounds that the country should make a rapid payment of the debts that remained from past sales.
Iran accordingly described Turkmenistan’s move as “illogical”, but later said it had increased gas production from central fields to compensate for the halt in supplies from its northern neighbor.
Turkmenistan’s move was seen as a surprise in Tehran, particularly given that it came on the heels of an announcement on Friday that the two countries had reached an agreement to resolve the gas dispute after a series of intense talks.
“Parallel with the negotiations over settling the outstanding debts, the NIGC had been seriously pressing on with talks with Turkmengas over numerous contract violations including those that concerned the quality and the quantity of gas delivered to Iran and thus made the company entitled to fines,” the NIGC emphasized in its statement that was posted on Shana, the news website of Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum.
“Those negotiations have literally failed to produce any results”.
The company announced that it had spent “tens of hours” of negotiations to resolve disputes with Turkmenistan but all had been to no avail.
“Therefore, the NIGC has put the referral of Turkmengas to international arbitration on its agenda,” the company added in its statement.
“It should be emphasized that based on the clear clauses of the agreement, Turkmengas was not authorized to cut the supplies of natural gas on Iran even though there had been any debts or any delay in payments. This move was a flagrant violation of the agreement and shows that Turkmengas is not a reliable partner in international transactions.”
The Iranian company further criticized what it described as the intervention of Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry in a legal case between the Iranian and Turkmen sides over the gas deal, stressing that this constituted a violation of agreements between the two countries, AzerNews.az reported.
In a letter addressed to Guterres on Friday, Zarif said the plight of the Rohingya has caused international concern.
The ethnic Muslims have not only been deprived of their most basic right — i.e. the right to belong to a country and a government that would protect them — they are also being exposed to killings and violent and inhumane treatment on a daily basis, he wrote.
The Iranian foreign minister referred to an upcoming ad hoc meeting by the foreign ministers of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on January 19 to address the situation of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and said the meeting reflects the depth of concern on the part of Islamic governments about the ethnic Muslims’ conditions.
The Rohingya have been subjected to persecution in Myanmar since 2012. Extremist Buddhists have attacked the Muslims, mainly in the northern Rakhine State, recurrently, torching their houses and causing them bodily harm.
Since October last year, however, the Muslims have faced increased violence. Back then, the Myanmarese military imposed a siege on Rakhine, and the government of Myanmar has blocked humanitarian and media access to the Muslims in the state ever since. There have been numerous reports of killings, rapes, and other forms of abuse being carried out against the besieged Muslims.
Tens of thousands of the members of the minority group have been forced to flee to neighboring regions, in Kachin State or across the border to Bangladesh.
Zarif said the “the systematic violation of the Rohingya Muslims’ basic rights and denying them citizenship… and forcing them to leave their homes” would have adverse consequences on peace and stability in Myanmar as well as in neighboring and regional countries.
He said it was expected of Myanmar’s government to take immediate and effective action to protect the rights of the Rohingya and not allow extremist groups to tarnish the peaceful image of Buddhism.
The top Iranian diplomat said it is also expected of Guterres and his special envoy for Myanmar to communicate to the Myanmarese government the demand of the international community and the Islamic world concerning immediate humanitarian access to affected areas.
He also expressed hope that the UN, through the mechanisms available to it, would take the necessary measures to address the situation of the Rohingya in Myanmar.
The UN said on Friday that a special rapporteur would be visiting Myanmar on Monday to investigate reports of abuse against the ethnic Muslims in Rakhine. Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Yanghee Lee will start a 12-day visit to Rakhine and Kachin states on Monday, the UN said.
The Myanmarese army denies the allegations of mistreatment against the Rohingya. A committee set up by the government recently concluded that law was not being violated in the state, an assertion widely derided by international rights organizations.
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