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Two Art Expositions Underway in Tehran

December 24, 2016

According to a Farsi report by Mehr, the two art expositions are being held in Saba Art Academy in Tehran, and will be open to visitors until Sunday, December 25.

Here are Mehr’s photos of the exhibitions:

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Christians in Northern Iraq Celebrate First Christmas after ISIS Pushback

IFP Editorial Staff

December 24, 2016

Bartella, once home to thousands of Assyrian Christians, emptied in August 2014 when it fell to ISIS’ blitz across large parts of Iraq and neighbouring Syria. Iraqi forces took it back in the first few days of the offensive that started in October.

“It is a mix of sadness and happiness,” said Bishop Mussa Shemali before a Christmas eve ceremony at Mar Shimoni church, which has been badly damaged, with crosses taken down and statues of saints defaced.

“We are sad to see what has been done to our holiest places by our own countrymen, but at the same time we are happy to celebrate the first mass in two years.”

The region of Nineveh is one of the most ancient settlements of Christianity, going back nearly 2,000 years, Reuters reported.

The region’s Christians were given an ultimatum: pay a tax, convert to Islam, or die by the sword. Most of them fled to the autonomous Kurdish region, across the Zab river, to the east.

It will be some time before people can return to the town which remains without basic services, and many buildings still bear the scars of the fighting.

“This is the best day of my life. Sometimes I thought it would never come,” said Shrook Tawfiq, a 52-year-old housewife displaced to the nearby Kurdish city of Erbil.

The front line in the battle to retake Mosul – the ISIS’ last major stronghold in Iraq, has moved a few kilometres to the west, into eastern districts where the militants are dug in among civilians, fighting off the advance of elite Iraqi units with suicide car bombs, mortars and snipers.

Iranian MPs Condemn US Allegations about General Soleimani’s Presence in Syria

IFP Editorial Staff

December 24, 2016

After the full liberation of Aleppo from Takfiri [extremist] terrorists, the US is creating a hostile atmosphere against Iran by accusing it of violating the UNSC Resolution that led to removal of all anti-Iran sanctions imposed by the UN.

John Kirby, the US State Department spokesman, claimed that the recent visit of General Soleimani, the Commander of IRGC Quds Force, to Syria has been a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

As regards the photos showing General Soleimani in Aleppo, Kirby said, “His travel is a violation,” according to a Farsi report by ICANA.

“He is one of the designated individuals.” He added. “No exemption to the travel ban was sought, and so it does constitute a violation of UNSCR 2231.”

“We do intend to consult with our partners on the Security Council about how to address our concerns with this,” he said.

“We’ve long said that Iran needs to choose whether it’s going to play a positive role in helping peacefully resolve conflicts such as in Syria or whether it will choose to prolong them.”

The US makes these claims while violating the JCPOA by extending the sanctions against Iran. Plus, General Soleimani had appeared in Iraq several times before, and there was no allegation of deal violation.

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Members have reacted to the accusation.

“It is none of their business where in the world Iranian authorities go,” commented Morteza Saffari Natanzi, an Iranian MP, about American claims about the violation of UNSC Resolution by the Iranian commander travelling to Syria.

“Such a claim is unjustifiable,” he added. “The US is just following its old ways of spreading anti-Iran propaganda.”

He went on to say that Iran would never give up considering its national interests and resistance, and doesn’t seek the approval of others for it.

“There is no relationship between the Resolution and the trips of Iranian authorities. We have not violated the Resolution.”

“The allegations are baseless. We have legal consular relationships with the official administration of Syria,” said Seyyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, another Iranian lawmaker. “No resolution is preventing Iran from sending its authorities to regional countries.”

“Those Western countries would seek permission from Iran to travel to the region in the future, as here is the home of Muslims,” said Javad Karimi Qoddousi, another MP. “We travel easily around the region, as the authorities of regional countries come to Iran.”

“The West is covering up its abject failure in Aleppo by these undignified claims,” he added. “Western countries should open their eyes to see that the Middle East is no more a place to boss people about.”

“The presence of General Soleimani in Syria is just a pretext for claims about the violation of UNSCR 2231,” noted Ardeshir Nourian, another lawmaker.

“Washington is projecting its own false strategies,” he added. “It is an excuse to exert pressure on Iran and influence public opinion.”

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force has been providing Syria and Iraq with advisory help in their fights against terrorism based on the requests of their legitimate governments.

Iran’s Top Officer Congratulates Christian Counterparts on Christmas, New Year

IFP Editorial Staff

December 24, 2016

In the separate messages sent on Saturday, the senior Iranian commander offered his congratulations over the birthday anniversary of Jesus Christ, the messenger of peace, justice and mercy.

He also expressed the hope that peace, stability, and tranquillity would spread throughout the world by following the teachings of the great Prophet Jesus Christ.

Major General Baqeri also wished health and prosperity for his counterparts and the military forces in Christian countries, IRNA reported.

The auspicious occasion of the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ is an annual commemoration and a widely observed cultural holiday, celebrated generally on December 25 by billions of people around the world.

Interrogator of Saddam Hussein Reveals Untold Stories about Iraqi Dictator

IFP Editorial Staff

December 24, 2016

According to a report covered by ISNA in Farsi, “Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein” is the book written by CIA officer Nixon about his meetings with Saddam. Hussein was certainly a brutal dictator, but the man described by Nixon was not on a mission to blow up the world, as George W. Bush’s administration had claimed to justify the invasion.

Nixon was an analyst in Iraq when the United States military captured Hussein, and he was asked to identify him so the Americans could be certain they had the right man. Nixon confirmed Hussein’s identity by checking for a tribal tattoo on the back of his right hand and a scar from a 1959 bullet wound.

Regarding Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction, the justification for the 2003 invasion, Hussein admits to Nixon that it was a mistake for him not to make clear before the war that he had long since gotten rid of them.

The findings from Nixon’s interrogations of Hussein that cast doubt on the Bush administration’s original justifications for the war, Nixon says, were ignored by senior officials at the CIA and the White House. “The policy makers at the White House and the leadership on the seventh floor at the CIA didn’t want to hear that many of the reasons for going after Saddam were based on false premises,” he writes.

“I asked about the CIA’s belief that Saddam suffered great pain from a bad back and had given up red meat and cigars. He said he didn’t know where I was getting my intelligence, but it was wrong. He told me he smoked four cigars every day and loved red meat. He was also surprisingly fit.”

Senior Member of Turkish Ruling Party Killed in Armed Attack

IFP Editorial Staff

December 24, 2016

According to a report by IFP, Bulut was assassinated by unknown gunmen and lost his life immediately after the attack.

Turkish media reported that investigation has been kicked off to capture the suspects.

Israeli-Saudi Plots for Insecurity in Iran Foiled: IRGC Chief

IFP Media Wire

December 24, 2016

Two regimes, which may seem unimaginable, such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, are making broad attempts and are in close contact with each other to create insecurity in Iran, the top commander said in a meeting in Tehran on Saturday, but underlined that all those hostile plots have been foiled by Iran.

Hailing the “popular sustainable security” in Iran, Major General Jafari added, “Today, the security domain has gone beyond the borders of our country, because one of the (Islamic) Revolution’s achievements has been the export of revolution.”

Pointing to the latest developments in Syria, the top commander described the liberation of Aleppo as “a big defeat” that the axis of resistance and the Islamic Revolution inflicted on the enemies, mainly the US and Israel.

In a statement on Thursday, Syria’s army announced it has regained full control over the northwestern city of Aleppo, clearing the city from foreign-backed terrorist groups after more than four years of fighting.

The Syrian security forces encircled Aleppo on July 17 after closing off the last terrorist-controlled route into the city.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.

According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.