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Iranian, Russian Presidents Discuss Regional Issues, Bilateral Ties

By
IFP Media Wire
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In the conversation on Monday night, President Rouhani expressed the hope that an upcoming session of Iran-Russia joint economic commission would remove obstacles, if any, to closer mutual cooperation.

He further hailed the “historical impacts” of Tehran-Moscow cooperation in the fight against terrorist groups in Syria on regional stability, reiterating that only the people of Syria can decide the fate of their country.

For his part, the Russian president expressed satisfaction with a rise in the volume of bilateral trade in comparison to the previous year, saying the two countries can cooperate in major projects in the nuclear, oil, gas and transportation industries.

As regards Syria, Putin underlined that Iran and Russia are and will remain partners in settling regional crises, noting that such collaboration will continue until the Syrian people are saved from terrorist groups.

The two presidents further discussed the latest developments in the international oil market, and agreed to work together as part of the necessary coordination among oil producing countries.

Iran-Russia Visa-Free Deal Not Signed Yet: Spokesman

By
IFP Media Wire
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bahram-ghasmei

Visa requirements for package tours between the two countries are going to be removed under certain conditions but the agreement on the issue has not been signed yet, he said on Monday.

The two countries are going to sign the deal in the near future, Qassemi added.

There were reports earlier on Monday that Iran and Russia have already removed visa requirements for travelers from the two countries.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, too, said on Monday that the deal has not been signed yet.

Tehran and Moscow hope to sign an inter-governmental agreement on cancelling visas for tourists who book package tours through travel agencies, she said.

According to her, visa liberalization for Russian and Iranian tourists was one of the topics which dominated Russian-Iranian consultations on consular matters held by the heads of appropriate foreign ministry departments on November 21-22.

“Their outcome raises hopes that a Russian-Iranian inter-governmental agreement on cancelling visas for travelers who purchase packaged tours may be signed soon,” Zakharova said.

“During the consultations, the parties reviewed the draft’s text clause-by-clause. We are planning to work over the document jointly with Russian agencies in the next two or three months before the government issues a directive on this matter,” the Russian diplomat explained.

The sides agreed to examine the possibility of using a mechanism of direct invitations for arranging package tours for Russian and Iranian businessmen. It gives legal entities, companies and the heads of enterprises the right to invite foreign business partners independently.

“We are planning to make the said agreement a supplement to the existing Russian-Iranian inter-governmental agreement on simplifying reciprocal travel for certain categories of Russian and Iranian citizens,” Zakharova said, according to Tass.

“We believe that these steps will add momentum to Russian-Iranian relations and will, first and foremost, create favorable conditions for enhancing business cooperation and tourism, and expanding reciprocal understanding of the centuries-old cultural traditions of Russia and Iran.”

Washington Claims Iranian Vessel Has Pointed Weapon at US Chopper

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident took place when a Navy MH-60 helicopter flew within half a mile (0.8 km) of two Iranian vessels in international waters. One of the vessels pointed a weapon at the helicopter, the US officials claimed.

“The behaviour by our standards is provocative and could be seen as an escalation,” the officials said. At no point did the crew of the helicopter feel threatened, they added.

It was not immediately clear what type of weapon was pointed at the US aircraft, according to a report covered by ILNA.

Reuters said the vessel belongs to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The incident is the latest in a series of similar actions by Iranian vessels this year, but the first reported since Republican Donald Trump won the US presidential election on Nov. 8.

During his campaign, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessel that harassed the US Navy in the Persian Gulf would be “shot out of the water,” if he was elected. Trump is due to take office on Jan. 20.

Lawmakers Urge Gov’t to Counteract Washington`s Deceitfulness

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Bushehr-Nuclear

“According to the nuclear deal, the US was due to remove all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran,” said Abolfazl Aboutorabi, a member of Iranian Parliament, according to a report by ICANA, as translated by IFP.

“If the US Senate re-enacts D`Amato law and the President signs it, they would have undoubtedly violated the JCPOA,” he added. “In this case, what our Leader predicted about JCPOA and Washington`s deceitfulness will come true.”

“The Group 5+1, the European Union and all parties to JCPOA are accountable for this move,” he added.

“After the implementation of JCPOA, the Parliament`s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has been supposed to monitor the implementation of deal by the other party,” said Ali Bakhtiar, another lawmaker.

“We have to be more aware of Washington`s moves now that Trump is elected,” he declared. “We must anticipate all probable sudden moves and deceits to be able to strongly counteract the US.”

“Parliament members need detailed, well-reviewed reports for their further decisions about JCPOA. The Board responsible for monitoring JCPOA implementation has an important role in preparing reports about the other party’s performance; this board should hold its sessions more regularly,” Bakhtiar said.

Australia’s Most Wanted Terrorist and ISIS Fighter Detained in Turkey

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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isis

According to a report covered by Iran’s Mehr News, Prakash was earlier reported to have been killed in a drone strike earlier this year.

But Neil Prakash was alive, and headed across Iraq to the Turkish border using a fake passport after recovering from his injuries, Daily Telegraph reported.

He was unaware Australian spies and US intelligence agencies were on the case, and tracked him for seven months before his arrest.

Australian and Turkish officials were waiting for him at the border and captured him at gunpoint earlier this month.

In June, online ‘chatter’ alerted spies that Prakash was still alive.

Prakash – who used the name Abu Khaled Al-Cambodi – is not believed to have been travelling alone, and may have been with his Indonesian-born wife.

Prakash was a key part of Islamic State propaganda and he is linked to several failed Australian terror plots to kill innocent people.

He was linked to a failed Melbourne plot to behead a police officer on Anzac Day last year and to Numan Haider, an 18-year-old who was killed after stabbing two police officers in Melbourne in 2014.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in May named Prakash the most senior Australian operative in Islamic State.

Prakash was a chief recruiter and plotter for ISIS, Daily Mail reported.

He was arrested by Turkish authorities several weeks ago after being contacted by Australian officials who believed they had intelligence he was planning to enter the country.

Prakash, who left Melbourne in 2013, had also appeared in IS propaganda videos and magazines.

Australia is still awaiting a response from Turkey regarding Prakash.

If he returns to Australia, he will most likely be kept in maximum security at the Goulburn Supermax or a new anti-terror facility in Sydney’s Long Bay Correctional Centre, ABC News reported.

Kuwait Cabinet Steps Down after Parliament Polls

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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kuwait parliament

According to a report covered by Mashregh News in Iran, after accepting the cabinet’s resignation, Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah will either reappoint the outgoing premier, Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah, or name another senior member of the ruling family to form a cabinet.

The new cabinet must be formed before parliament holds its first session within the next two weeks.

The election on Saturday saw the Islamist-dominated opposition win nearly half of the 50-seat parliament after it ended a four-year boycott and took part in the polls.

Analysts predict the return of political disputes in parliament unless the ruling family-led government succeeds in cooperating with the opposition.

Around half of the opposition candidates who won seats are Islamists from a Muslim Brotherhood-linked group and Salafists.

The emir dissolved the previous parliament due to a dispute over hiking petrol prices.

But a majority of the elected MPs have openly said they would oppose any austerity measures by the government to boost non-oil income.

Voters dealt a heavy blow to candidates from the outgoing parliament, with more than half of them failing to win seats in the new assembly.

Only one woman was elected and Kuwait’s Shiite Muslim minority was reduced to six seats from nine in the previous house, AFP reported.

Unlike other Arab states in the Persian Gulf, Kuwait has an elected parliament with powers to hold ministers to account, even though senior members of the ruling family hold all the top cabinet posts.

The election came as Kuwait faces its most acute budget crisis in years. Oil income, which accounts for 95 percent of government revenues, has nosedived by 60 percent in the past two years.

The OPEC member which pumps 3.0 million barrels per day of oil posted its first budget deficit of $15 billion last year following 16 years of surpluses.

Castro’s Revolutionary Struggles Deathless: Iran FM

By
IFP Media Wire
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mohammad-javad-zarif

“Commander Fidel’s struggles against imperial powers will live on in history forever,” Zarif wrote, offering condolences to Cubans on Castro’s death.

The late Cuban leader “had an unparalleled role in pursuit of freedom, fight against arrogance, and quest for independence in Latin America,” the note said. “The Iranian government and people will always stand by the friendly Cuban government and people.”

Addressing reporters, he called Castro’s demise a catastrophe for the world’s freedom-seeking movements, especially in the Latin American region.

He also recalled Castro’s remarks to President Hassan Rouhani during a recent visit by the Iranian chief executive to the Latin American country, in which he had communicated concern considering the situation in Cuba and the Third World, and urged unity among developing nations against arrogant powers.

Castro’s Revolutionary Struggles Deathless: Iran FM
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) is received by former Cuban President Fidel Castro (R) in his house in the Cuban capital Havana, September 19, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Both Zarif and the Cuban envoy to Iran, Andres Gonzalez Quesada, meanwhile, hailed the status of bilateral Tehran-Havana ties and both sides’ resolve to strengthen their relations.

Cuba’s former president died last Saturday at the age of 90.

He famously led a guerrilla campaign that gained popular support and ousted US-backed Cuban dictator General Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959. He was then named prime minister.

On Saturday, President Rouhani also extended his condolences to Cubans over the death of Castro in a message to Cuba’s President Raul Castro.

Iranian Speaker Hails Castro as 20th Century’s Unforgettable Figure

By
IFP Media Wire
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larijani

In a letter to President of Cuba’s Parliament Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez, the Iranian speaker paid tribute to the late Cuban leader as a revered figure known for his struggle for freedom and fight against colonialism.

Fidel Castro was born in 1926 to a Spanish immigrant father and a Cuban mother. He took power in a 1959 revolution and ruled Cuba for 49 years with a mix of charisma and iron will, creating a one-party state and becoming a central figure in the Cold War.

Castro died on Friday at the age of 90. The Cuban government has announced a funeral for him on December 4. Havana also announced nine days of mourning.

Iranian, Mauritanian Officials Discuss Parliamentary Ties

By
IFP Media Wire
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Hossein Amir Abdollahian

Former Iranian deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who is now a special aide to the parliament speaker in international affairs, met with head of Iran-Mauritania Parliamentary Friendship Group Med ould Ahmed ould Vall in Tehran on Sunday.

Highlighting the significance that Iran attaches to ties with African states, Amir Abdollahian said formation of the parliamentary friendship group between Iran and Mauritania contributes to the enhancement of bilateral relations.

Elsewhere, he blamed the Islamic world’s conflicts on the plots hatched by the Zionist regime of Israel and certain international players, describing Palestine as the Muslim world’s overriding issue that should not be put in the shade.

For his part, the Mauritanian official voiced his country’s willingness to broaden relations with Iran, calling for implementation of previous agreements between the two nations.

Ahmed ould Vall also affirmed that the Israeli regime and Western countries are attempting to consign the issue of Palestine to oblivion.

Expansion of relations with African nations in all fields is top on the agenda of Iran’s foreign policy.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has repeatedly stressed his administration’s interest in boosting ties with African states.

[:ar]

Leader Urges Iranian Navy’s Stronger Presence in High Seas

By
IFP Media Wire
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Iran Supreme Leader

“Our country has long maritime borders and a long history of seafaring. Thus, the power and capability of the Islamic Republic’s Navy should be in line with the merit and level of the Islamic Establishment and the country’s history,” Ayatollah Khamenei said Sunday in a meeting with the Navy’s commanders and officials on the occasion of the national Navy Day.

Ayatollah Khamenei described the Navy’s mighty presence in international waters as a factor that contributes to the strength and capability of the country, stressing that the depth of such presence should be increased.

In recent years, Iran’s naval forces have increased their presence in high seas to secure naval routes and protect merchant vessels and oil tankers against pirates.

Earlier this month, the Navy’s 44th flotilla of warships sailed around the African continent and entered the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.

There are also plans for Iranian Navy vessels to sail across the Atlantic Ocean in the future.

Elsewhere in the Sunday meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to Washington’s plans to renew sanctions against Iran, reiterating that such a move would be a breach of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action- a nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers).

The Leader dismissed the notion that it will not be new sanctions but renewal of previous sanctions.

“There is no difference between starting a sanction and restarting it after it expires and the second one also constitutes a violation of previous commitments by the other party (to the JCPOA),” the Leader said.

The comments came after US lawmakers passed a bill on November 15, renewing sanctions on Iran for 10 years.

The House of Representatives voted 419 to one for a 10-year reauthorization of the Iran Sanctions Act, or ISA, a law first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in Iran’s energy industry.

On Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei had said that the implementation of the anti-Iran bill will translate into a breach of the JCPOA, warning the US government that Iran would certainly react to it.

“If such extension (of anti-Iran sanctions) is implemented and comes into force (in the US), it will be definitely a violation of the JCPOA,” the Leader said, underscoring, “They (Americans) should know that the Islamic Republic of Iran will certainly show reaction to it.”

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