Iran Warns US after House Moves to Renew Sanctions

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November 16, 2016

US lawmakers voted 419 to one for a 10-year reauthorization of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), which was initially adopted in 1996 on the unfounded ground that Tehran was pursuing a non-civilian nuclear program.

The ISA will expire at the end of 2016 if it is not renewed and the bill must be passed by the Senate before being signed by the US president into law.

Iranian officials warned the US against renewing the ban in light of the fact that Iran has had the sanctions lifted on the back of its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani addressed US officials on Tuesday night in a strident tone.

“If you extend the sanctions, this will mean kicking the JCPOA away and we will confront it through implementing powerful technical packages,” he said, without elaboration.

The agreement was struck in July 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 group comprising the US, France, China, Britain, Russia and Germany.

Addressing the pro-Israeli lobby group AIPAC back in March, US President-elect Donald Trump declared that his “number-one priority” would be to “dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.”

Back in July, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said, “We will not violate the JCPOA, but if the opposite side violates it – as US presidential candidates are currently threatening to tear up the JCPOA – if they tear up the JCPOA, we will burn it.”

Trump, himself, has conceded that it would be hard to destroy a deal enshrined in a United Nations resolution. In August 2015, he said he would not “rip up” the nuclear deal, but that he would “police that contract so tough they don’t have a chance.”

Shamkahni said, “The Iranian nation is an independence-seeking one. They (US leaders) cannot sit in glass palaces saying they would [either] tear up the JCPOA or renegotiate it.”

Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, also said if Washington annulled the JCPOA at Israel’s behest it would cost it dearly.

“Whoever becomes the president in the US, he will have to support the Zionists, but annulling the JCPOA will be a strategic mistake. If Trump seeks to annul the JCPOA, this will cost the US dearly,” he said.

Space Should Be Part of Our Daily Lives: Iranian Official

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IFP Editorial Staff

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November 16, 2016

“Space will become part of people`s lives in the future; even now it is present in their daily lives, and the National Space Administration [of Iran] intends to bring the space into people`s life and society,” said Manouchehr Manteqi, the chief of Iran`s National Space Administration, about the country’s priorities in second national 10-year spatial program.

“Cellphone is one of the most obvious cases of using space-related matters in the society, and all these communications are possible thanks to satellites. So it`s not strange to bring the subject of space into people`s daily lives,” he added, as reported by Mehr, and translated by IFP.

According to Manteqi, people can also see the usage of satellites and space-related matters in banking services, television channels, and meteorology, among others.

Iran’s President Urges Joint Efforts to Ensure Asia’s Security

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IFP Media Wire

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November 16, 2016

One could not make a distinction between security in different parts of Asia, be it the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean or South China Sea, the Iranian president said at a meeting with China’s Defense Minister General Chang Wanquan in Tehran on Tuesday.

“We need to preserve Asia’s security together, and today, the Islamic Republic of Iran has also a very significant role in ensuring global security and stability,” President Rouhani added.

He also referred to terrorism and foreign interference in the internal affairs of other countries as two major threats in the contemporary era.

The president further voiced Iran’s determination to boost cooperation with China -a great Asian country and an age-old friend of Iran- in all fields, including defense.

Highlighting the role of reciprocal visits by Iranian and Chinese military officials in promoting closer mutual cooperation, President Rouhani called for the full implementation of agreements with China.

For his part, the visiting general hailed Iran as the region’s leading power, voicing China’s resolve to keep working with Iran for the sake of regional security and stability.

Wanquan also emphasized the significance of collaboration between Tehran and Beijing in the fight against terrorism.

On Monday, the Chinese defense minister and his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan signed an agreement on closer defense and military cooperation between Tehran and Beijing, sharing military experience, particularly in training, as well as combatting against terrorism and causes of regional insecurity.

Iran and China have close diplomatic, economic, trade and energy ties, and in recent years have developed their military relations as well.

Iran Rejects ‘Baseless’ Claims of Housing Taliban

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IFP Media Wire

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November 16, 2016

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Tuesday that relations between Iran and Afghanistan are based on cordial cooperation and common interests and security.

Qassemi’s comments came after the governor of the western Afghan province of Farah, Asif Nang, claimed in an interview with Kabul News TV channel on November 9 that Iran has given houses to Afghan Taliban commanders and provided training facilities for militant groups in some of its cities.

This as Iran has repeatedly emphasized that improving progress and security in Afghanistan is among the Islamic Republic’s core policies.

The Taliban militant group lost its grip over Afghanistan in 2001 in a US-led military invasion and has since retreated to rural areas, resorting to hit-and-run attacks on cities.

Iran Defuses ISIS Bombing Plot, Confiscates 2 Tonnes of Explosives

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IFP Media Wire

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November 16, 2016

Iran’s deputy intelligence minister for strategic studies on national security said on Tuesday that the terrorists had sought to use the explosives to carry out bomb attacks in at least 10 locations across the country.

Shafiei added that the Takfiri terrorists planned to conduct their vicious acts after the arrival in Iran of the ringleader of ISIS military branch in the country.

The official did not mention the date of the confiscation of the explosives, but said it was the outcome of people’s cooperation, because the intelligence and security operation began following a telephone call by a member of the public.

Back in June, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry reported thwarting a Takfiri-Wahhabi plot to stage attacks in Iran’s major cities, including the capital, Tehran. It also released a video showing security forces raiding the hideout of the terrorists in the capital.

Iranian forces have recently engaged in clashes with terror groups, thwarting their terrorist activities on the border and within the country, arresting several of them and confiscating large amounts of explosives and bomb-making materials.

Iran’s security forces arrested members of an Iraqi-based terrorist group, comprised of two terrorists and their two accomplices, in a village near the Iranian city of Marivan in the western province of Kordestan on September 16 and 18, before they could find a chance to conduct any acts of terror.

The Iranian forces found a number of weapons and ammunition in their hideout.

On September 20, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) forces arrested two terrorists of Pakistani nationality in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

According to a statement by the IRGC, the terrorists had been funded by Saudi Arabia and had received intelligence assistance from spy agencies of enemy states.

UN Human Rights Bill on Iran Politically Motivated: Foreign Ministry

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IFP Media Wire

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November 16, 2016

On Tuesday, Qassemi stressed that the resolution, which was presented to the 71st UN General Assembly by Canada, is politically motivated.

“Unfortunately this resolution was compiled and ratified with specific political objectives solely based on a selective and confrontational approach without taking into account the realities of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

He added that Iran condemns any attempts for political manipulation of human rights by Western countries against the world’s independent nations.

Qassemi added that the UN’s human rights mechanisms must not be used in the political games of powerful nations.

He noted that the resolution’s goal ran parallel to the agendas of the Zionist regime, Saudi Arabia, and a few other regional countries who are the main sponsors of terrorism, violence and extremism.

He went on to note that this alignment itself reveals the resolution’s bias, and stressed that Iran has always been against any manner of political manipulation of human rights.

11 Islamic Countries to Attend Iranian Research and Technology Exhibition

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IFP Editorial Staff

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November 15, 2016

According to a report by Mehr, as translated by IFP, Majid Mottaghitalab, the secretory of 17th Exhibition of Research, Technology and Tech-Trade Achievements, announced that the representatives of 11 Islamic countries will be present at the exhibition.

“They will visit Iran to participate in the conference of Inter–Islamic Network on Science and Technology Parks, and we planned their schedule so that they will be present at the exhibition for two days,” he said.

“1,900 plans have so far been submitted to the exhibition,” he noted, adding that the improvement of exhibition`s quality has drawn foreign scientists’ attention to it.

Russian Frigate Targets Terrorists in Syria with Kalibr Missiles

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IFP Editorial Staff

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November 15, 2016

“Today, we started a large-scale operation on launching massive strikes on ISIS and al-Nusra Front targets in the Idlib and Homs provinces [in Syria],” Shoigu said, according to a report covered by Al Alam.

Accoridng to him, Admiral Grigorovich frigate, Bastion coastal missile systems and “for the first time in history of the Russian Naval Forces” Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft-carrying cruiser take part in the military operation.

“Admiral Grigorovich [frigate] takes part in the operation. Today, it launched Kalibr cruise missiles on [terrorist] targets that had been confirmed by intelligence data and determined in advance,” the minister said at a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with top officials of the Russian Armed Forces.

Shoigu said that the Russian Armed Forces launch strikes on terrorists’ plants in Syria, especially those producing poisonous substances. “It’s clear that it’s a well-organized industrial production, that’s why we carry out strikes [on terrorist plants].”

“Ammunition depots, terrorist training centres and plants producing different means of unconventional weapons are the main targets of the strikes.”

Russia will continue strikes on terrorists’ industrial and military sites in Syria, Shoigu said, as reported by Sputnik.

Terrorists Kill Journalists to Prevent Coverage of Anti-Terror Victories

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IFP Editorial Staff

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November 15, 2016

Thamir Sandooq, the cameraman of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), was wounded in a recent mortar shell attack by terrorists in Syria’s Aleppo.

Mohsen Khazaei, the IRIB correspondent in Syria, lost his life in this attack.

In an interview with IRNA, as translated by IFP, Sandooq said the attack was launched on Western Aleppo on Saturday, November 12, when they were covering the victories of Syrian army in the fight against terrorism.

“We were attacked by a mortal shell in a street in Western Aleppo. It was probably fired from Mansoureh district whose control is still in terrorists’ hands,” he noted.

“Given the responsibility reporters have in such situations, which is the coverage of victories achieved by Syrian army and the Resistance front, the hostile move [the terrorist attack] was aimed at preventing the coverage of these victories,” Sandooq added.

“These victories will realize the main goal pursued by Syria and the Resistance front, which is the fight against terrorism,” he added.

After being wounded, Sandooq was transferred to a hospital in Damascus, and is now under treatment.

Iranian Stargazers Stunned by Supermoon

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IFP Editorial Staff

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November 15, 2016

A supermoon occurs when the moon becomes full on the same days as its perigee, the point in the moon’s orbit when it is closest to Earth.

NASA scientists say that supermoons generally appear to be 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons.

The full lunar disc lighting up the night skies inspired people around the world, both professionals and amateurs, to try to capture the celestial event that will not repeat itself in almost two decades.

Stargazers in Iran also enjoyed the impressive spectacle and took photos of the historic moments. Here are photos taken by various Iranian news agencies in the cities of Mashhad, Sanandaj, Shiraz, Yazd, and Tehran:

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