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Saudi Abuse of Sanctities Very Dangerous: Iran

“By fabricating stories and irrelevant subjects, Saudi Arabia is using religious issues and sanctities for political exploitation,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Tuesday.

Saudis have baselessly leveled such an allegation against Yemen and are currently making efforts to use it as a lever in Muslim countries, he added.

Yemeni army forces and allied fighters from Popular Committees launched a locally designed and manufactured ballistic missile towards an area deep inside Saudi Arabia on October 27 in response to the Riyadh regime’s atrocious aerial bombardments against the crisis-hit Arab country.

Yemeni soldiers and their allies fired a Borkan-1 (Volcano-1) missile towards King Abdulaziz International Airport, located 19 kilometers north of the western Saudi port city of Jeddah.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, later told the official Saba news agency that the 12.5-meter-long missile had pounded its target accurately and left massive destruction at the airport.

Saudi media outlets, however, reported that the kingdom’s missile systems intercepted and destroyed the solid propellant and Scud-type missile before it could cause any damage.

The Saudi military, meanwhile, claimed that the Yemeni missile was fired toward the holy city of Mecca, but the Houthi Ansarullah movement has rejected the claim.

Yemen fighters launch these attacks in retaliation to Saudi Arabia’s relentless airstrikes in the country which have been carried out since March 2015. The war was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has resigned as Yemen’s president. The UN puts the death toll from the military aggression at over 10,000.

Hariri Stresses Lebanon’s Resolve to Develop Ties with Iran

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Hariri, who is tasked with forming a new government, reiterated the Arab country’s determination to strengthen cooperation with the Islamic Republic in all areas, especially in economic fields.

He also referred to Lebanese political groups’ success to end a 29-month presidential vacuum in the country and said it serves as a good model for politically resolving problems currently facing the region.

On October 31, Lebanese legislators elected Michel Aoun as president following an agreement reached by various political groups.

Many Lebanese believe that the resolution of the presidential stalemate and Aoun’s election would breathe new life into the country.

In the Tuesday meeting, Iran’s foreign minister hailed the political agreement reached in Lebanon and voiced the Islamic Republic’s readiness to offer any kind of help and cooperation the Arab country needs.

Zarif added that when it comes to regional issues, too, cooperation and dialogue are key to ending crises.

The Iranian top diplomat, who arrived in Beirut on Monday, also held a number of other high-profile meetings, including with Secretary General of Hezbollah Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, new President Michel Aoun, and Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.

Hezbollah Source of Pride for Muslim World: Iran’s Zarif

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Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with Lebanon-based Iranian officials and their families in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday. He has traveled to the country at the head of a business delegation.

He said Lebanon embodied “the resistance’s triumph over the tyranny, occupation, and bloodletting of the Zionist regime (Israel).”

Hezbollah is credited with defending Lebanon against two wars launched by Israel, in 2000 and 2006. The resistance movement has also been successfully helping the Syrian army fight Saudi-backed Takfiri militants in order to prevent the Syrian conflict from spilling over to Lebanon.

The top Iranian diplomat also hailed the recent election of Michel Aoun as the Lebanese president, which ended a 29-month presidential vacuum in the country.

“The creation of domestic consensus in Lebanon led to considerable success not only for one group but also for all of the Lebanese,” he said.

 

‘Region Set Afire by Angry States’

Zarif also said some regional states harbored certain undue concerns following the successful negotiation of a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers in 2015 and “set the region on fire” as a result of such concerns.

“The innocent people of Yemen and Syria are paying for the phobia and the very destructive game by the angry states of the region,” he noted. “We hope these countries will soon come to the conclusion that the continuation of these policies will not lead to anything other damage to themselves.”

Saudi Arabia has been waging war on Yemen since March 2015. Along with some other regional and non-regional countries, Riyadh has also been backing a deadly militancy in Syria.

‘Israel is world’s most dangerous regime’

In a later meeting with some Lebanon-based Palestinian groups, Zarif said the issue of Palestine is “one of the most important issues facing the Muslim world.”

“Support for Palestine is support for resistance, Islam, and humanity,” he said.

“Today, a major danger threatens the Muslim world; it is the biggest threat to the region and the international community, namely the threat posed by the Zionist regime,” Zarif said.

The Iranian foreign minister concluded by billing Israel as “the most dangerous regime in the world,” calling attention to the Tel Aviv’s possession of at least 200 nuclear warheads and its record of military aggression.

Hezbollah Source of Pride for Muslim World: Iran’s Zarif

Meeting With Nasrallah

Later in the day, Zarif also met with Nasrallah.

During the meeting, the Iranian foreign minister and Hezbollah’s chief discussed recent political developments in Lebanon and the region.

Polls Open in US Presidential Race

US

Of the nearly 230 million Americans eligible to vote, more than 120 million are expected to partake in the polls. More than 41 million Americans have already voted in 37 states and the District of Columbia, where some forms of early voting were offered. Opinion polls suggest Clinton has a slight edge.

– Trump on Tuesday morning dismissed polls which are showing a tight race on Election Day with Clinton.

“I do think a lot of the polls are purposely wrong,” he told Fox News. The billionaire businessman predicted victories in the key battleground states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

 

Clinton Casts Vote

– Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, voted in Chappaqua, New York.  She was greeted by dozens of supporters.

Polls Open in US Presidential Race

“I know how much responsibility goes with this and so many people are counting on the outcome of this election, what it means for our country and will do the very best if I am fortunate enough to win today,” Clinton told a CNN reporter.

– Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Virginia were the first states to officially open the polling booths at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) on Tuesday.

Other states are due to begin the process within hours. Timings vary for each state.

Colourful Autumn in Tehran’s Abshar Mountain Park

Tehran Photo Agency has published beautiful photos of a mountain park in Tehran, named Abshar (waterfall), where trees have taken the colour of autumn.
Here are the photos:

 

 

Velayati Urges Denmark’s More Active Role in Settling Regional Woes

Ali Akbar Velayati

“European countries, including Denmark, can play a better, more independent and more effective role in resolving regional issues, specifically in the fight against terrorism and the extremist and Takfiri currents that are fostered by foreign countries and elements,” Velayati said at a meeting with Danish State Secretary for Foreign Policy Lone Dencker Wisborg, in Tehran on Tuesday.

Pointing to the presence of militants from more than 80 countries, including European states, in the Middle East, Velayati said a “small-scale world war” has been imposed on the innocent people of the region.

For her part, the Danish diplomat emphasized the need for political and peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the Middle East.

In September, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif underscored that an “inclusive political settlement” is the only way out of the ongoing crises in Syria and Yemen.

Syria, Yemen Victims of Political Game of ‘Angry’ States: Iran’s FM

Mohammad Javad Zarif

The innocent people of Syria and Yemen are paying the price for the destructive political game played by certain angry countries in the region, Zarif said in Beirut on Monday, without directly naming Saudi Arabia and its military campaign against Yemen.

He made the comments at a gathering of Iranian diplomats and representatives residing in Lebanon.

Syria, Yemen Victims of Political Game of ‘Angry’ States: Iran’s FM

Elsewhere, Foreign Minister Zarif  highlighted the far-reaching impacts of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany),  and made it clear that the accord “did not create power for Iran, but removed the obstacles” that were aimed at restricting Iran’s power.

“That is why some countries are worried and furious about this new situation,” he added.

The Iranian foreign minister further hailed Lebanon, Hezbollah and its secretary general, Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, as the symbols of resistance whose role is “a source of pride to us all”.

Zarif arrived in Beirut on Monday and held a meeting with Lebanon’s new President Michel Aoun, becoming the first foreign minister to meet with the newly-elected leader.

Syria, Yemen Victims of Political Game of ‘Angry’ States: Iran’s FM

Iran, China, France Sign Energy Deal

An Agreement in Principle (AiP) for development of South Pars Phase 11 was signed today in Tehran between the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and a consortium comprising France’s Total S.A., CNPCI (China National Petroleum Corporation International) as well as Iran’s Petropars Oilfield Services Company (POSCO).
The agreement was sealed today on November 8, 2016 at the presence of Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh.
Iran’s Zanganeh had earlier in March reported on the signing of a confidentiality agreement with Total over expansion of the Iranian field, stressing “the signing of the contract would not mean complete assignment of the project to the French firm.”
On the other hand, a noticeable point about the quadrilateral agreement is that CNPCI of China had been removed from the developmental project in South Pars Phase 11 for using delaying tactics and frequent stalls, Mehr reported.
Presently, developmental projects for all South Pars phases have been assigned to Iranian firms and the Phase 11 remains as the only untouched section of the joint gas field with Qatar.
NIOC officials have announced that the boosting of recovery factor marks the most important term in the developmental contract for Phase 11 in the post-JCPOA era.
Expansion of South Pars Phase 11 is expected to increase daily gas production by approximately 50 million cubic meters.

Iran’s Security Index Rising on Daily Basis: Intelligence Minister

“The [level] of security governing our country is, as in the words of Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei], unparalleled,” Alavi said on Monday.

Alavi attributed the advantage to the smart efforts by the country’s undercover intelligence agents, “who would detect any suspicious activity and nip every plot in the bud,” and to diligence by and cooperation among all police, security, military forces, and political directorships and other influential sectors.

Last month, the minister said the intelligence command possessed and practiced by Iranian security forces had led to “unparalleled security in Iran.” He also said that the country had been identifying and neutralizing enemy schemes aimed at creating sectarian divide within its borders.

Iran has been successful in protecting itself from the spillover of terrorism and conflict — constant occurrences in a number of regional countries — due to high vigilance by its intelligence and security forces.

On October 4, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said a terrorist group, backed by the United States and the Israeli regime, had been dismantled in the country’s west near the border with Iraq.

In a similar announcement in July, Pakpour said the IRGC forces had captured two members of a terrorist group in the southwest, saying the detainees had admitted to US and Saudi support.

Earlier in the year, a plot to stage attacks in Iran’s major cities, including Tehran, was thwarted. The country’s Intelligence Ministry then released a video showing the security forces raiding the hideout of the would-be attackers in the capital.

Iran to Boost Foothold in US Carpet Market

carpet

Gholam-Reza Soleymani, the deputy industries minister for small businesses and industrial townships, said Iran exported about $150 million worth of hand-woven carpets from March to October.

Soleymani added that around $50 million of the exports had been made to the US.

The official said Iran would soon launch a plan in which three key export zones – the US, Lebanon and China – have been identified, stressing that this would facilitate a better coordination in export activities for each zone.

He also said that Iran plans to hold nine specialized carpet exhibitions across the world to promote its hand-woven carpets, IRNA reported.

Earlier this week, Hamid Karegar, the head of Iran’s National Carpet Center, said Iran would start direct shipments of its hand-woven carpets to the United States from early 2017. The shipments that used to be carried out from Germany would be made from Iran’s southern ports, Karegar added.

The official added that Iran’s exports of carpets had increased 18 percent in value and 11 percent in weight from March to September compared to the same period last year.

Karegar emphasized that Iran had sent a cargo of carpets to the US worth $37 million after the removal of the sanctions against Iran in January.

He added that Iran used to export as much as $80 million of carpets to the US, but the sanctions, had brought them to zero in 2010.