The high-standing basaltic prisms in Maku, northwest of Iran along the borders with Turkey, emulate the best of its sort in the world. Prisms are the product of slow cooling of molten volcanic lava in Tertiary period.
Here are Mehr’s photos of the prisms in Maku:
“The two sides agreed to increase their bilateral trade turnover to $2 billion,” Rouhani said in a joint press conference with his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang in the capital Hanoi on Thursday.
Heading a high-ranking delegation of political and economic officials, President Rouhani on Wednesday embarked on a tour of Southeast Asia. After Vietnam, he will visit Malaysia and Thailand, where he will participate in the 2nd Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Summit.
Hailing the existing potentials for expansion of trade ties between Tehran and Hanoi, the Iranian president said, “There is a great opportunity to export oil, gas and petrochemicals from Iran to Vietnam”.
He also invited Vietnamese companies to invest in Iran’s oil and gas sectors, and stressed that the two nations should enhance their cooperation in various spheres, including technical and engineering services and economic and trade ties, particularly in banking sector, as well as closer academic and scientific collaborations.
For his part, Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang, also stressed the need for enhanced ties between Tehran and Hanoi in all fields, and said, “In economics, cooperation opportunities are still large… but the scale of cooperation and bilateral trade are still modest.”
Additionally, the two presidents on Thursday signed two documents of cooperation in the fields of technology and communication.
The two sides also signed an agreement whereby visa regime between the two countries will be abolished conditionally.
Iran opened an embassy in Hanoi in 1991 and Vietnam opened its embassy in Tehran in 1997. They established relations in 1973 and since then the two countries have increased political and economic cooperation through exchange of visits by senior officials from both sides.
Trade exchanges between them reached $300 million in 2013 from $80 million in 2010. Those transactions currently stand at $350 million, meaning the two countries have an arduous task to hit the $2 billion mark.
Newspapers on Thursday covered the ongoing developments in Iraq and Syria, where the US, Russia, and Turkey are on the verge of a conflict among themselves ahead of an operation to liberate the ISIS-held Mosul in Iraq.
The remarks made by the CEO of Peugeot-Citroen, the French car-maker, about the compensation paid to Iran also received good coverage.
President Hassan Rouhani’s ongoing visit to the Southeast Asia was also a top story today.
The above issues, as well as many more, are highlighted in the following headlines:
Abrar:
1- Iraqi PM’s Warning to Turkey and Possibility of Regional Conflict
2- Rouhani: Development of Asian Cooperation Is of Great Importance to Iran
3- 2m Yemeni Children Deprived of Education: UNICEF
Afkar:
1- IRGC Warns Saudi Arabia
2- Iran Seeks to End Takfiri Sedition in Region: Larijani
3- Boeing Not to Deliver Any Plane to Iran This Year
4- Ban Ki-moon’s Biased Report about Iran Human Rights
Aftab-e Yazd:
1- Increase in Iran’s GDP after JCPOA
2- IMF Predicts Iran’s Inflation Rate Will Be 9.2% on Average This Year and Next Year
3- We Paid Compensation to Iran: Peugeot-Citroen CEO
Arman-e Emrooz:
1- Reformists in Rouhani’s Think-Tank
2- If Rouhani Reshuffles His Cabinet, It’ll Be a Good Point for Him in Next Elections: Reformist Figure
3- Ayatollah Rafsanjani: Human Beings Are Getting Closer to Rationality Today
4- Analyst: Rouhani’s Presence in East Asia Is a Warning to the West
Asrar:
1- Don’t Approach Iran: IRGC’s Warning to Saudi Warships
2- Iran and Japan Start Banking Cooperation
3- Bahonar Criticizes Those Who Are Running for Presidential Elections Every Time
4- NATO’s Plan for Attack on Syria with 800 Fighter Jets
5- German Minister’s Visit to Iran Means They Have Ignored Their Own Pre-Conditions: Hamshahri
Ebtekar:
1- 21st Century Belongs to Asia: Rouhani
2- A Report on Canals in Tehran Which Have Turned to Shelters for Junkies
3- Turkey’s Foot in Iraq’s Shoes: Conflict Breaks Out between Two Neighbours
Etemad:
1- Bahonar’s Advice to Conservatives: Those Who Weren’t Successful in Previous Elections Should Better Refrain from Running Again
Ettela’at:
1- UN: Hundreds of Thousands of War-Hit Children in Yemen Are Hungry
2- Foreign Ministry Spokesman: UN’s Report about Iran’s Human Rights Is Invalid
3- 100,000 Added to Iran’s Population Each Month: Official
Haft-e Sobh:
1- Peugeot to Produce 200,000 Cars in Iran Each Year
2- No One Liked German Vice-Chancellor
3- From Rasht to Rhine: 20 Interesting Points about Professor Majid Samii
Hamshahri:
1- Cars That Pollute the Air Won’t Be Allowed in Tehran Anymore
2- Economy Minister: We Wasted Our Money by Paying Cash Subsidies
Hemayat:
1- US Is Cheerfully Supporting Wahhabi Terrorists: Larijani
2- Ban Ki-moon’s Unsubstantiated Claim in His Last Day!
3- Peugeot CEO: We Paid Compensation to Iran, and Its Amount Is Secret
4- Argument over Iran’s Nuclear Program: Hot Presidential Debate between Clinton and Trump’s First VPs
5- Secular Thoughts Aimed at Removing Abrahamic Religions Are Regrettable: Iran Official
Iran:
1- Southeast Asia, the Destination of Iran’s Economic Diplomacy
2- $6.6bn Improvement in Iran’s Food Trade Balance
3- Big Scandal for Yahoo
Jame Jam:
1- US Sabotage in Banking Transactions
2- Looking at the East, Working with the Wes: President Rouhani in Southeast Asia
3- Deprived Provinces, the First to Take Part in Online Census
4- The Challenge of Children Having the Final Say in Families
Javan:
1- US and Russia Moving towards Conflict in Syria
2- IRGC: Saudis Shouldn’t Even Approach Iran’s Territorial Waters
3- 29 Wounded in a Fight after Iranian Singer’s Concert
Jomhouri Eslami:
1- New Round of Rouhani’s Diplomacy for Expansion of Ties with East Asia
2- Iran’s 22-Rank Improvement in World Inflation Ranking
3- Joint Plot by US and Saudi Arabia to Attack Syria Revealed
Kayhan:
1- Spirit of New Oil Contracts Is Based on Being Pawns for Foreigners
2- Iraqi Popular Forces: We’ll See Turkish Military the Same as ISIS
3- 4 Pakistani Pilgrims Killed in Takfiris’ Armed Attack on Shiites’ Bus
Khorasan:
1- Iran’s Central Bank Governor Criticizes Europe’s Silence over US Violation of Its Commitments
2- USA’s New Gift to ISIS: American Fighters Attack Iraqi Popular Forces on Verge of Mosul Liberation
3- Khorasan’s Interview with Master Farshchian in the US
4- Peugeot Vows to Compensate for the Past
Mardom Salari:
1- Cyberspace: Cultural Shock or Cultural Prosperity?
2- Rumours of World War in Syria: NATO Fighters Getting Prepared on Pentagon’s Order
3- Imam Hussein’s Movement Showed that Not Any Dirty Means Should Be Used to Achieve One’s Goals
Quds:
1- 40,000 Green Clothes Sewed in Imam Reza Shrine for Infants Taking Part in Muharram Mourning Ceremonies [their parents want them to wear similar clothes to Imam Hussein’s infant Ali Asghar]
Resalat:
1- Presence of Nationals from 80 Countries in Syria Is a Threat to Global Peace: Leader’s Advisor
2- Larijani: There’s a Goal behind US Adventures in Middle East
3- Iran Has the Option to Return to Pre-JCPOA Era: Bahonar
4- Chief of Iran’s Human Rights Office: We’ve Guaranteed Civil Rights
Sayeh:
1- A Curve as Wide as Human Beings: October 7, World Day of Smile
Sepid:
1- Iran’s High Speed in Controlling Non-Communicable Diseases
2- No to Any Age Discrimination: World Day of the Elderly
Shahrvand:
1- Peugeot CEO Apologizes to Iranian People: We’re Sorry, We Were Victims of the Sanctions
Shargh:
1- Yellow Condition in Persian Gulf: IRGC Issues Warning to Saudi Military Drills
2- Guterres Becomes UN’s Secretary General
3- Rouhani Won’t Be Our Candidate for Sure: Conservative Figure
In a ceremony held in Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Centre, a book titled The Elegant [which means Zarif in Persian] Aspects of Negotiations was unveiled.
According to a report by ISNA, as translated by IFP, the ceremony was attended by Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif, Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, members of Iran’s nuclear negotiation team, and the bereaved families of nuclear martyrs.
The book, which was unveiled on October 1, contains satirical poems, caricatures, and cartoons about the nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers.
In an address to the ceremony, the organizer and producer Abbas Sajjadi, the director of Niavaran Artistic Creations Foundation, hailed the efforts made by satirists and cartoonists who, since the early days, looked at nuclear negotiations from a different perspective.
“I was thinking that we, as culture and art professionals, can also do something beside what our negotiators did; we wanted to do something that is in fact valuable in global and national level.”
“I shared the idea with Mr. Zarif and the rest of the negotiating team and they said that we should wait until the ratification of JCPOA,” he noted.
The book is a compilation of poetry and caricature which depicts the story of the national epic of the nuclear deal, known as JCPOA, in the eyes of culture and art professionals.
Satire, Best Way to Reduce Harshness of Controversies: Culture Minister
During the ceremony, Ali Jannati, the Iranian Minister of Culture, said in a message that “big achievements are often laced with marginal issues that escape people’s attention. Satire is perhaps the most eloquent way and the best means to alleviate the harshness of such controversies and express them openly.”
Jannati stressed that satire is able to provide a sweet wrapping for bitter events of the society and helps people gain a better understanding of contentious issues gently.
“If a diplomat is confident that his efforts will lead to victory, bearing all the difficulties and concerns of negotiations will become easy and even sweet to them,” he added.
FM Zarif also hailed the efforts made by the organizers of the ceremony and said, “I’m actually at a loss for words. Although my last name means elegant, I have to admit that I have been deprived of the elegance of the prominent figures of art and culture who are here today. I would like to sincerely thank them all.”
“I do not deserve all this generosity and kindness,” Zarif expressed humility, and added, “I hope this magnanimity of Iranians, which has been manifested in you artists and intellectuals, remains unfailing.”
He concluded that if it wasn’t for people’s endurance, understanding, wisdom, patience and equanimity, there would be no possibility of any breakthrough on any subject.
The Commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) made the remarks in Tehran on Wednesday during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the killing of Brigadier General Hossein Hamedani (seen below) by terrorists in Syria.
The senior IRGC commander was killed by ISIS last year during an advisory mission on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Aleppo.
“ISIS and Takfiri terrorist groups were not created for war with Syria, they were established to target the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Soleimani said.
He stressed that Iran’s advisory forces in Syria are not only defending the Arab country, but also Iran and the whole Muslim world.
“The Syrian government, with the help of Iran, has been able to withstand pressure and besiegement for five years, so that the world could admit that these groups [fighting the government] are terrorists,” he added.
Soleimani noted that if it were not for Iran’s help and Syria’s resistance, the whole region would have been plagued with the Takfiri scourge.
“Today the Takfiris have been defeated… on all fronts,” the IRGC commander said, adding, “I believe that the Syrian people are invincible if they support their government,” he added.
He also stressed that “the EU is paying a heavy security price for supporting terrorist groups” in the Middle East.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011, which has claimed the lives of some 400,000 people.
“The Iraqi forces will treat any foreign troops who interferes in Mosul operations exactly the same as ISIS terrorists; Mosul should only be liberated by the Iraqi forces,” al-Ameri said on Wednesday.
Commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces further warned the Turkish army to withdraw its troops from Iraq.
On Tuesday, the Iraqi volunteer forces had vowed to confront the presence of the Turkish army troops in Iraq.
“The presence of the Turkish forces in Iraq is deemed as illegal and Hashd al-Shaabi has the power to confront the Turkish occupying forces,” Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi commander Javad al-Talibavi told FNA.
He reiterated that the Iraqi volunteer forces will not tolerate the presence of the Turkish troops in Iraq.
Ankara, in December 2015, first deployed about 150 soldiers equipped with heavy weapons and backed by two dozen tanks to Bashiqa, located on the outskirts of Mosul. It claimed the deployment was part of a mission to train and equip Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIS. Baghdad rejected the claim, saying it did not need the Turkish military assistance in the fight.
On Saturday, Turkish lawmakers almost overwhelmingly approved the extension by another year of Ankara’s cross-border military incursions into Syria and Iraq. During the parliamentary session, Erdogan urged allowing his country’s troops to participate in the upcoming battle for Mosul, warning Baghdad and Turkey’s Western allies that Turkey must be involved in any operation and included in the decision-making process.
“Turkey cannot be left off the table. The others don’t have such a border with Iraq. They may want us to stay as spectators but that decision is also going to be made here,” the Turkish president said.
Golestan National Park is one of the best, largest, and oldest national parks in Iran, accommodating many species of plants and animals.
Here are Mehr’s photos of the park, published on the occasion of World Animal Day:
Speaking in a meeting with foreign ambassadors and Charge d’affaires in Tehran on Wednesday, Brigadier General Ashtari highlighted Iran’s interaction with other countries in the area of security.
He said Brazil recently requested for Iran’s cooperation in providing security in the Rio Olympics.
Following the request, the Iranian Police Force dispatched an elite team of its forces to Brazil, the commander added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ashtari highlighted Iran’s campaign against illicit drugs, saying the country’s seizure of about 500 tons of various types of illicit drugs per year indicates the Islamic Republic’ serious resolve in the campaign.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trafficking over the past three decades.
The country has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.
The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past 34 years.
Peugeot has returned to Iran within a business framework in order to compensate for the past, Carlos Tavares said at a press conference in Tehran on Wednesday.
He said the French carmaker, which has sold a large number of vehicles in Iran, realizes the Iranian market’s expectations and will do its utmost in the new round of cooperation with Iran.
Tavares had announced at the Paris autoshow on September 29 that Peugeot would sell over 150,000 vehicles in Iran in 2016 as well as over 300,000 in 2017.
In July, Iran’s major car manufacturer Iran Khodro (IKCO) and Peugeot officially launched a joint venture to turn Iran into a regional hub for the production of Peugeot vehicles and components.
There has been growing interest in ties with Iran since Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015 reached an agreement on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program and started implementing it on January 16.
According to a report by Persian news agency Mehr, as translated by IFP, the ISIS Takfiri [extremist] terrorist group has declared that it will execute anyone who listens to the radio in Iraq.
Al-Ahd reported that the move has come after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for the first time broadcasted a radio message to ISIS-held Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.
The new radio broadcast titled Republic of Iraq was launched today from al-Qayyarah, a city south of Mosul.
Abadi said, “We have liberated all major cities ISIS held in Salahuddin and Anbar provinces and we will celebrate the big victory of Mosul with you soon.”
“We will raise the flag of Iraq in the centre of Mosul as we have raised it in al-Qayyarah, Shirqat, Baiji, Tikrit, Ramadi, Fallujah and many other cities around Iraq which have been reunited with our home, Iraq, and our people,” Al Masdar quoted him as saying.
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