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President Rouhani Meets New European Envoys in Tehran

By
IFP Media Wire
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President Rouhani

In a meeting with Albania’s new accredited ambassador to Tehran, President Rouhani highlighted the importance that his administration attaches to closer ties with the Balkan States.

“Promotion of cooperation with the Balkan States, including Albania, has been always important for us,” the president said.

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Highlighting the cultural commonalities between the two countries, the president also voiced Tehran’s willingness to boost cooperation with the European country in economic, cultural, scientific and tourism fields.

He also stressed the need for efforts to let companies of each of the two countries know about the investment opportunities available in the other.

moldaviIn a separate meeting with Moldova’s accredited ambassador, President Rouhani underscored that Iran sees no obstacles to enhanced relations with the East European nation.

The Iranian president also received the credentials of Sweden’s new envoy in another meeting.

“Today, in the post-JCPOA and post-sanctions era, there is excellent condition for expansion of bilateral, regional and international relations between Tehran and Stockholm, which should be employed for the good of the two nations,” Rouhani underlined.

Rouhani-Swedish diplomatThe Swedish diplomat, for her part, highlighted the Scandinavian country’s enthusiasm for closer trade and banking interaction with Iran.

The Iranian president has frequently called on European enterprises to take the opportunities provided by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a lasting deal on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program.

Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the JCPOA.

The accord took effect in January and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation has been hampered mainly due to US policies.

Iran Honors JCPOA, Other Parties Should, Too: President

By
IFP Media Wire
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“As regards the nuclear deal (JCPOA), the Iranian side has honored its commitments completely, and the other side needs to take the same approach toward the JCOPA too,” President Rouhani said at a meeting with Britain’s new ambassador to Iran, Nicholas Hoptonn, held in Tehran on Monday.

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On the bilateral relations between Tehran and London, the president called for efforts to make up for the past in light of the JCPOA, saying the key to closer economic, scientific, political and cultural ties would be full resumption of banking ties.

The British diplomat, for his part, pointed to the growing enthusiasm of British companies and banks for cooperation with Iran, saying the central banks of the two countries will hold negotiations in the near future.

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Hopton also expressed the hope for closer cooperation with Iran on regional issues.

President Rouhani has previously stressed that in order for the July 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) to be maintained, the other party has to fulfil all its obligations under the accord.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has lived up to all its obligations under the JCPOA and expects the other party to remain committed to its principles and fully implement its undertakings to ensures the JCPOA’s durability,” Rouhani said at a meeting with the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday.

Iran Congratulates Lebanon on Election of New President

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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bahram-ghasmei

According to a report by Iranian Foreign Ministry’s official website, as translated by IFP, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi hailed the agreement between different Lebanese political movements on the election of a new president and described it as an important step in establishing democracy and continued stability in Lebanon.

Qassemi underlined the necessity of such election under current sensitive circumstances, and said, “After two and a half years of consultations, different political parties in Lebanon and members of the Lebanese Parliament reached an important and sensitive agreement on the election of the Lebanese President.”

“By electing General Michel Aoun as the President of Lebanon, political movements confirmed that Lebanon is still the cradle of diverse tribes and religions and a clear example of peaceful coexistence between the followers of different religions and faiths,” he went on to say.

“It proved that the only solution to problems is consensus and consultations between political parties.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran congratulates the Lebanese people, the country’s political sides, and Mr. Michel Aoun,” he noted, expressing the hope for growth and prosperity of Lebanon and the expansion of all-out ties between Tehran and Beirut during Aoun’s presidency.

Qassemi’s statement came after Lebanese lawmakers thrown their support behind Aoun, a strong ally Lebanese Resistance Movement Hezbollah, to fill the country’s long-vacant presidency.

The parliament convened at noon (1000 GMT) Monday for the voting session in its 46th attempt to elect a head of state.

Aoun was elected after four rounds of voting during the session.

The 81-year-old Christian leader has won the support of two of his greatest rivals: Samir Geagea, leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces, and ex-prime minister, Saad Hariri.

Lebanon was without a head of state since 2014, when the term of President Michel Suleiman expired.

Lebanon Elects President after 30-Month Power Vacuum

By
IFP Media Wire
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The parliament convened at noon (1000 GMT) Monday for the voting session in its 46th attempt to elect a head of state.

Aoun was elected after four rounds of voting during the session, Press TV reported.

The 81-year-old Christian leader has won the support of two of his greatest rivals: Samir Geagea, leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces, and ex-prime minister, Saad Hariri.

Earlier on October 20, Hariri, the leader Lebanon’s March 14 Alliance and a close ally of Saudi Arabia, voiced support for Aoun, raising hopes for the settlement of a long-running deadlock on Lebanon’s political stage.

He described his surprise endorsement of Aoun as necessary to “protect Lebanon, protect the (political) system, protect the state and protect the Lebanese people.”

Observers view Aoun’s rise to power as a political victory for Hezbollah, which will greatly diminish the Saudi influence in Lebanon’s political arena. The kingdom has been vigorously lobbying to prevent Lebanon’s presidency from being placed in the hands of Hezbollah’s allies.

Following Hariri’s announcement, Thamer al-Sabhan, the new Saudi minister for Persian Gulf affairs, paid a visit to Beirut for talks on the “political developments in Lebanon and the region.”

Sabhan used to serve as the Saudi ambassador to Iraq until recently, but Baghdad asked Riyadh to replace him after the diplomat failed to heed Iraq’s warnings for his interference in the country’s domestic affairs.

According to some Lebanese political sources, Hariri is expected to be appointed as prime minister for the second time.

Analysts say Aoun and Hariri, 46, face a formidable task to win the cross-party support needed to make a new administration a success.

Aoun, the founder of the Free Patriotic Movement, already had the endorsement of Hezbollah.

Last week, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called upon all Lebanese political parties to join forces and put a favorable end to the 30-month presidential void in the Arab country.

Nasrallah, who was speaking during a meeting with Aoun, stressed the need for concerted efforts in order to direct the upcoming presidential vote in Lebanon toward a good conclusion.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since 2014, when the term of President Michel Suleiman expired.

The Lebanese parliament has repeatedly failed to elect a president due to the lack of quorum.

Under Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the president must be a Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shia Muslim.

Hezbollah has accused Saudi Arabia of thwarting political initiatives and blocking the election of a president in Lebanon.

Late last year, Hariri launched an initiative to nominate Suleiman Tony Frangieh, the leader of the Marada Movement.

His proposal, however, failed amid reservations on the part of Lebanon’s main Christian parties as well as Hezbollah.

Iran Has No Problem Mediating between Iraq, Turkey: Deputy FM

By
IFP Media Wire
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rahimpour

Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Sunday, Rahimpour pointed to recent remarks made by Head of the Strategic Research Center of Iran’s Expediency Council Ali Akbar Velayati about Iran’s readiness to mediate between Iraq and Turkey and said, “If they ask us (to intermediate), we have no problem”.

“Naturally, Turkey and Iraq must be interested in our mediation,” the Iranian diplomat added.

Tensions between Turkey and Iraq have recently continued to rise with Turkish leaders saying the country was engaged in the offensive to retake the Iraqi northern city of Mosul from the Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) terrorist group.

Iraq has objected to the presence of some 500 Turkish troops at a base near Mosul, saying they are there without permission from Baghdad.

Turkey has refused to withdraw them, and insists it will play a role in the Mosul offensive.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday that his country reserves the right to invade Iraq “if there is a threat posed to Turkey,” and that this would include a substantial number of ground troops.

1.5 Milion Rats in Tehran: Unwanted Guests from Norway

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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“Based on its latest findings, the Municipality of Tehran has announced that there are 1.5 million rats in this city, but it seems that their population is higher than the declared figure,” the head of Tehran City Council’s Environment Department Mohammad Haqqani said.

According to a report by Mizan, as translated by IFP, he went on to say that the majority of rats in Tehran are from Norwegian race and have arrived in Iran through cargo ships docking in Iranian ports.

“Their number is increasingly on the rise,” he warned, adding that it is difficult to control the population of rats, a pair of which gives birth to 700 to 800 babies each year.

Haqqani at the same time noted that the existence of rats, dogs, and cats in big cities is a natural phenomenon and they are part of the environment.

 

Iranian Deputy FM Deplores Saudi Election to UN Human Rights Council

By
IFP Media Wire
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abbas-araqchi

“A regime that is known by everyone as a child-killing regime and has no respect for women and tramples on their very basic rights wins a seat on the (UN) human rights council with the motto of comprehensive development for women,” he said Sunday on the sidelines of a ceremony marking the 71st anniversary of the establishment of the UN.

“This indicates that decisions in the human rights council and other international human rights mechanisms are taken based on political motives,” Araqchi added.

“Perhaps the only thing not taken into consideration (in the council) is the true human rights criteria and that is the reason why a country like Saudi Arabia enters the council while resolutions (about human rights situation) are adopted against a country like the Islamic Republic of Iran, which, as acknowledged globally, has a democratic system,” the Iranian diplomat went on to say.

In a secret balloting process on Friday, the 193-member UN General Assembly elected 14 members to the 47-nation council, among them Saudi Arabia.

It will be Riyadh’s third term in the UN rights body despite mounting criticism from international human rights groups.

Back in June, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International called on the UN to immediately suspend Saudi Arabia’s membership on its rights council due to its appalling rights record.

“Saudi Arabia has amassed an appalling record of violations in Yemen while a Human Rights Council member, and has damaged the body’s credibility by its bullying tactics to avoid accountability,” said Philippe Bolopion, deputy director for global advocacy at HRW.

The rights groups, however, failed in the campaign to stop Saudi Arabia from being re-elected.

Additionally in June, the UN blacklisted Saudi Arabia after concluding in a report that Riyadh was last year responsible for 60 percent of the 785 deaths of children in Yemen, where it has been engaged in a deadly military aggression since March 2015.

A few days later, however, the world body removed the kingdom from the blacklist, citing threats by the regime and its allies to cut off funding to many UN programs. The move triggered an outcry from human rights groups.

On October 8, in one of the deadliest attacks in Yemen, Saudi warplanes bombarded a funeral hall packed with mourners in the capital, Sana’a, killing over 140 people and injuring at least 525 others.

HRW said that the Sana’a bombing constitutes an apparent war crime, while Amnesty International said the attack was a reminder of the need for the suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Brain-Dead Kid Saves Lives of Three

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The bereaved family of Abolfazl Amiri, who was declared brain-dead after being seriously hit in a car crash, agreed to donate his two kidneys and liver to three patients in need of the organs, said Majid Gilani, an official with the Organ Transplant Ward of Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

According to a report by IRNA, as translated by IFP, he said the procedure to remove the organs was carried out at Bahonar Hospital in the southern city of Kerman. The organs were then transferred to Shiraz Hospital for transplantation.

Over 25,000 Iranian patients are on the waiting list for receiving an organ, according to the latest statistics published by Iran’s Ministry of Health.

Official statistics show that every day, 7 to 10 patients on this list die in dire need of an organ transplant.

Iran’s Judiciary Chief Warns of Western-Arab Plot to Partition Iraq

By
IFP Media Wire
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“We oppose the disintegration of Iraq and insist on Iraq’s unity and independence,” Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani said in a meeting with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri in Baghdad on Sunday.

He added that global powers have always used terrorism and imposed wars on regional nations in an attempt to plunder their assets and said such a plot was also hatched for Iraq because it is a rich and populous country.

He further pointed to the ongoing Iraqi military operations to recapture the northern city of Mosul from Daesh militants and expressed hope that the Iraqi people would emerge triumphant in the battle against Takfiri terrorism.

The Iraqi government soldiers, backed by allied fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched a large-scale offensive to liberate the strategic city on October 17.

Mosul has been under Daesh control since 2014. The terrorist group has described the city as its so-called headquarters in Iraq.

There are reports that about 50,000 Iraqi ground troops are involved in the Mosul offensive, including 30,000 army troops, 10,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the remaining 10,000 from police and Popular Mobilization Units.

Commander of Federal Police Forces Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat announced on Sunday that Iraqi forces have managed to establish control over 61 villages, purge 1,400 square kilometers of Daesh militants and evacuate 1,396 displaced families to safety zones.

He added that 747 Daesh terrorists have also been killed and 88 others captured during the mentioned period.

Jabouri, for his part, said Iran and Iraq are standing by each other in the fight against Takfiri terrorism which is abusing the name of Islam.

He added that his country would require more cooperation with Iran in different fields, particularly in the political and social sectors, after the liberation of Mosul and welcomes the expansion of ties with Tehran.

Amoli Larijani and Jabouri also exchanged views about strengthening Tehran-Baghdad judicial cooperation.

The Iranian Judiciary chief arrived in Baghdad on Saturday at the head of a high-ranking judicial delegation. Earlier on Sunday, he held talks with Medhat al-Mahmoud, the head of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the attorneys general of the two countries for cooperation on human rights issues and in the fight against terrorism.

Iran, Cyprus Agree to Boost Comprehensive Relations

By
IFP Media Wire
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larijani

“Given the geographical position of Cyprus and it being the closest member country of the European Union to Iran, relations between Iran and Cyprus have always been intimate,” Larijani said in a joint press conference with President of the Cypriot House of Representatives Demetris Syllouris in Tehran on Sunday.

He added that during earlier talks with Syllouris, the ongoing crises in the region and ways to fight terrorist groups were discussed.

The two sides exchanged views about the expansion of banking cooperation to facilitate transactions between Iranian and Cypriot tradesmen, Larijani said and added that Nicosia is resolute on removing all obstacles in this regard.

“It is important for us that relations between Iran and Cyprus grow in all cultural, economic, scientific and political fields,” the top Iranian parliamentarian said.

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Larijani added that he had held “positive” negotiations with Syllouris and expressed hope that the Cypriot official’s visit to Tehran would bear favorable results.

‘Region needs support to establish peace’

For his part, the president of the Cypriot House of Representatives said the region needs massive support for the establishment of peace and security and this would not be achieved through military approaches or terrorist moves.

He added that his talks with Larijani were a positive move to bolster mutual relations in political, economic and cultural sectors, improve cooperation between Iran and the EUو and promote regional peace and security.

Syllouris arrived in Tehran on Sunday on a three-day visit at the invitation of the Iranian parliament speaker. He also plans to hold talks with other senior Iranian officials.

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