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US Has Not Done Its Best in Implementation of Nuclear Deal: Zarif

July 14, 2016

Here’s IFP’s translation of the Foreign Minister’s interview with Fars, which was published on July 14, the 1-year anniversary of the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, known as JCPOA.

“We all have criticisms of the performance of Americans in [the implementation of] the nuclear deal, and we have explicitly voiced our criticisms,” Zarif said in the interview.

“As a deal that resulted from negotiations between different parties, the JCPOA does not include all stances of any of the sides; it rather includes the stances held by all sides.”

“The important point is that the entire world believes the Islamic Republic of Iran maintained its honour in the nuclear talks, and managed to establish its nuclear rights and end the United Nations Security Council resolutions and the cruel anti-Iran sanctions.”

“If the sanctions had continued, Iran’s oil sales would have decreased to zero, and all banking transactions stopped.”

“I don’t think there is even a single unbiased observer who believes what the Islamic Republic of Iran gained from the JCPOA has been unilaterally detrimental for the country,” he went on to say.

He further raised the question whether all international deals and agreements – the legally enforceable ones – are fully observed.

“No,” he answered. “It is normal. Each side of the deal should do its best to make the most use of the situation so as to encourage and force the other sides to do their commitments.”

“This is a balanced view of the nuclear deal,” Zarif added.

“I think the country has had behaved prudently under the guidance of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. We have made good progress.”

“We cannot change the nature of other countries. Americans have a particular nature, and act based on the very nature,” he noted.

“Everyone is saying that the US has not implemented the JCPOA in the best way possible,” Zarif said, in reaction to his deputies’ remarks about the deficiencies of JCPOA implementation.

“The European side’s problem is also with the American side. The European sides have mental concerns.”

“Don’t ever forget in what situation the country was. Don’t forget what mental atmosphere had been imposed on the country. It will take time to have the atmosphere eased.”

“The interesting point is that those who created such a mental atmosphere in the world are now critical of those who are trying to ease the situation,” he said.

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on July 14

IFP Editorial Staff

July 14, 2016

Newspapers on Thursday marked July 14, the first anniversary of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, by covering the remarks by President Hassan Rouhani, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and many other articles regarding the historic deal. Conservatives continued focusing on the deficiencies and violations of promises, and the moderates and reformists tried to highlight the positive aspects of the deal.

The remarks made by the Police Commander, Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari, about the morality police and the authority of the Law Enforcement over the organization of concerts also received great coverage. The government is trying to ease the regulations and assign the responsibilities to the Ministry of Culture, while the Police says it is acting based on the law.

A number of changes made by President Rouhani in his vices also was a top story in many papers. The reformist newspaper Aftab-e Yazd was the one with harshest criticisms against the cabinet reshuffle, which has allegedly replaced reformist figures with conservative ones. The changes have come after many calls by the reformist faction for a major cabinet reshuffle, particularly at the level of ministers.

The above issues as well as many more are highlighted below:

Abrar:

1- Iran Is Committed to Its Promise in JCPOA: Rouhani

2- 2 Bombing Suspects Arrested in Bahrain on Charge of Links with Iran

Abrar-e Eqtesadi:

1- Bright Future of Iran-Britain Ties

2- 20% Decrease in Mobile Data Rates

3- Ban on Sale of American Planes to Iran Not to Be Turned into a Law

Aftab-e Yazd:

1- Cabinet Reshuffle in Rouhani’s Style [the article questions Rouhani’s move to replace the reformist VP Majid Ansari with the conservative Hossein-Ali Amiri]

2- We Lost Kiarostami Too Easily: Mehrjui [his criticism of the simple medical error that allegedly led to Kiarostami’s death]

3- Another Case of Medical Error: Surgeon’s Blade Cuts Infant’s Eyelid

4- JCPOA Separated Iran’s Way from Venezuela’s: If Previous Gov’t Was in Office, We Would’ve Turned to Venezuela

Afkar:

1- Democrats Oppose 3 Anti-Iran Plans in US Congress

2- Iranian Film Week to Be Held in Sri Lanka

3- Changes Kicked Off in Government

Arman-e Emrooz:

1- Conservatives Not Sure Whether to Support Ahmadinejad or Rouhani: They Were Bluffing When They Said They Have 30 Candidates for Next Year’s Presidential Elections

2- If It Wasn’t for JCPOA, Iran’s Oil Sale Could Have Been Zero: Rouhani

3- Theresa May Starts Work in PM Office: Cameron Bids Farewell after 6 Years

4- Iran’s Biggest Int’l Drug Smuggler Arrested

Asr-e Rasaneh:

1- Iran Is the World’s Seventh Country in Polluting the Earth: Energy Expert

2- Siemens Says Ready to Restart Cooperation with Iran

3- Internet Subscription Prices to Be Decreased as of Next Week

Ebtekar:

1- Solidarity inside the Country, Interaction with the World: Rouhani Underlines in First Anniversary of JCPOA

2- Female Face of Parliament: Women in Iran’s Majlis Declare Their Plans for All-Out Support of Families

Emtiaz:

1- Cancer to Go beyond Warning Level in 15 Years

2- Iran’s Oil Output Increases to 4m bpd

3- Severe Water Tension in Iran

4- Largest Heroin Cargo Discovered in Iran

5- It Is against the Law to Remove “Morality Police”: Commander

Etemad:

1- Morality Police Is a Law and We Can’t Act against It: Police Commander; Nothing Has Been Communicated on Removing Police’s Authority over Concerts [government has recently approved a bill to assign the responsibility of concerts to Culture Ministry, and prevent the Police from cancelling music performances, but the Police commander says they have yet to receive any order in this regard and will carry out their duties]

2- Maximum Limit of Salary Payments Determined: Major Revision in Executives’ Salaries

3- Details of 13-Year-Old Teenager’s Suicide: Mother, Forgive Me!

Ettela’at:

1- Caspian Sea’s Legal Regime Should Meet All Littoral States’ Interests: Zarif

2- First Saudi Flight Lands in Tel Aviv Airport

3- Violation of JCPOA to Be Detrimental to All Parties: Rouhani

4- Human Activities and Environment Cause 85% of Cancers

Haft-e Sobh:

1- A Report on Attack of Iranian Social Media Users on Obama and His Daughter’s Instagram Pages: ‘You Were Supposed to find me a job!’

2- Iran’s Football Industry Is Worth $500m

Hamshahri:

1- Will Military Service Become Easier? Armed Forces Planning to Improve Military Service

2- Decrease in Women’s Working Hours Finalized in Parliament

3- Iranian El Chapo Arrested in a Village House

4- 3 Anti-Iran Plans by Republicans

Iran:

1- Using the Opportunity of JCPOA Needs Unity: President

2- Difficult Mission of Brexit for Theresa May

3- Disturbing Rumours about Health Conditions of Master Shajarian Are Baseless: Son

4- Campaign for Turning Hookahs into Flower Pots

Jame Jam:

1- Int’l Credit Cars to Enter Iran’s Market

2- Increase of Anti-JCPOA Moves in the US

Javan:

1- Concerns over JCPOA’s Fate in First Birthday!

2- Parliament’s Majority Vote to ‘Revolutionary’ Jurists: 3 New Members of Guardian Council Elected by MPs

3- Deal with FATF to Cause Problems for Iran: Expert

4- 5 New Languages to Be Taught in Iranian Schools

5- Refusing to Change Oil Contracts by Cabinet Reshuffle!

Jomhouri Eslami:

1- Positive Evaluation of JCPOA Outcomes 6 Months after Implementation

2- Government Has Had a Fundamental and Proper Performance on JCPOA: Rafsanjani

3- Iran and Britain Sign Finance Agreement on Water and Power

4- Secret Coalition of Saudi Arabia and Israel

5- Washington Not to Prevent Trade Deals with Iran: Spokesman

6- JCPOA Has Not Been Violated up to Now: Negotiator

7- Bid from Outside Iran to Buy $1bn of Iranian Stocks

Kayhan:

1- Senior Nuclear Negotiator: Don’t Have an Economic View of JCPOA!

2- US Has Started Plans to Overthrow Al Saud Regime: Jordanian Expert

3- US Extends Sanctions against 15 Iranian Individuals and Institutions

Khorasan:

1- Aref’s Silence: Senior Reformist MP Keeps Silent over Candidacy of Rouhani in Next Year’s Presidential Elections

2- Ministerial Meeting of Caspian Sea Littoral States in Astana

3- Commander: Whoever Wants to Become President or MP Promises People to Remove Morality Police!

4- Dust Pollution Shuts down Offices in Sistan and Baluchestan

Resalat:

1- Rafsanjani: Americans Are Violating Their Promises

2- Growing Trend of Caesarean Section Procedure Stopped

3- Germany’s Steinmeier Warns against New Cold War

4- We Remained Committed to Our Obligations, But Sanctions Remained in Place

Roozan:

1- Iran’s Support for Terrorism Is a Joke: Rafsanjani

2- World’s Newspapers Dominated by Thatcherism and US Police

3- Under Current Laws, Morality Police Can’t Be Removed: Commander

4- Whoever Starts Violating JCPOA Will Be Final Loser: Rouhani

Sayeh:

1- Why Some Hotels Still Refuse to Receive Single Women?

2- Free Trade Zones Can Make an Evolution in Iran’s Economy

Sepid:

1- Waiting for the French Team’s Report on Kiarostami’s Death

2- Iran, Second Country in the World in Controlling Non-Communicable Diseases

Shahrvand:

1- Return to Hope: JCPOA Reclaimed Iran’s Share from Global Oil Market

2- Dutch Woman Describes Iran as an Amazing Place to Visit

3- A Report on Increase of Violence among Iranians

4- JCPOA Removed the Pretexts for a Possible Attack on Iran: Rouhani

Shorou:

1- Sexual HIV Transmission Doubled: New Wave of AIDS Outbreak in Iran

2- Ties with Foreign Banks Hinge on Implementing FATF Regulations

Vaghaye Ettefaghieh:

1- Recent Paris Meeting Was Gathering of Political Bankrupts: Leader’s Advisor on MKO Paris Meeting

2- We Defended People’s Rights: Rouhani

Vatan-e Emrooz:

1- Rouhani: JCPOA Prevented a War from Happening! First Anniversary of a Deal that Was Supposed to Lift Sanctions and Improve People’s Livelihood

2- Theresa May Is Rupert Murdoch’s Candidate: Is Thatcher Emerging Once Again?

3- Canadian Gov’t Continuing Ottawa’s Previous Policies against Iran in UN: Efforts to Have Anti-Iran Resolutions Approved

4- Ankara: We Need Damascus! ISIS Is Back in Turkey

Spokesman Rejects Bahrain’s Anti-Iran Claims

IFP Editorial Staff

July 13, 2016

Bahrain has arrested two men suspected of planting a bomb that killed a Bahraini woman in late June and of having received training and support from Iran, the interior ministry said on Tuesday, July 12. A ministry statement identified a third suspect in the blast but claimed he had fled to Iran.

In reaction to the statement, Qassemi described the claims as being repetitive, false, baseless, and obsolete, according to a report by Khabar Online, as translated by IFP.

The Iranian spokesman urged the Bahraini government to stop repeating such baseless accusations and adopting such useless approaches and rather, take lessons from such moves, resolve its domestic problems and issues, and find their root causes.

“Unfortunately, the Bahraini government raises such fabricated and rejected claims in a bid to pin the blames on others for its internal conflicts and evade accountability to public opinion,” Qassemi went on to say.

According to the statement released by Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry, the bomb blast occurred on a road as the woman passed in her car in the village of East Eker, south of the capital Manama, on June 30. Shrapnel hit the car, killing her and injuring her three children.

The statement accused the three men of receiving training in weapons and explosives from Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). The statement claimed that one man traveled to Iran for his training.

The Bahraini version of the incident was even challenged inside the tiny Persian Gulf country. A Bahraini human rights group challenged the official version of events, citing “conflicting narratives”. Opposition activists have said on social media that witnesses reported seeing security forces fire on the woman’s car after it accidentally neared a royal convoy, Reuters reported.

Caspian Sea’s Legal Regime Should Meet All Littoral States’ Interests: Zarif

IFP Editorial Staff

July 13, 2016

Mohammad Javad Zarif — Iranian Foreign Minister

“A lasting legal regime should guarantee that the interests of all littoral states are met given the geopolitical changes,” Zarif said, addressing a ministerial meeting of the Caspian Sea littoral states in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, July 13.

He also expressed Tehran’s support for the establishment of a permanent regional association, whose activities and list of duties would be defined after consultation among the Caspian littoral countries.

Here’s the full text of his speech, as reported by Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website and translated by IFP:

In the Name of God

Mr. Erlan Idrissov,

Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov,

Mr. Sergei Lavrov,

Mr. Raşit Meredow,

I seize the opportunity of meeting my counterparts from Caspian Sea littoral states to offer my congratulations on the holding of the littoral states’ ministerial meeting.

I particularly appreciate the initiative and hospitality of my friend and colleague, Mr. Erlan Idrissov. In all ministerial meetings, we have fortunately witnessed forward steps. I wish the trend would continue in this meeting as well.

Dear Colleagues!

It has been 20 years since the first ministerial meeting of Caspian Sea littoral states in Ashgabat and their decision to improve the level of negotiations for the development of Caspian Sea’s legal regime.

Although 20 years of talks with numerous ups and downs indicate the complex, difficult, and intertwined nature of the multidimensional issues surrounding the Caspian Sea, the passage of time and various incidents have not at all decreased the importance of the Sea.

Here in the presence of foreign ministers, it is worth to appreciate the efforts made by the five littoral states’ negotiators and their heavy work on one of the most important and complex issues.

Fortunately, since the recent meeting of foreign ministers and presidents in Astrakhan, effective and intensive talks have been held and new agreements have been made; however, I should admit that a full understanding has yet to be reached on certain problems.

Caspian Sea’s legal regime convention is a comprehensive document that will explain the rights and obligations of littoral states and the principles for their cooperation and activities. Therefore, the negotiations need a considerable amount of deliberation. The mutual understanding witnessed in the talks has made us more optimistic towards the results of agreements.

Excellencies!

Within the past years, negotiations have been underway based on the principle of consensus to develop the legal regime of the Caspian Sea as per the principles and rules of international law. Given the unique and special situation of the Sea, a lasting legal regime should guarantee that the interests of all littoral states are met given the geopolitical changes.

To that end, the legal regime needs to take into account three main topics of concern, including peace and security, sustainable development, and fair demarcation of the sea boundaries:

1– Peace and Security: Sustainable peace and stability in the Caspian Sea is of fundamental importance to regional nations and governments. The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the grounds for establishment of peace and security in the region can be prepared through transparency, peaceful use of the Sea, refraining from arms race, guarantees of excluding of military forces in relations among the countries, promotion of deterrent diplomacy, joint action against threats, settlement of conflicts only through peaceful means, and prohibition of the military presence of third parties in the Sea to prevent the crises and incidents, as previously agreed and declared in Astrakhan Summit’s communiqué. Such security and stability will be pave the way for economic development and the welfare of nations.

2- Sustainable Development: Observing long-term collective interests and responding to the needs of current and future generations requires that Caspian Sea littoral states take serious measures to conserve the environment and protect the biological resources of the sea. They should also control the shipment of toxic pollutants to the international markets through the Caspian Sea.

3– Fair Demarcation of the Sea Boundaries: The demarcation of the maritime borders in this Sea is one of the most important topics discussed by the littoral states. In this case, consideration should be given to the geographical position of each country and that it should involve “fairness”, an internationally-recognized principle for reaching a consensus.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In recent years, thanks to the political will shown by the heads of states, we have been witnessing the all-out expansion of relations at all levels, which provides a basis for the opening of new horizons. To achieve these goals, the Islamic Republic of Iran supports the establishment of a permanent regional association, whose activities and list of duties would be defined after consultation among the Caspian littoral countries. Founding such an association would reflect a macro and comprehensive outlook on the Caspian issues and its different aspects.

To sum up, I hope we would achieve important outcomes in this meeting and pave the way for the fifth summit of the leaders of Caspian Sea littoral states in Kazakhstan.

Offering my congratulations on Kazakhstan’s membership in the United Nations Security Council, I once again thank Mr. Erlan Idrissov, the government and nation of the Republic of Kazakhstan for their hospitality and good organization of the meeting, and I hope we would witness the opening of the fifth Leaders’ Summit in the beautiful country of Kazakhstan in the near future.

Thank you for your attention.

21st Anniversary of a Crime in Heart of Europe

Fatemeh Askarieh

July 13, 2016

The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Bosnian genocide, was the genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Muslim Bosnians in July 1995 during the Bosnian War.

To this day, the bones of those killed are still being discovered and identified. A ceremony was held on Monday, July 11, in the European country to mark the anniversary of the tragic genocide.

During the ceremony, which was also attended by Iran’s ambassador and cultural attaché, the remains of 127 victims were reburied in individual graves.

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