Gradual Revival of Artemia Paints Lake Urmia Red

By

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July 3, 2016

IFP translated a report by ISNA on the restoration of Lake Urmia as follows.

Lake Urmia in northwest of Iran has recently turned red. Experts believe that the red colour is caused by three factors: the increased activity of Artemia brine shrimps, the activity of a green micro alga called Dunaliella Salina, and the Lake’s excessive salt water.

Artemia, which is dubbed ‘Iran’s living gold’, is a genus of aquatic crustaceans that lives in brine lakes. Lake Urmia is replete with this aquatic creature that is used in shrimp and fish industry.

World’s sixth largest saltwater lake, Lake Urmia, is located near the Turkish border between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan. The lake has been shrinking for three decades, and since its shores have started to recede, the surrounding land has begun to die, causing an unprecedented ecological disaster.

The rising level of Lake Urmia’s water, either achieved by replenishment or an increase in rainfall, has brought back to the Lake not only various species such as stilt birds but also scores of people who visit the lake for swimming. It is good to know that Lake Urmia is being restored.

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[:fa]Increased activity of Artemia brine shrimps and a few other aquatic creatures has changed the colour of Lake Urmia into red.

IFP translated a report by ISNA on the restoration of Lake Urmia as follows.

Lake Urmia in northwest of Iran has recently turned red. Experts believe that the red colour is caused by three factors: the increased activity of Artemia brine shrimps, the activity of a green micro alga called Dunaliella Salina, and the Lake’s excessive salt water.

Artemia, which is dubbed ‘Iran’s living gold’, is a genus of aquatic crustaceans that lives in brine lakes. Lake Urmia is replete with this aquatic creature that is used in shrimp and fish industry.

World’s sixth largest saltwater lake, Lake Urmia, is located near the Turkish border between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan. The lake has been shrinking for three decades, and since its shores have started to recede, the surrounding land has begun to die, causing an unprecedented ecological disaster.

The rising level of Lake Urmia’s water, either achieved by replenishment or an increase in rainfall, has brought back to the Lake not only various species such as stilt birds but also scores of people who visit the lake for swimming. It is good to know that Lake Urmia is being restored.

1 of 17

[:ar]Increased activity of Artemia brine shrimps and a few other aquatic creatures has changed the colour of Lake Urmia into red.

IFP translated a report by ISNA on the restoration of Lake Urmia as follows.

Lake Urmia in northwest of Iran has recently turned red. Experts believe that the red colour is caused by three factors: the increased activity of Artemia brine shrimps, the activity of a green micro alga called Dunaliella Salina, and the Lake’s excessive salt water.

Artemia, which is dubbed ‘Iran’s living gold’, is a genus of aquatic crustaceans that lives in brine lakes. Lake Urmia is replete with this aquatic creature that is used in shrimp and fish industry.

World’s sixth largest saltwater lake, Lake Urmia, is located near the Turkish border between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan. The lake has been shrinking for three decades, and since its shores have started to recede, the surrounding land has begun to die, causing an unprecedented ecological disaster.

The rising level of Lake Urmia’s water, either achieved by replenishment or an increase in rainfall, has brought back to the Lake not only various species such as stilt birds but also scores of people who visit the lake for swimming. It is good to know that Lake Urmia is being restored.

1 of 17

ISIS Introduces Its Own Gold Coins as New Currency

By

Emad Askarieh

-

July 3, 2016

In a report translated by IFP, QudsOnline quoted a nomad from Mosul as saying that the ISIS terrorist group has minted its exclusive coins based on dinar and injected them into the Mosul’s market, trying to replace other currencies.

ISIS’s exclusive coins come in 21 carat gold and silver, every one of which is worth 187,000 dinars, i.e. $140, and weighs 25.4 grams.

“It’s been a year since the ISIS has started minting gold coins in a bid to replace US dollars and Iraq’s currency,” Alquds Alarabi newspaper reported, adding that Takfiris [extremists] have injected their new currency into the city’s market and major stocks with the goal of weaning Muslims off US dollars.

Money changers and merchants are looking forward to new instructions on how to use the new currency in their business. Citizens, too, have started providing the new coins.

“ISIS has started clandestine smuggling of gold and currency out of Baghdad and Erbil since last year and snuck them into Mosul,” an informed source said.

The terrorist group has distributed statements of warning all over the city threatening smugglers to refrain from taking gold out of the occupied territories, the source added.

Extreme Heat in Iranian Capital

By

Fatemeh Askarieh

-

July 3, 2016

People in Tehran and many other cities of Iran are suffering from a wave of excessive heat these days. Young Journalists Club (YJC) has released photos of people in streets of Tehran, struggling with the extreme heat.

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ICT Minister: Leakage of Irancell Database Nothing New

By

IFP Editorial Staff

-

July 3, 2016

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi

It was earlier reported that someone had used a Telegram bot to hack the personal information belonging to a large number of Iranian users of the country’s second largest mobile phone operator MTN Irancell.

The hacked population is 20 million, equal to 75% of all the MTN Irancell users, Mehr reported on July 2.

A message appeared the night earlier saying that there was a bot in Telegram messaging app named @MTNProBot where one could insert an Irancell phone number and it could provide one with the personal information of the owner such as first and last name, landline phone number, national code, city, address and postal code.

Despite the earlier reports, Iran’s ICT Minister Mahmoud Vaezi noted that the database had been leaked out 2.5 years ago.

Addressing the Parliament on Sunday, July 3, Vaezi said the phone operator had given its database to one of the country’s bodies 2.5 years ago, but someone inside the body leaked the information at that time.

“Now, the same information is being published in a Telegram channel using a different method,” he stressed, as reported by ISNA and translated by IFP.

Vaezi also noted that the Telegram bot, through which the information was being offered to users, was soon blocked by Telegram based on the Ministry’s request.

According to the information, the bot had been available for 20 hours. There are about 40 million smartphones in Iran and Telegram is one of the hottest apps in the country, Trend reported.

Sources had earlier noted that the database was being sold to the private advertising agencies or any entity that needed this kind of information.

Irancell is the second largest mobile operator in Iran. It is 49% owned by the South Africa-based MTN Group. It worked very well since they launched in 2005, to the point that it brought competition to the market and shook MCI, the largest mobile network operator Iran.

An Internet bot, also known as web robot, WWW robot or simply bot, is a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet. Typically, bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone. The largest use of bots is in web spidering (web crawler), in which an automated script fetches, analyses and files information from web servers at many times the speed of a human.

Iranian Commander Bashes US on Terrible Human Rights Record

By

IFP Media Wire

-

July 3, 2016

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri

With its military intervention in all parts of the world, disrespect for the rights of nations and armed aggression against other countries, the US is known as the biggest violator of human rights, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said on Sunday, July 3, in comments marking the anniversary of a US warship’s attack on an Iran Air passenger flight in 1988 that killed all the 290 civilians on board.

On 3 July 1988, Iran Air Flight 655 from Tehran to Dubai was shot down by the United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes. The incident took place in Iranian airspace, over Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Jazayeri said the magnitude of the US crimes is such that the American model of human rights is perceived as the “symbol of modern ignorance” in the contemporary era.

He also said that the US model of human rights is doomed to failure in confrontation with the human community, and that it will bring absolute disgrace to the arrogant and criminal rulers of America.

What Makes US Shoot-Down of Iran Air Flight 655 Even More Painful

By

IFP Editorial Staff

-

July 3, 2016

On July 3, 1988, an Airbus A300-B2 plane belonging to Iran’s flag carrier Iran Air had just taken off from the southern Iranian coastal city of Bandar Abbas at 10:17 a.m. local time with 274 passengers and 16 crew members on board.

It was climbing inside an internationally recognized route to Dubai when the US cruiser, the USS Vincennes, fired two SM-2MR surface-to-air missiles at it, one of which hit the plane and killed all the people on board.

US officials claimed their warship had mistaken the airliner for a supersonic and variable-sweep wing Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter jet.

The allegation was made even as the warship was equipped with highly sophisticated radar systems and electronic battle gear, and the passenger plane was transmitting Mode III 6760 squawk code, typical of a civilian aircraft, and maintained radio contact in English with appropriate air traffic control facilities.

The USS Vincennes had entered Iranian territorial waters after one of its helicopters drew warning fire from Iranian speedboats operating within Iranian territorial limits, Press TV reported.

Washington later paid some 95 million dollars in compensation for the Iranian victims and the aircraft.

The money, however, failed to placate the anti-US sentiments in Iran, where people expected the USS Vincennes’ captain, William Rogers, to be held responsible for his criminal act.

Rogers was instead awarded the prestigious medal of Legion of Merit for his so-called outstanding service.

Mahdi, the son of Ali Asghar Akrami, was seven years old when his father was killed in the shoot-down. Here’s Javan’s report on his painful story about the incident:

“At that time, I was nearly seven years old. I was sleeping at home at noon. Some of our friends and relatives had been informed of the incident, but my family didn’t know about it yet. Suddenly, some of our relatives came to our home and said a US navy had hit a Dubai-bound airplane with a missile, and the plane had crashed. I couldn’t believe it for a long time that I had lost my father,” Mahdi said.

“I always asked the question from myself that why Americans should kill so many people by shooting the airplane down. Later, I found out that the culprits behind the incident had even received medals of honour! I would never forget the pictures of the medals given to them. They were awarded with medal of merit for killing 290 innocent people. It was very difficult for me to accept such a thing, even more difficult than knowing about my father’s martyrdom.”

“More bitter than my father’s death was the medal of merit given to his murderer,” he noted.

Tasnim also quoted the memories of Colonel Mansour Qassemi, a member of the first team dispatched to the crash scene, which was a diving team of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

“Each year on July 3, I’m hurt by remembering the memories of 1988, and the effects of the disaster still linger in my mind after so many years,” Qassemi said, as translated by IFP.

“On July 3, 1988, we were on a diving mission in southeast of Lark Island in Persian Gulf when the IRGC Navy of Region 1 announced that a passenger plane had been hit by a US navy’s missile in southeast of Hengam Island.”

“We arrived at the crash scene almost in 35 minutes. We didn’t have GPS system, so we couldn’t locate the exact crash site. Since the plane had exploded in the air, the debris was spread all over the Gulf. We couldn’t see any of the parts.”

“After about 30 to 40 minutes of confusion, some light pieces and the souvenirs of passengers started to float. I saw a black chador and we moved towards it, but I couldn’t find the owner. Since diving operation was not possible at the moment, we stayed there until other units and boats arrived.”

“In the afternoon, we started diving operation in a depth of 35m. One day later, some of the bodies came to the surface, and from that time on, we found 200 bodies. Unfortunately, some of the bodies were not discovered due to the severe explosion in the air and the plane’s crash in a broad area,” Colonel Qassemi said.

Every year, Iranians throw stalks of flowers in the Persian Gulf to mark the anniversary and pay tribute to the victims of the terrible human tragedy, which retains the record for highest death toll of any aviation incident in the body of water.

Farhadi’s “The Salesman” Receives Best Film Award at Munich Festival

By

IFP Editorial Staff

-

July 3, 2016

‘The Salesman’ was awarded the €50,000 [$56,300] prize for best international film in the closing ceremony of the 10-day festival.

“The CineMasters Jury unanimously awards the ARRI/OSRAM Award 2016 to The Salesman by Asghar Farhadi. We choose to give the award to a film that we found contemporary and yet universal and, most importantly, an opening to the future. A story that was both thrilling and full of surprises. A film about who we are and could be as human beings. Sooner or later we will have to address the issue of the masculine and feminine aspects of our humanity,” the Jury said in a statement.

“The Salesman presents us with an alternative to the predominant masculine approach of attempting to solve problems with violence and revenge. The beauty we found in the film is that it shows a path towards solutions through the feminine way of thinking and feeling, with an intelligence not only or always of the mind, but also the heart,” the statement added.

Farhadi’s latest flick had recently won Best Actor and Best Screenplay awards in Cannes Film Festival.

Over 200 films from 62 countries were screened in what is Germany’s second-most important cinema industry event after the wintertime Berlinale, held on June 23 to July 2 in the German city of Munich.

In addition to ‘The Salesman’, ‘Avalanche’ by Morteza Farshbaf and ‘Yahya Didn’t Keep Quiet’ by Kaveh Ebrahimpour also participated as International Independents in the festival.

Iranian top actress Fatemeh Motamed Arya who starred in both films was in Munich to present her films in person, Mehr reported.

Iran Condemns Terrorist Blasts in Baghdad

By

Fatemeh Askarieh

-

July 3, 2016

In a statement published on Sunday, July 3, Qassemi condemned the attacks and expressed sympathy with the Iraqi nation and government and the bereaved families of the victims.

“Liberation of Fallujah and repeated military defeats of ISIS in different fields have forced the group and their supporters to resort to desperate moves and massacre of innocent people more than ever,” he noted, according to a report by Khabar Online, as translated by IFP.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will stand by the Iraqi nation and government until the full defeat of terrorists,” he went on to say.

83 people were killed and 160 wounded in a car bombing carried out on Sunday morning by the ISIS terror group in the centre of Baghdad.

In an online statement, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, which struck a busy shopping district of the capital.

The bombing hit as families and young people were out on the streets of Karrada district after breaking their Ramadan fast, the Associated Press reported.

A second bomb attack in eastern Baghdad on Sunday morning killed five people and wounded 16.

The casualty figures were confirmed by police and hospital officials, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to release information to the press.

The attacks come after Iraqi forces retook the city of Fallujah from ISIS.

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on July 3

By

IFP Editorial Staff

-

July 3, 2016

Newspapers on Sunday continued covering the ongoing issue of astronomical salaries and the government’s campaign against the offending managers. The latest development was the mass resignation of National Development Fund executives over the leakage of their huge salaries.

An agreement between Iran and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is also covered by many media outlets. Conservatives are criticizing the government for making secret deals with the international body, saying that foreigners are going to have access to the bank accounts of Iranians following the deal. Officials, however, stress that if Iran wants to have ties with global banks, it has to follow FATF rules.

The above issues as well as many more are highlighted in the following headlines:

Abrar:

1- 2 Senior ISIS Commanders Killed in Coalition’s Airstrikes in Mosul

2- Kirby: Many Iranians Want Better Ties with the World

3- Commander of US Sailors Captured in Iran: I Didn’t Want JCPOA to Be Spoiled

4- UNSC Ratifies Counter-Terrorism Resolution

5- Will Kiarostami Accept to Join Academy Awards Members?

6- Iran’s Army Foils Pirate Attack on Iranian Oil Tanker

7- Paycheques Targeting Public Trust

Abrar-e Eqtesadi:

1- Iran and Turkmenistan Start Trade Ties: Doing Business with Ashgabat Facilitated

2- Iran and Russia Reach New Banking Deal

Aftab-e Yazd:

1- Offending Executives Firing Themselves! Rouhani Accepts Mass Resignation of National Development Fund Managers

2- Iran-Canada Ties to Be Restored within a Year: Mousavian

3- We Should Accept FATF If We Want to Work with Major Banks

4- Iranian Tourists’ Interest in Turkey Has Not Decreased in Spite of Decline in Turkey’s Tourism

Arman-e Emrooz:

1- Women Go to Stadium: Is the Problem with Women’s Attendance in Stadiums Resolved?

2- Motahari Calls for Finding Source of Anonymous Text Messages Sent to Journalists

3- When a Society Suffers from Poverty, Blasphemy Is the Next to Come: Rafsanjani

4- Paycheques and Rouhani’s Victory

Asia:

1- Hong Kong Businessmen Hail Iran’s Market as Best One in the World

Ebtekar:

1- Interior Ministry to Become More Reformist-Oriented after Recent Changes of Governors

2- Weather Differences: Which One Is Telling the Truth, Weather Bureau or Car Thermometers?

3- Government Starts Consultations with Guardian Council to Hold Presidential Elections Earlier

Emtiaz:

1- Iran Exports 2m Barrels of Crude Oil to Poland

Ettela’at:

1- JCPOA Was Least Costly Way for Realizing Iran’s Goals and Interests: President

2- ISIS’s Attack on Bangladesh’s Capital Leaves 24 Dead and 49 Wounded

3- US VP Voices Concern over Al Khalifa Regime’s Crackdown

Haft-e Sobh:

1- The Lesson Rouhani Can Learn from Clash of Clans: Refusing to Play Can Be a Defeat

2- After Banks and Insurances, National Development Fund Executives Also Dismissed Over Huge Salaries

Hamshahri:

1- Oil Man Reunites with His Family after 38 Years

Honarmand:

1- Thousands of People Join Campaign against DiCaprio

2- Italy’s Cultural Policies Followed in Renovating Iranian Historical Sites

3- Discounts in Tours of Turkey Equal to Giving Discounts on Lives of Iranians: MP

Iran:

1- There Is No Secret Text between Iran and FATF: CBI Official

2- ISIS Launches First Terrorist Attack in South Asia

3- Detention Centres of Investigation Police to Be Monitored with CC Cameras

Jame Jam:

1- Al Saud’s Incompetence Continues

2- Leader Urges Decisive Action against Offenses

Javan:

1- Leader Urges Government to Restore People’s Rights

2- ISIS Gaining Power in Eastern Borders of Iran: Afghanistan’s Badakhshan on Verge of Fall

3- They Control Bank Accounts of Every Single Iranian with FATF: Former MP

Jomhouri Eslami:

1- 20% Increase in Iran’s Oil Exports to China

2- New Developments on Possibility of Ending the War in Syria

3- Iranian People Throw Flowers in Persian Gulf in Memory of 290 People Killed in US Shoot-Down of Iran Air Flight 655

4- Al Qaeda Leader Threatens US

Kayhan:

1- Petrol Consumption in Highest Level in 5 Years

2- 4 Western Experts Discuss Political, Security, and Economic Repercussions

3- Palestine, Iran, Standing on the Same Cause

Khorasan:

1- All Bodies Should Take Decisive Action against Unconventional Salaries: Leader

2- Turkey and Tactic of Diplomatic Regret [Editorial]

3- Accident in Mecca Ones Again: 18 Wounded Because of Stampede

Resalat:

1- Government Should Explain to People about Secret Financial Deal with US: Cleric

2- Erdoğan’s Dilemma: Will Ankara Change Its Regional Policies?

3- Dependent Arab Leaders Are the Obstacle to Liberation of Palestine: Nasrallah

Shahrvand:

1- Forced Farewell: Government’s Campaign against Huge Salaries Makes National Development Fund Executives Resign

2- Iran’s Internet Speed as Low as That of War-Hit Countries: Speed Is Higher in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia

3- Sanctions Made Investment in Iran 35% More Costly

Shargh:

1- Ayatollah Khamenei: Even Leader’s Office Is Obliged to Observe Rules Ratified by Gov’t [on astronomical salaries]

2- Is It Possible to Put US on Trial for Shoot-Down of Iran Air Flight 655?

Sobh-e Now:

1- Team of 200 Female Spectators Allowed in Volleyball Stadium to Evade FIVB Fines

2- Certain Executives’ Behaviour Helps Enemy’s Strategy: IRGC General

3- Free Trade Zones Not Helpful for Production and Export

Vatan-e Emrooz:

1- ISIS’s Night in Dhaka: Export of Terrorism to the Subcontinent

2- Parliament to Discuss FATF Deal This Week: Foreigners to Control Iranian Bank Accounts

Iran, 4th Biggest Oil Supplier to Japan in May

By

IFP Media Wire

-

July 3, 2016

Japan, the world’s third biggest oil consumer, has raised its imports of crude oil from the Middle East. Iran is one of the four countries in the region that supply oil to Japan.

Saudi Arabia is the first crude oil supplier to Tokyo with exports of 1,130,000 barrels of oil. The UAE and Qatar stand at second and third places.

Director of International Affairs of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Mohsen Qamsari recently noted that based on Tehran-Tokyo agreement, Iran sells about 120,000 barrels of oil to Japan per day.

However, he said, Japan has raised its imports of Iran’s crude oil in the past three months.

IRAN FRONT PAGELatest News and Views From Iran, Middle East and the World

IRAN FRONT PAGELatest News and Views From Iran, Middle East and the World

IRAN FRONT PAGELatest News and Views From Iran, Middle East and the World

IRAN FRONT PAGELatest News and Views From Iran, Middle East and the World

Gradual Revival of Artemia Paints Lake Urmia Red

ISIS Introduces Its Own Gold Coins as New Currency

Extreme Heat in Iranian Capital

Iranian Commander Bashes US on Terrible Human Rights Record

What Makes US Shoot-Down of Iran Air Flight 655 Even More Painful

Farhadi’s “The Salesman” Receives Best Film Award at Munich Festival

Iran Condemns Terrorist Blasts in Baghdad

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on July 3

Iran, 4th Biggest Oil Supplier to Japan in May

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