Speaking at the Majlis open session this morning, Larijani said the role the Iranians played in the Friday elections indicated stable security in the country.
Iran is among few countries in the region which enjoy democracy, Larijani stressed.
Holding Iran’s elections with no problem showed high level of security in the country while there are security crises and terrorist ambitions in the region, said he.
After July agreement and implementation of it in January, the nation has made itself ready for a new move to build an independent and prosperous country, he added.
He further appreciated the Iranian nation for massively attending the 10th Majlis and fifth Assembly of Experts elections.
Iranian officials have suggested that the results would remain as formerly announced as only “one ballot box is left” yet uncounted.
In the early hours of Monday, Tehran Governor Hossein Hashemi told reporters in Tehran that the official results would be announced later on Monday.
“I think the latest list will be approved in the end,” he added.
According to the results, the chairman of the Expediency Council and former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Mohammad Aqa Emami were at the top of Tehran’s list for the Assembly of Experts.They were followed by President Hassan Rouhani, a current member of the assembly, Mohsen Qomi, and Tehran’s interim Friday Prayers leader Mohammad Ali Movahhedi, as well as former attorney-general Qorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi.
Former vice president Mohammad Reza Aref is leading Tehran’s parliamentary list followed by Ali Motahhari, Alireza Mahjoub, Soheila Jelodarzadeh, and Elias Hazrati.
Most of the votes throughout the country are shared among Principlists while Reformists achieved a landslide victory in the capital.
At least 33 million out of the 55 million eligible voters took part in Iran’s twin elections on Friday.
As many as 4,844 candidates, including about 500 women, were competing for a place in the 290-seat parliament. A total of 159 candidates ran for the 88-member Assembly of Experts. Members of the Assembly serve eight-year terms while MPs are elected every four years.
“I believe in Iran’s social capacity after my visit.”
The President of the Swiss Confederation visited the charity Mahakon the evening of Saturday 27th February. During this visit, Johann Schneider-Ammann and his delegation witnessed the supportive treatment and research of this charitable centre, which is the result of 25 years of trust and companionship between Iranians and child cancer sufferers.
This meeting took place with the attendance of the following: the Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Business, the Swiss ambassador, high-level political, economic and scientific delegates, and members of the Iran-Switzerland Chamber of Commerce (who also supported the event). Johann Schneider-Ammann gave his only press conference during his Iranian trip in Mahak, as an honoured member of the Iran-Switzerland Chamber of Commerce, in the presence of Swiss media.
Sharif Nezam Mafi, the head of the Chamber of Commerce, said, “Mahak showed the humanitarian face of Iran.”
He emphasized that Mahak charitable institute is an honorary member of the Iran-Switzerland Chamber of Commerce, and went on to admire the attention that Mahak pays to the concept of social responsibility, and the link they create between the areas of charity and economic activity. He said, “Mahak is an NGO which has grown over the past years in order to achieve its goal of stopping children who suffer from cancer from passing away due to poverty, in spite of the sanctions.”
Responding to queries about the choice of Mahak as a venue for the Swiss President, he replied, “By choosing this NGO, we tried to display the humanitarian side of Iran alongside its economy and politics.”
The head of the Chamber of Commerce concluded by saying, “We hope to facilitate competitive business through our activities with Switzerland, creating a bridge linking both cultures.”
Javad Karbasizadeh, the head of Mahak’s board of directors, welcomed the Swiss President and his delegation.
Mahak Chairman: “The Necessity of Expanding Political, Social, Economic and Scientific Dimensions for Sustainable Development in the Post-Sanctions Era.”
Arasb Ahmadian, Mahak’s Chairman, presented an introduction and a brief report about the NGO’s 25 years of activity. He pointed out that the country is now entering a new season of political, economic and scientific international relations, saying, “NGOs, as actors in civil society, can share another dimension of our country with the world through demonstrating our great social capacity. This is a necessary point for sustainable development, as they work in parallel with the political, economic and scientific sectors, which will be shown to the visitors by the government and the private sector.”
Swiss President: “Mahak is an Astonishing Organization.”
At the end of the event, the President said, “Prosperous social capacity is the only way to describe Mahak. Within minutes, I witnessed how capable Mahak is at helping children deal with cancer. That an NGO should be in charge of such an important issue is self-explanatory. It is easy to see that there is a humanitarian culture in Iran, and it is not just financially manifested.”
Swiss President – Johann Schneider-Ammann
He showed his appreciation and respect for Iranian social capability, continuing, “I didn’t imagine that such an experience awaited me. I believe that Iran is moving forwards, and from experience, I can tell that Iran has a high potential for development.”
The Swiss President thanked the Chamber of Commerce members, and the Mahak board of directors. He pointed out that Mahak’s valuable international awards and achievements demonstrate their professionalism. He said, “Mahak is an astonishing organization. I have been moved by their vast professional accomplishments in working with children with cancer.”
He added, “I was impressed when I saw a smiling child, giving us hope to support him in his battle with cancer. I thank you for creating such a humane atmosphere, with innovations in support services. Mahak has expanded its activities in spite of the sanctions. We hope that, after the implementation of the JCPOA, Iran and Switzerland’s relations improve in all aspects.”
After listening to the Mahak Chairman’s report about their international collaborations, the President praised the humanitarian activities of the organization.
At the conclusion of the visit, the President was presented with a painting done by some of Mahak’s children, in the presence of Saeideh Qods, the founder, Dr. Mohammad Rafaei, a member of the board of trustees and directors, and Mohammadreza Fayaz, the secretary of provincial resource development management from the Ministry of Industry and Business.
The visit of the President and his delegation coincided with the result of an international NGO benchmark assessment (carried out by a world-class Swiss inspection company), in which Mahak placed 4th out of 299 NGOs worldwide. It is worth mentioning that this institute was ranked 10th out of 263 NGOs in its previous assessment.
In a message issued on the occasion of Parliament (Majlis) and Assembly of Experts elections, he said, ‘The next Majlis will shoulder heavy duties and it is hoped that the public will witness in it the standard of being responsible before God and people.’
‘The Islamic Iran is proud of its people’ because of the strength of rules that have provided such opportunities for upholding the nation’s dignity, the Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei advised the elected candidates as well as the holders of positions in executive and judiciary branches to render their duties to the people through living a simple and honest life, preferring national interests, and standing against aliens’ interference.
‘The current ultra sensitive era requires the sensitivity, prudence, and firm determination of all people especially the officials,’ read the message.
‘Development is the country’s principle objective. Nominal development without independence or national dignity is not accepted,’ he stressed, adding that development does not mean being digested in the global arrogance system.
Ayatollah Khamenei also expressed his appreciation to those working for elections including its executives, supervisors, security agents, and the national media.
“The Saudi government must provide us with guarantees about the safety of [Iranian] pilgrims and only under such conditions we will send pilgrims” to Saudi Arabia, Saeed Ohadi said on Sunday.
He added that Iran has an annual Hajj quota of 64,000 pilgrims, whose safety is vital for the country.
The crush of last year occurred after two large masses of pilgrims converged at a crossroads in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, during the symbolic ceremony of the stoning of Satan in Jamarat on September 24, 2015.
Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed in the incident, but Iranian officials say about 4,700 people lost their lives in the tragedy.
The number of the Iranian fatalities is at least 464, exceeding that of other countries.
Saudi Arabia has come under harsh criticism over its handling of the Mina incident.
The tragedy came days after a massive construction crane collapsed into Mecca’s Grand Mosque, killing more than 100 people and leaving over 200 others wounded. According to the figures released by Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, 11 Iranian pilgrims were among the deceased and 32 of the injured were also Iranian nationals.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has raised its objection to relevant authorities regarding Saudi Arabia’s illegal and discriminatory move in refusing to issue visa for members of Iran’s delegation who wanted to attend a meeting of senior officials with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi city of Jeddah, Baeidinejad said on Sunday.
“Any decision made in Jeddah without the participation of Iran’s political delegation would be invalid,” he noted.
Baeidinejad expressed the hope that Saudi Arabia would adopt a realistic approach, and prepare the grounds for the OIC to avoid addressing trivial issues, and focus on the Muslim world’s major problems including the issue of Palestine, terrorists, sectarianism, and common problems of the Islamic society (Ummah).
In the OIC meeting in Saudi Arabia, the draft documents and resolutions are planned to prepared for the upcoming OIC Leaders Summit due to be held in Turkey’s Istanbul.
Tensions ran high between Iran and Saudi Arabia in recent months mainly due to Riyadh’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, and a subsequent attack by outraged Iranian protesters on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, which resulted in the Arab country’s decision to sever its ties with the Islamic Republic.
On January 2, Saudi Arabia announced that it has executed Sheikh Nimr, among dozens of others. The execution ignited widespread international condemnation, from both political and religious figures.
The next day, furious demonstrators in the Iranian cities of Tehran and Mashhad stormed Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic buildings in protest at the execution of Sheikh Nimr.
Although Iranian officials criticized the embassy attack and police arrested dozens involved, Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic.
The winners of 157 out of 290 parliamentary seats have been determined so far, with the Principalists losing ground to a combination of the Reformists, the Voice of the Nation, and independent candidates.
According to KhabarOnline, Reformists have so far secured 34 seats, and independents 35 seats. 7 candidates from the list of the Voice of the Nation are more moderate-leaning, thus cannot be considered as Principalists.
Even if Mohammad Mofateh, a candidate whose name was on all three lists (Reformists, Principalists and the Voice of the Nation), is counted as a Principalist, the faction would still be in a minority.
The following diagram shows the above results quite clearly.
IFP – According to the figures and the diagram released by Khabar Online, a considerable number of the winners of Friday’s Parliamentary elections are considered as independents, ones who did not have the backing of any political faction or party.
If this group maintain their nonpartisan position, they will play a determining role in the forthcoming Parliament. Their votes will be crucial for both Principalists and Reformists in pushing through their bills and spreading their agendas.
“The ceasefire in Syria is a nice turn for the country. It will help political solutions and move away from military solutions,” Sarmadi told Sputnik on Sunday.
He further reiterated Tehran’s continued support for resumption of UN-backed peace talks aimed at ending the four-year crisis in Syria.
The first peace talks in two years between the government and opposition groups in Syria collapsed on February 3 before they began in the face of the recent major advances by the Syrian troops in the city of Aleppo. The talks were scheduled to be held on February 25.
The Iranian top official also highlighted Moscow’s bids for peace in Syria and said, “We value the role of Russia and the efforts it made to reach an agreement on the ceasefire and to maintain its compliance to the present day.”
Syria’s temporary cessation of hostilities took effect on Saturday morning.
Nearly an hour before the cessation of hostilities went into effect, the United Nations Security Council unanimously demanded that all parties to the war in Syria comply with the terms of the US-Russian deal.
The demand was included in a resolution drafted jointly by Russia and the US that also urged the government and opposition to resume UN-brokered peace talks.
UN Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura said he intends to reconvene peace talks on March 7.
Both President Bashar Assad’s government and the main opposition body have agreed to the deal that allows fighting to continue against Daesh (ISIL) and other terrorist groups like the Nusra Front.
Chairman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) Mohammad Saeidi said he expects the ship, carrying a cargo of petrochemical products, to call at European ports in the “next few days.”
“This is a big event as we managed to revive shipping to Europe after five years, thanks to the efforts of our management and staff, and unlock the sea transportation lock to Europe,” he said, quoted by the Mehr news agency.
“Fortunately, with the lifting of sanctions and implementation of the JCPOA (nuclear agreement) over the past five months…we managed to reopen the sea link and shipping routes to Europe,” he added.
IRISL has successfully lobbied with Germany and Italy to establish a joint shipping company to cover northern and southern Europe with their services, Saeidi added.
IRISL is also planning to establish a “regular” shipping link between Persian Gulf and Latin American ports as well as a “sustainable shipping route” running between Latin American and East Asian ports, Saeidi added.
“Furthermore, we are working out plans for Central and North American ports with the centrality of Canada and hope to accomplish this important task after the lifting of sanctions by the Canadian government.”
IRISL’s current fleet includes 160 container vessels, dry bulk carriers and tankers ships with a capacity of over 5 million TEUs, which the company plans to expand. In October, IRISL said it was seeking to expand its fleet of container ships by 579,000 TEUs by 2020.
Saeidi said negotiations were underway with both foreign and domestic yards. The official has said his company wanted to put out orders for Triple E vessels which can carry more than 18,000 containers.
Iran’s biggest operator has 41 container ships of up to 14,000 containers, but IRISL wants to join the big league and Triple Es are a priority, he said.
Once it has built up a sufficient capacity, IRISL plans to forge an alliance with the world’s top 15 container operators which control the busiest trade routes by sharing vessels, networks and port calls.
According to Saeidi, IRISL has been touring European countries with major shipping clusters such as Greece, Germany, Cyprus, France and Denmark, to lay the groundwork.
International shipping lines have stepped up port calls to Iran as the country’s massive maritime trade sector is emerging from the sanctions.
Last month, Mediterranean Shipping Co., the second-largest shipping line by volume, discharged 300 containers filled with food and agricultural commodities in Bandar Abbas.
Maersk Line, the world’s largest marine carrier, and the France’s CMA CGM, the third largest line, have also resumed service to Iran.
