Friday, December 26, 2025
type here...
Home Blog Page 4615

Iranian Clubs Likely to Withdraw from AFC Champions League

By
Emad Askarieh
-

Following the weeks-long diplomatic dispute between Iran and Saudi Arabia, AFC Competitions Committee decided to amend the schedule for the 2016 AFC Champions League.

The AFC says it set a March 15 deadline for “a return to normal relations” otherwise all matches between teams from the countries will be played at neutral venues.

“As we’ve already said, Iran is a safe country and we have no problem to host the ACL matches,” Taj said.

“I think the confederation is making a dangerous decision. If AFC change the venues, the Iranian teams will pull out of the competition,” he added.

“We don’t accept to play in neutral venues and believe that it’s a political decision to change the venues,” Taj said.

 

Syrian Army Close to Breaking Siege of Aleppo Northern Villages

By
Emad Askarieh
-

The Syria troops continue to close in on the militants in Aleppo, and are now less than 3 kilometers away from the two predominantly Shiite villages, Al Mayadeen TV channel reported.

Al-Zahraa and Nubl have been under siege by terrorist groups since July 2012. But their residents have been vigorously resisting to the invaders.

 

Map-Syria

 

The United Nations had announced earlier that the terrorist groups surrounding the villages had cut electrical and water lines supplying 45,000 residents. The Syrian Army has used helicopters to drop supplies to the villagers.

Al-Zahraa and Nubl are located along a highway that leads to Turkey. The terrorist groups sought to control the villages to open up a new supply line into Aleppo.

Syria has been entangled in civil war since March 2011, with Takfiri terrorist groups like Daesh controlling parts of it, mostly in the east.

In the past five years, more than 250,000 people have died in Syria -overwhelmingly civilians- and around 4 million Syrians are now refugees in other countries. Around 8 million others have been displaced internally.

 

Chitgar – The Largest Artificial Lake in Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

The lake of Chitgar is one of the latest tourist attractions in Tehran, Iran. The lake is surrounded by an outdoor resort, one which is frequented by many visitors.

The lake is fed by an inflow of water from the Ghadimiyeh River.

About 80% of the lake’s water comes from the Kan Creek, with the rest of it coming from central areas and local surface runoff.

The total area of this complex is about 250 hectares. The lake itself is 130 hectares, while the remaining amount consists of the shoreline and the resort areas.

 

 

Saudis ‘force’ YouTube to block Iran TV

By
Emad Askarieh
-

Al-Alam reported Monday that YouTube had closed its account after the Broadcasting Services of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (BSKSA) lodged a complaint against the Iranian TV.

The report also slammed the move as “unprecedented and unprofessional,” saying Al-Alam’s YouTube account was blocked without any prior notice and based on “unfounded claims.”

The network denounced YouTube’s move in taking down Al-Alam’s page as a “breach of regulations and technical protocols.”

This is not the first time the Saudis have taken action against the Iranian news channel.

Earlier last year, Saudi hackers overtook Al-Alam Twitter account and its YouTube network, posting items in support of Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against Yemen.

Al-Alam is one of the leading foreign-language news channels operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), which also runs the English-language Press TV and the Spanish-language HispanTV.

The network has a vast following in the Persian Gulf countries and elsewhere among the Arab audience.

Leader Lauds Respect for Religious Virtues in Athletic Events

By
Emad Askarieh
-

The Iranian athletes that explicitly safeguard the values in the championship games do a valued deed, Ayatollah Khamenei said in a gathering of officials involved in holding a congress to commemorate the Iranian athletes that have been martyred.

The meeting had been held in Tehran on January 11, but the Leader’s comments were made public on Tuesday, at a gathering in Tehran’s Azadi Sports Center.

As regards the admirable works of the athletes, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the competitors who loudly ask for help from God or prostrate themselves after winning a match.

What is even worthier than standing on the championship stage or raising of the country’s flag is an Iranian athlete’s refusal to wrestle with a Zionist Israeli opponent or a female athlete’s decision to attend the medal award ceremony while respecting the Islamic code of dressing and wearing hijab, Imam Khamenei underlined.

The Leader also pointed to the symbolic influence of young champions on people, noting that the athletes’ behavior, manners and lifestyle could affect the society and steer it towards religion and morality.

All female athletes representing the Islamic Republic attend the sports events with hijab. Moreover, Iranian medal-winners refuse to shake hands with the opposite sex, a move prohibited under Islamic teachings.

Iran’s Salehi, US’s Moniz among 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Nominees: Report

By
Emad Askarieh
-

Kristian Berg Harpviken, head of the Peace Research Institute, Oslo, placed Salehi and Moniz on the list for their role in negotiating a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers last year in July, Reuters reproted on Monday.

Implementation of the nuclear deal was officially started on January 16. Based on the agreement, which had been finalized back in July 2015, all nuclear-related anti-Iran sanctions were removed.

Harpviken said that American surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden is also on the list, adding, “2016 may finally be Edward Snowden’s year … His leaks are now having a positive effect.”

He further said peace negotiators in Colombia or Greek islanders helping Syrian refugees may be among the other candidates.

Thousands of people, including members of all national parliaments, former laureates and university rectors, can make nominations. Last year there were 273 nominees.

The committee will have its first meeting on February 29 and announce the winner in October.

Addicts Who Became Flower Farmers

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

The Deputy Governor General of the northern province of Mazandaran says that high-risk addicts, after recovering at a rehabilitation center, are now working as flower farmers.

According to a local official responsible for the fight against narcotics, the IRNA News Agency (translated by IFP) reports that 13 hectares of farming land have been donated to a rehabilitation center in the provincial city of Sari to be used as a flower farm. The Ministry of Agriculture, the city municipality and various NGOs are providing assistance to this project.

High-risk addicts are those who are considered as being a danger to society. They are arrested and kept in confined, state-run rehabilitation camps by court order.

300 Dogs in the Arms of Kindness and Support

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

For some time now, a centre called Sar Animal Support Centre has been running on the outskirts of the city of Zanjan, providing a safe and peaceful environment far from suffering, hunger and disease. It was founded by Sara Fourghani, who is originally from Iran but now lives in Germany.

Zahra Fatehi, Saeidieh Norouzi and Zahra Shahbazi have kept this place open for the past year and a half however they could, with funding coming from Sara Fourghani, in order to prove to people and the authorities that killing is not the best way to rid the human environment of stray dogs.

The manager of the centre said, “Keeping and rehabilitating these homeless dogs, regardless of their breed and type, has reduced the threats and harm done to these animals.”

Zahra Fatehi, in an interview with an IRNA journalist, said, “Every month, we spend nearly $2,300 on caring for these dogs, including nutrition, medicine, labour costs, veterinary fees, and operations and sterilization.”

Mentioning that the area of the centre was about 5000m2, she continued, “This fully enclosed centre has its own surgery, with the idea of controlling the population of stray dogs, where they can be sterilized, and visited by the vet once or twice a week.”

“There is another dog shelter near the Zanjan-Bijar road, which has played an effective role in controlling the homeless dog population around the city,” she said. “However, we are facing some financial difficulties.”

The head of the Zanjan Province Environment Protection Unit said, “Collecting and looking after stray dogs in safe and secure places is a worthy and valuable job. Also, we should realize that by sterilizing the strays, we can control their population. Centres like this can receive assistance from the municipality in collecting these dogs alive.”

Iran, Saudi Arabia must compromise, resolve Mideast tensions: UN

By
Emad Askarieh
-

“I hope that both Iran and Saudi Arabia, despite mistrust and difficulties, will bring realism, responsibility and compromise to their dealings, and to the region,” Ban said in a speech in the Omani capital of Muscat on Monday.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran on January 3 following demonstrations held in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad by angry protesters censuring the Al Saud family for the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in Riyadh on January 2.

Nimr’s execution caused international outrage and sparked anti-Saudi demonstrations in many countries.

Several countries, including Pakistan, Russia and China, have voiced readiness to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia to ease up their tensions.

The UN chief also expressed hope that the implementation of a nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries and the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran will lead to “increasingly responsible behavior in the region.”

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany started to implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on January 16. After JCPOA went into effect, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US were lifted. Iran in return has put some limitations on its nuclear activities. The nuclear agreement was signed on July 14, 2015 following two and a half years of intensive talks.

 

Doha to Dump Gas in India

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

The price war, along with the share of the global oil market which has caused the current oil price slump, is now affecting the gas market as well. Qatar has signaled that it is planning to offer handsome discounts on natural gas supplied to the Indian subcontinent, in a bid to influence Iran’s gas export plans.

As time passes, new fields are opening in the competitive energy market, and hydrocarbon suppliers are starting price wars to squeeze their rivals out from the market.

At first, Saudi Arabia started the price war in the oil market; Riyadh intended to lower the prices as much as possible to marginalize its political and economic rivals in the market and bolster its market share at the same time.

Despite the unwanted results of the price war in the oil market for Saudi Arabia and its allies, Qatar, sitting atop one of the world’s largest gas reserves, and the biggest exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), has decided to follow the same path as Riyadh.

Doha is making every effort to win the biggest possible share in the regional gas market, and has instigated a new rivalry in the Middle Eastern gas market.

The Indian subcontinent, being home to a population of nearly a billion and a half, suffers from a lack of a reliable energy supply, and depends on energy imports from regional producers.

As Iran is gearing up to boost gas exports to India and Pakistan, Qatar is offering the two countries considerable discounts on its LNG supplies.

Pakistan

Pakistan lacks hydrocarbon reserves, and has a serious load-shedding problem in many of its provinces.

Several market observers have tracked moves by Qatar to start dumping gas in Pakistan in a bid to outcompete the supplies from Iran and Turkmenistan.

In 2014, Pakistan signed a major LNG deal with Qatar to import 200 million cubic feet per day. This amount is expected to double. Besides Qatar, Pakistan is also planning to import gas from Iran and Turkmenistan through pipelines.

Qatar’s 50% discount for LNG supplies to India

Qatar’s generous discounts are not limited to their Pakistani customers, and include Indians too; Doha has promised to offer 50% discounts on its LNG supplies to them.

According to Reuters, India’s biggest gas importer, Petronet LNG (PLNG.NS), will buy LNG from Qatar’s RasGas at almost half the original price, in a renegotiated deal that will save about $605m per year.

“Their purchasing price will be reduced by almost 50 percent,” said an oil ministry official involved in the deal.​

1...4,6144,6154,616...5,126Page 4,615 of 5,126

© All Content by IFP News ( Iran Front Page ) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Us

Popular Articles

Editor Picks