Iran sinks Russia on home soil in FIVB World League

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June 13, 2015

Great blocking and excellent serves lead Iran’s volleyball team to a historic victory against Russia in the FIVB World League.

Iran beat Olympic champion Russia 3-1 (20-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23) in Kazan on Saturday, increasing its tally of points to four in the fifth week of the major games as a struggling Russian side failed to deny the Iranians their first ever victory against the European giants.

Iran’s Mojtaba Mirzajanpour and Milad Ebadipour were most outstanding against the world’s No. 2, making few errors and gaining 14 point apiece. The most prolific player at the end of the day, however, was Russia’s Maxim Mikhaylov who collected 17 points with his great serves and blockings.

The Iranian team showed great character to come from behind and won three sets in a row after the Russians took the first set with relative ease.

The most difficult of the trio was the fourth set where the Iranians ran up an 8-2 lead. The Russians fought back to within a point, but the towering Iranian men held on to win the set 25-23 and the match 3-1.

Iran had earned only one point from its four previous matches against the United States and Poland, losing 12 sets and winning only four. Iran and Russia are to face off again on Sunday in the same venue in the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic.

An already dominant force in Asian volleyball, Iran has become a new powerhouse at the global level, with the FIVB ranking Iran 10th in the latest world standings in September 2014.

Iranian invention helps disabled people type with eyes

By

Golrokh Askarieh

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June 13, 2015

Iranian researchers at a science center in Isfahan Province, central Iran, have designed a headband which helps people who have lost their power of speech and motion to communicate with others through computer and typing.

Samaneh Behtash, the lead author of the study, said that the system processes electronic signals of the eye. When the individual is in front of the keyboard and wears the headband, the system starts processing electronic signals of the eye.

As the individual looks at the intended letter, the eye’s signals are processed and changed to computer commands. Then the intended letters and words are typed.

According to the researcher, the device does not need cable connections and can start typing wireless.

The signals received by the headband are sent to the computer via Bluetooth and the computer starts typing after processing the received signals.

Iran not to allow access to secrets under any treaty: President

By

Golrokh Askarieh

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June 13, 2015

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani underscored on Saturday that the country will never allow its secrets to be exposed under the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or any other treaty.

“Certainly, Iran will not allow its secrets to be obtained by others under the pretext of implementing the (Additional) Protocol or any other treaty,” President Rouhani said at a press conference in Tehran.

He said that foreigners will be denied access not only to Iran’s military secrets but also to secret information in other technological fields.

What matters to Iran, the president added, is that the implementation of the Additional Protocol would prove the baselessness of allegations that Iran might be after making a nuclear weapon.

Since Iran signed the NPT’s Safeguards Agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has always confirmed that there has been no diversion in Iran’s nuclear energy program towards non-peaceful purposes, he underscored.

The president made it clear that the Additional Protocol is not an exclusive treaty on Iran, but that 124 other countries across the globe are implementing it.

“Anything implemented in those 124 countries will be carried out in Iran as well,” he stated, noting that such international commitments are always reciprocal.

“The (Additional) Protocol does not include anything dubbed inspection,” President Rouhani further stressed, referring to speculations about inspections of Iran’s military sites under the protocol.

President Rouhani touched on the nuclear talks between Iran and P5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) with the aim of striking a final agreement and said the parties are discussing the time it will take the two sides to implement all commitments after a possible deal takes effect, adding that it will take a few months.

“When we reach an agreement, at any time and on any day, there will be an interval until the implementation of the deal (begins), which will be a few months and is among the issues being discussed.”

Iran and the P5+1 have held several rounds of talks in recent months to hammer out a lasting accord that would end a decade-long impasse over Tehran’s civilian nuclear program.

On April 2, Iran and the sextet reached a framework nuclear agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), until the end of June.

Iraqi Kurdistan calls on Iran to mediate between Baghdad and Erbil

By

Golrokh Askarieh

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June 13, 2015

Kurdistan Regional Government’s Interior Minister Karim Sinjari on Saturday called on Tehran to mediate between Erbil and Baghdad.

Sinjari, made the remarks at a meeting with visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular, Parliamentary and Expatriates Affairs Hassan Ghashghavi.

The Iraqi Kurdistan regional administration official said that solving issues with Baghdad is a top priority of Erbil.

During the meeting, the Iranian deputy foreign minister said that Iran’s policy is aimed at helping national solidarity among all Iraqi people.

Referring to Iran’s close ties with Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Ghashghavi said that Iran supports unity and solidarity among all Iraqi people and regards the IS terrorist grouping as a threat to the entire region.

International community must play role in Iran nuclear talks: Zarif

By

Golrokh Askarieh

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June 13, 2015

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called on the international community to play an active role in the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries over Tehran’s nuclear program.

“The international community should not just observe the [nuclear] talks and it is necessary for it to play a role in this regard, so that the negotiations can bear fruit,” Zarif said in a meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Tehran on Saturday.

The Indian official, for his part, expressed hope that Iran and the P5+1 group could reach an agreement on the text of a final agreement soon, adding that such a deal could contribute to the promotion of Tehran-New Delhi ties.

Negotiators from Iran and the P5+1 – the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – are holding talks on drafting the text of a possible final deal over Tehran’s nuclear program.

On Friday, a senior member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team said that Tehran andthe opposite side are resolute to speed up the talks.

[…]

Iran reiterates sovereignty over three Persian Gulf islands

By

Golrokh Askarieh

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June 13, 2015

Iran has rejected as “baseless” a statement by the Persian Gulf Arab states supporting the United Arab Emirates’ alleged claim to three Iranian islands.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said on Saturday that the three Persian Gulf islands ofthe Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa are under the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic, stressing that the repetition of unfounded allegations over the territories would not change historical facts.

On Friday, the six-nation [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council issued a statement at the end of its meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, supporting the UAE’s claim on the three islands.

Emphasizing that friendly ties with neighbors based on a policy of non-interference and mutual respect top the Islamic Republic’s agenda, Afkham said Iran does not consider any limit to promotion of friendly relations with neighboring countries and welcomes cooperation with those states.

The three islands have been historically part of Iran. Countless historical, legal and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world corroborate Tehran’s sovereignty over the islands. The United Arab Emirates has, however, repeatedly laid claim to the islands.

Iran commander warns nuclear negotiators about cyber-espionage

By

Golrokh Askarieh

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June 13, 2015

A top Iranian military commander has advised the Iranian nuclear negotiators involved in talks with P5+1 to be watchful of potential attempts to spy on the talks.

Head of Iran’s Passive Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali made the remarks at a news conference on Saturday following recent media reports that traces of spyware widely associated with Israel were found at international hotels hosting talks between Iran P5+1.

Jalali said it is against diplomatic norms to grant enemies access to the venues of negotiations for spying purposes.

He advised Iranian officials involved in the negotiations at foreign venues not to use smartphones when trying to communicate classified information because of the high risks associated with the devices.

On Thursday, Swiss and Austrian officials said they had begun investigating reports that a computer virus targeted the hotels used by the delegates from Iran and P5+1.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that spyware, widely believed to be used by Israel, had targeted the computer systems of the hotels hosting the sensitive negotiations.

Experts at Russia-based Cybersecurity Company Kaspersky were quoted by the Journal as saying that the firm had found at the sites traces of malware believed to be used by Israel. The company dubbed it Duqu Bet, and said it was an “improved version” of the Duqu virus, which had previously been used by the Israeli regime.

Negotiators from Iran and P5+1 – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – have held talks at Swiss hotels of Beau-Rivage Palace, Royal Plaza Montreux, Intercontinental and Hotel President Wilson as well as Palais Coburg in Vienna.

Jalali also said 23 countries have currently set up defense and offense mechanisms on cyberspace.

He pointed to the 2010-11 Stuxnet virus cyber-attacks on Iran’s nuclear energy facilities, saying that Iran is set to open a Cyber Defense Center in less than a month to defend itself against such attacks.

[…]

We need to form a strategic coalition with powerful Iran

By

Golrokh Askarieh

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June 13, 2015

Javier Solana, a former EU foreign policy chief, has said that Iran is the only country which is ready and powerful enough to take on ISIL terrorists, adding we need to form a strategic coalition with Iran which is the most powerful country in the region.

Solana made the remark in a speech at a conference at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) [a pan-European think-tank which conducts research and promotes informed debate across Europe on the development of a coherent and effective European values-based foreign policy] in Brussels.

The Islamic Republic News Agency published excerpts of Solana’s remarks. What comes below is the translation of what according to IRNA As-Safir (The Ambassador), a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper in Lebanon, quoted him as saying:

Solana said the Saudis are not ready to take on a role in efforts to counter ISIL, adding they are engaged in Yemen [a reference to the Saudi aggression against Yemen] and are not seeking to get involved in defeating the terrorist group.

Egypt too is busy defusing its infighting and cannot play an effective role in the fight against terrorism, he said, adding Iran is the only remaining country [in the region which can have a role] especially after signing a nuclear deal [with P5+1] which will increase its role significantly.

The former EU foreign policy chief went on to say that the state of affairs in Iran and the entire region will change fundamentally after the conclusion of a nuclear deal, adding the deal will also meet with strong reactions.

The talks are likely to continue as long as a nuclear deal is produced, Solana said, adding Saudi Arabia is the first side which shows negative political and economic reactions to a breakthrough nuclear deal.

He further said the Saudis will pile more pressures on the US and the EU in order to prevent Iran from turning into a key regional player, adding this will be a big battle.

Economically, the Saudis can also jeopardize the oil market to cause Iran’s oil revenues to drop and disrupt its exports after the removal of sanctions.

Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González (1982–1995) and Secretary General of NATO (1995–1999), he was appointed the European Union’s High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary General of the Council of the European Union and Secretary-General of the Western European Union and held these posts from October 1999 until December 2009.

Iranian woman killed in hit and run in Canada

By

Golrokh Askarieh

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June 13, 2015

Maryam Rashidi, an Iranian woman who was a resident of the Canadian city of Calgary with her husband and six-year-old son, was killed after two young thieves ran her over in a gas station she worked for.

Fararu on June 13 released a report on the death of Maryam, 35, a chemical engineer from Sharif University of Technology, who migrated to Canada a year ago. The following is the translation of the report:

Maryam moved to Canada last year after graduation and working at Bandar Imam Petrochemical Company. She was killed in a hit and run last Sunday [June 7] after she tried to stop two thieves in a stolen pickup truck from driving away without paying.

Maryam’s husband Ahmad Shamloo, an oil and gas expert from University of Tabriz, says, “I received a telephone call on Sunday and was told that my wife was in the hospital due to serious injuries she had suffered. I rushed to the hospital only to find my wife in coma.”

On that fateful day Maryam gave chase after the gas-and-dash at the station and stood in front of the truck to try to block it from leaving. She was hit and carried along on the hood before she fell off and was run over, according to her husband.

The police have confirmed that the woman has died of her injuries in hospital two days after the incident on Tuesday.

Police also said they have taken into custody two persons of interest after checking the footage of CCTV at the gas station, adding that an investigation has been launched into the incident.

[The thieves face charges that include criminal negligence causing death, hit and run causing death, dangerous driving causing death and possession of stolen property, according to police.]