Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Monday elaborated on the need for Iran’s active presence in cyberspace, and urged young people’s proactive role in the field.
Addressing the chairman and members of the country’s Supreme Cyberspace Council, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined the necessity to produce attractive and authentic Islamic content in the cyberspace.
Highlighting the cyberspace’s influence as an “excellent soft power” in different fields, including culture, politics, economy, lifestyle, faith, religious beliefs and morality, Ayatollah Khamenei called for correct policy-making, wise and coordinated measures to bring, without any further delay, the country out of the existing passivity in cyberspace.
We should shed our passivity in cyberspace by tapping into the potential of young talents and taking wise measures, Ayatollah Khamenei noted.
In a decree on Saturday, the Leader appointed new members of the council, and outlined the primary policies that members of the council should implement during their 4-year term.
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to “defining policy, macro management, planning, making necessary and timely decisions as well as efficient and up-to-date monitoring” in the cyberspace as the council’s overriding duty.
The Supreme Leader also called for efforts to elevate Iran to a cyber-power at the level of global, influential powers.
The council brings together the president, the parliament speaker, the judiciary chief, ministers of communication, culture, science, intelligence, education, defense, as well as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and police chiefs, a number of other officials and individuals.
Established in 2012, the council is tasked with defining policy and coordinating decisions regarding cyberspace.
Senior Foreign Ministry Officials from Iran and Russia underlined the two countries’ support for finding political solutions to ongoing crises in Yemen and Syria.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian discussed in a phone call earlier on Monday the situation in war-torn Syria and Yemen.
“The sides underlined that there was no alternative to finding a political solution to the Syrian and Yemeni crises in line with international law and the UN Charter,” the ministry said in a statement.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011 as Syrian forces loyal to President Assad have been fighting several extremist terrorist groups, including the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Yemen has also been engulfed in a military conflict between Shiite Houthis, the country’s main opposition, and forces loyal to ex-President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is in exile in Saudi Arabia.
In late March, a Saudi-led international coalition began airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen at the request of Hadi. It also imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the country.
The Supreme Leader’s advisor for international affairs Ali Akbar Velayati has blasted certain Western and regional countries for their attempts to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and said Assad is the only one to save Syria.
Velayati made the remarks after meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo in Tehran on Monday.
“We discussed the issue that settling the crisis in Syria is not possible militarily and can only be resolved through political means,” he told reporters, elaborating on the content of his talks with Garcia-Margallo.
Velayati blasted certain regional and Western states’ interference in Syria as the main contributor to “instability in Syria”, saying that Iran has repeatedly underlined the necessity for an independent government in Syria if the world does not want to have another Libya.
“Yet, some countries persisted in overthrowing Bashar Assad, which was a mistake and the world is now facing its repercussions,” he added.
Noting that militants from 80 countries are fighting in Syria, Velayati said, “No one can save Syria from this situation like Assad and the UN Security Council members as well as the neighboring and regional states should try to find a solution.”
Earlier, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on supporters of terrorist groups in Syria to stop their attempts to overthrow the Arab country’s legitimate president, and expressed regret that their insistence on toppling President Assad has blocked peace and tranquility in the country.
“Those who have set a condition about the Syrian president in the past two years should be blamed for the continued war and they should account for the bloodshed in the past few years,” Zarif said in a joint press conference with Garcia-Margallo.
Stressing that merely the Syrian people are entitled to make a decision about their country’s president, he called on supporters of the terrorist groups to give up their selfish motives and short-term benefits that they pursue at the expense of the Syrian people, and let the restoration of peace and reconciliation happen in Syria.
“We insist that everyone try the political solution to end the crisis in Syria and give up their dream of bringing about an end to the situation in Syria through military means,” Zarif said.
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has said Iran is ready to increase its level of negotiations and cooperation with Spain.
He made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, Public Works Minister Ana Pastor and Industry, Energy and Tourism Minister Jose Manuel Soria in Tehran on Monday.
He said Iranians do not regard Spain negatively and added, “This positive background can be employed to activate cooperation in all areas of mutual interest in an appropriate manner.”
Referring to the views of lawmakers as manifestation of people’s votes which can facilitate mutual understanding and promote relations between Iran and Spain, Larijani said both countries enjoy vast potential in the field of trade and economy.
The Spanish foreign minister said that his country has always welcomed cooperation with Iran and that in the wake of the nuclear agreement, the ground is ripe for advancement of ties.
He hailed the nuclear agreement between Iran and P5+1 reached in Vienna in July and said, it has made Iran’s role in the establishment of stability, peace and tranquility in the region more significant.
“Spain is trying to be among the first European countries to put in operation its cooperation with Iran when sanctions are lifted,” he said.
On activity of terrorist groups in Syria, he said the Spanish government believes there is a diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis which should be terminated through democratic procedures.
In other developments, Spanish Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism Jose Manuel Soria met Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian. At the meeting the Spanish minister expressed Madrid’s readiness for production and distribution of electricity in Iran.
Also Spanish Public Works Minister Ana Pastor and Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development Abbas Akhundi discussed bilateral relations and an increase in transportation, housing and urban development ties.
Head of the technical team of Iranian nuclear negotiators said on Monday that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is a political document, and its ratification in Parliament will not change its nature from political to legal.
Director General of the Foreign Ministry’s Political and International Security Department said that under international law, the criterion for recognizing an international document is the will of the people who have devised that document.
“From the very beginning, the negotiators had no doubt that this document is a political one, inclusive of voluntary commitments for both sides,” he added.
The chief legal expert of the Iranian nuclear negotiations team also said that from day one, the will of the negotiating sides was that the document was not legal in nature; therefore, there is no need for the Parliament’s ratification of it.
“Our main worry is that we will turn a political and voluntary commitment into an obligatory and abiding text. The nature of this document is political and voluntary and no sound mind will turn a voluntary, non-abiding text into an obligatory one,” he said.
Baidinejad added, “Of course if by turning JCPOA into an obligatory text for ourselves we could have also convinced the other countries to turn it into a legal text for themselves as well, it would have been a different story, but despite our Parliament’s ratification, the document will remain merely a political text for other countries, not a legal one,” he said.
In response to a question on the accusation that signing the deal has resulted in the demolition of 100 natural rights of Iran, Baidinejad said that if there is a right, no text can demolish it. “In international law a right is either natural or it must be recognized in accordance with an international agreement.”
“From this viewpoint, enrichment is not an absolute right. We consider it our natural right but the Westerners do not believe so. One of the differences of opinion on the NPT is whether it considers enrichment a right, or not. It was us who said that either Iran’s enrichment right will be recognized, or we will not negotiate,” he added.
Baidinejad referred to the US policy-shift in recognizing Iran’s enrichment right. “Bill Burns emphatically said in the negotiations: We are ready to recognize Iran’s enrichment right for the first time, but we will negotiate about its extent,” he said.
Member of the negotiations team said, “This is a part of our history. The nuclear negotiations file will not be closed, but there is no need to open files for new antagonist arguments. The nuclear file is a national file. When the US does not intend to turn it into a controversial debate in its country, why should we do so in our country?”
Parliament and JCPOA
Baidinejad also said that Parliament can play three roles regarding the JCPOA. “They might play no role at all regarding JCPOA, which is the first case. The second option is that they will ratify it, and ratifying is the most perfect thing that the Parliament can do with that text,” he said.
He said that both those options are ‘imprecise’, adding, “The nuclear negotiations team from the very beginning believed that the middle and realistic way is Parliament’s full engagement with JCPOA, effective participation in approving of and implementing it, thorough understanding it, and preparing the path for its proper implementation.”
Supreme Leader misinterpreted
On Supreme Leader’s recent comments in a meeting with members of the Experts Assembly, Baidinejad said, “It is surprising that although the Leader’s comments were quite clear, some media journalists said that the Leader made everyone’s duty clear as it is now Parliament that should ratify JCPOA.”
Baidinejad said that the Leader’s comments are quite technical and precise. Whether Parliament will approve of JCPOA, or not is a technical discussion, not a discussion between the government and Parliament. Nor is it a political debate.
“The point is that legal interactions should make clear whether there is any need to Parliament’s ratification of the JCPOA, or not,” he said,
He said that if the Parliament will come up with the conclusion and the lawmaking bodies in the country will approve of its decision that it is necessary for Parliament to ratify JCPOA, the government will have no problem with it, because Parliament’s stand is not opposing JCPOA.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi reminded the country’s parliamentarians that the finalized text of a comprehensive nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers could not be amended or revised.
Speaking to reporters in the city of Isfahan on Monday, Salehi said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) could not undergo any changes during the process of scrutiny in Iran’s parliament.
With any change, the other side will blame the failure of JCPOA on Iran, and Tehran will consequently lose everything, he added.
Iran and 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a lasting nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.
The 159-page deal has its own opponents and proponents both in Iran and the other countries that are parties to JCPOA, particularly the US.
Diplomats have already made it clear that the document could be either approved or rejected, and no amendment or revision could take place.
Salehi also pointed to Iran’s cooperation with Russia in building nuclear power plants, saying the construction process of the country’s second nuclear power plant will kick off by March 2016.
Geological and seismological studies are now underway on the new nuclear power plant’s site, he noted.
On Saturday, head of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) said that preparation work for the construction of the second unit at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant has begun.
In 2014, Iran and Russia agreed to build two new nuclear reactors on the Bushehr site, starting in the fall of 2015.
Iran’s ambassador to Spain has said that three Spanish Cabinet ministers together with representatives of a number of big companies are part of a Spanish delegation currently visiting Tehran. The lineup of the delegation carries a strong message: the Spaniards are determined to work with Iran on diplomatic and economic fronts in the post-sanctions era.
Mohammad Hassan Fadaei-Fard
Mohammad Hassan Fadaei-Fard made the remark in an interview with the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) on Sunday and said that the Spanish minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, minister of public works and transport and minister of industry, energy and tourism are part of the high-ranking delegation which is now in Iran.
He also said that the ministers will meet with Iranian officials for talks about cooperation on a Tehran-Karaj-Qazvin subway, rail connection between Tehran and towns in its suburbs, renovation of Iran’s rail fleet, and consultation over the nuclear issue, absorption of tourists and development of tourism as well as energy projects.
The following is the translation of the ambassador’s remarks in the interview:
Spanish delegation
The European Union has been Iran’s traditional partner on diplomatic and commercial fronts. Since 2003, the EU has been the core member of the marathon nuclear talks [between Iran and P5+1] first in the form of EU3 and then as EU3+3. Three key European countries were among the nuclear negotiators and certain European nations were among the main supporters of the negotiation process. Spain is one of the countries which has always backed the diplomatic settlement of the nuclear dispute and has openly announced its position [over the nuclear issue] at any level. Despite unjust sanctions [against Iran], Spain has maintained its ties with Iran as it has honored the obligations put in place by the EU. […]
The Spanish minister of foreign affairs and cooperation and his colleagues visited Tehran in March 2014. His current trip to Tehran will be his second over the past year and a half. The Spanish delegation has a distinct feature: three ministers and a large number of businesspeople are on board and this is unusual in Spain’s political traditions.
Spanish delegation’s schedule
Three ministers are in the Spanish delegation. […] World-class companies which are active in areas as oil, gas and petrochemistry; railroads, airports, power plants, bullet trains, heavy industries, electronics, tourism, hotel building, and pharmaceutical industry are part of the Spanish delegation. This delegation will meet with Iranian officials such as the foreign minister. The Spanish ministers who are involved in economic affairs will hold talks with the Iranian ministers of industries, oil, roads and urban development and Tehran’s mayor. The Spanish team will also attend several economic conferences and meet with representatives of Iran’s companies and economic players. The composition of the delegation shows that the Spaniards have a strong message for Tehran and that they are determined to have diplomatic and economic cooperation with Iran in the post-sanctions era.
Mutual economic plans
The minister in charge of tourism and the minister of public works and transport who is in charge of the tourism industry’s infrastructure are on the Spanish team too. Other members of the delegation are managers of companies which are internationally active in hotel building and tourism.
Spain, which is the world’s third tourism hub (after France and the US and before China) welcomed around 65 million foreign tourists in 2014 and earned more than €63b in revenues. Spain’s tourism potential, which is mainly based on its history, culture, ecotourism and folkloric traditions, can be of great significance for Iran which shares similarities with the European country.
[…]
According to the World Tourism Organization, Iran ranks 10th in tourism attraction and fifth in ecotourism, but it has yet to stand where it deserves. Currently, Iran has focused on two areas: raising the number of foreign arrivals and absorbing more foreign investment for developing its tourism industry. Given the good experiences of the Spanish companies, the two sides can have cooperation in this area.
[…]
We want to tap into the experiences of other countries such as Spain and earn revenues in areas other than tourism such as handicrafts and local products. Iran and Spain can work together in other areas such as energy. Iran welcomes the presence of Spanish companies thanks to the two sides’ relations in oil exports and investment in downstream and upstream industries. We can jointly work on the development of Iran’s railroads, industrial machinery, and infrastructural projects such as development of airports, ports, roads, car making, agriculture and renewable energies. We hope to see Spanish firms’ active presence in these areas in the short term. […]
Tehran-Madrid ties
The 600-year ties between Iran and Spain have always been based on their civilizational potential and the friendship of the two nations. Their political, economic, parliamentary and cultural ties have always been dynamic before they were hurt by unjust sanctions. Over the past few years, bilateral ties were nowhere near their heyday with the Spanish companies bearing the brunt [of sanctions]. The current trip of the Spanish delegation is important from political, economic, regional and international aspects. […]
Post-sanctions ties
To pick new partners for the post-sanctions era, Iran will take into account their cooperation in trying times as well as their technical capabilities and international background. Taking this into account, Spanish firms fare well. About 1,000 Spanish firms – big and small – have been active in Iran and some of them have suffered financial losses and legal limitations for circumventing the unjust sanctions against Iran.
The companies whose representatives are in Iran as part of the Spanish delegation have good experience of working in the Iranian market. Spain is one of a few countries in the world which possess the high-speed rail technology with trains moving back and forth at over 300k/h. Spain is now working on the Medina-Mecca rail link [Haramain High Speed Train]. It can renovate Iran’s rail link and double the speed of railway travel in Iran.
Spain can help Iran – among other things – with the supply of cars and wagons for the train and metro systems, and technical supervision of the rail lines. Iran can exploit the expertise of Spanish companies such as Renfe Operadora and ADIF to develop its subway system, especially the Tehran-Karaj-Qazvin subway. Another project is a rail link between the capital and nearby towns. The two countries can cooperate on rail-building plans. Iran needs about 500km rails each year and the two countries can have joint investment for it. Iran can also attract investment by reliable Spanish companies for its oil and gas sectors.
Spain, a gateway for gas exports to Southern Europe
The Iranian government is finalizing about 50 oil and gas projects worth of $200b. Spanish companies can partner with Iran in these projects either by supplying energy equipment or investing in exploration, development and production processes. […] Spain has been one of the key consumers of Iran’s oil. Iran is also seeking to export its gas to southern Europe via Spain. […] Iran and Spain can also cooperate in exploitation of solar energy. […]
The Iranian government is ready to issue permits for solar and wind power plants and will guarantee the purchase of electricity from those companies which invest in these power plants. The Spanish firms can make investment in the tourism sector and the development of its infrastructure, among them building hotels and residential-recreational centers.
Nuclear deal
The nuclear deal gives a chance to diplomacy to tap into multilateralism and settle international challenges. The comprehensive nuclear deal amounts to a yardstick to test the faithfulness [of other countries] and learn if international actors are reliable partners for interaction in other areas. If international players walk down the path of constructive interaction, the long-term interests of all parties on the political, security and trade fronts will be served.
Austrian President Heinz Fischer has said that his country’s companies are willing to get into Iran’s market and that his Iran trip will help bring the two nations closer together.
Iran newspaper published an opinion piece in Farsi by the Austrian president on September 7, the same day he arrived in Tehran heading a big economic delegation to explore ways of developing bilateral ties in the post-sanctions era. The following is the translation of the piece in its entirety:
I will be in Iran from September 7 through September 9 at the official invitation of the esteemed President Dr. Hassan Rouhani. Accompanying me during the visit will be a high-ranking economic, scientific and cultural delegation. The invitation made me very happy. It will be my second visit to Iran. The first time was back in 2000 when I was president of the National Council (the lower house of the Austrian parliament).
Ties between Austria and Iran date back 160 years. Back then, professors teaching medical science and mining in Austrian universities came to Iran at the invitation of the then prime minister Amir Kabir, who is widely remembered as a great man these days.
These professors helped establish Tehran’s first science school: Dar ul-Funun. Austria set up its first mission in Tehran in 1872. Iran followed suit six years later. Today many physicians of Iranian origin are practicing medicine in Austria. These doctors have a high status in Austrian society and play a prominent role in my country’s healthcare system.
Since the 1960s, on average more than 1,000 Iranian students have been studying in Austrian universities each year. Presently, that number is close to 1,500. What stands out about Iranian students is that they are very hardworking and goal-oriented.
Hosting talks between E3+3 and Iran in Vienna was a valuable experience for Austria. I welcome the positive conclusion of the nuclear talks and arrival at a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It was once again proven that through steadfastness, positive thinking and determination to reach an agreement within a diplomatic framework, talks can produce the desired results. I hope all parties will comply to the letter with the envisioned roadmap.
All of us should made efforts to create a WMD-free region in the Middle East and Near East. Austria will support international efforts toward that goal. Iran and 113 other countries have supported Austria’s Humanitarian Pledge initiative which warns about the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons, denounces them and calls for their elimination.
It is hoped that positive conclusion of the nuclear talks is followed by solutions to bloody conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. As a top regional power, Iran can play an important role toward that goal.
Many Austrians find the cultural heritage and age-old civilization of Iran very interesting. The number of Austrian tourists visiting Iran is expected to increase dramatically in the years to come. The Austrian tourism industry and its higher education institutes are at the ready to share their knowledge with the Iranians.
For many years, Iran was Austria’s second biggest trade partner outside Europe. Iran is a country with rich natural resources and an educated population. For thousands of years, Iran has been the confluence of major trading routes.
In the Iran-EU trade and investment conference which was held in Vienna (July 23-24, 2015), interesting investment methods were discussed. Prior to my visit, representatives from Iran and Austria explored ways of future cooperation between the two countries. Now, a roadmap will be worked out to implement plans in areas such as energy, technology, the environment, tourism, infrastructure, transportation, forestry and disaster management.
Austrian companies are interested in working with Iranian firms to tap into the potential of Iran’s huge market. I am sure this visit will help bring the two countries closer together. I am looking forward to this visit.
The Spanish foreign minister says the agreement clinched between Iran and P5+1 over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program has laid the groundwork for closer international cooperation.
On July 14, Iran and P5+1– the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany – finalized the text of a nuclear agreement dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the Austrian capital, Vienna.
Under JCPOA, limits will be put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on Monday, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo hailed JCPOA, saying his country is considering cooperation with Iran on all fronts.
The top visiting Spanish diplomat underlined that the foreign ministries of Iran and Spain are to exchange delegations and sign a memorandum of understanding on mutual cooperation.
The Iranian foreign minister, in turn, expressed Tehran’s willingness to further enhance cooperation with Madrid in different arenas.
Zarif touched upon his meeting earlier in the day with the Spanish foreign minister, and said a whole range of issues were brought up for discussion during the talks. “I had different political and regional discussions with the Spanish foreign minister, and we [also] talked about railroad, transportation and economic infrastructure,” said Zarif in the press briefing.
Among other issues discussed, said the Iranian foreign minister, were human rights and refugees’ rights as well as the situation in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan plus the Yemen crisis. He said they also discussed regional threats which, as Zarif added, have resulted in security threats and the recent refugee crisis.
Zarif then touched upon the Syrian conflict, saying the crisis can be settled only through political means. He further said it is only up to the Syrians to decide on the country’s head of state. “Only Syrian people have the right to make decisions about the Syrian president, and those who have set conditions for the Syrian president over the past two or three years have perpetuated the war in Syria,” the top Iranian diplomat underscored.
“These countries are to blame for all the bloodshed in Syria because they made the decision that Syrian people should have made, and they intended to impose their decision on the Syrian people from outside,” said Zarif.
He urged all foreign governments which have hampered the establishment of peace in Syria to “stop their actions and not to pursue their short-term interests at the expense of Syrian people.”
“They should allow Syrian people to return to stability, so that the crisis of war refugees will end,” Zarif said.
The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011, has reportedly claimed more than 240,000 lives up until now. According to the United Nations, the militant groups in Syria have forcefully displaced 7.6 million Syrians internally, and compelled some 4.6 million others to take refuge mostly in neighboring countries.
Austrian President Heinz Fischer has said that his country’s companies are willing to get into Iran’s market and that his Iran trip will help bring the two nations closer together.
