Alireza Sadeghi, an Iranian man who was paralyzed after he came down with polio, seeks to secure himself a berth in the Guinness World Records.
He has had his record of throwing a basketball through the net from a distance of about 26 m registered in Iran and now seeks to find a place for his record in the Guinness World Records.
Images of the paralyzed man on a basketball court posted online by Tasnim News Agency:
Greece – a country strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa which was for long toddling on the brink of default and insolvency – is preparing to begin bailout talks with its international creditors next week. The two sides are under enormous pressure to hammer out the rescue deal (worth up to 86 billion euros or $94 billion) before August 20, when Athens is scheduled to make a loan repayment of 3.2 billion euros to the European Central Bank (ECB) that it cannot currently afford.
Sharq daily contacted the Central Committee of the Communist Party (KKE) in Greece through email and posed questions on where the European country is heading. The KKE’s Central Committee has said that it aims to dismantle capitalism in the country, whereas Syriza* [a party born from a coalition of Eurocommunists] is opting for the rule of capitalism.
The following is the translation of a report bylined by Nozhan Etezad Saltaneh the daily published on July 25 on the KKE’s views on the state of affairs in the struggling country:
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) has labeled left-wing Syriza as an opportunist party which defends the interests of the capitalists as it tries to keep social-democracy in place and humanize the image of capitalism in the country.
Greece’s KKE, founded more than 90 years ago, is one of the key Communist parties in Europe. The party has a long proven track record of fights, among them, resistance against the invasion by Fascist forces – led by Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy – of Greece [known as the Battle of Greece], fight against the dictatorship of the military junta in the 60s and 90s [known as the Greek military junta of 1967–74, or the Regime of the Colonels] and now the fight they have declared against the neoliberal capitalism and its agents.
The partyhas representatives in the Hellenic Parliament [the parliament of Greece] and the European Union. It does not favor parliamentary democracy* as the best way to make desirable changes and rejects it as a pure illusion. It has also appealed for Greece not to cooperate with the European Union which it views as reactionary [a reactionary apparatus which has at its core the interests of the monopolies] and anti-people.
Despite the fact that the EU has announced that it wants Greece to stay in the eurozone, the Communist Party in Greece maintains that Europe’s bourgeoisie supports the withdrawal [from the Eurozone] of Greece and similar economies, arguing that it [Europe’s bourgeoisie] wants to see the presence of stronger economies in the eurozone and the deletion of the weaker countries.
[…]
Syriza’s performance and its outlook
This government has offered valuable services to the system. The Syriza-led government has masked its compromise with the system by running on a leftist platform and hiding it [the compromise] behind an honorable mask. The party is pushing a false discourse. We are now at a juncture when opposition to the European Union should assume a radical form and result in rejection of efforts which lead to development of capitalism. But Syriza wants to see our country as part of an intergovernmental imperialistic coalition which has always drawn on unequal relations between countries.
On the referendum day, this government put an inappropriate question to a vote and then turned the ‘no’ vote to a ‘yes’ vote in favor of a harsher agreement. Syriza continues to exploit people’s demands and those of leftist forces to put on a popular and leftist face. The new agreement has created a situation as if the sins of the New Democracy and PASOK social democratic political parties – which were previously in power – had been forgiven.
This government taps into populist demagoguery and is also committed to making use of macro capital. By doing so, this party has managed to win the support of the Greek bourgeoisie and imperialistic centers outside Greece, including the US.
♦Forming a coalition with the US, France and Italy in which the government takes pride does not serve the people’s interests. In fact, such measures will drag the working class and the general public into disputes between the imperialists.Syriza is a left-wing political party in Greece, originally founded in 2004 as a coalition of left-wing and radical left parties. It is the largest party in the Hellenic Parliament, with party chairman Alexis Tsipras serving as Prime Minister of Greece.
♦A parliamentary democracy is a system of government in which citizens elect representatives to a legislative parliament to make the necessary laws and decisions for the country. This parliament directly represents the people.
In a parliamentary democracy, you have a Prime Minister, who is first elected as a member of parliament, then elected Prime Minister by the other members of the parliamentary legislature. However, the Prime Minister remains a part of the legislature. The legislative branch makes the laws, and thus the Prime Minister has a hand in law-making decisions. The Prime Minister works directly with other people in the legislature to write and pass these laws.
Iran and Germany will cooperate in the field of archeology in accordance with a letter of understanding the two sides signedon Sunday.
The memorandum of understanding – signed by Mohammad Beheshti, the head of Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Research Center and head of the German Archaeological Institute Friederike Fless – is valid for a period of five years and will be automatically renewed after that period.
According to the agreement, the two sides will cooperate and conduct research in areas such as archeology, anthropology, geophysical research, dating technology for archeological items, and other related fields.
Based on the memorandum of understanding, the German side undertakes to facilitate presence of the researchers and archeologists of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Research Center in educational and research programs of the German universities.
The agreement stipulates cooperation by the two sides in archeological and environmental studies in areas in Iran, Germany and other countries which are determined by the supervisory group.
The German Archeological Institute undertakes not to take the cultural properties it discovers from the field archeological operations in Iran out of the country.
Following a fresh barrage of fierce criticism by the media affiliated to the Worriers [staunch supporters of former President Ahmadinejad and opponents of a nuclear deal] against planned Iran visits by Western officials, particularly French Foreign Minister Lauran Fabius, an expert in international affairs has described such opposition as part of the aftershocks of the Worriers’ failure to thwart nuclear talks between Iran and P5+1.
Javid Ghorban Oghli, a former diplomat, said, “Throughout the nuclear negotiations, the Worriers went to great lengths to prevent the conclusion of a deal.”
The Following is the translation of his remarks in an interview with Fararu, a news website, posted online on July 25:
These days, opponents of the Iran nuclear deal in America have changed their tactics. Those who once sought to foil nuclear negotiations are now bent on hindering the implementation of the deal through Congress.
Efforts to kill the agreement were obvious in the hearings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Some in Iran argue that France and Germany along with the US backed economic sanctions against Tehran, so we should not normalize our relations with these countries. It would be better to look at full half of the glass rather than its empty half.
That the French foreign minister, who used to take the toughest stance against Iran throughout nuclear negotiations, is now willing to visit Iran should be deemed as a great achievement for the Iranian negotiating team and government because they have succeeded in persuading France to back away from its previous stance on Iran.
The policy of self-imposed isolation should come to an end, because in today’s world such a policy is doomed to fail and no country can stand on its feet by keeping its doors closed to the world.
What matters is that the country can interact and cooperate with the world while its independence and national interests are safeguarded; if we can enforce such a policy, we will be considered a winner in today’s world.
Comments of Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to the Supreme Leader for international affairs, on nuclear talks and inspections as well as on relations with Saudi Arabia and Turkey’s decision to attack IS targets in Syria dominated the front pages of Iranian newspapers on Sunday.
Ettela’at: Public figures in 22 European countries have issued statements in support of the Vienna deal [between Iran and P5+1].
In separate statements, the political and military officials called on all European countries and the international community to throw their weight behind the deal.
Afarinesh: “The case involving a second Babak Zanjani is under investigation,” said Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.
[Babak Zanjani is a young billionaire who stands accused of massive corruption and embezzlement when Ahmadinejad was president.]
Afkar: “The plan to move the capital from Tehran defies logic,” said the deputy minister of roads and urban development.
Aftab-e Yazd: “Differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia should be ironed out at the negotiating table,” said Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to the Supreme Leader.
Aftab-e Yazd: A source close to former President Ahmadinejad has told Aftab-e Yazd that Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei [Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff] has been summoned to court.
The fact that Ali Saeedloo [Ahmadinejad’s deputy for executive affairs] has left the country has nothing to do with the former president, the same source said.
Arman-e Emrooz: The director of Imam Khomeini Relief Committee has slapped a ban on any involvement in elections by the staff of the charity organization.
Arman-e Emrooz: Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Ali Rabiei has been summoned by a court hearing fraud charges against the former director of the Social Security Organization Saeed Mortazavi.
Asr-e Rasaneh: Iran stands ready to export 5 million cubic meters of natural gas to Iraq on a daily basis.
Ebtekar: President Rouhani has underlined efforts to promote national production and sustain resistance-based economy.
Esfahan Emrooz: Three gazelles have been seized from a poacher at the heart of Isfahan.
Etemad: Unfrozen dollars were frozen again
President Rouhani has banned Iran’s unfrozen foreign exchange from entering the market, saying instead they should be spent on manufacturing and infrastructure projects.
Iran: A golden age for Iran’s tourism
The daily features a report on a tourism boom in the wake of the nuclear deal.
Jamejam: Is the attack on IS [by Turkey] a real turnaround or mere theatrics?
President Erdogan is paying a price for his wrong policies in the past.
Jomhouri Islami: “Iran will join Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) three months after sanctions have been lifted,” said the trade minister.
Kaenat: “We won’t allow our military sites to be inspected,” said Ali Akbar Velayati, the Supreme Leader’s advisor.
Kayhan: The referee of the Vienna deal betrayed us even before blowing the opening whistle.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has revealed the text of a confidential deal to the other side [a reference to P5+1].
Shahrvand: Rehabilitation centers will be launched for juvenile addicts in four cities.
Sharq: Those who attacked Tehran MP Ali Motahari when he visited the southern city of Shiraz for a planned speech in 2014 will go on trial on August 4.
♦ Public figures in 22 European countries have issued statements in support of the Vienna deal [between Iran and P5+1].
In separate statements, the political and military officials called on all European countries and the international community to throw their weight behind the deal.
♦ Residents of Sana’a have expressed indignation over Saudi crimes in Yemen and the silence of the international community.
♦ “Iran won’t leave its allies in the lurch,” said the secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said some regional countries are now fretting about a post-sanctions Iran.
♦ Some 100 Yemeni nationals were massacred in a Saudi attack on Taiz.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni Army rained down scores of missiles on the border posts of the Saudi Army.
♦ The largest reservoir dam in Western Iran will be inaugurated later on Sunday.
The dam will provide drinking water to the Kurdish town of Sanandaj.
♦ “The resistance of the Iranians forced the US to change course,” said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The top diplomat further said efforts to sow discord among Iranian officials are doomed to fail.
♦ The youth will be given special insurance coverage.
An official with the Ministry of Youth and Sports has said that the new scheme covers individuals in the 14-29 age brackets.
♦ Inflation stood at 14.1 percent in the 30 days to July 22, down 0.1 percent over the month before.
A Tehran MP has said that those who think the deal Iran has inked with six world powers in mid-July will make the US animosity toward the Islamic Republic disappear are mistaken.
Ahmad Tavakoli made the comment in an interview with Fars News Agency on Saturday (July 25) and added that the hostility and feud of the Americans is clearly evident and the grudge they nurse at heart is far bigger than the words they use when dealing with Iran.
His remarks were a reaction to comments by US Secretary of State John Kerry who told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing: “If Iran fails to comply [with the deal]… we will be able to respond accordingly by re-instituting sanctions all the way up to the most draconian options that we have today. None of them are off the table at any point of time.”
The following is the translation of part of Tavakoli’s remarks in the interview:
Tavakoli said that some wrongly assume that the Americans have befriended Iran after the conclusion of the nuclear deal, adding American animosity toward Iran is much stronger in their hearts.
He said that the US enmity toward Iran is not history thanks to the nuclear deal, adding that the Americans have adopted a hostile attitude toward Iran because of Tehran’s support for the Axis of Resistance in the region. “What they accuse us of is far from the truth. We have supported and will continue to support Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. They claim that we are assisting the terrorists, but they are the ones who lend support to the terrorists”.
The MP went on to say, “We have not befriended the Americans; we have only clinched an agreement with them over an issue; … We should know that the US would have already launched a military attack against Iran if it had been able to. Even the critics of the Iran nuclear deal in the US are not ready and willing to foot the bill of a war [against Iran].”
[…]
Iran has underlined the need for respecting the sovereignty of nations in the fight against terrorism.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham on Saturday reaffirmed Iran’s opposition to all forms of terrorism and extremism, saying any act of tolerance toward terrorism and Takfiri violence will further encourage terrorists to commit inhumane crimes.
The Iranian official, however, said the campaign against terror should not undercut the national sovereignty of countries.
“Any type of campaign against terrorism must respect the basic principles of international law, especially the national sovereignty of governments, and undoubtedly any act that would undermine the national sovereignty of countries can, in fact, embolden terrorist groups in committing bestial crimes,” Afkham said.
She also said terrorism will not be uprooted unless terrorists were weaned off financial aid and arms supply.
The Iranian official made the comments against the backdrop of airstrikes conducted by the Turkish military against targets controlled by the Takfiri ISIL terrorists inside Syria as well as locations of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.
Turkey’s attacks against the ISIL and PKK positions come in the wake of deadly violence in Turkey over the past week.
On July 20, at least 32 people were killed in a bomb attack in the Turkish town of Suruc, near the southern border with Syria. Turkish authorities blamed ISIL for the bombing.
Two days later, two Turkish policemen were killed in southeastern Turkey close to the Syrian border, with the PKK claiming responsibility for the attack. The militant group said it sought revenge for the Suruc attack.
Another policeman was also killed in the majority Kurdish city of Diyarbakir the next day.
Head of the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran (OIETAI), Mohammad Khazaei, says European companies have secured more than $2 billion worth of projects in Iran in the past couple of weeks.
Iran has already completed negotiations with some European companies which seek to invest in the country, he added.
“We are recently witnessing the return of European investors to the country. Some of these negotiations have concluded, and we have approved and granted them the foreign investment licenses and guarantees,” Khazaei told the Iran-EU conference on trade and investment, which was held in the Austrian capital Vienna from July 23 to 24.
According to Tehran Times, Iran’s total FDI stood at $2.105 billion in 2014, according to a recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Abolfazl Koudeie, the director general for foreign investment at OIETAI, said the presence of foreign investors in Iran is growing.
Western companies are one after the other engaged in talks with Iran to resume their delayed activities or make new investments in the Islamic Republic.
The recent developments came as world powers and Iran reached a framework agreement in the Swiss city of Lausanne in early April. Iran and P5+1 have reached a mutual understanding on ironing out their differences over Tehran’s nuclear program and reaching a final deal by the end of June.
On May 9, Iran’s Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri pointed to the growing number of Western companies attempting to return to Iran following the possible removal of sanctions against the country and said Tehran would rather support foreign investment.
The chairman of the Expediency Council said Saturday nuclear agreement that marked the end of lengthy anti-Iranian nation oppression was the result of people’s mighty resistance, the Leader’s straight-forward remarks, and the powerful diplomacy of our nuclear team.
Speaking at a session of the council, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani referred to the rapid, major developments in the world and the region with deep effects on future world order and said, “There are various signs which resemble the tip of a huge iceberg in the ocean of the world and region, only a small part of which can be seen.”
Highlighting the exemplary peace and stability in Iran, Rafsanjani hoped that the atmosphere of national consensus and cooperation will prevail and further strengthen till parliamentary elections and beyond.
He said Iran is at the center of the regional and global developments, arguing that the Iran-P5+1 negotiations had begun months before President Rouhani took office.
“Oman’s Sultan Qabus had a few months before the presidential elections brought the written message of President Obama and after gaining the Supreme Leader’s agreement two rounds of talks were held in Oman, which bore no result,” he added.
Rafsanjani said that after the leader’s agreement with resuming the negotiations in the spring of 2014, the current government worked out a new method and new policies to achieve progress in the talks.
The council’s chairman said that negotiations with representatives of six world powers was both tough and of great significance and that the Iranian team mightily, with high insight, and righteously set foot in the field of negotiations, informing the other side that they had oppressed the brave Iranian nation, and should somehow redress their mistakes.
“The ongoing arguments between the US administration and the Republicans in America on the one side and the Israeli officials on the other side, as well as the admissions that they make about Iran’s might and nuclear power, or when the opponents of this agreement in the US said that Iran has managed to deceive the six world powers are very important and noteworthy,” he added.
Rafsanjani also said when the US secretary of state told congressional Republicans that Iran has achieved the status of a world nuclear power, its surrendering to pressure is a fantasy and the continuation of sanctions would lead to a gap between the US and the EU, or that an Israeli military, or even cyber-attack against Iran will be a big mistake, Iran’s great victory on the international stage was revealed.
When the US president calls the American opponents of the nuclear agreement warmongers, or addressing the Arab leaders of the littoral countries of the Persian Gulf he says that your military budgets are ten times bigger than Iran, why do they still promote their Iranophobia project? Or when the Israeli military commanders tell Netanyahu that Tel Aviv is today isolated in the world, we notice the positive developments in the world.
He urged the Iranian critics of the nuclear agreement to consider the sensitive conditions of the region today, especially after the conclusion of nuclear talks, Iran’s national interests, elaborate on their stance peacefully, and thus contribute to continuation of the prevailing peace and stability inside the country.
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