Not at negotiating table, but still at work (PHOTOS)

By

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July 12, 2015

The Iranian nuclear team has been in Vienna for several days busy
negotiating with P5+1 to hammer out a final deal which could end a
decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The Iranian team is working round the clock in the Austrian capital to
defend the country’s nuclear rights. Clocks are ticking and the talks
are reportedly in their home stretch. Reporters and photojournalists
went to the hotel the Iranian negotiators have hunkered down to see
firsthand how seriously they are working against time for a much
hoped-for result.

The following are the pictures Fararu.com has released of the Iranian
negotiating team away from the negotiating table in their hotel but
working overtime to get the job done:

A look at Iranian newspaper front pages on July 12

By

Golrokh Askarieh

-

July 12, 2015

The comments of the Supreme Leader at a meeting with university students and continued nuclear talks between Iran and P5+1 dominated the front pages of Iranian newspapers on Sunday.

Ettela’at: “Artists and cultured people need to promote morality in society,” President Rouhani said at a meeting with artists and cultural figures.

He further said that his administration has skillfully interacted with the world for 22 months.

“In case nuclear talks fail to produce a breakthrough, the way we have interacted with six world powers would prove to the world that the Iranians are open to reason,” the president said.

Highlights of Ettela’at newspaper on July 12

A look at Iranian newspaper front pages on July 12

Aftab-e Yazd: “In case allegations [of fraud] against Hamid Baghaei, [a vice-president for executive affairs under Ahmadinejad] are substantiated, Ahmadinejad must be tried too,” said Nader Ghazipour, an MP representing Orumiyeh in parliament.

Arman-e Emrooz: “Women account for one third of all individuals who sleep rough on the streets,” said Shahindokht Molaverdi, vice-president for women and family affairs.

Arman-e Emrooz: Major terrorist attack averted.

The commander of the Border Guard Unit of the Iranian law enforcement force has said that terrorists were bent on planting bombs in three southern towns and cities.

Asrar: Boeing and Airbus are involved in rivalry over Iran’s $20 billion market.

Asrar: Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has described the Iranian negotiators as warriors on the diplomatic front.

Asrar: Mohammad Reza Bahonar, a principlist MP, has said that Iran seeks to reach understanding with the rest of the world.

Ebtekar: “Talks have produced results,” said the secretary of the Expediency Council.

Emtiaz: Up to 1,500 ambulances are on the verge of being declared worn-out.

Etemad: The interior minister has said that profiteers, and not Imam Khomeini Relief Committee, have imported luxury cars.

Etemad: The case involving the missing Iranian oil derrick has been referred to parliament.

Ghanoon: Police commanders [past and present] are likely to be summoned to court in Saeed Mortazavi’s case if Ruholamini [the father of a young man who died in Kahrizak] files a new complaint.

Jamejam: “The fight against arrogant powers [a reference to the US and its Western allies] is endless,” said the Supreme Leader at a meeting with university students.

Payam-e Zaman: Iran is on course to becoming the world’s first producer of natural gas in five years.

Payam-e Zaman: “All world powers favor a deal with Iran,” said Secretary of the Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei.

Highlights of Ettela’at newspaper on July 12

By

Golrokh Askarieh

-

July 12, 2015

♦ “Artists and cultured people need to promote morality in society,” President Rouhani said at a meeting with artists and cultural figures.

He further said that his administration has skillfully interacted with the world for 22 months.

“In case nuclear talks fail to produce a breakthrough, the way we have interacted with six world powers would prove to the world that the Iranians are open to reason,” the president said.

♦ The Supreme Leader has met with hundreds of university students.

♦ Individuals suffering from special diseases will be provided with smart cards in September.

The managing director of the Social Security Organization has also said that sportsmen and sportswomen will be offered Social Security coverage.

♦ The leader of the IS terrorist grouping in the Afghanistan and Pakistan region has been killed.

Hafiz Saeed died in a US drone strike on the Afghan province of Nangarhar.

♦ President Putin has called for immediate, full termination of Iran sanctions.

He said that sanctions should be eliminated from international relations, because they are disrupting global trade.

♦ Saudi Arabia has once again violated the cease-fire in Yemen.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition has said that the cease-fire does not serve the interests of the Yemeni people!

♦ A terrorist gang has been busted in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

A commander of the Iranian border guards has said that three terrorists were killed in clashes with his men.

Three others were arrested and later admitted that they sought to set off bombs in Zahedan, Kerman and Bam, the commander further said.

♦ Some 4,000 hectares of Tehran orchards has been destroyed in the past decade.

♦ The commander of IRGC’s Quds Force has written a letter of appreciation to Ahmad Yousefzadeh, the author of Those 23 People.

In the book, Yousefzadeh has depicted the gallantry in captivity of 23 comrades of Major General Ghasem Soleimani.

♦ Iran’s foreign debts stand at $5.2 b

Rouhani insists on Iran’s national interests in nuclear talks

By

Golrokh Askarieh

-

July 12, 2015

President Hassan Rouhani says the nuclear talks with P5+1 prove Iran favors reasoning and interaction regardless of the outcome of the negotiations.

“In the foreign policy,…we have acted so skillfully that if the negotiations failed, the world would accept that Iran has been in favor of reason and dialog, has never left the negotiating table, and has given response to ambiguities in the best way,” Rouhani said on Saturday.

If Iran succeeds, the world should know that the Iranian nation can settle its problems through logic, he added.

The president expressed hope that the Iranian negotiating team would safeguard national interests and demands.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China, and Germany have been holding intense talks over the past 15 straight days in Vienna to iron out the remaining differences and nail down a landmark historical deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Zarif-Kerry meeting

As a new deadline for a deal is looming on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry held another round of sensitive talks late Saturday.

The top Iranian and US diplomats met on Saturday morning which was followed by another meeting in the presence of the European Union foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini.

After a 90-minute meeting with his Iranian counterpart, the US secretary of state said in his Twitter account that there are still “difficult issues” to be resolved.

India to finance Iran rail tracks exports

By

Golrokh Askarieh

-

July 11, 2015

Officials in Tehran announced on Saturday that India will finance exporting about 150,000 tons of standard rail tracks to Iran.

Saeed Mohammadzadeh, the deputy director for technical and infrastructure affairs of Iran Railways (IRIR), told the local media that India has created a special mechanism to support exports of rail tracks to Iran through the “full finance” scheme.

Mohammadzadeh added that Iran will not pay anything for the imports of the tracks.

Last year, India signed a contract worth $233 million with Iran for exports of rail tracks by companies including Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

Based on the original contract, the Indian companies would provide Iran with enough standard rail tracks to set up a network project spanning over 15,000 kilometers.

It is still not clear if the finance mechanism that Mohammadzadeh has mentioned involves the deal with the SAIL-led group.

Officials in Tehran have already emphasized that Iran wants to spend up to $8 billion over the next six years to revamp and expand its railway network.

They have also emphasized that the country will need about 3 million tons of steel rails to connect all major cities, industrial centers and also ports for faster evacuation of goods.

Analysts are already speculating that the Indian government may reimburse steel exports to Iran through Iran’s assets that have been frozen in New Delhi banks as the result of the US-led sanctions against the country.

Indian media had previously reported that Indian exporters are banking on the United Commercial Bank or the UCO Bank to settle rupee payments with Iran.

Reports last April said UCO Bank began handling payments for India-Iran trade in 2012, under which domestic oil refiners buy oil from Iran but make payments into an ‘Iran Account’ with UCO’s Mumbai branch. When Iranians import goods from India, the bank pays the Indian exporters out of this account.

Leader says US ‘absolute embodiment’ of arrogance

By

Golrokh Askarieh

-

July 11, 2015

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the United States is ‘absolute embodiment’ of arrogance.

Ayatollah Khamenei called on the Iranian nation to be prepared to continue the struggle against arrogant powers.

“The campaign against arrogance is one of the principles of the [1979 Islamic] Revolution,” the Leader said, adding that the Holy Qur’an mandates the drive against arrogance.

There is no respite from the campaign against arrogance, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed in response to a question by one of the students about the status of the campaign against arrogance after the conclusion of the nuclear talks with P5+1.

The Leader made the remarks during a meeting with a group of university students in Tehran on Saturday.

“We have also told the negotiating officials that you are authorized to only negotiate over the nuclear issue; although the American side sometimes raises regional issues such as Syria and Yemen, our officials say we do not negotiate over these issues,” the Leader stated.

The Leader emphasized that Iran’s refusal to accept an arrogant system is “the main reason” behind world bullying powers’ hostility toward the Iranian nation.

Ayatollah Khamenei added that based on Quranic principles, the campaign against arrogance will never stop.

Iran’s influence angering Riyadh

Ayatollah Khamenei also pointed to Iran’s “astonishing and spiritual presence and influence” in the region which have incurred the wrath of Saudi aggressors.

The Leader said Saudi Arabia and its allies have been pounding Yemen and brutally killing the innocent and oppressed Yemeni people over the past 100 days.

“Despite claims, the influence of Islamic Iran in the region is a God-given gift,” he stated.

The Leader added that the US and the reactionary states of the region admit to Iran’s regional influence in their covert talks, but they can do nothing about it.

Ayatollah Khamenei strongly criticized the West for its silence toward Saudi Arabia’s unrelenting war on Yemen.

The Leader said the United Nations Security Council has issued “one of the most disgraceful resolutions” on Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen, in which it condemned those who are under the bombardment and not those who are dropping bombs.

On April 14, the 15-member council passed a resolution targeting the Houthi Ansarullah movement in Yemen.

The council’s sanctions include arms embargo, asset freezes, and travel ban against Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the movement, Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and his son, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The resolution, drawn up by Jordan and Arab states of the Persian Gulf, was adopted with 14 positive votes while Russia abstained.

Saudi Arabia started military aggression against Yemen on March 26 in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and to restore power to the country’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

Over 3,000 people, including 1,500 civilians, have been killed over the past three months in Yemen, according to the UN.

Iran names 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award nominees

By

Golrokh Askarieh

-

July 11, 2015

Iran has nominated a prominent writer and a veteran illustrator for the 2016 edition of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

The Children’s Book Council of Iran has shortlisted author and scriptwriter Houshang Moradi-Kermani and acclaimed artist Pejman Rahimizadeh for the prestigious award.

Moradi-Kermani was nominated for the same award in 2007 and 2008. He was also a finalist for the 2014 international Hans Christian Andersen Award, known as the Nobel Prize for children’s literature.

The 71-year-old writer also won the 1992 Hans Christian Andersen Honorary Certificate of Honor and the University of San Francisco’s 2000 Book of the Year award.

Moradi-Kermani is known for his masterful presentation of social issues, and many of his books have been translated into 20 languages and published in several countries around the world.

Pejman Rahimizadeh is also one of the most successful figures of book illustration in Iran, and has illustrated over 65 books for children and young adults.

He is known for using Iranian motifs, innovative techniques and solid designs.

Rahimizadeh has won numerous national and international awards, including the honorary diploma of the Asian Illustrators’ Competition in Japan and the appreciation award of the second biennial of Posters for the Islamic World.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is an annual children’s literature award, established in 2002 in honor of Swedish children’s books writer Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren, the world’s 25th most translated author whose works have sold over 140 million copies worldwide.

The prize is granted to writers, illustrators, narrators and/or promoters of reading whose works reflect the spirit of Astrid Lindgren. The award is funded solely by central government funds and is administered by the Swedish Arts Council.

Iran busts terrorist group at eastern border

By

Golrokh Askarieh

-

July 11, 2015

Iranian border police on Saturday smashed a team of terrorists that intended to cross the border in the eastern part of the country, killing some of the intruders and arresting some others, a top commander said.

Speaking to reporters in the southeastern city of Zahedan, Commander of Iran’s Border Police Brigadier General Ghasem Rezaei said the clash took place in the wee hours of Saturday.

On Friday evening, the police forces were deployed to the border area of Mirjaveh, in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan, following reports that a group of terrorists had planned to enter the country.

During an exchange of fire, which began at 1 a.m. local time and continued for two hours, a number of the terrorists were killed and three were arrested, one of whom has been injured, Rezaei noted.

One of the Iranian border police forces was also martyred in the operation, he added.

According to the commander, weapons and ammunition, including three rifles and 140 detonators, have been seized from the terrorists.

The arrested criminals confessed they had planned to carry out terrorist attacks in the Iranian cities of Zahedan, Kerman and Bam, he pointed out.

In a similar operation back in April, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Ground Force disbanded a terrorist cell affiliated with foreign espionage services in the same province.

It is the turn of others to let go of sanctions

By

Emad Askarieh

-

July 11, 2015

US Sanctions to Trigger Further Spread of Coronavirus Pandemic: Iran

The president’s cultural advisor has said that Iran has made its hard choice long time ago, adding it is now the turn of others to let go of sanctions and learn how to speak with respect.

Hessamoddin Ashena wrote this on his Facebook page where he also offered a review of President Hassan Rouhani’s short trip to Russia on July 9 and a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a joint summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Council (SCO) and BRICS [which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa]. The following is the translation of Ashena’s note on Facebook as reported by the Iranian Students’ News Agency on July 11:

Dr. Rouhani went to Russia one day ahead of schedule. He had a meeting with his Russian counterpart which lasted longer than expected. [Russian Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov was also present in the meeting.

The long meeting [between Presidents Rouhani and Putin] caused a half-an-hour delay in the opening of the joint summit of 14 leaders of SCO and BRICS. All through the meeting, Lavrov was busy texting and receiving messages.

The Iranian president cut his trip short and returned home. He arrived in Tehran after midnight and attended International Quds Day rallies in the morning [on Friday].

On the same day, [President] Putin said that sanctions imposed against Iran should be immediately lifted. In the afternoon, news spread that nuclear talks were moving forward at a fast speed.

It’s now a long time since Iran has made its hard choices. The time has come for others to [make hard choices] scrap sanctions and learn how to speak respectfully.

We are the ones who fast and celebrate the religious Eid [al-Fitr] as well. Happy Eid al-Fitr which will mark the climax of three decades – not simply 30 days – of resistance by the Iranians, in advance.

A look at Iranian newspaper front pages on July 11

By

Golrokh Askarieh

-

July 11, 2015

The massive turnout of Iranians for International Quds Day rallies dominated the front pages of Iranian newspapers on Saturday. Another extension of nuclear talks between Iran and P5+1 also appeared on the covers of dailies.

Ettela’at: The world shouted for the liberation of Quds.

“Islamic prospects are bright. Through unity, resistance, jihad and self-sacrifice, Muslims, including the Palestinian nation, can achieve their long-term objectives,” said President Rouhani.

“The massive turnout of the Iranians for Quds Day rallies amounts to declaration of readiness to strive for the restoration of Palestinian rights,” said the judiciary chief.

The intelligence minister said that the diplomatic battlefield provides a test that is far more difficult to ace than the real war and that the Iranian negotiating team has the support of the Supreme Leader and the nation.

Highlights of Ettela’at newspaper on July 11

A look at Iranian newspaper front pages on July 11

Abrar: “We will never allow [foreign] access to military sites,” said Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri, the deputy chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces.

Aftab-e Yazd: “The same people who are opposed to nuclear talks today kept silent in the face of a public funds plunder yesterday,” said the Friday prayer leader of Yazd.

Arman-e Emrooz: “There remain no insurmountable problems; the parties to the talks are trying to win as many concessions as they can,” said Javid Ghorban Oghli, a former Iranian ambassador.

Asr-e Rasaneh: The minister of communications and information technology has said that two new social networking platforms will be unveiled shortly.

Asrar: Excessive demands are a major hurdle standing in the way of a deal.

“You can’t change horses in midstream,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Westerners.

Asrar: “Reestablishment of ties between Iran and the US takes a long time,” said secretary of the Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei.

Ebtekar: Seventy French companies have expressed readiness to invest in Iran.

Ebtekar: The balcony diplomacy

Diplomats will stay in Vienna until Monday [to hammer out a deal].

Emtiaz: There has been a 20 percent rise in bushfire across the country.

Hemayat: “The reason why the Supreme Leader said he was not optimistic about talks with the US is coming to light,” said Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani.

Iran: Veteran Saudi diplomat Saud al-Faisal has passed away at the age of 75.

Kar va Kargar: Millions of Iranians shouted for the liberation of Palestine and an end to infanticide in Yemen during Quds Day rallies.

Kayhan: The Worriers were right; the US is not trustworthy.

Mardomsalari: The public threw its weight behind the nuclear negotiating team during Quds Day rallies.

Qods: The secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah has said that Iran offers the only glimmer of hope for the liberation of Quds.

Resalat: President Putin has told President Rouhani that cooperation between Iran and Russia is necessary for regional stability.

Setareh Sobh: Some 115 environmental institutions in a letter to the parliament speaker have said that wrong decisions have put Iranian health in danger.

Setareh Sobh: World-known Egyptian actor Omar Sharif has passed away.

Sharq: A selfless worker at Maroon Petrochemical Complex who put his own life in danger to turn off a tap and prevent a tragedy has died of organ failure.

When a fire raged through the complex, Shahram Mohammadi rushed into the flames to warn fellow workers and turn off the tap. He suffered severe burns and died in a Tehran hospital a few days later.

IRAN FRONT PAGELatest News and Views From Iran, Middle East and the World

IRAN FRONT PAGELatest News and Views From Iran, Middle East and the World

IRAN FRONT PAGELatest News and Views From Iran, Middle East and the World

IRAN FRONT PAGELatest News and Views From Iran, Middle East and the World

Not at negotiating table, but still at work (PHOTOS)

A look at Iranian newspaper front pages on July 12

Highlights of Ettela’at newspaper on July 12

Highlights of Ettela’at newspaper on July 12

Rouhani insists on Iran’s national interests in nuclear talks

India to finance Iran rail tracks exports

Leader says US ‘absolute embodiment’ of arrogance

Iran names 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award nominees

Iran busts terrorist group at eastern border

It is the turn of others to let go of sanctions

A look at Iranian newspaper front pages on July 11

Highlights of Ettela’at newspaper on July 11

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