NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Monday, September 25, 2023.
IRAN DAILY:
-- Raeisi emphasizes supply of basic goods
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi emphasized the supply of basic goods along with giving necessary tips about their prices in the market.
The weekly economic meeting of the government was chaired by Raeisi on Sunday to monitor and control the market, IRNA reported.
Explaining the details of the Central Bank of Iran’s report on the economic growth during the first three months of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21) was the main subject of the meeting.
According to a CBI report, while the country’s economic growth hit 1.9 percent in the first quarter of last year, Iran’s economy set an economic growth of 6.2 percent in the first quarter of this year.
The growth rate of the services sector in the three months to June 21 was 6.2 percent, as the oil sector witnessed 16.5 percent of rise, and the industry and mining sector experienced a 3.7 percent growth while the agriculture sector had a 2.2 percent growth.
Private sector consumption expenditures increased from 6.4 to 8.2 percent as Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) surged from minus 1.4 to plus two percent, which were among main growth factors of 6.2 percent economic growth in the first three months of this year.
Also, in the Sunday meeting, a report on the housing sector was presented, according to which the growth rate of GFCF in the construction sector has improved significantly in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.
According to the report, housing prices in Tehran have decreased by one percent in the month to August 22, compared to the previous month.
-- MoU signed to promote agricultural activities in Makran
The Secretariat of the Supreme Council for the Development of Makran Coasts signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Agriculture to cooperate in promoting agricultural activities in the region.
The MoU was signed by Agriculture Minister Mohammad-Ali Nikbakht and Secretary of the Supreme Council for the Development of Makran Coasts Hossein Dehqan, IRNA reported on Sunday.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Nikbakht enumerated some of the capacities of the Makran region, saying, “A large part of Makran coast is located in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, due to access to open waters, the Sea of Oman, and the coasts of African countries, these regions have a unique capacity for the development of fisheries and aquaculture.”
The minister further said, “This province ranks first in the country in terms of investment opportunities, while in terms of talent in various fields of horticulture, fisheries, animal husbandry, trade and mining, it is among the first three provinces of the country.”
Makran is a historical region in southern Iran that runs from mountains west of Jask all the way to parts of Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province in the southwest along the Sea of Oman.
-- Iran returns to OPEC main producers: Report
Production and investment were among the challenges of the Ministry of Oil of the current government, which in less than two years, with reliance on domestic potentials, the country managed to overcome the challenges and rejoin the OPEC oil producing giants, according to a report by IRNA.
In September 2021, the Ministry of Oil had a production of about two million barrels per day, which had led to the decline of Iran’s position among the world’s oil giants.
“The maximum capacity of crude oil and gas condensate of the refineries of Iran is now close to 2.2 million barrels,” said Minister of Oil Javad Owji two years ago, adding that it should reach 3.4 to 3.5 million barrels per day. Iran has a favorable capacity in oil reserves, as the country has over 150 billion barrels of extractable oil, Owji said.
With the plans of the upstream sector, there will undoubtedly be an increase in oil production capacity in the next four to five years (both in joint fields and independent fields), the minister noted, adding that by increasing the production capacity, we can increase the refining capacity and guarantee energy security along with increased oil exports.
-- Iran-Indonesia trade hits $1b: Vice president
The annual trade between Iran and Indonesia currently stands at about $1 billion, announced Rouhollah Dehqani-Firouzabadi, the vice president for science and technology.
Speaking at a ceremony held by the Indonesian Embassy in Tehran to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the country’s Independence Day, the official said both countries are seeking to deepen cooperation in political, economic, commercial, energy, scientific, technological, cultural, military and security areas.
Pointing to friendly political relations between Tehran and Jakarta, Dehqani-Firouzabadi noted that the two sides are taking initiatives to pave the ground to enhance bilateral relations.
“The clear example of this political relation is the recent visit of President Raeisi to Indonesia and meeting his counterpart, which marks a turning point in bilateral relations and the beginning of a new chapter in ties between our two nations,” the official noted.
He said that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Indonesia are seeking to deepen cooperation in various political, economic, commercial, energy, scientific, technological, cultural, military and security areas.
Speaking at the ceremony, Indonesian Ambassador to Tehran Ronny Prasetyo Yuliantoro said Indonesia and Iran have shared deep-rooted historical and cultural ties that have evolved into a dynamic partnership encompassing various sectors such as trade, culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges.
“Government-to-government cooperation remains an essential component of our bilateral relationship,” the envoy noted. “We have actively engaged in diplomatic discussions to address various challenges and opportunities based on mutual respect and understanding.”
-- Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians to leave for Armenia
The 120,000 ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will leave for Armenia as they do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan and fear ethnic cleansing, the leadership of the breakaway region told Reuters on Sunday.
Armenia's Prime Minister also said the Karabakh Armenians were likely to leave the region, and that Armenia was ready to take them in, following a defeat last week at the hands of Azerbaijan in a conflict dating to the fall of the Soviet Union.
The Armenians of Karabakh – a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but previously beyond Baku's control – were forced to declare a ceasefire on Sept. 20 after a lightning 24-hour military operation by the much larger Azerbaijani military.
Azerbaijan says it will guarantee their rights and integrate the region, but the Armenians say they fear repression.
"Our people do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan. Ninety-nine point nine percent prefer to leave our historic lands," David Babayan, an adviser to Samvel Shahramanyan, president of the self-styled Republic of Artsakh, told Reuters.
"The fate of our poor people will go down in history as a disgrace and a shame for the Armenian people and for the whole civilized world," Babayan said. "Those responsible for our fate will one day have to answer before God for their sins."
The Armenian leaders of Karabakh said in a statement that all those made homeless by the Azerbaijani military operation and wanting to leave would be escorted to Armenia by Russian peacekeepers.
Reuters reporters near the village of Kornidzor on the Armenian border saw some heavily laden cars pass into Armenia. One of the drivers said they were from Nagorno-Karabakh.
It was unclear when the bulk of the population would move down the Lachin corridor which links the territory to Armenia, where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced calls to resign for failing to save Karabakh.
In an address to the nation, Pashinyan said some humanitarian aid had arrived but the Armenians of Karabakh still faced "the danger of ethnic cleansing".
"If proper conditions are not created for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to live in their homes and there are no effective protection mechanisms against ethnic cleansing, the likelihood is rising that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will see exile from their homeland as the only way to save their lives and identity," Pashinyan said, according to an official transcript.
A mass exodus could change the delicate balance of power in the South Caucasus region, a patchwork of ethnicities crisscrossed with oil and gas pipelines where Russia, the United States and Turkey are jostling for influence.
Last week's Azerbaijani victory appears to bring a decisive end to one of the decades-old "frozen conflicts" of the Soviet Union's dissolution. President Ilham Aliyev said his "iron fist" had consigned the idea of an independent ethnic Armenian Karabakh to history and that the region would be turned into a "paradise" as part of Azerbaijan.
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
-- Iranian, Russian, Turkish FMs, UN Envoy Discuss Situation in Syria
The Iranian foreign minister said he had discussed with his Russian and Turkish counterparts, as well as the United Nations envoy, the latest situation in Syria in New York, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported. Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the remarks to reporters in New York, while elaborating on his meeting earlier in the day with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, said the report. The meeting was held within the framework of the Astana process, which was launched in 2017 at the initiative of Iran, Russia and Turkey. The minister said the meeting highlighted economic problems, Western sanctions and terrorism as fundamental challenges in Syria.
-- Iran Summons Swiss Envoy Over Baseless GCC-U.S. Claims
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the chargé d’affaires of Switzerland, which represents Washington’s interests in Tehran, to protest “baseless” allegations leveled by the United States and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council. According to a statement by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, the Swiss chargé d’affaires was summoned to express Iran’s “strong protest and condemnation” of a joint statement issued following the ministerial meeting of the United States and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council in New York on Tuesday and the U.S. acts of provocation. The ministry reiterated Iran’s determination to “defend its territorial integrity, and protect its security and interests against any threats posed by the U.S. government in connection with maritime security and commercial shipping.” “Iran will take the necessary strategies in this regard and to secure its national interests,” it said.
-- Thousands of Armenians to Leave Karabakh, Azerbaijan Seizes Arms
The 120,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will leave for Armenia following the defeat in the war against Azerbaijan last week, the leadership of the region told Reuters on Sunday.
Armenia’s prime minister also said the Armenians were likely to leave the region, and that Armenia was ready to take them in, following a defeat last week at the hands of Azerbaijan in a conflict dating to the fall of the Soviet Union.
The Armenians of Karabakh - a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but previously beyond Baku’s control - were forced to declare a ceasefire on Sept. 20 after a lightning 24-hour military operation by the much larger Azerbaijani military.
Azerbaijan says it will guarantee their rights and integrate the region, but the Armenians want to leave.
The Armenian leaders of Karabakh said in a statement they want to leave and would be escorted to Armenia by Russian peacekeepers.
Reuters reporters near the village of Kornidzor on the Armenian border saw some heavily laden cars pass into Armenia. One of the drivers said they were from Karabakh.
It was unclear when the bulk of the population would move down the Lachin corridor which links the territory to Armenia, where prime minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced calls to resign after Azerbaijan reclaimed Karabakh.
Meanwhile, Armenian separatists have begun laying down their weapons under a Russian-mediated agreement as the first convoy of humanitarian aid entered Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani officials announced.
Under the terms of the ceasefire,
the Armenian separatists began handing over their weapons to Azerbaijan, including more than 800 guns and six armored vehicles, according to Russia’s defense ministry.
“We are in close cooperation with the Russian peacekeepers, conducting the demilitarization” of the separatists, Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense spokesman Anar Eyvazov told reporters in Shusha on Saturday, a district on the edge of the rebel stronghold of Khankendi.
“We have already seized weapons and ammunition,” Eyvazov said, adding that its soldiers along with Russian peacekeepers are working jointly to disarm separatist fighters in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The fighting flared up on Tuesday after Azerbaijan launched a military operation in the region, accusing the Armenian-backed troops there of “systematic” shelling, “reconnaissance activities,” fortification of defensive positions, and “high-level of combat readiness.”
Baku demanded that separatists lay down their arms and the separatist government disband.
-- Massive Protests Staged Against Zionist Regime for 38th Week
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have held protest rallies across the occupied Palestinian territories for the 38th consecutive week, condemning the policies of the Zionist regime’s far-right cabinet.
According to organizers, demonstrations were held at approximately 150 locations across the occupied territories.
Tel Aviv was the epicenter of the protests in which demonstrators slammed the policies of Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, including the highly controversial judicial overhaul scheme.
Protesters wore shirts reading “Save us from Netanyahu” and held up signs reading “Crime Minister.”
This week’s protests came following Netanyahu’s speech at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The protesters accused Netanyahu of fleeing to the United States to avoid a corruption cases against him as well as the mass protests that have been prompted by his overhaul scheme.
“The world should know that whatever they hear from our prime minister … everything that he says is a lie. He’s trying to blind everyone else and when he comes back here, then he goes back to his try to save his skin and he’s … fighting … only for himself, and the world doesn’t know it,” a protester told AFP.
“We’re here together with tens of thousands … and we come here in the hope that we can make a difference. Each one of us being here, saying ‘we don’t approve’ … and we will be back here every week until there’s a change,” another protester said.
The protests have been a fixed weekly event since January, when Netanyahu announced the overhaul scheme, which seeks to rob the regime’s Supreme Court of the
ability to invalidate the decisions made by the politicians.
The scheme has galvanized the largest protest movement the regime has faced in its history.
Despite overwhelming public pressure, including weekly protests, a wave of industrial actions, and rising opposition among the regime’s military ranks, Netanyahu’s cabinet has passed one of the scheme’s bills through the Knesset. The bill removed the Supreme Court’s power to strike down cabinet decision’s or appointments on the basis of being “unreasonable.”
Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet has pledged to push ahead with the rest of the scheme.
Proponents of the overhaul say it helps redistribute the balance of power between the politicians and the judiciary. Its opponents, however, accuse Netanyahu of trying his hand at a power grab. They say the premier, who is on trial in three corruption cases for receiving bribe, fraud, and breach of trust, is also attempting to use the scheme to quash possible judgments against him.
The regime’s supreme court, for the first time in its history, convened its entire 15-judge bench earlier this month to hear an appeal against that bill, and is expected to issue its decision at a later date.
A key hearing on another portion of the overhaul, which pertains to Zionist minister of judiciary affairs’ refusal to convene the committee selecting the nation’s judges, is set for later this month.
The regime’s attorney general has said that minister of judiciary’s affairs Yariv Levin’s actions reflect an effort to politicize the judicial selection process.
-- Iran Foils 30 Terrorist Attacks, Arrests Dozens
The Iranian intelligence forces have thwarted a plot to carry out a string of terrorist bombing attacks in Tehran, arresting dozens of elements linked with the Daesh terrorist group.
The Iranian Intelligence Ministry announced in a statement on Sunday that its forces have foiled a ferocious plot to carry out 30 simultaneous bombing attacks on populous areas of capital Tehran and have arrested all terrorists involved in the plot.
“The explosions were planned with the aim of breaking the country’s security authority, creating an unstable image of the country, sowing despair and fear in the society, and instigating chaos and protests exactly during the anniversary of last year’s riots,” it said.
The ministry noted that its forces have conducted a series of simultaneous operations during the recent days in the provinces of Tehran, Alborz and West Azarbaijan, raided the houses of terrorist teams, and arrested 28 members of the terrorist network.
The arrested elements are affiliated with the Daesh terrorist group, the statement added, saying a number of the arrestees used to fight alongside terrorists in Syria or had been present in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Although the elements arrested in Iran belong to Daesh terrorist group, the design of their plot and their behavioral pattern are much more complicated in technical terms than those of the conventional Takfiri currents and significantly conform to the patterns and mechanisms of the Zionist regime, it added.
The statement also said weapons and equipment have been confiscated from the terrorists in the recent operations, including a huge amount of explosives, bombs, large amount of explosive device materials, a package of 100 explosive primers, electronic devices used in time bombs, 17 American handguns and bullets, diverse smart and satellite telecommunication devices, military outfits, suicide vests, modems used in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and foreign currencies.
The ministry noted that during one of the operations at a house, the terrorists tried to carry out a suicide attack which could have harmed people in the nearby houses, but the intelligence forces acted bravely and swiftly and prevented the suicide explosion.
Unfortunately, two Iranian intelligence forces were injured in the operation, it concluded.
Footage released by state media showed how the individuals were shriveled by drones before their locations were stormed and they were arrested by intelligence operatives. Suspects were also shown digging up parts to make explosives that they had buried to keep hidden.
The clips showed handguns and explosive vests that were confiscated and a group of bound and blindfolded suspects.
Daesh claimed responsibility for an attack on the holy Shah Cheragh shrine in October that killed 13 people and injured dozens.
The shrine in the southern city of Shiraz came under a second gun attack in less than a year in August, which killed two people.
Iran blamed the second attack on Daesh as well and said a number of foreign nationals were arrested in connection with the operation.
For carrying out last year’s attack, two men from neighboring Afghanistan were convicted of being Daesh agents and publicly executed in early June.
For the second attack, the shooter, identified as Rahmatollah Nowruzof from Tajikistan, was given two death sentences, Iran’s judiciary said.
Two other suspects, who were not identified, were sentenced to five years in prison and expulsion from the Islamic republic.
TEHRAN TIMES:
-- Iran FM hold extensive talks in New York
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has held extensive meetings with several foreign officials and counterparts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Amir Abdollahian met with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Jordan, Mali, Nicaragua, and Djibouti. He also met with the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives. During his New York trips, the Iranian foreign minister announced the resumption of Iran’s diplomatic relations with two countries – Djibouti and the Maldives. “Following a meeting on Friday, 22 September 2023, between H.E. Dr. Amir-Abdollahian, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and H.E. Mr Ahmed Khaleel, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives, on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Maldives, in alignment with the interests and aspirations of their peoples, reaffirmed their decision to restore diplomatic relations,” the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement, adding, “The two Governments have agreed to further develop the friendly relations between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty, equality, mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.”
-- Death of three women in London, Ohio and Tehran
On September 14, TIME magazine published an article titled “Iranian Women Are Still Fighting”. The article, written by Nazanin Boniadi, reviews Iran’s last year unrest and claims that Iranian women continue to fight against the Islamic Republic. Her note on the events of September and October 2022 provides an opportunity to review what she calls “the most promising political movement in modern Middle East history.” After a year, the superficial perceptions of these events under the title of “a civil movement” have been abandoned, and the politics and plans behind the so-called unrest are crystal clear to everyone. The plot had nothing to do with women’s rights. And if it had, we would have heard Sarah Everard and Ta’ Kiya Young’s names louder. In order to show the originality of what Boniadi calls the foundation of a civil movement, death of three women in three different locations will be reviewed: On the evening of March 3, 2021, Sarah Everard, 33, was kidnapped and murdered by a police officer in Clapham, South London, as she was walking home.
-- Israeli secret judicial documents show Netanyahu’s psychiatric condition relapsed
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Iran with a nuclear strike in what appeared to be a fit of pique. Information obtained by the Tehran Times, however, suggests that the Israeli premier may be suffering from a chronic mental condition. “Iran must face a credible nuclear threat,” Netanyahu warned before his office walked the comments back. But the warning may be indicative of a tightly held secret: the mental illness of Netanyahu. For context, in mid-September, the Lebanese news station AlMayadeen reported that the Israeli prime minister was involved in a dangerous judicial case, citing an Iranian security source. The Iranian source noted that the Israeli judiciary has not yet disclosed the file because it constitutes a “threat to the national security” of Israel, indicating that if the details of this information are revealed, Netanyahu’s political life will be exposed to real danger. The Tehran Times has obtained new information indicating that the issue at stake is far from being limited to the Netanyahu case. According to the information received by the Tehran Times, Iran has gotten its hand on the whole archive of Israel’s judiciary, which includes sensitive information about Netanyahu’s case. According to documents from the Israeli judiciary, Netanyahu and his wife Sara suffer from a relapsed psychiatric disease, which prompted a member of Yair Lapid’s party to take to the Judiciary to call into question Netanyahu’s fitness for the top job in Israel. The member of Lapid’s party took the whole medical case of Netanyahu and his wife to the court in the hope of barring him from assuming public office over mental health problems. The court reviewed the documents and signaled seriousness in following up on the case, but a top judicial official shelved the case, saying in handwriting, “The court does not have the authorization to look into this case, and moving ahead with it could endanger Israel’s national security.” In addition to this case, Netanyahu faced other lawsuits, which have been shelved through bribery, bullying, and political influence. The case in question could well be the reason why the phones of a number of members of Lapid’s party and Lapid himself, were hacked recently, according to Israeli media. Observers said the Netanyahu could be behind the hack. Considering that the information about the court cases of Netanyahu, his party, and many of the officials of the current government of Israel, as well as some abuses and unannounced donations to the Haredis and their corruption and espionage cases, have been leaked, the possibility of retaliation cannot be ruled out. At any rate, what is important now is the top-secret information that is in Iran’s possession and can jeopardize the Israeli regime’s national security. Also, the Israeli judicial archive includes documents showing how the Israeli judiciary discriminated against Israel’s Arab citizens in a systematic way. The documents show that Israeli judges have always issued verdicts against Israel’s Arab citizens based on an undeclared guideline. In general, based on the information provided by sources familiar with the matter, more than 70,000 pages of judicial documents, some of which bear secret and topsecret seals, have been leaked and are being reviewed and analyzed. The leakage of Israel’s judicial archive is yet another indication of how vulnerable Israel has become. This comes at a time when Israeli officials, notably the Mossad chief David Barnea, have ramped up their rhetoric against Iran. In response, Iran has elevated the directorate charged with countering Israel to a higher level of a department within Iran’s security services, according to sources familiar with the matter.
NOURNEWS