NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Thursday, September 28, 2023.
IRAN DAILY:
-- Iran puts homegrown imaging satellite into orbit
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force successfully launched the homegrown imaging satellite Nour-3 into orbit on Wednesday morning.
Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Issa Zarepour said the Nour-3 imaging satellite was successfully placed into an orbit 450 kilometers (280 miles) above the Earth’s surface with the Iranian Qased satellite carrier.
The Commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh said the Nour-3 satellite is equipped with cameras and collects data.
He said that two more satellites will be put into orbit in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the IRGC’s Commander Major General Hossein Salami said the data, information, and images taken by the new satellite from Earth’s surface will be gathered to complete and fulfill “the IRGC’s intelligence requirements.”
Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in recent years, Iran has managed to take giant strides in its civilian space program. It is among the world’s top 10 countries capable of developing and launching satellites. The first installment of the Nour satellites was successfully launched in April 2020 into an orbit 425 kilometers (265 miles) above the Earth. It became the first military reconnaissance satellite launched by Iran after several failed attempts.
The second installment reached a low orbit of 500 kilometers (310 miles) in early 2022 using the mixed-fuel carrier.
In August 2022, an Iranian satellite — said to be capable of taking high-resolution images — was successfully launched from a base in Kazakhstan.
-- Speaker: Promoting ties shape bright future for Iran, Egypt
The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament emphasized parliamentary cooperation with Egypt, saying that with the realization of the collaboration, a bright future lies ahead of both countries.
During a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Hanafi Gebali, in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that parliamentary cooperation can be highly effective in the sustainable development of relations between North African countries and the West Asia region, as well as in addressing various regional issues, ISNA reported.
“If the cooperation is achieved, there is a promising outlook for improved relations between the two countries,” the Iranian lawmaker added. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 9th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in Johannesburg.
Referring to Egypt as a great Islamic country with significant influence, Qalibaf said the BRICS parliamentary meeting is a great opportunity for Muslim states in the West Asia and North Africa regions to strengthen bilateral relations and regional cooperation.
During the meeting, the Egypt’s House of Representatives speaker expressed his pleasure at meeting with his Iranian counterpart and the high-ranking parliamentary delegation of Iran.
“I believe that by participating in the BRICS group, we have taken the right path for the development of our two countries,” Gebali said.
To further enhance parliamentary relations, both sides invited their counterparts to visit each other’s capitals.
Egypt severed its diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 after it welcomed the deposed Pahlavi ruler of Iran and recognized the Israeli regime.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, met on September 20 on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani described the meeting as a turning point in Tehran-Cairo relations and a positive step within the framework of Iran’s diplomacy of enhancing ties with regional countries.
-- Iran raps Israeli nuke threat, vows to respond resolutely
Iran has vehemently condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threat to use nukes, saying it reserves the right to deliver a resolute response to the occupying entity under international law.
In letters sent Monday to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as well as the presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council, Iran’s Permanent Representative to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani urged the international community to break their silence in the face of Tel Aviv’s “reckless and dangerous” rhetoric, Press TV reported.
On Friday, Netanyahu called for a “credible nuclear threat” against Iran in an address to the 78th session of the UN General Assembly. However, his office later said that he misread the line and meant to say a “credible military threat.”
“While vehemently and unequivocally condemning the Israeli regime’s perilous threat to use nuclear weapons against Iran …, the Islamic Republic firmly reaffirms its legitimate and inherent rights, in full accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter, to respond resolutely to any threat and unlawful act” by Tel Aviv, Iravani wrote.
“Iran also declares that it will not hesitate to exercise these rights to defend its security, national interests, and people.”
The envoy further noted that the international community must not remain indifferent to the bellicose anti-Iran threat from an illegitimate regime that wages aggressions, carries out apartheid policies, and sponsors terrorism while possessing an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction alongside advanced conventional weaponry.
Israel, which pursues a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear weapons, is estimated to have 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, making it the Middle East’s sole possessor of non-conventional arms.
The usurping entity has, however, refused to either allow inspections of its military nuclear facilities or sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Also on Tuesday, Zahra Ershadi, Iran’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, called on the international community to force Israel to join the NPT.
-- Islamic Unity Conference aims to expand Muslim cooperation
The secretary general of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought said the International Islamic Unity Conference aims to contribute to the expansion of cooperation among Muslim countries.
Hamid Shahriari, speaking at a press conference ahead of the 37th Islamic Unity Conference, said Muslim experts and religious scholars will exchange views on the Islamic values recommended in the holy book of Muslims, the Qur’an, during the event. He said that the incumbent Iranian government has tried to help the Islamic countries to further cooperate in different fields, which, in turn, is expected to boost security across the Muslim world.
He said that the agreements reached by the Islamic Republic of Iran have brought hopes for moving towards a unified Islamic nation.
Shahriari said that the Islamic Republic is pursuing values that counter Western liberalism. Among such values, he added, are family values, which have been targeted by the enemies.
He also provided the reporters with details about the 37th Islamic Unity Conference, which is scheduled to be held October 1–3. At least 110 people from foreign countries will participate in the event.
-- Iran-BRICS trade in March–August tops $25b
Iran traded nearly 37 million tons of goods worth $25.1 billion with BRICS member states during the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 21 to August 22), which accounted for 57.7% of Iran’s total foreign trade at the time.
The country traded over 70.3 million tons of non-oil products worth $43.5 billion with other states during the five-month period, according to IRNA.
In addition, $109 million was exchanged between Iran and 10 current and newly joined members of BRICS.
During the five months, China ($5.6 billion), the UAE ($2.3 billion), India ($845 million), Russia ($361 million), and South Africa ($51.5 million) were the main importers of Iran’s non-oil products.
Brazil ($1.2 million), Egypt ($644,000), Ethiopia ($143,000), Saudi Arabia ($90,000), and Argentina ($41,300) were the sixth to tenth destinations of Iranian goods among BRICS members.
Iran, Egypt, the UAE, Ethiopia, Argentina, and Saudi Arabia will officially join the BRICS group (currently comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) at the beginning of 2024.
Following the joining of the said six states, it is predicted that the activation of the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC) will be accelerated along with the de-dollarization process, the expansion of transportation, the development of new businesses among member countries, and the establishment of a joint currency among the eleven members.
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
-- Ghalibaf Urges BRICS to Eliminate Financial Monopolies
Iran’s parliament speaker on Wednesday underlined the important role of the BRICS group in creating independent financial infrastructure to focus on eliminating monopolies in the banking and international financial messengers with the aim of making it easier for member states to contribute. Addressing the Ninth BRICS Parliamentary Forum in Johannesburg, Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf emphasized that today’s world requires a justice-seeking and spiritual atmosphere and that the BRICS group of major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - can play an important role in this respect.
Touching upon the fact that progress, economic growth, and resolving international challenges will not be sustainable without paying heed to moral, cultural, spiritual, religious and divine teachings, the Iranian speaker noted that bitter incidents such as the desecration of the holy Qur’an prove “we need to attract international attention to sublime religious and human teachings”.
As to Iran’s stance on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Ghalibaf said that the Islamic Republic has obviously announced from the onset of the conflict that Tehran promotes an immediate end to the war in Ukraine; however, at the same time, the Iranian authorities believe that NATO and the United States were the root cause of the confrontation.
At present, the United States is the main state that is practically opposing the cessation of the war in Ukraine and vetoing all mechanisms concerning ceasefire and peace, he said.
-- Envoy Calls on G77 to Promote Multilateralism
An advisor to the Iranian foreign minister on Wednesday called on the Group of 77 to work towards strengthening multilateralism and standing up to “unilateral coercive actions” against the developing countries.
Muhammad Sadegh Fazli, special advisor to Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, addressed the annual meeting of the G77 foreign ministers, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Fazli stressed the necessity of strengthening multilateralism, unity, and solidarity among G77 members, and called for efforts to end unilateral coercive measures against the developing countries.
-- Noor 3 Successfully Launched Into Orbit
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully launched a third military satellite into orbit on Wednesday, Minister of Communications Issa Zarepour said.
The Noor 3 imaging satellite orbits at an altitude of 450 kilometers (280 miles) above the earth’s surface and was launched by the three-stage Qased, or messenger carrier, which launched its predecessor Noor 2 in 2022.
“I congratulate all Iranians, those active in the country’s space industry, and the IRGC’s space experts for this success. God willing, this year will be a fruitful year for the country’s space industry,” Zarepour said on his X account.
The IRGC said the satellite traveled at a speed of 7.6 kilometers per second allowing it to be placed into orbit some 500 seconds after its launch.
The first version of the Noor was successfully launched in April 2020 into an orbit 425km (265 miles) above the Earth. It became the first military reconnaissance satellite launched by Iran.
The second version reached a low orbit of 500km (310 miles) in early 2022 using the mixed-fuel carrier.
Iranian officials have promised to carry on with the expanding satellite program and are expected to launch several more satellites into different orbits in the foreseeable future.
In August 2022, an Iranian-owned and Russian-built satellite – said to be capable of taking high-resolution images – was successfully launched from a base in Kazakhstan.
Last month, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Muhammad Reza Ashtiani announced that the country would launch at least two domestically-made satellites into orbit this year.
“We are involved in the development and launch of satellites. Under our plan, we will have 2 to 3 satellite launches this year, something we hope to be successful,” Ashtiani said.
Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in recent years, Iran has managed to take giant strides in the civilian space program. It is among the world’s top 10 countries capable of developing and launching satellites.
IRGC chief Major General Hussein Salami said Wednesday his force will use the newly-launched Noor-3 imaging satellite for military intelligence purposes.
“We use the collection of what we receive and gather from the Earth to meet the IRGC’s intelligence demands,” he told a gathering of IRGC officers and veterans in Tehran.
Elaborating on its specifications,
Salami said the satellite is seven kilograms heavier than its previous version Noor-2 and features imaging equipment that are more precise and produce pictures with better quality.
Commander of IRGC’s Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh said after the launch that the force plans two more satellite launches until the end of the current Iranian calendar year which will be late March.
Hajizadeh said the launches will enable Iran to have a “constellation of satellites” in the space in the near future.
-- Experts: Saudi-Israeli Normalization Means Greater Repression
The potential normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and the occupying regime of Israel would lead to a greater state of autocracy and repression in the Middle East region, several experts said on Tuesday.
During the eighth annual conference of the Arab Center think tank in Washington, DC, experts on Middle East policy discussed the nature of a possible normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, a central foreign policy goal of the Biden administration.
The Biden administration has touted any future agreement as a “transformative moment” that would move the region from turmoil to stability.
“It’s a colossal distortion of reality for anyone who has spent any time in the region and on the ground,” said Nader Hashimi, director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University.
Hashmi termed a Saudi-Israeli normalization plan as “wishful thinking at best”.
“It’s a political disaster in the making at worst that will further destabilize the Middle East.”
For months, the Biden administration has been publicly stating its intention to broker a deal between the Zionist regime and the kingdom, following through on the Donald Trump administration’s successful brokering of similar agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.
“These deals that are supported by American foreign policy are really dependent on, predicated on, the persistence of authoritarian repressive regimes in the Middle East, while ignoring the core aspirations of the region’s people for political freedom, accountable government, and self-determination,” Hashmi said.
During an interview with Fox News that aired last week, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman stated that they are getting closer to such an agreement “every day”.
Experts said that the push to normalize relations between Riyadh and Tel Avivi, which could lead to a number of concessions for the Saudi kingdom, including U.S. assistance in developing a civil nuclear program, runs counter to the Biden administration’s stated goal of allegedly promoting democracy across the world.
“Authoritarian regimes are ascendant everywhere, while democratic opposition groups, civil societies and social protest movements are severely repressed, especially in the Arab world,” said Hashemi.
Dana el-Kurd, an assistant professor at the University of Richmond, said that in the months and years following the normalization deals brokered by the Trump administration - dubbed by Washington as the Abraham Accords - pro-democracy efforts in the Arab world were further quelled by governments in the region.
“The Abraham Accords have been very damaging to local conditions, both for pro-democracy movements and groups that exist, but also for pro-democracy sentiment because they do not address structural causes of violence, and they rely on state coercion to be implemented,” Kurd said during the conference.
At the same time, given that pro-Palestinian sentiment is widespread across the region and in many countries tied to civil society, the crushing of pro-democracy movements and pro-Palestinian voices goes hand-in-hand.
“Arab public opinion is pro-Palestinian. This has been corroborated a number of times with a number of different studies,” said Kurd.
“When regimes pursue these normalization deals with Israel, often with a lot of U.S. fanfare and support, they know that they are doing something unpopular. They know that inevitably, there will be some level of dissent and outright opposition, which from their perspective then requires repression.”
Kurd also shared concerns that cementing diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel could lead to Arab governments becoming increasingly involved in transnational repression.
The U.S.-based advocacy group, the Freedom Initiative, issued a report earlier this year stating that both Egypt and Saudi Arabia have become increasingly sophisticated and emboldened to target critics and dissidents residing on American soil.
The report said that more than two-thirds of 72 people interviewed - with personal or professional ties to Egypt and Saudi Arabia - said that they have been subjected to acts of repression in the U.S.
“Arab regimes have a new partner now and a more open and broader way in transnational repression,” said Kurd.
An open, official relationship between Israel and the Arab world allows governments to more openly partner in the field of technology, military, and surveillance.
A 2022 report by The New York Times found that the Israeli spyware Pegasus has been a staple tool of Israel’s diplomacy in the Persian Gulf region. The report said that the UAE purchased the notorious software in 2013.
Riyadh purchased the Pegasus software in 2017, years before talk of normalization between the two sides started, according to the report.
“What’s happening is an intensification of these efforts, and we’ve seen a proliferation of aggressive technologies, not just in terms of defense systems and military aid and things like this, but also in terms of surveillance,” Kurd said.
On the other hand, the normalization of Israel among Arab countries also works to embolden the occupying regime’s treatment of Palestinians, which has been deemed apartheid by several rights groups and UN experts.
The normalization agreements during the Trump administration were described by the UAE and the other countries involved as a move that would freeze the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. However, within weeks of the deal, Israel approved the construction of new settlement units.
Saudi Arabia has said that Riyadh is working to establish a Palestinian state with East Al-Quds as its capital. However, at the UN General Assembly, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a map to promote Israel, showing the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip as being a part of Israel in 1948.
“All of these things have led to a situation where Israel is not only emboldened, as I said, it is rewarded. And the Arab world is in disarray,” Hanan Ashrawi, a former executive committee member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, said during Tuesday’s conference.
“Israel is in the grip of a very fascist, bloodthirsty, ethnocentric theocracy that is defying the whole world, and yet there’s a mad rush and obsessive approach to normalizing with Israel.”
-- Iranian Athletes Claim More Medals at Asian Games
Female Iranian wushu fighter Zahra Kiani has won a silver medal in the women’s Qiangshu final of the 19th edition of the Asian Games in China.
On Wednesday, the 25-year-old athlete competed in the women’s Qiangshu final at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Center in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, and finished as the runner-up.
Lai Xiaoxiao of China was top-ranked and won the gold medal, while the bronze went to Vietnamese sportswoman Duong Thuy Vi.
Qiangshu (or Qiang Shu) is a Wushu taolu (or form) where the participant uses a spear as the main element of the routine.
Taekwondo Team Wins Three Bronze Medals
The Iranian national taekwondo team won three bronze medals at the event.
Matin Rezaei, in the weight category of 68km, claimed the bronze medal by defeating his Chinese opponent in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games.
Melika Mirhosseini, in the weight category of 67 kg, lost 2-1 to Feruza Sadikova from Uzbekistan in the semifinals of the Asian Games and failed to advance to the finals.
Mehran Barkhordari also won the third bronze medal in the competition on Wednesday.
The 2022 Asian Games also known as Hangzhou 2022 is a continental multi-sport event currently being held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
The Games, delayed a year due to China’s measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, will be the country’s biggest sporting event in over a decade in several metrics, with around 12,000 athletes from 45 nations competing in 40 sports.
Iran has sent 289 male and female athletes to the Games in 34 sports events.
TEHRAN TIMES:
-- Iran, Qatar discuss strategies to expand financial, banking relations
During a meeting between the governors of the central banks of Iran and Qatar, in Doha on Wednesday, the two sides discussed the strategies for developing financial and banking relations between the two countries. In the meeting between Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Mohammad-Reza Farzin and Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Governor Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani, necessary agreements were made regarding the start of banking operations in order to use the foreign currency resources transferred to six Iranian banks in Qatar. Last week, Farzin announced the deposit of €5.573 billion from Iran’s blocked resources to the accounts of six Iranian banks in AlAhli and Dukhan banks in Qatar Speaking in a TV program, the official said that on August 10 of this year, all inaccessible Iranian funds that were kept in South Korean banks and the Seoul branch of Bank Mellat were transferred to the account of the Swiss Central Bank to be converted into euros. He stated that during this period, Keshavarzi, Saman, Pasargad, Tourism, Shahr, and Karafarin banks opened accounts in the two mentioned Qatari banks, and added: “According to the agreements, all payments were made by brokers of Qatari banks as well as SWIFT.”
-- Iran is under inspection 10 times more than other countries, nuclear chief says
Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), said on Wednesday that it is not reasonable for Iran to be inspected 10 times more than other countries while the size of Iran’s nuclear facilities is about 2% of the world’s nuclear facilities. In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Eslami said that Tehran has good cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He also noted that at least 120 inspectors of the Agency are accepted and actively working within Iran whereas some are rejected which is totally Iran’s rights. The AEOI head added that Tehran keeps an eye on the performance of inspectors which is its right whether to accept or reject some of them. “The decision to reject some does not mean Iran fails to cooperate with the Agency,” Eslami averred, adding, “We cooperate with the Agency and such cooperation continues daily, but some inspectors may be rejected over their performance, this is normal and common.” Referring to his meeting with the IAEA director during his trip to Vienna, Islami stated, “The meeting with Mr. Grossi was so friendly and was done in a normal atmosphere because our cooperation with the Agency is more important than the cooperation of any other country.”
-- First Russian group enters Iran under visa-free agreement
The first group of Russian travelers has arrived in Iran under a bilateral visa waiver agreement that took effect earlier this month to beef tourism up. The Russian voyagers arrived in Mazandaran on Wednesday to visit various attractions of the lush green province during their four-day stay, a local official said. They are scheduled to leave Mazandaran on Saturday to fly back home from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, Leila Azhdari added. The long-awaited visa-free agreement, which benefits groups of five to 50 travelers for up to 15 days at a time, finally took effect after years of follow-up work. It was initially signed by former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2017.
-- China-Syria strategic partnership
Syrian President Bashar alAssad’s visit to China has important signs attached to it, the most prominent of which is Beijing providing support for President al-Assad and challenging the United Statesled Western attempt to isolate the Syrian government with unilateral sanctions. Chinese President Xi Jinping told al-Assad that “China opposes interference by external forces in Syria’s internal affairs... and urges all relevant countries to lift illegal unilateral sanctions against Syria.” In line with this aspect, China is prepared to thwart the “illegal” sanctions regime.
-- Top aerospace general pledges more satellites
The IRGC Aerospace Force is planning to send at least two more satellites into space in the next six months, the Aerospace Force Commander Amir-Ali Hajizadeh says. Commenting on the launch of the Nour-3 satellite on Wednesday, the senior commander said the newly launched satellite will collect signals after being put into orbit. General Hajizadeh has been a crucial part of Iran’s efforts to increase its aerospace capabilities. During his tenure as the commander in charge of the IRGC Aerospace Force, Iran tested and launched many satellites, in addition to elevating Iran’s drone and missile power, which has been at the center of the West’s pressure campaign against Iran.
NOURNEWS