NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Saturday, September 30, 2023.
IRAN DAILY:
-- MSC power plant comes on stream
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi visited the central province of Isfahan and launched the second phase of a large-scale national project that transfers water from the Sea of Oman to the drought-prone province.
Raeisi arrived in Isfahan on Friday and was briefed upon arrival by the provincial officials, contractors and workers on the latest stages of progress in the implementation of the 980-kilometer water supply project, according to president.ir.
“Reports indicate that the implementation period of this project has whittled down to a third,” the Iranian chief executive said, stressing that water supply is a very important issue as it can help promote agriculture and industry in Isfahan Province.
“This project has gained further momentum and 50 percent of it has been completed so far and, on the whole, we are witnessing the implementation of a very good and valuable work,” Raeisi added.
Expressing his gratitude to the entire personnel and staff involved in the major project, Raeisi ordered the launch of the second phase of the water transfer scheme from the Sea of Oman to the central Iranian province.
The project was initiated in September last year, transferring 70 million cubic meters of water to Isfahan in the first stage, and 400 million cubic meters in the next stage.
The length of the water transfer route from the Sea of Oman to Isfahan is 980 kilometers, of which 520km have been completed, 420km have been excavated, and 214km have been laid with pipes.
The water supply project is part of a plan to revive Isfahan’s Zayandeh Rud (River) and provide water for drinking, agriculture and local
industries.
Iran faces a race against time to tackle its serious water shortage, as water depletion in the country is one of the highest in the world, with studies expecting a 25 percent decline in surface water runoff by 2030.
The Iranian authorities have been toiling away at various projects to resolve this crisis, including schemes that economize on water consumption in the industrial field and state-of-the-art seawater desalination plans.
The first phase of Mobarakeh Steel Company’s Shahid Kazemi power plant was another project put into operation by the president during his visit to Isfahan.
At the first phase, the MSC power plant will have a capacity of 307 megawatts and, when completed, the output capacity of the plant will reach 914 MW.
A sum of trillion rials (about $402 million) has been invested by Mobarakeh Steel Company to complete the project.
The project is the third power plant made by the industrial sector in Iran to supply their electricity needs during the peak consumption period.
-- BRICS to create competitor to SWIFT payment system
BRICS nations plan to create a money-transferring network to compete with the SWIFT international payment system, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
Speaking to TASS, Siluanvo said the creation of an alternative to SWIFT will be discussed next year within BRICS.
Talking to reporters at the Moscow Financial Forum, he said a number of BRICS countries had already developed their own payment systems.
“We are trying to implement our financial information transmission system. Other BRICS countries are either creating their own systems or have their own systems. Therefore, for now, this issue is a topic of discussion,” he said.
The Russian official said the economic bloc was looking for ways to replace international payment systems with mechanisms that will help promote trade between member states.
“This is on the agenda of next year’s meeting at the level of financial authorities and administrators of BRICS member countries. It will be one of the standing issues. Today, Russia is rebuilding all relations from the West to the South-East, and this trend will continue,” Siluanov explained.
The move comes as BRICS nations, namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – which have complained about the Americans’ use of the US dollar for politico-economic influence over other nations, damaging their economies – continue their de-dollarization efforts aimed at promoting trade in the economic bloc.
China launched the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) in 2015 to promote the use of Chinese currency, renminbi, in international trade.
Currently, more than 4,200 banking institutions in 182 countries and regions around the world use the CIPS payment system either directly or through an institution besides the two primarily involved in the transaction.
South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, who hosted his fellow BRICS finance ministers at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg last month, said the bloc would not be looking to replace international payment systems including SWIFT, but rather considers creating one that would strengthen trade in local currencies.
The bloc’s leaders announced at the three-day BRICS summit in Johannesburg that they would task their finance ministers to consider the issues of local currencies, payment instruments, and platforms and report back in a year.
-- Tripartite deal signed on construction of oil refinery in Syria
A senior official with the Iranian Ministry of Oil said that a tripartite agreement, signed among the Islamic Republic of Iran, Venezuela, and Syria, envisages the building of a new oil refinery in the Arab country’s Homs Province.
Deputy Oil Minister Jalil Salari provided the information in an interview with Iran’s Fars news agency. The deal foresees the construction of “a new 140,000-barrel refinery,” whose required oil would be provided jointly by the Islamic Republic and Venezuela, he said.
“The fundamental studies and designing process [for implementation of the project] has been completed,” the official noted.
The refinery would complement two already functioning ones, the Banias Refinery and the Homs Refinery, both located in western Syria. According to Salari, “The financing and construction [phases of the project] are on the
agenda.”
Iran and Syria have also signed a memorandum of understanding towards repairing the 110,000-barrel oil refinery that is located in Homs, the Iranian official reported.Analysts say cooperation among the three states exemplifies their indifference towards the US-led campaign of sanctions that has similarly targeted them over their rejection of Washington’s efforts at regional and global dominance.
The cooperation also comes amid the ongoing illegal presence of US forces in Syria, who are engaged in stealing the Arab country’s direly needed oil resources.
US military trucks and tankers frequently carry tons of grain and crude oil from the northeastern Syrian province of Hasakah to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq as part of Washington’s systematic smuggling of basic commodities out of Syria. The US military has for long stationed its forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.
Damascus, however, maintains that the deployment is meant to plunder the country’s natural resources. Former US president Donald Trump admitted on several occasions that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil wealth.
-- Iran calls for regional cooperation on Afghanistan’s future
Iran’s special envoy for Afghanistan highlighted the necessity of increased cooperation among neighboring countries to help resolve the issues in Afghanistan without relying on foreign states.
Hassan Kazemi Qomi made the remarks addressing a meeting on the developments in Afghanistan in the Russian city of Kazan on Friday, IRNA reported.
He criticized the US interventions in the region and deemed its policies in Afghanistan over the past years as incorrect.
The Iranian envoy pointed out that 20 years of continuous and unjustified occupation by the United States and its allies, along with the creation of foreign-backed fronts, are not in line with the national interests of Afghanistan.
He expressed hope that the caretaker government of Afghanistan would implement a neighboring policy that is based on mutual benefit and harm prevention, coupled with consultations with neighboring countries.
Representatives from Taliban and 15 countries gathered in Kazan for talks on regional threats and creating an inclusive government, TASS reported.
President Vladimir Putin’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov attended the gathering and said Russia is inclined to keep helping Afghanistan independently through the World Food Program of the UN.
A letter from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was read at the talks, accusing Western countries of “complete failure” in Afghanistan, saying they should “bear the primary burden of rebuilding the country.”
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 as the US and NATO troops were in the final weeks of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.
-- US quietly acknowledges IRGC satellite blastoff
The US has quietly acknowledged that Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force successfully put an imaging satellite into orbit this week.
The launch of satellite Noor-3 (Light-3) into orbit on Wednesday resembled others previously criticized by Washington, as it claims it helps Tehran’s ballistic missile program, AP reported. According to AP, the US military has not responded to repeated requests for comment from the news agency since Iran announced the launch of the Noor-3 satellite, the latest successful launch by the IRGC after Iran’s civilian space program faced a series of failed launches in recent years.
Early Friday, however, data published by the website space-track.org listed a launch Wednesday by Iran that put the Noor-3 satellite into orbit. Information for the website is supplied by the 18th Space Defense Squadron of the US Space Force, the newest arm of the US military.
It put the satellite at over 450 kilometers (280 miles) above the Earth’s surface, which corresponds to Iranian state media reports regarding the launch. It also identified the rocket carrying the satellite as a Qassed, a three-stage rocket fueled by both liquid and solid fuels first launched by Iran in 2020, when it unveiled its then-secret space program.
Speaking on Thursday, Space Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Ali Jafarabadi described the satellite as having “image accuracy that is two and a half times that of the Noor-2 satellite.” Noor-2, launched in March 2022, remains in orbit. Noor-1, launched in 2020, fell back to Earth last year.
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
-- Plot to Assassinate Sunni Clerics, Judges, IRGC Members Foiled
Iran’s intelligence minister says security forces foiled a plot to assassinate several Sunni clerics, judges, and members of the country’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
The plot, planned for implementation on September 30, had been hatched to “fuel ethnic and religious differences”, Esmail Khatib said in the holy city of Mashhad on Thursday.
“The enemies are after afflicting the country’s eastern borders with insecurity,” Khatib noted, urging vigilance on the part of Shia and Sunni clerics as well as relevant authorities.
The remarks came after the intelligence ministry said its operatives had thwarted a plot to trigger as many as “30 simultaneous explosions” throughout the capital Tehran.
The operation netted 28 terrorists who sought to target the city’s “populous centers” and portray the country as insecure, sow despair and fear across the society, and trigger chaos and protest, the ministry said.
The plot had been designed for implementation on the anniversary of last year’s foreign-backed riots throughout the country, it stated.
The riots spread out throughout the country last September following the unfortunate death that month of a young girl named Mahsa Amini.
Amini fainted at a police station and was pronounced dead days later at a Tehran hospital. An investigation attributed her death to a medical condition, dismissing allegations that she had been beaten by police forces.
Iran says the 2022 riots were the result of foreign-backed elements exploiting the incident.
Just recently, the intelligence ministry said it had discovered 400 bombs, dozens of which
had been planned to be set off across religious gatherings across the nation.
Meanwhile, Iranian intelligence forces have arrested an individual involved in numerous acts of sabotage against the data network of the electrical grid at one of the major industrial parks in the country’s central province of Isfahan.
Following multiple acts of sabotage due to the theft of cables in the data network and subsequent disruption of electricity distribution, the issue was placed high on the agenda of security and intelligence forces, the intelligence department of Isfahan’s provincial police announced in a statement on Friday.
It said the individual, whose identity was not immediately released, was detected and finally arrested in his hideout. He has openly confessed to his wrongdoing, according to the statement.
It the saboteur has been handed over to the country’s judicial authorities, it added.
Earlier this month, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) intelligence forces disbanded a team planning to carry out acts of sabotage and terrorist operations in the northern Iranian province of Gilan.
The public relations office of the Quds Force of Gilan said in a statement on September 14 that the 25 members of the band have been arrested.
The statement added that the sabotage design had in the cross hairs sensitive and strategic installations.
-- Terrorists Target Events to Mark Prophet’s Birthday
At least 59 people died in bomb attacks on two mosques in Pakistan on Friday as the country’s deteriorating security situation was laid bare on a public holiday held to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.
In the most serious incident, a suicide bomber killed at least 54 people who were gathering for a parade near a mosque to mark the prophet’s birthday in restive Balochistan province.
A second attack struck a mosque in a police station compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing five people and collapsing the building.
Local officials said hundreds of people had gathered at a mosque in Mastung in Balochistan for an Eid-e-Milad Un Nabi procession and were leaving the building when the bomber struck. Muslims hold rallies and distribute free meals to people on the occasion, which is also a public holiday.
Celebration of the prophet’s birthday is accepted by the majority of Muslims in Pakistan, but certain denominations view it as an unwarranted innovation. According to one official, however, a senior police officer killed in the attack may have been the target.
Officials confirmed the officer, Nawaz Gishkori, was among the dead. Balochistan has witnessed scores of attacks by insurgents and militants, but they usually target security forces.
The local deputy commissioner for Mastung, Razzaq Sasoli, said a suicide bomber had blown himself up next to Gishkori’s car. Sasoli said: “According to initial reports, we believe it was a suicide blast. It was a huge blast and we believe the target was Gishkori. We have at least 54 dead.”
TV footage and videos on social media showed an open area near a mosque strewn with the shoes of the dead and wounded after the bombing. Bodies had been covered with sheets, and residents and rescuers were seen rushing the wounded to hospitals, where a state of emergency was declared and appeals were issued for blood donations.
After the attack, families were searching for missing relatives among the dead and injured, which included young children.
Asadullah Bangulzai was one of those who helped wounded people. “I had blood on my hands and clothes” from carrying people hurt by the explosion, he said. “I will never forget these painful moments … People were crying in pain.”
Hours after the bombing, there was another explosion at a mosque on the premises of a police station in Hangu, a district in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. An official told Al Jazeera at least five people had been killed. The mosque’s roof collapsed in the blast, the local broadcaster Geo News reported, adding that about 30 to 40 people were trapped under the rubble.
A senior officer, Fazal Akbar, said attackers tried to enter a police station near the mosque. “One of them blew himself up at the gate but the other managed to enter the mosque,” he said. “Thankfully, most of the people inside the mosque managed to escape after the first blast, which is why the casualty count is low.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the Balochistan bombing, which comes amid a surge in the number of attacks claimed by militant groups in the west of the country before national elections scheduled for January next year.
The Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella group of various takfiri groups, denied it had carried out the attack. Daesh has claimed previous deadly attacks in Balochistan and elsewhere.
At least one expert suggested the coincidence of the two attacks could suggest that two different branches of Dsaesh in Pakistan could have coordinated the blasts.
Amir Rana, the director of the Islamabad-based research organization Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, said the two incidents appeared to be the work of Daesh in Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
“However, what must be remembered is that the Daesh Khorasan province operates primarily out of the Peshawar region in Pakistan, or Afghanistan, while the Daesh Pakistan province is based out of Balochistan. It appears this might be the first time they coordinated for twin attacks,” he told Al Jazeera.
Earlier this month, at least 11 people, including the leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl party, Hafiz Hamdullah, were injured in a blast in the Mastung.
Pakistan’s caretaker interior minister, Sarfraz Bugti, denounced the bombing and expressed sorrow over the deaths. He said it had been a “heinous act” to target people at the procession.
The gas-rich south-western Balochistan province, on the borders of Afghanistan and Iran, has been the site of a low-level insurgency by Baloch nationalists for more than two decades. They initially wanted a share of provincial resources, but later launched an insurgency calling for independence.
-- Adm. Irani: Navy Plans Permanent Base in Antarctica
Iran’s Navy chief Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has outlined his force’s plans in Antarctica, including establishing a permanent base for military and scientific missions.
“Our future plan is to proudly hoist the Iranian flag in the Antarctica, and undertake collaborative military and scientific efforts in that region,” Irani told IRIB TV1 television channel during a program to mark the anniversary of the 1980-88 Iraqi war on Iran.
Asked whether this meant setting up a permanent base in Antarctica, Irani said, “Inshallah (God willing).”
“It is not just military work. There has to be scientific work and our dear scientists are preparing to implement a joint effort in line with the guidelines” of Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Irani added.
The commander said such an ambitious future plan points to the enormous potential that exists within the Iranian Navy.
“Last year, in compliance with the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution, we tried to establish a strong maritime presence (across the globe). This came even with various challenges along the way, the most notable of which was that we had no experience of such a task at all,” Irani said.
The commander of the Iranian Navy went on to highlight the persistent attempts by certain foreign countries to hinder Iran’s maritime presence, saying, “Within the Navy, we overcame these obstacles and fears, and could accomplish the tremendous honor of deploying the 86th flotilla of warships in international waters despite foreign conspiracies.”
Irani underscored that despite numerous attempts by foreign nations to obstruct the naval mission, Iranian servicemen managed to successfully neutralize all enemy plots through employment of homegrown military equipment and strenuous efforts.
The 86th naval fleet of Iran, which set sail on a mission around the world from the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 20, 2022, returned home on May 20 after circumnavigating the world. It has officially broken the record for the distance an Iranian flotilla has sailed in international waters.
The flotilla’s return was hailed by top Iranian officials and commanders, including Ayatollah Khamenei, who congratulated the “courageous forces of the 86th flotilla of warships of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army on their great and successful voyage.”
-- Karabakh Armenians Announce End of Breakaway Republic
Ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh agreed on Thursday to dissolve their government by the end of the year and become a full part of Azerbaijan.
The dramatic announcement by separatist leader Samvel Shakhramanyan draws the curtain on one of the world’s longest and seemingly most irreconcilable “frozen conflicts”.
“Dissolve all state institutions and organizations under their departmental subordination by January 1, 2024, and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) ceases to exist,” his decree said.
It said residents should “familiarize themselves with the conditions of reintegration” offered by Azerbaijan and make “an independent and individual decision” on whether to stay.
Armenia said more than 93,000 of the region’s population had piled their belongings on top of their cars and left by Friday. Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan said he expected the entire region to clear out “in the coming days”.
The region has always been internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan though it is populated by ethnic Armenians who seceded in 1992, sparking a war which left 30,000 people dead and forced Azerbaijanis to flee their homes.
The rapid change of the situation began in the wake of an “anti-terrorist operation” by Azerbaijan targeting Armenian military positions in Karabakh after two mine explosions killed four soldiers and two civilians.
Baku’s 24-hour military blitz ended with a September 20 truce in which the rebels pledged to disarm and enter “reintegration” talks.
Two rounds of talks were held as Azerbaijani forces worked with Russian peacekeepers to collect separatist
weapons and enter towns that had remained outside Baku’s control since the Caucasus neighbors first fought over the region in the 1990s.
Azerbaijan said Thursday it wanted ethnic Armenians to remain in Karabakh and “become part of Azerbaijan’s multi-ethnic society” after Pashinyan accused Baku of engaging in “ethnic cleansing”.
“Nikol Pashinyan knows perfectly well that Armenian residents are leaving Karabakh on their own volition,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said. “This is their personal decision which has nothing to do with forced migration.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Armenians in Karabakh have nothing to fear. “It’s difficult to say who is to blame (for the exodus), there is no direct reason for such actions,” he said.
On Friday, Azerbaijan said it had invited a United Nations mission to visit Karabakh “in the coming days”.
“The visit will allow (the mission) to become acquainted with the current humanitarian activities being carried out by Azerbaijan in the region,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“In addition, the group members will be shown the process of rebuilding certain infrastructure, disarmament and confiscation of ammunition from illegal Armenian armed forces, as well as the dangers posed by mines,” it said.
Earlier, an Azerbaijani government official said media would also be allowed to visit the region.
Pashinyan had criticized the Russian peacekeeping force for failing to intervene when Azerbaijan launched its lightning offensive to regain control of the region. Russia denied the accusations.
He also urged parliament to ratify Armenia’s membership of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at a session scheduled to start Wednesday.
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his actions in Ukraine.
The Kremlin said it would treat Armenia’s membership of the ICC as an “extremely hostile” act.
Meanwhile, Russia’s peacekeeping mission could come to an end earlier than planned if all Armenians leave Karabakh.
Armenia’s defeat, on the other side, has not prompted it to drop out of discussions about a broader peace treaty with Baku. On the contrary, this process has been given fresh impetus.
The secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, met with Hikmat Hajiyev, an adviser to the Azerbaijani president, on September 26 in Brussels. Apart from the obvious humanitarian issues, they discussed a planned October 5 meeting between Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the Spanish city of Granada.
If a peace agreement were signed, it would signal the start of a new era in the South Caucasus.
-- Raisi: Iran Ready to Fight Terrorism With Pakistan
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday condemned terrorist bombings at two mosques in Pakistan, saying Tehran is firmly ready to counter extremism in all its forms. In a message to Pakistani President Arif Alvi, Raisi said the “blind” action once again showed the terrorists, who have no understanding of the merciful teachings of Islam, pursue “no goal but to sow discord among Muslims.” “However, this time they will also fail to achieve their illegitimate and inhumane objectives.” The Iranian president condemned the “terrorist, anti-religious and anti-human” move and expressed his sympathy
and condolences to his Pakistani counterpart and the Muslim nation of the country.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is resolutely ready to cooperate with Pakistan in the fight against any form of terrorism and extremism,” Raisi said.
He urged the international community, especially the Muslim countries, to “seriously react to this criminal act and prevent the recurrence of such bitter events.”
The Iranian president expressed hope the perpetrators would be identified and punished as soon as possible.
TEHRAN TIMES:
-- U.S.-Iran tensions: Problem lies in U.S. domestic politics
The U.S. is one of the very few countries having most long-term tensions with other countries in the world. The reasons are diversified, some of which however are actually rooted in U.S. domestic politics. The tensions between Iran and the U.S. are a typical example. Iran had tried but has failed many times to reach a détente with the U.S., and the reason actually was on the U.S. side. It is U.S. domestic politics that had disrupted several processes of potential rapprochements. In other words, Iran U.S. relations had long been kidnapped by U.S. domestic politics. The meddling of U.S. domestic politics on its foreign policy takes place in two ways. The first one is party politics. There are two major parties in the United States, namely the Republican and the Democratic parties. For the interests of its own party,
-- Raisi inaugurates major projects during provincial trip to Isfahan
President Ebrahim Raisi inaugurated several major projects during a one day visit to Isfahan Province in central Iran on Friday, IRNA reported. One of the main inaugurations was the beginning of the second phase of the major project for the transferring of water from the Sea of Oman to Isfahan with the aim of supplying water to the industrial sector in the province. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the mentioned project, Raisi told the reporters that the implementation of this project has accelerated and so far 50 percent of it has been implemented. Addressing the same ceremony, Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian said the main consumption of this water will be in the industry sector, and a part is also planned for drinking water in this region, and it can also be used in the agriculture sector of the province. With the implementation of this project, the surface and underground water resources of Isfahan province can be used more in the agricultural sector, the minister added. The first phase of Mobarakeh Steel Company’s Shahid Kazemi power plant was another project put into operation by the president during his visit to Isfahan. At the first phase the power plant will have a capacity of 307 megawatts and when completed the output capacity of the plant is going to reach 914 MW. As reported, 200 trillion rials (about $401.9 million) has been invested by Mobarakeh Steel Company to complete this project. The project is the third power plant made by the industrial sector in Iran to supply their electricity needs during the peak consumption period. Heading a delegation, President Raisi arrived in Isfahan on Friday morning and was welcomed by provincial officials.
-- Iran planning health co-op groups with Africa, Latin America
Mohammad-Hossein Niknam, the deputy health minister for international affairs, has said Iran is planning to form health cooperation groups with some Latin American and African countries. Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iraq, and the World Health Organization are members of G5. Earlier this group had five members, but now it has changed into G5+, IRNA reported. The Ministry of Health plans to strengthen cooperation in the field of health and treatment with other countries. “We are looking to strengthen regional health and medical cooperation with a number of Arab countries with high gross domestic product (GDP) in the Persian Gulf,” IRNA quoted Niknam as saying. Pointing to the meeting of Iranian and Saudi Arabian health ministers on the sidelines of the World Health Forum in Geneva via webinar, he went on to say, “In the near future, a memorandum of understanding to promote health cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia will be signed.” He added a draft of a memorandum of understanding has been prepared and approved by the two sides. It will be signed by the health ministers of the two countries in Tehran or Riyadh soon.
-- Navy plans to set up station for military and research operations in Antarctica
The Iranian Navy plans to establish a permanent station in Antarctica to carry out military and scientific operations, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has said. In a televised interview on Thursday, Irani noted, “Our future plan is to proudly hoist the Iranian flag in Antarctica, and undertake collaborative military and scientific efforts in that region.” “It is not just military work. There has to be scientific work and our dear scientists are preparing to implement a joint effort in line with the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei,” the top naval officer added. According to the commander, such ambitious future plan demonstrates the Iranian Navy’s immense potential. “Last year, in compliance with the guidelines of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, we tried to establish a strong maritime presence across the globe. This came even with various challenges along the way, the most notable of which was that we had no experience of such a task at all,” Irani said. The Navy commander continued by highlighting the ongoing efforts made by some foreign nations to obstruct Iran’s presence in open seas, asserting that “within the Navy, we overcame these obstacles and fears, and could accomplish the tremendous honor of deploying the 86th flotilla of warships in international waters despite foreign conspiracies.”
NOURNEWS