NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
IRAN DAILY:
-- Iran’s crude extraction tops 3.1mbd, highest since 2018
Iran extracted 3.15 million barrels per day (mbd) of crude oil in September, which is the highest since 2018, the year Washington re-imposed sanctions on Iran, according to Reuters surveys and separate figures from OPEC.
Analysts have said the higher Iranian exports appear to be the result of Iran’s success in evading US sanctions.
OPEC oil output rose for a second straight month in September, led by increases in Nigeria and Iran despite ongoing cuts by Saudi Arabia and other members of the wider OPEC+ alliance to support the market.
Last month, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 27.73 million barrels per day (bpd), the survey found, up 120,000 bpd from August. Production in August had risen for the first time since February.
The rise in September was led by Nigeria, which has been battling with crude theft and insecurity in its oil-producing region.
Nigeria managed a sizeable boost in exports in September without any major disruption to shipments, according to shipping data and sources in the survey, increasing output by 110,000 bpd. The country is targeting a further recovery by next year.
Output from the 10 OPEC members that are subject to OPEC+ supply cut agreements rose by 80,000 bpd, the survey found.
Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf members maintained strong compliance with agreed cutbacks and extra voluntary reductions.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia kept August and September output close to 9 million bpd, the survey found, as the country extended a voluntary 1 million bpd output cut to provide extra support for the market.
Iraq and the United Arab Emirates increased output slightly, while Angolan supply showed the largest decline in the group of 50,000 bpd due to a drop in exports.
OPEC’s output is still undershooting the targeted amount by about 700,000 bpd, mainly because Nigeria and Angola lack the capacity to pump as much as their agreed level.
The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market. It is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data, information from companies that track flows such as Petro-Logistics and Kpler, and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC, and consultants.
-- Minister: $20b invested in two years to launch projects
Iran’s oil minister said about $20 billion has been invested to implement upstream and downstream projects since the incumbent government took office two years ago.
Talking to the IRIB News Agency on Monday, Javad Owji added the inaugurated projects were mainly those that were left unfinished.
The minister pointed to Isfahan Refinery’s Diesel Hydrotreating Unit inaugurated by President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday, adding the DHT Unit having a daily production capacity of 16 million liters of Euro 5 diesel was put into operation to comply with the Clean Air Law of Iran. According to Owji, the facility prevents the emission of 300 tons of sulfur per day. The Oil Ministry has given priority to promoting the quality of oil products and reducing sulfur compounds in refineries such as the Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tabriz refineries, underlined the top official. He said 30 products of the Isfahan Refinery, including gasoline, meet international standards, noting that the central Iranian city’s refinery produces 13 million liters of gasoline a day.
-- Russia’s cargo train heading to Saudi Arabia arrives in Iran
The first transit train carrying goods from Russia to Saudi Arabia arrived in the port city of Bandar Abbas in the southern Iranian province of Hormuzgan.
After roaming 1,610 kilometers on Iran’s railway network, the container train with its 31 wagons arrived in Bandar Abbas, reported Tasnim news agency. The cargo of the train will later be forwarded from the southern city to Saudi Arabia by ship.
Selecting the Bandar Abbas route for the transit of goods from Russia to Saudi Arabia will reduce the customs tariffs to almost half the normal amounts, boost the rail transport industry, and increase the share of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways in the transit of goods. The train left Russia’s Chelyabinsk freight station on June 21 and transited through Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. The route reduces delivery times by several days and is less expensive than the alternative maritime route through the Suez Canal.
-- Boosting ultimate recovery of oil, gas wells on agenda: Official
Iran has plans to boost the ultimate recovery of oil and gas wells, said the head of the Research and Development Department of Arvandan Oil and Gas Company.
Issa Naviri added that most of the Iranian wells introduced for recovery are located in the South Azadegan oil field with an average recovery factor of 4.4 percent, Shana reported.
The mission of Arvandan Oil and Gas Company is to develop and maintain oil and gas production from hydrocarbon reservoirs located in the west of the Karoun River with the highest ultimate recovery, the official noted.
He put the production target for his company at 900,000 barrels of crude oil per day and said: “The volume of in-situ oil in the operation field of the company is more than 96 billion barrels, 8.3 billion barrels of which are recoverable.”
Meanwhile, the deputy CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for supervising oil and gas production at joint fields put the average daily crude oil produced from each oil well in the country at 1,550 barrels.
Ali Barati added that the NIOC has pursued the plan of reviving low-yielding oil wells of the country in cooperation with domestic technology-based companies for more than two years now.
He further noted that the cost of producing an oil barrel in a newly established field is more than a thousand US dollars.
The development of applied software and indigenized technical know-how in the oil industry is among the advantages of the plan for reviving low-yielding oil wells in the country, Barati emphasized.
-- Iran’s Army launches large-scale drone drill
The Iranian Army on Tuesday launched a massive drill involving a broad range of military unmanned aerial vehicles.
Troops from the four units of the Army, namely the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, and Air Defense Force participated in the military maneuver, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the deputy chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination, said nearly 200 drones covered strategic waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, as well as all four corners of the country and its central part.
He noted that the patrol and reconnaissance drones carried out missions along the country’s borders on Tuesday morning and took images from the drill
zones.
Sayyari said the surveillance drones successfully carried out their intelligence-gathering and patrol missions on the first day of the Army’s 1402 joint drone military exercise.
The Army has flown diverse homegrown drones, including Chamrosh, Yasir, Sadeq, Pelican, Ababil, Kaman-12, Yazdan, and Mohajer to control the country’s land, sea, and air borders as well as the international waters, the general said.
He also noted that the Army has set up the Zolfaqar headquarters as the command and control center of drone operations.
Sayyari added that the drones monitored the country’s frontiers and identified designated targets in the general zone of the exercise as well as international waters.
Last month, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri said the scope of foreign demand for sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles developed and manufactured indigenously by the country’s military specialists is much larger than its production capacity.
Iran was once under arms embargoes on the purchase of foreign-made weapons, but now the Islamic Republic is faced with bans on the export of its domestically developed military products, Baqeri said on September 18.
-- NAM rejects use of force against states on pretext of fighting terrorism
Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations Zahra Ershadi said the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) rejects the use of force by any country against any NAM member state under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
Ershadi made the remarks in a statement on Monday on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement before the Sixth Committee of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on “Measures to eliminate international terrorism”, IRNA reported. She said that the NAM unequivocally rejects terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, as well as all acts, methods and practices of terrorism.
“We would like to stress that terrorism should not be equated with the legitimate struggle of peoples under colonial or alien domination and foreign occupation, for self-determination and national liberation. The brutalization of peoples remaining under foreign occupation should continue to be denounced as the gravest form of terrorism, and the use of state power for the suppression and violence against peoples struggling against foreign occupation in exercising their inalienable right to self-determination should continue to be condemned,” she said.
Ershadi said that terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group, and these attributions should not be used to justify terrorism or counter-terrorism measures.
-- Tapping into historical figures for public diplomacy
Public diplomacy refers to programs aimed at informing or influencing the public opinion of other countries. Public diplomacy can be done through official or private channels, as well as by institutions or individuals. Public diplomacy uses a variety of tools such as media, cultural events, art, science, and sports. The right use of the capacities of public diplomacy can help strengthen international relations, increase mutual trust and respect, create interaction and cooperation, resolve disputes and conflicts, convey messages and values, and especially “promote an image and increase recognition.”
Iran is a country with a rich and glorious history and civilization and has seen many great historical figures in various fields of literary and artistic science. Avicenna, Saadi, Hafiz, Khayyam, Rumi, al-Biruni, Razi, Attar of Nishapur, and Farabi can each be a symbol of a culture and civilization on their own. With their works and ideas, these characters have influenced not only Iran but the world. They can be adopted as cultural and humanistic models for different societies. Holding conferences, festivals, and cultural and artistic activities about these famous and historical greats is a huge capacity that can strengthen public diplomacy and increase mutual respect and trust by interacting with people from other countries.
The German government has been using the capacity of the famous German poet Goethe, who has been very influenced by Hafiz for years. The establishment of the Goethe-Institut to helm the education of the German language, introduce the German culture, and award the Goethe Medal to those who have provided outstanding services in the field of cultural exchange has been done in this regard.
Iran’s initiative to mark various days in its national calendar after historical Iranian figures can be showcased to the world as a form of public diplomacy that introduces the cultural figures of Iran. For example, the country has marked various days throughout the year after Saadi, Avicenna, Rumi, and Hafiz.
It is also of great importance to tap into the capacity of international organizations such as UNESCO by holding programs and events to showcase the tangible and intangible works of historical figures and commemorate their qualities and life events. This could particularly be done by holding scientific meetings, publishing books and articles, producing films and TV shows, or naming an award after one of these figures. These programs can help the people of the world better understand Iran and its culture and civilization, advancing Iran’s public diplomacy.
-- China gains foothold in Mideast as US gets isolated
The United States finds itself increasingly isolated in the Middle East, as China expands its influence in the region, exacerbating the gradual decline of the role of the US and its Western allies.
China’s instrumental role in normalizing relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia was one of the more pronounced events that showcased Washington’s diminishing presence in the Middle East.
A significant recent development was the visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. The move that the two presidents made toward building a strategic partnership between Syria and China serves as a firm response to external forces challenging Syria’s sovereignty.
During their meeting, President Xi firmly voiced China’s opposition to foreign powers meddling in Syria’s internal affairs. He urged all countries involved to recognize Syria’s sovereignty and called for lifting illegal and unilateral sanctions against the Arab nation. The two presidents also jointly announced the establishment of a strategic partnership between Syria and China, which encompasses military cooperation and global political coordination.
This marks President al-Assad’s second visit to China since assuming office. During their discussions, the leaders delved into bilateral relations, aligned their stances on global matters, and advocated for the expulsion of foreign powers to foster regional peace.
The repercussions of the Syrian president’s visit to China are becoming more and more evident. China is progressively gaining access to regional trade markets while simultaneously limiting American influence in West Asian countries. Meanwhile, Syria, with its oil-rich regions under US military occupation, faces aggression from Turkey in the north and intermittent aerial attacks from Israel. The burgeoning defense cooperation between China and Syria, coupled with President Xi’s commitment to bolster Syria’s economy, will enhance Damascus’s autonomy.
President Xi’s message to the US, Israel, and Turkey, in light of their actions on Syrian soil, is unmistakable: You should respect Syrian sovereignty.
-- Iran’s aging population major threat to its future
Iran is experiencing an acceleration in population aging. The proportion of people older than 60 years in Iran has exceeded 10% of the total population in 2022. While, the population growth rate in Iran is 0.7%, which is the lowest rate in the past 25 years.
Alireza Khosravi, a researcher at the Research Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, expressed his concern about the rapid increase in Iran’s aging population in an exclusive interview with Iran Daily. He pointed out that the increase in the country’s elderly population requires some exact media planning to meet their communication needs.
Speaking at the sidelines of a symposium on the role of mass media in the elderly lifestyle held on the occasion of the International Day for Older Persons, Khosravi emphasized the important role that the media plays in communication and media planning on behalf of Iran’s older persons. However, there is a gap in the national media as it does not frequently produce special programs for the elderly, said Khosravi, who is also a university professor working in the field of communication.
One of the most important issues that arise when you get old is the relationship that develops between the elderly and their family members. So far, the country’s mass media has largely ignored the elderly and their interests. After the production of the Iranian TV series “Pedar Salar”, which was aired on national TV in the 1990s, no other series was produced that specifically cared for the elderly, Khosravi noted.
“Some steps should be taken to create appropriate programs for the elderly in the country. In producing such programs, we should be aware of what we are communicating and to which audience. It should be noted that the elderly differ in terms of their taste, attitude, needs, interests, and attention spans. The aging issue has not been discussed much in Iran. However, the public will hopefully be made more aware of the issue since the birth rate has decreased all over the world and especially in Iran while the number of the elderly has increased in the communities.”
Khosravi stressed that in producing such targeted programs, we should bear in mind that the security and peace of the elderly should not be disturbed because the elderly do not want to be separated from what they are used to. Moreover, they are looking for programs that bring them the peace that they so desire.
He added that to produce suitable programs, all economic, social, and cultural factors must be considered. The environment in which the country’s old people are living must also be given adequate attention.
To make matters more complicated, rural and urban elderly are totally different all over the world, and Iran is no exception to this. As such, the programs that are made should meet their needs and interests. For instance, the elderly who are living in rural areas of Iran typically engage in farming or animal husbandry until they have the energy to do so. It is to be expected that these older persons who are working hard in rural areas have less time to survey the media.
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
-- Official: Iran’s Nuclear Achievements Serve Humanity
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says the country’s nuclear technology achievements are in line with peace and service to humanity.
Muhammad Eslami said Iran does not seek nuclear weapons and has always pursued peaceful nuclear energy. He said Iran is ready to share its nuclear achievements with non-hostile countries around the world.
-- Army Stages Massive Drone Drill
The Islamic
Republic of Iran Army on Tuesday started a large-scale drone drill, which features hundreds of sophisticated reconnaissance and combat drones.
Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said nearly 200 drones cover strategic waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, all four corners of the country and its central part.
According to Sayyari, the surveillance drones, operated by the four units of the Army, namely the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Force, successfully carried out their intelligence-gathering and patrol missions on the first day of the Army’s 1402 joint drone military exercise.
“Homegrown Chamorosh, Yasir, Sadeq, Pelican vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) naval drone, Ababil-3 tactical surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle, Yazdan, Ababil-4, Ababil-5, Kaman-12 (Bow-12) and Kaman-19 drones in addition to Mohajer-6 ISTAR aircraft were flown from different bases across Iran,” he said.
He said the drones monitored the country’s frontiers and identified designated targets in the general zone of the exercise as well as international waters.
“Due to the expansion of unmanned aerial capabilities, execution of various and numerous drone missions, and the need to coordinate such flights, the Army has as set up Zolfaqar command and control network for the drone operations,” Sayyari said.
“This exercise exhibits only a small fraction of the achievements made by the Islamic Republic of Iran Army in connection with domestically-developed drones,” he pointed out.
Iran has made great progress in the drone industry in recent years.
Last month, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Muhammad Bagheri said the scope of foreign demand for sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles developed and manufactured indigenously by the country’s military specialists is much larger than its production capacity.
Iran was once under arms embargoes on the purchase of foreign-made weapons, but now the Islamic Republic is faced with bans on the export of its domestically developed military products, Bagheri said.
“Today, the customers of our drones are several times more than our production capacity,” he said, adding that “major world powers” are vying to purchase Iranian weapons.
On Monday, Gen. Sayyari said Iran, by using the expertise of its youth in knowledge-based companies and the Army, has put the production of all kinds of drones on the agenda and managed to achieve valuable results.
“Our drone power is very high and we can count on it and it will bring us success in any operation,” Sayyari said.
“The drone power of the country’s Army and Armed Forces is among the top drone powers in the region. The combat power of our country’s Armed Forces has reached a position that can respond to any threats on land, sea and air by using the drone power.”
Iranian military experts and engineers have in recent years made remarkable breakthroughs in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient.
Iranian officials have made clear that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are entirely meant for defense, and that Iran’s defense capabilities will be never open for negotiations.
-- Governments in Normalization Gamble With Zionists Will Lose
Leader of the
Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Tuesday rebuked countries seeking to normalize relations with Israel, stating that “the Zionist regime is perishable”.
“The Islamic Republic’s definite position is that the governments that use the normalization gamble with the Zionist regime as a model for themselves will lose and the loss awaits them,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
“They are making a mistake and, as the Europeans say, they are betting on a losing horse,” he told a group of people, government officials, ambassadors of Islamic countries and guests of an international unity conference in Tehran.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the situation in Israel is not one of the kind to encourage closeness and countries “should not make this mistake”.
“Today, the Palestinian movement is more cheerful than ever in the past seventy and eighty years, and the Palestinian youth and the anti-usurpation, anti-oppression and anti-Zionism movement are more cheerful, more lively, and more ready than ever, as you can see.
“And God willing, this movement will come to fruition, and as the late honorable Imam [Khomeini] described the usurping regime as a cancer, God willing, this cancer will be eradicated at the hands of the Palestinian people and the resistance forces in the entire region.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said the occupying regime of Israel holds malice against Muslim countries.
“The Zionist regime is full of hatred and anger, not only towards us, but also other countries. It is not like the Zionist regime is happy with the countries far and around it. They also hate Egypt, Iraq and Syria.
“Why? Because their goal was from the Nile to the Euphrates and this did not happen. These countries did not allow it for different reasons,” the Leader said.
“Well, of course, the Qur’an says, ‘Be angry and die of anger.’ That will be the case. They are dying now and by the grace of God ‘Be angry and die of anger’ is being realized in the case of the Zionist regime,” he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei said hostility towards Islam is more obvious than ever now, citing the desecration of the Holy Qur’an in the West as an example.
“An ignorant idiot insults and a government supports it, which shows that the issue is not just a staged and insulting act,” he said.
“We have nothing to do with that ignorant and oblivious person who condemns himself to the most severe punishments and execution in order to fulfill the objectives of the behind-the-scenes elements. The discussion is about the designers of these crimes and hateful acts.
“They think they can weaken the Qur’an, but they are wrong and they ruin themselves,” the Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the idea of weakening the Qur’an with such acts is delusional, which only exposes the inside of the enemies of the Holy Book.
“The Qur’an is a book of wisdom, knowledge, humanization and awakening, and hostility with the Qur’an is actually hostility with these lofty concepts. Of course, the Qur’an is a threat to the corrupt powers because it both condemns oppression and blames the oppressed people who succumb to oppression.”
Also, Ayatollah Khamenei said the justification of desecrating the Qur’an under the “trite, false and wrong” moniker of freedom of speech only disgraces the justifiers.
“In the countries that allow insulting the Qur’an under the pretext of freedom of speech, do they also allow attacking Zionist symbols? What language can be used to prove more clearly that the countries in question are under the domination of the cruel, criminal and plundering Zionists of the world?”
Ayatollah Khamenei touched on the occasion of the Islamic Unity Week, calling on the leaders and politicians of the Islamic countries and the experts and elites of the Islamic world to ponder over the question: Who is the enemy of the unity of the Islamic countries and whom does the unity of Muslims harm and prevent their interference and looting?
The Leader called on the Islamic countries in West Asia and North Africa to unite to prevent American theft, coercion and interference.
“America hits the countries of the region politically and economically, steals Syria’s oil, protects and keeps the cruel, barbaric and bloodthirsty Daesh in its camps, so that it can bring the group back to the field whenever needed and interferes in the affairs of the countries.
“However, if everyone is united and Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the Persian Gulf countries adopt a single policy in fundamental and general issues, the bullying powers cannot and do not dare to interfere in their internal affairs and foreign policy.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said, “As we have said many times, we do not encourage anyone to war and military action, and we also avoid it, so the invitation to close ranks and unite is to prevent America’s warmongering, since they start wars and all wars in the region have foreign causes.”
-- India Orders Removal of 41 Canadian Diplomats
India has told Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country, an official familiar with the matter said Tuesday, ramping up a confrontation between the two countries over Canadian accusations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly ahead of public reaction from the Canadian government later Tuesday. The official confirmed an earlier report from the Financial Times.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment, but ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had previously called for a reduction in Canadian diplomats in India, saying they outnumbered India’s staffing in Canada.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood up in Parliament last month and said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh leader who was killed by masked gunmen in June in Surrey, outside Vancouver. For years, India has said Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, has links to terrorism, an allegation Nijjar denied.
Arranging the killing of a Canadian citizen in Canada, home to nearly 2 million people of Indian descent, would be unprecedented.
On Tuesday, Trudeau didn’t confirm the number of diplomats that have been told to leave but suggested Canada would not retaliate.
“Obviously, we are going through an extremely challenging time with India right now, but that’s why it is so important for us to have diplomats on the ground working with the Indian government and there to support Canadians and Canadian families,” Trudeau said. “We’re taking this extremely seriously, but we’re going to continue to engage responsibly and constructively with the Indian government.”
India has accused Canada for years of giving free rein to Sikh separatists, including Nijjar.
India has also canceled visas for Canadians. Canada has not retaliated for that. India previously expelled a senior Canadian diplomat after Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat.
Trudeau has also previously appeared to try to calm the diplomatic clash, telling reporters that Canada is “not looking to provoke or escalate.”
The allegation of India’s involvement in the killing is based in part on the surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally, a separate Canadian official previously told The Associated Press.
The official said that the communications involved Indian officials and diplomats in Canada and that some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, which includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, in addition to Canada. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The latest expulsions by India have escalated tensions between the countries. Trudeau had frosty encounters with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during this month’s Group of 20 meeting in New Delhi, and a few days later, Canada canceled a trade mission to India planned for the fall.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met last week with India’s foreign minister amid the simmering row between New Delhi and Ottawa. A U.S. official said the topic was raised.
U.S. officials have acknowledged that the fallout from the allegations, which they take seriously, could have a profound impact on relations with India, but have been careful not to cast blame in the killing of Nijjar.
There is a priority among the allies to bolster ties with India as a counterweight to Beijing’s rising power and assertiveness.
Nijjar, a plumber, was also a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan. A bloody decadelong Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, until it was crushed in a government crackdown in which thousands of people were killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.
The Khalistan movement has lost much of its political power but still has supporters in the Indian state of Punjab, as well as in the sizable overseas Sikh diaspora. While the active insurgency ended years ago, the Indian government has warned repeatedly that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.
-- EU Lawmakers Vote Against End to Spying on Journalists
An attempt to stop EU governments from being able to insert spyware on journalists’ phones on the grounds of national security is “dead”, campaigners have said after a vote in the European parliament on new media laws.
MEPs voted against an amendment to scrap the right to surveil journalists in the European Media Freedom Act in Strasbourg on Tuesday, pitting themselves against free speech campaigners.
Instead they opted for an amendment they said amounted to a de facto ban on spyware. The new spyware clause includes safeguards forcing national authorities to guarantee confidentiality of journalistic sources.
MEPs have argued that because spyware is indiscriminate and will sweep up all data, personal and professional, on a phone, no authority will ever be able to use the software under these new laws as they will not be able to preserve confidentiality of a journalist’s phone. Spyware would be placed on journalists’ phones by security agencies if a national government thought it necessary.
“When it comes to investigations related to the professional life and activity of journalists, this is a ban,” Ramona Strugariu, the opinion rapporteur on the bill in parliament, said after the vote on Tuesday.
“Such measures could not be deployed when the investigations led by the law enforcement are not related to the professional work of journalists. Therefore, the use of spyware is effectively banned in investigations that concern the professional work of media service providers and their employees.”
But campaigners warned that even with safeguards, national security and police will be tempted to abuse the legislation without regard to journalists’ sources.
“As strong as the legal safeguards are going to be, they are never going to be strong enough because that is what experience tells us, there are many examples across Europe where rights are
abused,” said Chloé Berthélémy, a senior policy adviser at European Digital Rights, an association of civil and human rights organizations.
“It is going to be hard now to change this. Getting a full ban on spyware is basically dead now,” she said. “The European parliament missed a unique opportunity to protect journalists against abusive state surveillance using nefarious spying tools. Recent scandals in France involving the surveillance and prosecution of several investigative journalists are a foretaste of future abuses across the EU.”
Strugariu said the “constructive criticism” from campaigners and the journalistic community made for stronger legislation and she was confident that MEPs now had “a good solid text” that would protect journalists.
-- U.S.-Based Scholar Hails Iran’s Nano Achievements
An internationally-renowned Iranian scientist and this year’s winner of Iran’s prestigious Mustafa Prize for science and technology has hailed the country’s great advances in the fields of nanotechnology and medicine. “Iran has always been far ahead in the field of nanotechnology,” Omid Farokhzad, who has won the prize for design, development, and clinical translation of novel polymeric nanomedicines used to treat various diseases, especially cancer, said on Monday.
“A couple of years ago, Iran ranked seventh in the world in nanotechnology. In this trip, I understood that Iran now ranks fourth, which is really a source of pride,” Farokhzad said.
“I came across a couple of medical companies, and the work they do is really extraordinary. Therefore, I think the medical progress that has been made, and also the progress made towards making its products marketable is far ahead of what I used to think,” he added.
Omid Farokhzad is the chair and chief executive officer for Seer and also serves as director of Senti Bio and chair of PrognomiQ. He has authored over 180 papers and is an inventor of over 200 issued and pending patents.
Iran’s annual Mustafa Prize ceremony pays tribute to leading researchers and scientists of the Islamic world.
-- Ties With Israel Similar to Betting on a Losing Horse
Over four decades ago the Father of the Islamic Revolution had appealed to the heads of state of Muslim countries to close their ranks by adhering to the Divine injunctions in the Holy Qur’an and diligently following the practical path of unity as shown by Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).
Imam Khomeini (RA) had said: “O Muslims, followers of the school of Towhid! The ultimate reason for all the troubles that afflict the Muslim countries are their differences, disunity and lack of harmony, and the secret of future victory will lie in unity and the creation of harmony.”
Unfortunately, the political leaders not just ignored the wise words of that Sage of the Age, but allowed the sworn enemies of Islam and Muslims to tighten the yokes around their necks.
This is the reason that the illegal Zionist entity continues its genocide of the Palestinians, and although its dream of domination from the River Nile in Egypt to the River Euphrates in Iraq has long turned into a nightmare, thanks to the power and prestige of the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is still utilizing the naivety of certain regimes to spread its poisonous tentacles, especially in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
Yesterday, in his address to ulema and scholars of world countries assembled in Tehran for the 37th International Islamic Unity Conference the Leader of the Islamic Revolution presented the same formula of Islamic solidarity by saying:
“If we all become united and Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the Persian Gulf countries adopt a single policy in fundamental and general issues, the oppressive powers cannot and will not dare interfere in our internal affairs and our foreign policies.”
He rebuked the regimes seeking to normalize relations with Usurper Israel, stating that “the Zionist regime is perishable.”
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei added: “The Islamic Republic’s definite position is that the governments that use the normalization gamble with the Zionist regime will lose and the loss awaits them.”
He called such an attitude as “betting on a losing horse” – as they say in the western culture – and cautioned them against repeating the same mistake of the past, since the Zionist entity is not in a situation as to encourage closeness and countries with it, especially in view of the fact “The Palestinian movement is more cheerful than ever in the past seventy and eighty years, and the Palestinian youth and the anti-usurpation, anti-oppression and anti-Zionism movement are more cheerful, more lively, and more ready than ever, as you can see.”
The Leader was confident that “this movement will come to fruition and as the late honourable Imam [Khomeini] described the usurper regime as a cancer, God willing, this cancer will be eradicated at the hands of the Palestinian people and the resistance forces in the entire region.”
Wonder, how many leaders of Muslim countries will heed this timely warning of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to realize the fact that Israel does not only hate Iran, Palestinians, and the people of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, but is also full of hatred towards, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the rest of the Muslim countries.
-- Hezbollah: Israeli Normalization Amounts to Abandoning Palestine
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has urged Muslims across the world to strongly condemn any step taken by any country toward normalization of relations with the Zionist regime.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made the remarks in a Monday televised speech on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
“Any country that moves toward normalization of its relations [with Israel] must be condemned, because this step amounts to abandoning Palestine and bolstering the [Zionist] enemy, which must not be tolerated,” the Hezbollah leader said.
Nasrallah was making an apparent reference to the latest efforts by the United States to persuade Saudi Arabia to normalize its relations with the occupying regime of Israel.
Elsewhere in his speech, Nasrallah urged the “Muslim Ummah” to fulfill its responsibility toward the Palestinian people and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
“The Muslim Ummah must shoulder responsibility for what is happening to the brave people of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Zionists must hear the voice of the Muslim world with regard to the first qibla of Muslims.”
Arab and Muslim countries have criticized Riyadh for keeping the door open to a renewed push by the United States to work out a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime, saying it would be a betrayal of the Palestinian cause and encourage the Israeli regime to intensify its aggression.
Palestinian resistance movements believe that the occupying regime has already been emboldened by the potential success of efforts to normalize ties with Saudi Arabia, saying attempts in recent weeks by extremist settlers to make regular presence in the al-Aqsa Mosque show the regime wants to pile up pressure on Palestinians.
Reports suggest that Washington will reward Saudi Arabia for normalizing ties with Israel with a major security pact as well as support for the kingdom’s plans to develop a peaceful nuclear program.
Nasrallah also touched on the West’s media war against Muslim nations, which he said was aimed at undermining those nations and achieving goals that have not been realized through wars.
“Enemies use the media war, which is also known as the soft war, to weaken nations and … achieve those goals, which they have failed to realize through military wars,” Nasrallah said.
He also pointed to economic problems facing Syria and displacement of a large number of its people due to a Western-sponsored terrorist war against Damascus, emphasizing that the United States is the primary culprit behind Syria’s refugee crisis.
“The main party responsible for the influx of refugees into Lebanon is that who kindled the war in Syria, that is, the US government,” the Hezbollah leader said.
“Following the implementation of the Caesar Act, the United States is also responsible for the economic crisis in Syria. Those who believe that Syrian refugees are a threat to Lebanon must tell Washington that Lebanon would be saved through the abrogation of the Caesar Act,” Nasrallah said.
TEHRAN TIMES:
-- Degenerate gamblers
In his speech on Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the normalization of relations with Israel as a losing bet. This gamble can be examined from two perspectives. The first relates to countries that have pursued or are pursuing such a trend. Despite the efforts of Israel and its Western supporters, especially the United States, to downplay the Palestinian issue among Islamic societies, this matter remains sensitive and controversial for people in Islamic countries. Extending a hand to Israel by leaders of Islamic countries is tantamount to betraying their own people. Although these countries often lack a democratic political system and people do not have much say in forming the government or shaping its policies, ignoring this public demand increases the distance between these governments and their people and is another blow to the shaky foundations of these establishments.
-- Bridging cultures: the art and impact of translation in Iran
International Translation Day, celebrated annually on September 30, serves as a tribute to the art of translation and the invaluable role it plays in fostering crosscultural communication and understanding. On this occasion, the Tehran Times explored the state of translation in Iran, which is historically known for its vast and diverse literary heritage. Iran has a long tradition of translating works from various languages into Persian (Farsi). This practice has been instrumental in bridging cultural gaps.
-- Mustafa Prize announces winners
The 5th Mustafa Prize wrapped up on Monday by honoring the top five laureates from the Islamic World. The Prize was awarded in the four categories of Information and Communication Science and Technology, Life and Medical Science and Technology, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and Basic and Engineering Sciences. The secretariat of the Mustafa Prize received 2,613 articles from 150 scholars from around the world. In this edition of the event, a prize was also awarded to scientists residing in Islamic countries regardless of their religion with the aim of developing science and technology in these countries.
-- Alipour wins Iran’s sixth gold at Hangzhou
Iranian climber Reza Alipour successfully defended his Asian Games title on Tuesday. He took the country’s sixth gold medal in the 2022 Asian Games underway in Hangzhou, China. The final was a clash between home favorite Long Jinbao and the man who held the world record from 2017 to 2021 Alipour. He scaled the wall in the men’s speed final in 5.302 seconds – but without challenge, as Long fell early on to provide an anti-climax for the eager home fans. With more than 12,000 competitors from 45 nations and territories, the Asian Games has more participants than the Olympics. Iran has sent 289 male and female athletes to the Games in 34 sports events.
-- West abuses women’s rights and exploits them as a tool, Raisi says
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said that in contrast to Iran, Western powers violate human rights by using women as a tool and leverage against sovereign states. Addressing the participants at the First International Khorsheed Media Festival in Tehran on Monday, Raisi said, “The Islamic Republic believes that the West uses women as a tool.” “The Islamic Republic views women neither an instrument, nor a homemaker. In a sense, there is a third view which observes that women can be society builders alongside men and play an essential role in the family and society,” he pointed out. According to President Raisi, Western nations “are not really in favor of women’s rights or human rights” and have used them as a tool to exert pressure on independent nations. “Our stand today is that of a claimant and the West of a suspect. The Westerners must answer why they violate the rights of human beings and women,” he stressed. The president also criticized the West for disregarding the rights of the Palestinian people for 70 years and for invading Afghanistan for 20 years, the only results of which were the maiming of more than 35,000 children and widespread damage. He continued by saying that Western nations, particularly the United States, are encouraging current ignorance among people by utilizing their media oligarchy to suppress actual news, fake the truth, and distort the facts.
NOURNEWS