NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Saturday, October 21, 2023.
IRAN DAILY:
-- Construction of Iran’s largest solar farm started
The construction of a specialized solar energy zone with the capacity to produce 400 megawatts of electricity in an area of 700 hectares was launched on Thursday in Rayen of Kerman Province.
Iran has started building five specialized solar energy zones in Kerman Province, as the Rayen zone is referred to as the largest in the country, IRNA reported.
Officials claim that if these projects are completed and launched, the country’s electricity shortage problem will be solved within the next five years.
Referring to the necessity of supplying electricity to the country’s industrial parks, Deputy Industry Minister Farshad Moqimi announced his ministry’s readiness to use the electricity produced by the solar plant to supply electricity to firms located in industrial zones.
Iran has issued permissions for the establishment of 25 specialized industrial zones in the country, the official said. Meanwhile, the construction of a 100-megawatt solar power plant of a large mining and industrial company started on Wednesday in Ashkezar of Yazd Province in central Iran. This power plant, which is the first 100-MW power plant in the province, will be built in an area of 150 hectares, which will produce more than 190 million kilowatt hours.
In addition, the solar power plant will increase the stability of the power grid in coming years, while with the opening of the power station, more than 55 million cubic meters per year will be saved in the country’s fossil fuel consumption. Saving 45,000 cubic meters of water is one of the other advantages of the project, while its operation in coming years will prevent the production of greenhouse gases by 115,000 tons per year.
-- SP daily gas condensate output at 780K barrels: CEO
A sum of 780,000 barrels of gas condensate, 15,000 tons of ethane, 15,000 tons of propane, 10,000 tons of butane, and 2,500 tons of sulfur are produced daily in South Pars refineries, announced the CEO of South Pars Gas Complex (SPGC) on Friday.
Ahmad Bahoush told IRNA that since the establishment of the complex, 1,960 billion cubic meters of natural gas has been sweetened in South Pars refineries and transferred to national lines.
The official said the complex’s first gas production and sweetening started at the second refinery of the South Pars (SP) phases 2 and 3 in 2001, when 50 million cubic meters (mcm) of feedstock were supplied by SP platforms and 40 mcm of natural gas per day were produced and sweetened.
According to him, 80,000 barrels of gas condensates and 400 tons of sulfur were produced per day at that time.
Bahoush said 13 refineries of the South Pars gas field have been well developed during the 25-year period, adding feedstock the complex now receives from wellhead platforms of the SP field amounts to 650 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) and 580 mcm/d are sweetened and produced before natural gas is transmitted to the national grid.
The SPGC chief said the South Pars field accounts for 75 percent of the country’s gas production, continuing its refineries are currently producing 780,000 barrels of gas condensates, 15,000 tons of ethane, 15,000 tons of propane, 10,000 tons of butane, and 2,500 tons of sulfur daily to supply foreign exchange through exports.
Bahoush said 2.8 billion barrels of gas condensates have been produced, 25 million tons of propane as well as 16 million tons of butane have been exported, and the country’s petrochemical complexes have been supplied with 31 million tons of ethane during the 25 years.
The South Pars Gas Complex is operating in two industrial sites in Assaluyeh and Kangan, the counties of southern province of Bushehr, along the Persian Gulf
coasts.
In addition to gas production, the complex has taken social responsibility, carrying out effective measures to protect the environment, create job opportunities, hold training courses, improve public health, and foster culture.
The gas refineries are located at sites 1 and 2 in Kangan and Assaluyeh, which have 24 phases. Phases 1-10 and 15-21 are situated in Site 1 in Assaluyeh, and phases 11-14, 19, and 22-24 in Site 2 in Kangan.
Having an area of 9,700 square kilometers, the South Pars gas field is located 3,000 meters below the seabed in the Persian Gulf and shared by Iran and Qatar.
It is the world’s largest gas reserve, located 105km off the coast of Assaluyeh port.
The part owned by Iran covers an area of 3,700 square kilometers, holding 14 trillion cubic meters (tcm) of gas and 17 billion barrels of gas condensates – eight percent of the world’s gas deposits, or 50 percent of domestic gas reserves.
-- Tehran, Minsk sign documents on oil, agricultural cooperation
Three cooperation documents were inked between Iran and Belarus in the fields of forestry, veterinary medicine and animal husbandry.
Also, a memorandum of understanding on oil cooperation was signed by Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji and Belarusian Belneftekhim Chairman Andrei Rybakov on the sidelines of a meeting between Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber and Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, IRNA reported.
The two countries enjoy high potentials and capabilities to boost ties in all fields, especially trade, economy, forestry, and animal husbandry, he emphasized.
Iran’s major portion of potash fertilizer is supplied by Belarus, Mohammad Ali Nikbakht, the agricultural minister said, adding, “In return, Iran exports agricultural and horticultural products including fresh fruits and vegetables, and various kinds of dried nuts and citrus fruits.”
At the official invitation of the prime minister of Belarus, Mokhber visited Belarus on Tuesday at the head of a high-ranking trade and economic delegation to discuss bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest.
Oil Minister Javad Owji, Industry, Mine, and Trade Minister Abbas Ali-Abadi, and Agriculture Minister Mohammad Ali Nikbakht accompanied Mokhber during the one-day visit.
Iran and Belarus signed a comprehensive cooperation roadmap and seven memoranda of understanding in mid-March, as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made a visit to
Tehran.
-- China slams ‘illegal’ US sanctions against Iran’s defense programs
China and Russia have expressed their support for the expiration of the United Nations Security Council’ sanctions on Iran’s missile program, while Iran also confirmed on Wednesday the “unconditional” end of the restrictions imposed by the UNSC on its missile-related activities.
However, on the same day the United States imposed new sanctions on Tehran’s missile and drone programs.
In a note sent to the member states of the UN, the Security Council on Thursday officially declared an end to restrictions it had imposed on Iran’s missile program, according to the organization’s secretariat.
The secretariat of the UNSC officially ended curbs set out in paragraphs 3, 4, 6 (c) and (d) of Annex B to UN Resolution 2231.
According to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on October 18, another set of Iran’s sanctions related to its missile activities were due to be lifted.
However, the US and the EU member states have vowed to maintain restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs.
The Biden administration announced new sanctions and other measures designed to prevent Iran from selling or acquiring parts or technology related to ballistic missiles or drones, saying that Washington would remain focused on the issue despite the expiration of the UN measures.
In a press release, the US Treasury claimed that the designated individuals and entities have “materially supported” Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Defense Ministry “in the production and proliferation of missiles and UAVs.”
‘Illegal sanctions’ condemned
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson slammed the new “illegal” sanctions on individuals and entities linked to Iran’s missile and drone programs.
Mao Ning expressed Beijing’s opposition to the US sanctions after the Treasury Department slapped the restrictive measures on 11 individuals, eight entities, and one vessel in Iran, Hong Kong, China, and Venezuela for “enabling” Iran’s ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs, Press TV
reported.
“We are always firmly opposed to illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the US,” the Chinese diplomat said.
“We will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and citizens.”
Meanwhile, the EU said on Tuesday that it planned to join the US in retaining sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program after the UN sanctions expire.
“The [European] Council adopted legal acts to maintain the designations that had initially been imposed by the United Nations for individuals and entities involved in nuclear or ballistic missiles activities or affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC),” the statement said.
“The council also agreed to maintain sectoral and individual measures, existing under the EU’s sanctions regime, notably those related to Iran nuclear proliferation, as well as arms and missile embargoes.”
On the same day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani denounced the European Council’s decision as “unilateral, illegal and politically unjustifiable”.
Russia no longer obeys UN restrictions
Russia has said it need no longer obey the restrictions on giving missile technology to Iran once they expired on Wednesday, without saying whether it now planned to support Tehran’s missile development, Reuters reported.
“Supplies to and from Iran of products falling under the Missile Technology Control Regime no longer require prior approval by the UN Security Council,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Confirming the “unconditional” end of the restrictions, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said, “Today, the last part of the anti-Iran restrictions, including assets freeze and financial restrictions on certain Iranian individuals and entities, imposed for years by the UNSC in the areas related to missile activities and exchange of relevant services and technologies, were terminated unconditionally.”
Published on the Iranian Foreign Ministry website, the statement warned that any action aiming to impose sanctions or restrictions on Iran’s defense interactions and cooperation is now in contradiction with the termination of the restrictions under UNSC Resolution 2231, stressing Iran’s right to implement the necessary measures to safeguard its national interests.
Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as JCPOA, with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. The US, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and re-imposed its unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its nuclear commitments under the deal.
The talks on the revival of the JCPOA began in April 2021 in Vienna, Austria. Despite several rounds of talks, no significant breakthrough has been achieved since the end of the last round in August 2022.
-- Iran’s Kandovan among UNWTO’s Best Tourism Villages 2023
Kandovan, a charming village located in East Azarbaijan Province, Iran, has achieved a remarkable milestone by securing its place on the significant list of the world’s Best Tourism Villages recognized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The Deputy Tourism Minister of the Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Ali-Asghar Shalbafian announced this remarkable achievement, marking Kandovan as the first Iranian village to be honored among the world’s top tourism destinations.
The villages were named during the UNWTO General Assembly, taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, according to the international body.
Kandovan faced serious competition from over 200 villages worldwide, yet it emerged victorious, securing its position among the globe’s most enchanting tourism destinations. This recognition is part of the UNWTO’s ongoing initiative to boost tourism as a driver for rural development and the well-being of local communities.
According to Shalbafian, eight villages in Iran, including Kandovan, Bisheh in Lorestan, Meymand in Kerman, Soheili in Qeshm, Palangan in Kurdestan, Qassemabad in Gilan, Kandolus in Mazandaran, and Abyaneh in Isfahan were also introduced to the World Tourism Organization for participation in this competition, however, failed to receive global recognition. The World
Tourism Organization has established nine criteria for selecting global villages, which include possessing cultural resources, their promotion and preservation, economic sustainability, environmental and social considerations, tourism potential, development and value chain integration, governance and prioritization of tourism, as well as health, safety, and security matters, adding that Kandovan succeeded in obtaining an acceptable score in these criteria.
To earn its place on this exclusive list, Kandovan had to meet rigorous criteria set by the UNWTO, which included cultural resource preservation, economic sustainability, environmental and social responsibility, and a commitment to safety and security. Kandovan excelled in each of these areas, securing its well-deserved spot alongside 76 other exceptional villages from 40 countries.
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
-- Algerian, Iranian FMs Discuss Gaza Situation
Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said putting an immediate end to Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza and dispatch of humanitarian aid are urgent priorities given the critical situation in the besieged Strip. In a phone call with Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad Ahmed Attaf late on Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian said Muslim countries must ramp up their diplomatic consultations to stop the Israeli regime’s crimes against the Palestinian civilians and defenseless people of Gaza.
-- Iran Condemns ‘Disgraceful’ Israeli Attack on Church
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Friday strongly condemned Israel’s attack on a church in the besieged Gaza Strip where displaced Palestinian people were sheltering. Nasser Kanaani said the attack is another “disgraceful” crime committed by the Israeli forces in Gaza, referring to the strike on Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital and many mosques. “It’s another black and disgraceful episode in a series of crimes, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Zionist regime and its criminal political and military leaders.”
-- Poll: Americans Say Afghanistan War Not Worth It
At a time when Americans are deeply divided along party lines, a new poll shows considerable agreement on at least one issue: The United States’ two-decade-long war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting.
The poll from the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research comes two years after the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan in August 2021 and the Taliban returned to power. The war was started to purportedly go after the masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the Taliban who allowed them to use Afghan territory. It ended in frantic scenes of Afghans and Americans desperately trying to get on one of the last flights out of Kabul.
Polls suggest the withdrawal, seen by many as chaotic and ill-planned, may have been a turning point for President Joe Biden’s approval ratings, which started a downward slide around that time and have not recovered since.
Two-thirds of Americans say the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting; 65% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans agree on that evaluation. Many have doubts about how successful the U.S. was at accomplishing more specific goals such as eliminating the threat from extremists or improving opportunities for women.
“It was unwinnable from the beginning,” said Martin Stefen, a 78-year-old Republican who lives in Carson City, Nevada. He said the U.S. should have paid closer attention to what happened to the Soviet Union, which waged a decade-long war in Afghanistan during the 1980s only to pull out in defeat in 1989. And, he said, the U.S. should have had a more specific end goal for how it wanted the war in Afghanistan to go and a better understanding of the country’s tribal politics.
That thought was echoed by Justin Campbell, a 28-year-old Democrat from Brookhaven, Mississippi. He said it was clear after the U.S. was entrenched in Afghanistan that it didn’t have very deep support. Campbell said he’s not pleased that the Taliban is back in control.
“But I don’t think it was worth us staying over there,” he said.
Maliha Chishti, a lecturer and research associate at the Pearson Institute, said she was struck by the fact that after 20 years of war, so many American and Afghan lives lost and billions spent, the vast majority said they felt Afghanistan was not friendly to the U.S. or was an outright enemy. She said the responses demonstrate a frustration on the part of Americans and the need to ask questions about what went wrong with America’s attempts to intervene in Afghanistan.
“We invested all of this money to really build a state from scratch and when we left, that state completely collapsed,” she said.
Many Americans also say the United States was not successful with many of its key objectives in Afghanistan.
Since the Taliban’s return to power, they have restricted women’s rights to education and work and even barred them from public parks.
The U.S. evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans in an August 2021 airlift from Kabul airport. But hundreds of thousands of Afghans — many who worked closely with the U.S. government — are still trying to flee Afghanistan. Groups helping them have warned that Afghans who worked closely with the U.S. military have faced retribution from the Taliban and say the U.S. has a moral responsibility and national security interest in helping them.
-- Israel Bombs Displaced Gazans at Church
The Israeli military on Friday pounded Gaza with more airstrikes, as people across Muslim countries protested in solidarity with Palestinians.
The occupying regime bombed areas in southern Gaza where Palestinians had been told to seek safety. Fighting between Israel and resistance fighters in neighboring Lebanon also raged, prompting evacuations of Zionist towns as fears of a widening conflict grew.
Speaking to lawmakers about the occupying regime’s long-term plans for Gaza, war minister Yoav Gallant laid out a plan that seemed to suggest that Israel did not intend to reoccupy the territory it had left in 2005.
Israel occupied Gaza from 1967 until 2005, when it pulled up settlements and withdrew soldiers. Two years later, Hamas took over.
As the humanitarian crisis worsened for Gaza’s 2.3 million civilians, workers along its border with Egypt began work to repair the border crossing in a first step to getting aid to besieged Palestinians, who were running out of fuel, food, water and medicine.
Over a million people have been displaced in Gaza. Though hardline prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called areas in southern Gaza “safe zones” earlier this week, Israeli military spokesman Nir Dinar said Friday: “There are no safe zones.”
U.N. officials said that with the bombings across all of Gaza, some Palestinians who had fled the north appeared to be going back.
“The strikes, coupled with extremely difficult living conditions in the south, appear to have pushed some to return to the north, despite the continuing heavy bombing there,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, said.
Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals were rationing their dwindling resources, as authorities worked out logistics for a desperately needed aid delivery from Egypt.
Generators in Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest, were operating at the lowest setting to conserve fuel while providing power to vital departments such as intensive care, hospital director Muhammad Abu Selmia said. Others worked in darkness.
“I don’t know how long (the fuel) will last. Every day we evaluate the situation,” he said.
The lack of medical supplies and water are making it difficult to treat the mass of victims from the Israeli strikes, he said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the crossing Friday and appealed for the quick movement of aid into Gaza, calling it “the difference between life and death.”
The Zionist regime has evacuated its own communities near Gaza and Lebanon, putting residents up in hotels elsewhere in the occupied territories. The war ministry announced evacuation plans Friday for Kiryat Shmona, a town of more than 20,000 settlers near the Lebanese border. Three Zionists were wounded in retaliatory rocket fire there Thursday, according to Israeli health services.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, which has a massive arsenal of long-range rockets, has traded fire with Israel along the border
on a near-daily basis and hinted it might join the war if the occupying regime of continues its aggression.
Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy airstrikes in Khan Younis, a town in the territory’s south, and ambulances carrying men, women and children streamed into the local Nasser Hospital.
A day after raiding the Nour Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army withdrew its vehicles, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Zionist forces martyred 13 Palestinians, including five children under the age of 15.
“They crammed us into one room and kept us there for 13 hours without electricity or water,” Taqwa al-Qarawi, whose husband was arrested during the raid, said.
“The children screamed whenever they heard the sound of gunfire. The situation was crazy and terrifying.”
An Israeli airstrike hit a Greek Orthodox church housing displaced Palestinians near the hospital late Thursday. Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said 16 Palestinian Christians were martyred.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchy of Al-Quds condemned the attack and said it would “not abandon its religious and humanitarian duty” to provide assistance.
Palestinian fighters have launched unrelenting rocket attacks into Israel — more than 6,900 since Oct. 7, according to Israel — and tensions have flared in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Thirteen Palestinians, including five minors, were martyered Thursday during a battle with Israeli troops in which Israel called in an airstrike, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. An Israeli border police officer was killed in the fighting, the Zionist regime said.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 4,137 people have been martyred in Gaza since the war began. That included the disputed number of victims of the hospital explosion.
More than 1,400 Zionists have been killed. Israel says 203 captives were taken hostage into Gaza.
-- 5 Million Iranians Volunteer for Gaza Fight
In a striking show of solidarity with Palestine, over 4.7 million Iranians have come forward, announcing their readiness to go to the Gaza Strip to fight Israel that has intensified strikes against the Gazans, according to recent statistics.
The campaign, dubbed “I’m your adversary” aimed at countering the Zionist regime’s crimes against Palestinians, has garnered significant attention and widespread support across Iran.
The staggering number, equivalent to roughly one out of every 18 Iranians, comes following the very recent atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across Iran and other countries in West Asia and North Africa to show their outrage at the Israeli campaign of death and destruction.
Mass protests supporting Palestine and condemning the occupying regime of Israel spread across many Muslim-majority countries after Friday prayer, from Tunisia to Malaysia.
Rallies were reported in Turkey’s capital Ankara and its most populous city of Istanbul, Egypt, Somalia, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Qatar, Iraq, Yemen and in Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea, in more than one city in some countries.
Thousands of Iraqis gathered at Iraq’s main border crossing with Jordan to express solidarity with Gaza and call for an end to the blockade imposed by Israel.
They departed from Baghdad late on Thursday in buses for the Iraqi-Jordanian border crossing in western Anbar province. It is the closest access point from Iraq to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Amid heavy security, protesters set up tents and staged a sit-in, demanding that the occupying regime of Israel allow aid into Gaza.
“No to Israel and normalization,” they chanted while waving Palestinian flags.
Thousands of Iraqis also gathered in Baghdad near the bridge that leads to the fortified Green Zone, home to the U.S. embassy and other missions in Baghdad.
Protesters in black outfits carried portraits of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, while waving the Palestinian and Iraq flags.
“We are going to support our people in Palestine,” said 26-year-old Hussein Samir, as he sat in a bus just before leaving Baghdad late on Thursday.
“We condemn them, and we will give them a period of time; if they don’t lift the blockade, the resistance will begin, God willing, and the war against them (Israel) will begin.”
On Thursday Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for a peaceful sit-in at the Palestinian borders in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan until Israel lifts the blockade on the enclave and aid is delivered to people in Gaza.
Thousands of Jordanians also took to the streets across the country amid calls to march to the border with the occupied West Bank.
Mass rallies were reported in the capital Amman, as well as Irbid, Aqaba, Kerak and other cities.
The interior ministry on Thursday night said protests marching to the border in the Jordan Valley are banned.
The decision came as many in Jordan continue to call for people to march to the border with the West Bank in solidarity with Palestinians.
A march in solidarity with Palestinians reached Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday demanding the opening of the Rafah crossing to allow aid into Gaza.
Thousands of people broke through security barriers to reach the iconic square, the epicenter of Egypt’s 2011 pro-democracy revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.
Some people were heard chanting anti-government slogans and invoking Arab armies to act to stop the Israeli bombing of Gaza.
Lawyers and pro-Palestine activists posted footage on social media showing thousands taking part in the protest, carrying Palestinian flags.
Friday’s protests in Egypt started after noon prayers across the country, including in Cairo, Alexandria and Sinai.
In Cairo, the largest protest began from the courtyards of Al-Azhar Mosque, one of the Sunni Muslim world’s most esteemed religious institutions.
Protesters then marched to Tahrir Square despite a heavy police presence. Dozens of people scuffled with police and broke through the barrier to reach the square.
“God is alive, the voice of the people is still alive, the voice of the resistance is still alive,” they chanted.
Protesters demanded the closure of the Israeli embassy and the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. They also called for the peace treaties between Egypt and the
occupying regime to be scrapped.
Some denounced “cowardly” Arab leaders and praised Palestinian resistance groups. “Resistance is the solution,” they chanted. “The people want the fall of Israel,” others chanted, invoking the famous chant of the Arab Spring protests: “The people want the fall of the regime.”
Sisi had on Wednesday warned that “millions” of Egyptians will protest against any displacement of Palestinians to Sinai, a proposition suggested by Israeli officials and commentators to clear the densely populated Gaza Strip of civilians while the Israeli army launches its military invasion of the enclave.
-- Security Council Officially Declares End to Iran Sanctions
The United Nations Security Council has officially declared an end to restrictions it had imposed on Iran’s missile program, according to the organization’s secretariat.
In a note sent to the member states of the UN, the secretariat of the council officially ended curbs set out in paragraphs 3, 4, and 6 (c) and (d) of Annex B to Resolution 2231.
The termination came into force on October 18, eight years after the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with major world powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The restrictions included curbs on ballistic missile-related activities and transfers, as well as sanctions on some Iranian individuals and entities.
Rosemary A. DiCarlo, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, also confirmed the termination in a separate letter to Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani.
“As a consequence,… the Secretariat removed on 19 October 2023 from the Security Council website the list of 23 individuals and 61 entities subject to the aforementioned restrictive measures,” DiCarlo said in the letter.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has announced that the Islamic Republic, as of October 18, will no longer be subject to any restriction with regard to its ballistic missile-related activities and transfers by the United Nations Security Council.
The termination, which means Iran is no longer subject to any UN sanctions, occurred despite extensive political and legal efforts made by the United States and Western countries in recent years to lay the ground for keeping the measures in place.
Last month, the three European signatories to the JCPOA -- the UK, Germany, and France -- said they plan not to terminate their anti-Iran sanctions, including ballistic missile bans, arguing that Iran has been in non-compliance with the deal since 2019.
Iran halted some of its JCPOA commitments in 2019, a year after the U.S. unilaterally walked out of the deal and after the EU failed to offer any compensation for the US withdrawal.
Iran said at the time the reduction of its commitments was in accordance with the deal, which allows parties to dishonor commitments should other parties do the same.
TEHRAN TIMES:
-- Israel and its supporters: A shared history of “colonial migration
With the issue of Palestine now plastered on the front pages of media outlets across the world, many have found the unequivocal support of Israel’s supposed friends and backers, more revolting than the regime’s heinous crimes against Palestinian civilians. For many years, we have spoken and written about the crimes of the Zionist regime, but we have paid less attention to its supporters and friends. Among English speakers, it is famous that “no friendship is an accident” and that “a real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” We have also constantly heard in our own(Iranian) culture that a person is known by their friends, so judge them by their friends. With this logic, we must ask what kind of relationship Israel has with the West that makes politicians belonging to Western countries willing to give up their dignity by acting in contrast to their constant claims of human rights and the right of self-determination for nations?
-- World against bloodshed in Gaza
People of different nationalities have gathered at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque in Doha to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and protest against Israel’s relentless attacks on the besieged enclave. After Friday prayers, they waved flags, carried banners, and shouted slogans calling for a “Free Palestine” and an end to Israeli occupation. Thousands of people also gathered for a pro-Palestinian protest in the heart of Paris on Thursday after authorities lifted a ban put in place immediately after the surprise Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October. A Paris court on Thursday suspended a ban that had been put on the protest in Place de la Republique in central Paris. Indonesian students also attended mass prayer for people in Gaza. They were holding placards that read “Save Gaza”, and “Pray for Gaza”. Thousands of Egyptians demonstrated in cities and towns across the North African country in an expression of solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
-- Hezbollah vows retaliation for Israeli attack on journalist team at border
Hezbollah denounced on Friday the Israeli attack on a journalist team at the border with occupied Palestinian territories, vowing retaliation to the killing of a civilian who was trapped along with the media crew. In a statement, Hezbollah’s Media Relations Office stressed that the Israeli attack on civilians and journalists is part of a series of Israeli crimes against media teams in a bid to prevent journalists from documenting the Israeli brutality. “Israeli enemy goes ahead with its criminal policy to attack civilians and journalists at the border area between Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories,” Hezbollah’s statement, obtained by AlManar, read. “Hezbollah’s Media Relations Office strongly denounces the new crime committed by occupation forces near Al-Abbad post, which led to the martyrdom of a civilian. The aggression is a part of a series of crimes against media crews in Lebanon and Palestine in a bid to prevent them from covering and documenting the brutal crimes against civilians and innocent people.
-- Iranian navy plans to permanently deploy forces to oceans
Iran’s Navy Chief Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has rolled out Tehran’s ambitious plans for the future, saying the West Asian country is planning to maintain presence in oceans across the world. “Coordination is underway and equipment is being prepared so that we can simultaneously be present in all oceans; because there are economic interests of the people there,” Irani said during a military ceremony in the coastal province of Mazandaran on Friday. “If any mischief occurs, the Islamic Republic of Iran has enough capability to defend itself. Also, regional countries and people do not allow foreigners and non-regional actors to interfere and engage in mischief,” the commander said, adding that the Caspian Sea will remain a sea of “peace” and “friendship”. “All countries and people in the region will join hands to witness economic growth in the region,” the admiral pointed out. Last month, the commander announced that Iran will be setting up a permanent military base in Antarctica. “We have ownership in Antarctica and the plan is to hoist the Iranian flag there and establish a permanent base,” he declared during an interview. Iran’s naval forces have been able to make headways and achieve several unprecedented accomplishments in recent years.
-- Iran, Uzbekistan to create joint sci-tech park
A science and technology park will be established jointly by Iran and Uzbekistan in the city of Samarkand. The park will be created by the private sector, IRNA quoted Rouhollah Dehqani Firouzabadi, the Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-based Economy, as saying. He made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting in Tashkent with Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of Uzbekistan. A number of knowledge-based companies and startups will launch the science and technology park, the Iranian official noted. Preliminary studies and negotiations will start within the next two months, he added. The Uzbek official, for his part, said that the park will be created in the vicinity of Samarkand University.
-- Tehran, Moscow chambers of Commerce ink co-op MOU
Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) and Moscow Chamber of Commerce signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate in various areas, IRIB reported. As reported, the MOU was signed by the TCCIMA Deputy Head Mehdi Sadeghi Niaraki and the head of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce in the presence of Governor of Tehran Province Alireza Fakhari, on the sidelines of the 4th Made in Russia International Export Forum and exhibition in Moscow. According to Niaraki the MOU is aimed to develop cooperation in the field of information exchange, exchanging delegations, introducing capacities, and holding joint conferences and exhibitions.
NOURNEWS