Newspaper headlines of Iranian English-language dailies on January 14

NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Sunday, January 14, 2024.

- Raisi briefed on measures aimed at boosting manufacturing sector

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was briefed on measures for boosting the production sector in a meeting with his economic deputies and ministers on Saturday.
Assessing the latest situation of agricultural, industrial and mining production units, the president called for taking the necessary measures to continue promoting production as well as improving the production units, wrote president.ir.
In the meeting, the ministers and vice presidents presented reports on measures taken to meet the needs and solve the problems of various production sectors.
It was also decided to strengthen coordination between ministries and other state-run bodies in order to make maximum use of the existing capacities along with meeting the financial and energy needs of these units in the remaining months of the current Iranian year.

- Iran’s nine-month exports of aquatics tops 100k tons

Iran exported 102,352 tons of fishery products worth $228.332 million in the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-December 21, 2023), announced the spokesman of the International Relations and Trade Promotion Committee of Iran’s House of Industry, Mine and Trade.
According to Rouhollah Latifi, the country exported 328 tons of ornamental fish, 14,036 tons of carp, 10,765 tons of trout, 349 tons of halwa fish and 5,672 tons of flounder in the above-mentioned nine months, IRIB reported.
Iran’s aquaculture industry is on a wave of progress and has world ranking in the production of some fishery products.
According to the head of the Iran Fisheries Organization (IFO), the country exported $600 million worth of fishery products in the previous Iranian year.
Announcing a positive balance of $520 million in the previous year, Hossein Hosseini said that there is a capacity of up to $2 billion in exports for the country’s fishery industry.
It is worth mentioning that the growth and development of Iran’s aquaculture industry has reached a point where the country has become a model for the countries of the region and the world.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) believes that Iran plays a pivotal role in the fishing and aquaculture industry in the region, so, for this reason, it can be considered a model for the countries of the region.

- Iran to invest $275b in developing oil, gas fields by 2041: NIOC

Iran will invest about $275 billion by 2041 for the development of its oil and gas fields, announced the deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for planning.
Speaking at the First Conference of Managers of the National Iranian Oil Company, Ahmad Rajabi stated that strategic plans have been defined and are on the agenda of the NIOC and the Ministry of Oil for increasing the production of crude oil and gas, Shana reported.
He said there are plans to raise the country’s oil production to 5.5 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) by 2031, with a total investment of about $150 billion.
Also, the production volume of raw natural gas is planned to increase to 1.5 billion cubic meters in 2031, with a total investment of about $125 billion, he noted.
The official pointed to the investment activities in the oil sector and also the increase of oil production in the current year and next year, and predicted that Iran’s oil production volume will reach 3.6 million bpd by the end of the current year (to end March 19, 2024) if about $600 million is invested in this sector.”
With steps taken in the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi in the oil and gas sectors, the oil production volume rose from about 2.1 million bpd to about 3.4 million in two years, the NIOC manager added.

- China’s 2023 oil imports hit record

China’s annual crude oil imports hit an all-time high in 2023, customs data showed, as fuel demand recovered from a pandemic-induced slump despite economic headwinds.
China imported 11% more crude oil last year versus 2022 at 563.99 million metric tons, equivalent to 11.28 million barrels per day (bpd), up from a previous record of 10.81 million bpd in 2020, data from the General Administration of Customs showed, Reuters reported.
Imports in December totalled 48.36 million tons, or 11.39 million bpd, up from November’s 10.33 million bpd.
Domestic passenger transport levels increased steadily through 2023 following the country’s abrupt exit from pandemic restrictions in November 2022. China’s highway traffic for 2023 jumped 43.6% from the previous year in passenger kilometres for the January to November period, according to Ministry of Transport data.
Domestic air traffic also recovered rapidly, rising 27% on the previous year to reach a new record in December, according to data from aviation analytics firm OAG. International travel saw a more muted recovery, with December flight volumes still down 39% on the same month in 2019, shortly before borders were closed.
Domestic diesel demand was weaker amid an ongoing slowdown in the construction sector and an uncertain outlook for the manufacturing sector.
China’s oil demand growth has been forecast by analysts to slow to around 4% in the first half of 2024 due to the country’s property market woes, although moderating growth in domestic output will continue to support import levels.
The primary drivers for oil imports in 2024 are expected to be aviation demand for kerosene and demand in the petrochemical sector for high-end chemical products used in the manufacture of key goods such as solar panels and electric vehicles.
China’s demand for naphtha, a key feedstock for petrochemicals, is forecast by the International Energy Agency to grow 13.3% through this year.
Customs data also showed China’s natural gas imports, comprising both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and piped gas, rose 9.9% to reach 119.97 million tons in 2023. That’s the second highest on record after 2021, when China imported 121.4 million tons.
Imports in December at 12.65 million tons hit a record monthly high, up from November’s 10.95 million tons, to meet strong heating demand amid colder-than-usual weather. Growing pipeline gas supplies from Russia also helped bolster the imports. China last year exported a total of 62.69 million metric tons of refined fuel products, which include diesel, aviation fuel, gasoline and marine fuel, up 16.7% on the previous year, the data also showed. December exports at 4.64 million tons were the lowest since last June as companies ran short of export quotas.

- Indian Foreign Minister Due in Tehran Today

India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will visit Iran on Sunday on a two-day trip to discuss “bilateral, regional and global issues”, a government statement said Saturday. 
He will meet with his Iranian counterpart Hussein Amir-Abdollahian. India was Iran’s top oil client after China, but halted imports after Washington reimposed sanctions on Iran and later withdrew waivers.

- Ground Force to Deploy New Missile, Drone Units to Borders 

Iranian Ground Force chief Brigadier General Kiumars Heidari said that new missile sections and drone platoons will be stationed at the country’s borders.
“The deployment of troops does not mean that we are being threatened but it is for reinforcing the intelligence dominance, the readiness of the forces, as well as their mastery and familiarity with the geography of the country’s borders,” he said. He added that 11 combat and mobile brigades are stationed at borders to maintain sustainable security and improve the readiness of the units.

- U.S. Attacks Yemen Again in Dangerous Escalation

The United States launched new strikes on Yemen for a second straight day after the country’s armed forces warned they would retaliate for a series of attacks on its facilities.
The U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday that Tomahawk missiles were fired from the U.S. Navy’s USS Carney at a radar site.
It described the attack as a “follow-on action” after the U.S. and the United Kingdom launched a barrage of attacks by land and sea targeting cities across Yemen to stop the country from targeting Israeli vessels in the Red Sea.
Nasreddin Amer, Ansarullah’s deputy information secretary, told Al Jazeera the overnight U.S. strike caused no damage or casualties.
“There were no injuries, no material nor human losses,” Amer said, adding that the Yemeni armed forces would come back with a “strong and effective response”.
Meanwhile, Ansarullah spokesperson Muhammad Abdulsalam told Reuters news agency the U.S. aggression would not deter it from waging attacks on Israel-linked vessels.
U.S. President Joe Biden warned on Friday that he could order more strikes.
Yemen says its campaign is part of the country’s support for Palestinians under siege and bombardment by Israeli forces in Gaza over the past three months.
The strikes are the first on Yemeni territory since 2016 and also marked the first military intervention by the U.S. in the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.
Yemen’s Ansarullah, which administers much of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against a Western-backed, Saudi-led coalition, is a strong supporter of Hamas in its fight against Israel.
However, not all major U.S. allies backed the strikes in Yemen. The Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain provided logistical and intelligence support, while Germany, Denmark, New Zealand and South Korea signed a joint statement defending the attacks and warning of further action.
But Italy, Spain and France chose not to sign or participate, fearing a wider escalation.
Tens of thousands of Yemenis gathered in several cities to condemn the U.S. and British strikes, denounce Israel and reaffirm their support for Palestinians.
“Your strikes on Yemen are terrorism,” said Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, a member of the group’s political council. “The United States is the Devil.”
Britain, the United States and eight allies said strikes carried out on Friday had aimed to “de-escalate tensions”, but the Yemenis vowed to continue their attacks.
“All American-British interests have become legitimate targets” following the strikes, Yemen’s Supreme Political Council said.
Hussein al-Ezzi, Ansarullah’s deputy foreign minister, said the United States and Britain would “have to prepare to pay a heavy price”.
Ansarullah is part of an “axis of resistance” against Israel and its allies.
Operations against U.S. targets in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria have surged since the Israeli war on Gaza began in early October.
UN chief Antonio Guterres called on all sides “not to escalate” in the interest of regional peace and stability, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on the strikes Friday. Russian ambassador Vassili Nebenzia denounced the “blatant armed aggression” against the entire population of the country.

- People Rally for Palestine in 45 Countries

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across the world to protest against the war on Gaza, as it nears the 100-day mark, and to demand an end to the occupying regime of Israel’s invasion.
People in at least 121 cities in 45 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America were set to participate in the pro-Palestine rallies Saturday.
Children joined thousands of other demonstrators making their way through central London for a pro-Palestinian march on Saturday, part of a global day of action against the longest and deadliest Israeli onslaught against Palestinians in 75 years.
The plight of children in the Gaza Strip after nearly 100 days of the war was the focus of the latest London march, symbolized by the appearance of Little Amal, a 3.5-meter (11.5-foot) puppet originally meant to highlight the suffering of Syrian refugees.
The puppet had become a human rights emblem during an 8,000-kilometer (4,970-mile) journey from the Turkish-Syrian border to Manchester in July 2001.
Nearly two-thirds of the 23,843 people martyred during Israel’s invasion of Gaza have been women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
At rallies on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, people gathered at the United States embassy to send a message to the Zionist regime’s staunch ally. The U.S. has vetoed United Nations resolutions backed by a vast majority of the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire.
“We’ve spoken to people here who say they’ve come to show solidarity with Palestinians. People are holding up placards that read: ‘Stop the genocide’, as well as ‘Bombing children is not self-defense’,” said Al Jazeera’s Florence Looi, reporting from Kuala Lumpur.
The demonstrations are part of a “global day of action for Palestine” and to call for an end to the genocide.
Last month, Malaysia’s government said it would no longer allow Israeli-owned ships to dock in Malaysian ports. It also said any vessel en route to Occupied Palestine would not be allowed to unload cargo at any Malaysian port.
The protest movement in Malaysia, organized in collaboration with dozens of NGOs, said it aimed to educate people not only about the atrocities that are happening in Gaza, but also about the history of the occupation.
Thousands of people also gathered outside the U.S. embassy in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags and holding signs that read “Boycott Israel” and “Ceasefire Now.”
In Johannesburg, South Africa, demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. consulate. Many in the crowd accused the U.S., which has supplied Israel with thousands of tonnes of military equipment since the war started, of “complicity in the bombardment of the Palestinian people”.
The protest has been bolstered by South Africa’s case at the ICJ, Miller said.
Roshan Dadoo, a leader of South Africa’s Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, who attended the protest, said: “We’re going to be here until we can make sure there is a ceasefire and sufficient humanitarian assistance for Gaza.”
Meanwhile, massive rallies were held in world capitals including London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Dublin, Vienna, Berlin and Amman as well as in Washington, DC and other American cities.
In the Irish capital, thousands marched along the main thoroughfare to protest Israel’s invasion. They waved Palestinian
 flags, held placards critical of their government and U.S. and Israeli regimes and chanted, “Free, free Palestine.″
Jeanine Hourani, a member of the Palestine Youth Movement attending the march in London, said protesters are angry over the injustice in Gaza and determined to keep marching for Palestinian rights.
“The sentiment is one of rage and frustration,” she told Al Jazeera. “We have been taking to the streets every week since October 7.”
Hourani said that while the British public largely supports a ceasefire in Gaza, “the UK’s politicians have continued to fund and support the genocide.”
“Ultimately, we know that in the grand scheme of things – in the long arc of justice – we are winning,” she said. “We are going to continue taking to the streets, continue applying pressure, until Palestine is free.”
Thousands gathered at Bank Junction in central London, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said. Husam Zomlot, Palestine’s ambassador to the UK, joined the protesters calling for a ceasefire.
The seventh National March for Palestine also featured an appearance by Little Amal refugee, joining a group of Palestinian children.
“On Saturday Amal walks for those most vulnerable and for their bravery and resilience,” said Amir Nizar Zuabi, artistic director of The Walk Productions. “Amal is a child and a refugee and today in Gaza childhood is under attack, with an unfathomable number of children killed. Childhood itself is being targeted. That’s why we walk.”
About 1,700 officers are on duty to police the march in London, the Metropolitan Police said.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said he had been briefed by police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley on plans to “ensure order and safety” during the protest.
“I back them to use their powers to manage the protest and crack down on any criminality,” Cleverly said.
A number of conditions were placed for the march, including a directive that no participant in the protest shall venture near the Israeli Embassy.
A pro-Israel rally is set to take place in London on Sunday.
Elsewhere on Saturday, protests also took place in India in cities like Hyderabad and in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo’s Kollupitiya neighborhood.

- Zionist Killing Machine Takes 135 More Lives in Gaza

Health officials in Gaza said Israeli strikes on Saturday martyred at least 60 people in the besieged enclave.
Witnesses told AFP that early morning strikes rocked the south of Gaza.
Nimma al-Akhras, an 80-year-old Palestinian, said that a strike had destroyed her home.
“It was very powerful,” she said. “We started to scream, and I couldn’t move, but someone pulled me out and put me on a cart.”
Health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra reported that “more than 60 martyrs” died in Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire overnight, with dozens more wounded.
The ministry also said Zionist forces have martyred at least 135 Palestinians and wounded 312 more across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours.
This brings the death toll since October 7 to at least 23,843, with 60,317 wounded and more than 7,000 missing who are believed to be dead and buried under rubble.
Overall, four percent of Gaza’s population has been killed, wounded or gone missing in three months of bombardment.
The majority of victims are children and women, according to health officials.
Hamas said it has lost contact with members who have been guarding four Zionists held in the Gaza Strip since 2014 and 2015.
During the 2014 war on Gaza, the Palestinian group captured two soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul. The Zionist regime says both are presumed dead, while Hamas refused to comment on whether they are alive or dead.
Two other Israelis, Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, entered the strip in 2014 and 2015 respectively in unclear circumstances. Both men have been believed to be alive up to today.
Meanwhile, only six ambulances are left functioning in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian health ministry said.
According to the government media office in Gaza, at least 121 ambulances have been destroyed by Zionist forces since the bombing started on October 7.
Palestinian officials say the attacks are part of what they describe as Israel’s deliberate targeting of health facilities and civil services.
“The occupation is still targeting health personnel through bombings and arrests,” the health ministry said in a statement.
It also renewed calls for the
international community to allow the entry of medical personnel into the Gaza Strip to offer assistance.
Zionist forces are imposing a policy of starvation in the northern Gaza Strip that could soon lead to famine, the government media office in Gaza warned.
It said aid convoys intended for the war-ravaged areas continue to be blocked by the Israeli military, adding this is part of a deliberate policy.
“We sound the alarm once again about the Israeli occupation army’s focus on causing a real famine in Gaza City and North Gaza governorates, intentionally and deliberately,” the office said, adding that 1,300 food trucks are needed daily to prevent a catastrophe impacting hundreds of thousands of people.
The material loss Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have suffered in three months of Israeli bombing is unprecedented. Not only have they lost their homes, entire neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure, but residents say another “immeasurable damage that cannot be repaired” has been the erasure of Gaza’s history.
Since the beginning of its war, the Zionist military has targeted and destroyed dozens of heritage sites, including historic churches and mosques, cultural museums, and archaeological structures that date back thousands of years.
Key religious sites have been a target for Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling across the different districts of Gaza. Many of those sites had been transformed into shelters for displaced Palestinians at the time of the attack, resulting in dozens of casualties.
On October 18, the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius was damaged by an Israeli airstrike on the adjacent 141-year-old Ahli Baptist Hospital, the oldest hospital in the strip.
The almost 900-year-old church, one of the oldest in the world, was one of three churches that were damaged across the strip.
In addition to churches, at least 114 mosques have been destroyed and 200 others have been damaged in Gaza, including the 13th century Othman Bin Qashqar Mosque in al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, and the medieval Great Omari Mosque, the largest and oldest mosque in Gaza, located in the heart of the Old Town east of Gaza City and dating back to the seventh century.

- U.S. should stop supporting Israel war on Gaza instead of attacking Yemen: FM 

- Iran vehemently condemned the U.S. recent airstrikes on Yemen, which were a reaction to the Arab Peninsula nation’s actions in defense of the Gaza Strip, which has been the target of a genocide spearheaded by Israel with assistance from Washington. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a post on X on Friday after the U.S. and UK targeted Ansarullah’s sites in Yemen. “Sanaa is fully committed to maritime and shipping security,” the Iranian minister stated. He went on to add, “Rather than attacking Yemen, the White House should immediately stop its all-out military and security support for Tel Aviv against the people of Gaza and the West Bank in order for security to return to the entire region.” Several American media outlets reported the attacks on Thursday, saying they involved warplanes and Tomahawk missiles. Ansarullah and the Yemeni Armed Forces have been carrying out drone and missile attacks against Israeli-affiliated ships as well as those traveling to Israeli ports to provide aid to the Israeli regime in its war on Gaza’s beleaguered Palestinians in recent months. Over 23,500 Palestinians were killed in the conflict since it began on October 7, the majority of them being women and children. The U.S. has armed Tel Aviv with over 10,000 tons of military weaponry as part of its unrestricted military and political backing for Israel throughout its offensive against Gaza. Additionally, the U.S. has utilized its veto power on all resolutions passed by the UN Security Council that have called for a long-term ceasefire in Gaza. In response to the pro-Palestinian Yemeni attacks, Amir Abdollahian stated, “Yemen’s measure in support of Gaza’s women and children and confrontation against the Israeli regime’s genocide is commendable.” He further emphasized that Yemeni officials, including those from Ansarullah, have pledged not to strike any vessel other than Israeli or Israeli-flagged ones. “Instead of staging military attacks on Yemen, the White House should immediately cease its all-out military and security cooperation with Tel Aviv against the people of Gaza and the West Bank, so security would return to the entire region,” Amir Abdollahian averred. Since the onset of the Gaza war, the U.S.-backed Israeli regime has expanded its attacks on the West Bank, killing hundreds of Palestinians across the occupied region. In a post on his X account on Thursday, Amir Abdollahian also strongly condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the armed forces of the Zionist regime for their actions against the innocent people of Gaza. He highlighted the increasing international demand for accountability and justice amid escalating tensions in the region. Characterizing the behavior of the Zionists as abhorrent and repellent, Amir Abdollahian pointed out what he viewed as “animalistic actions,” involving genocide and war crimes against the Palestinian population. Stressing that such behavior lacks justification or logic in the eyes of global public opinion, he wrote on his official account, “The world is now awaiting an immediate and decisive act to stop the Zionist regime’s killing machine.” Additionally, Amir Abdollahian expressed strong support for the courageous actions of the South African government against the apartheid regime. He specifically commended their efforts in addressing child killings and voiced support for their endeavors to take Israel before the International Court of Justice, citing the principles of the UN’s 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

- Iran says world needs to speak up for justice amid carnage in Gaza

ran’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva has denounced decades of Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people and called on the whole community to speak up in favor of justice. In a statement on X on Friday, the mission stressed that “crimes committed against the Palestinians over decades weigh heavy on the conscience of humanity.” It issued a warning, saying that egregious human rights violations, crimes against humanity, and occupation should not become accepted. The International Court of Justice in The Hague began hearings on Thursday over a charge that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. In an 84-page lawsuit, South Africa urged the highest court of the United Nations to declare quickly that, since October 7, 2023, when it began hostilities in the besieged region, the Tel Aviv regime has violated its obligations under international law. In a post on X on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian warmly welcomed the “courageous” decision of the South African administration against Israel. “The disgust and hatred toward the animalistic behavior of Netanyahu and the terrorist army of the Zionist regime in committing genocide and war crimes against the Palestinians cannot be washed away in the public opinion of the world under any title or logic,” the minister added. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani emphasized on Thursday that “we hope and want the International Court of Justice to impartially investigate the complaint of South Africa and some other governments against the Zionist regime regarding the crime against the people of Gaza and not to give in to the political and non-political pressures of the United States.” He stated that the Israeli regime and the U.S. are attempting to achieve their political and media aims as a result of their defeat in the Gaza battlefield, but the Palestinian people are more aware than to allow their desires to come true. Kanaani further stated that one of the most significant triumphs of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm was the collapse of the U.S.-Israel media empire, which produced a globally fabricated narrative in favor of the Israeli regime, reversing the roles of the oppressed and the oppressors. “Undoubtedly, the future belongs to Palestine and the Palestinian nation,” Kanaani stressed, adding that Washington’s efforts in implementing U.S.-Zionist political plans will lead to failure. He further underlined that Israel’s fear of the truth coming to light is demonstrated by the fact that over 110 journalists have been killed in Gaza during the over 100 days since it erupted. In addition, Kanaani pointed out that “the Palestinian nation is stronger and more steadfast than before and the Zionist regime is more desperate than ever” after more than three months of the Gaza conflict.