NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Thursday, January 18, 2024.
IRAN DAILY:
- Raisi, Putin to sign new interstate treaty soon
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it expected President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart to soon sign a new interstate treaty between the two countries which was in the final stages of being agreed.
Putin held five hours of talks in the Kremlin with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi last month amid growing political, trade and military ties between Moscow and Tehran, Reuters reported.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told reporters on Wednesday that the new treaty would consolidate the strategic partnership between Moscow and Tehran and cover the full range of their ties.
“This document is not just timely, but also overdue,” said Zakharova.
“Since the signing of the current treaty, the international context has changed and relations between the two countries are experiencing an unprecedented upswing.”
Zakharova said the new treaty was expected to be signed during what she described as one of the upcoming contacts between the two presidents.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the TASS state news agency as saying that an exact date for a meeting between the two leaders had yet to be determined.
Iranian authorities have said military cooperation with Russia is expanding day by day. Iran said in November it had finalised arrangements for Russia to provide it with Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 attack helicopters and Yak-130 pilot training aircraft.
- Targeted $2b trade for Iran-Vietnam possible: Lawmaker
Iran and Vietnam should expand their level of cooperation in various fields with implementing the signed agreements in order to achieve the targeted bilateral trade goal of $2 billion per annum, said the head of Iran-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group.
Talking to Iran Daily, Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi added that the level of commercial exchanges between Iran and Vietnam during the past years was not satisfying due to reasons such the lack of knowledge about the economic situation and market of the two countries.
Referring to the visit of Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to Tehran in August 2023, the MP said the visit took place after about 25 years during which agreements were signed in various economic fields including paving the ground for the private sectors of the two countries for having a greater role in the projects.
On August 8, 2023, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf hailed the friendly ties between the Islamic Republic and Vietnam, saying the two countries have agreed to expand their cooperation in various fields.
Qalibaf made the remarks at a joint press conference with Vuong Dinh Hue in Tehran after the two officials held talks on a range of political and economic issues.
He went on to say that during the meeting, the two sides emphasized the need for the establishment of joint committees between Iran and Vietnam to boost cooperation in the economic, fishery, health and medical sectors.
Qalibaf also noted that the two sides have reached agreements on customs and not collecting taxes on imported goods, stressing the need to accelerate their implementation.
He further pointed to an agreement on easing the visa regime between the two countries, saying direct flights between Tehran and Hanoi will be launched soon.
The Iranian Parliament speaker described Hue’s trip to Iran as a turning point in the development of ties between the two nations in various economic, cultural and social fields.
He further said a top foreign policy priority of Iran is to pay a special attention to East Asia and expand ties with the countries of that region.
Hue, for his part, appreciated his Iranian counterpart for inviting him to travel to Iran, expressing hope that the trip would help further strengthen the ties between Iran and Vietnam.
He also lauded Iran’s significant role in West Asia, adding that Hanoi pays attention to the promotion of collaboration between the two countries in various parliamentary, governmental, municipality and friendship groups.
At the end of the press conference, the two top parliamentarians signed a memorandum of understanding on parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.
Iran and Vietnam established relations in 1973 and since then the two countries have increased political and economic cooperation through exchange of visits by senior officials from both sides.
Jahanabadi stated that following the decisions taken during the trip, bilateral relations are expanding, and the level of trade relations will witness significant growth in the coming months.
“The recent signing of MoUs has provided greater opportunities for cooperation between specialized parliamentary commissions and friendship groups of the two countries, so that the two countries can exchange experiences.”
He added that a number of Iranian lawmakers had a trip to Vietnam to follow up on the agreements, as important meetings were held with Vietnamese officials of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Economic Committee of Parliament, the Ministry of Agriculture and various departments.
“With the implementation of agreements and follow-ups, the improvement of relations between the two countries is quite evident and many problems, including trade barriers, have been resolved, as in the field of livestock and agricultural products, there were some quarantine difficulties, which have been reduced with the implementation of new agreements.”
In the field of tourism, the two countries enjoy great capacities to cooperate with each other, the MP added, noting, “With the decisions made in this field, in the future we will see a rise in this field, too.”
The ground is paved now for the exchange of agricultural products, household and electronic appliances, industrial parts and machinery, as well as steel products and petrochemicals, he concluded.
- Iran-EAEU trade to surge to $20b after FTA implementation : Official
The trade between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states will rise to $20 billion with the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed by the two sides, said an official at the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI).
The adviser to the head of the TPOI for international affairs pointed to the FTA between Iran and EAEU, inked on December 25, 2023, and noted that this agreement will be put into operation after being approved by the parliaments of Iran and member states of the union, reported Tasnim news agency.
It is expected that it will take from one year to one and a half years to be officially implemented, Mir Hadi Seyyedi said.
A golden opportunity has been provided for domestic producers and exporters to ready themselves for having an active presence in the Eurasian market, he said, adding that exporters should first identify the market for their productions according to the EAEU standards to be successful in doing trade with these countries.
Seyyedi pointed to the role of the government in promoting trade with the EAEU member states and called on the government officials to strengthen the trade infrastructures in terms of transportation and customs rules, etc. to facilitate the trade relations between Iran and Eurasia.
Turning to the problems facing the money transfer between businesspeople, he added that monetary pacts have been inked in rial and ruble and also a Letter of Credit (L/C) has been launched between Iranian and Russian banks which can help promote the financial transactions.
It is for about six years that intensive talks have been ongoing between Iran and the EAEU member states over the implementation of the FTA, he continued.
Before launching the Free Trade Agreement, the trade exchange value between Iran and EAEU member states within the framework of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) stood at $2.5 billion, the rate of which is expected to increase to $20 billion with the implementation of FTA, Seyyedi added.
The free trade agreement between the EAEU and Iran was signed during the EAEU Summit in St. Petersburg on December 25, 2023.
In 2018, Iran and the EAEU inked a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which came into effect on October 27, 2019. The two sides later began negotiations to upgrade the PTA to an FTA after the success of the former.
- Petchem industry welcomes but does not wait for foreign investment: NPC
Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) managing director said the country’s industry welcomes foreign investment but does not wait for foreign companies’ participation in its development projects.
Morteza Shahmirzaei added domestic petrochemical industry’s growth from 1958 – the year the executive operations of Iran’s first petrochemical project started – to 1978 was extremely low, so that its capacity amounted to around three million tons of 8-9 types of products, with having an absolute dependence on foreign designing, equipment supplying, and commissioning in the pre-revolution era, Shana reported.
Relying on Iranian experts, Bandar Imam Petrochemical Company will achieve the goal of completing value chain and diversifying products, he added.
Iran’s petrochemical industry will be among the most-developed industries in the world in the future, pledged the deputy oil minister, justifying that the country enjoys the essential features for development, including abundant feedstock, highly-skilled human resources, and access to water resources and coasts.
The global fossil fuel consumption will sharply decline by 2050, predicted the CEO of NPC, underlining that oil and gas resources should be used as feedstock of petrochemical plants.
Iran is now producing 550 grades of petrochemicals and the industry’s annual production capacity will surpass 180 million tons by the end of the 8th National Development Plan (2028-2032). Domestic petrochemical industry prides itself [on having a brilliant performance] in spite of sanctions, he said and continued 95 percent of industries will be dependent on petrochemical products in the future, and that is why the industry’s development is of great significance.
Pointing to the document on development and completion of value chain of petrochemical industry unveiled in May 2023, the official vowed that Iran will have no dependence on foreign catalysts by the end of the 13th administration’s term (August 2025).
“Domestic experts’ capability for making petrochemical equipment, particularly compressors, valves, pumps, and turbines, has increased stunningly, and we are moving toward self-sufficiency,” Shahmirzaei concluded.
- Terrorists ‘legitimate’ targets
Iran’s defense minister on Wednesday defended strikes on terrorists’ positions in some neighboring countries as a “legitimate defense” that the country is entitled to.
Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani underlined that Iran warns the countries and uses diplomatic channels and negotiations before taking any military action against anti-Iran terrorists.
Ashtiani made the remarks after Iran’s attacks on positions of anti-Iran terrorists in Pakistan, Syria and Iraq.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) carried out missile and drone attacks against the bases of anti-Iran terrorists in Syria and Pakistan as well as facilities run by the Israeli Mossad spy agency in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.
'Decisive' response
“We see no limitations in defending our national interests and the people, and will certainly do this authoritatively. No matter where threats against the Islamic Republic come from, we will react and the response will surely be proportionate, decisive and strong,” he emphasized.
Ashtiani added, “We condemn terrorism anywhere in the world. We will definitely respond to any action meant to violate the [Iranian] nation’s rights, as well as any act of terror targeting the people. We have already demonstrated this forcefully, and see no limits in this regard.”
The Iranian defense minister also said that Iran respects the sovereignty, interests, rights and regulations as well as the territorial integrity of other countries, especially neighbors.
It, however, won’t allow anyone to cause mischief on its borders and will deal with any such move, Ashtiani emphasized.
Iran’s top diplomat said on Wednesday that his country’s armed forces targeted an anti-Iran terrorist group, Jaish al-Adl, in Pakistan.
“None of the nationals of the friendly and brotherly country of Pakistan were targeted by Iranian missiles and drones,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Pakistan’s reaction
Pakistan denounced the strike near the nations’ shared border, recalled its ambassador from Iran and blocked Tehran’s envoy from returning to Islamabad.
Pakistan said two children were killed and three others injured in the attack.
“This illegal act is completely unacceptable and has no justification whatsoever,” it said in a statement. “Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this illegal act. The responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Amir-Abdollahian said Iran’s attack on “Pakistan’s soil” was a response to the Jaish al-Adl group’s recent deadly attacks on Iran, particularly on the city of Rask, in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan.
At attack on January 10 on a police station in the city killed a policeman, almost a month after 11 police officers were killed in a similar attack in the area.
Both attacks were claimed by Jaish al-Adl that was formed in 2012 and is blacklisted by Iran as a “terrorist” group.
“The group has taken shelter in some parts of Pakistan’s Balochistan Province,” Amir-Abdollahian said, adding, “we’ve talked with Pakistani officials several times on this matter”.
The foreign minister said Iran respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan but would not “allow the country’s national security to be compromised or played with”.
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
- Pakistani, Iranian FMs Hold Phone Talks
Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian in a telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani on Wednesday described Pakistan’s security as Iran’s.
Expressing satisfaction with the friendly ties between the two countries, Amir-Abdollahian emphasized the importance of continuing cooperation and close contacts between the two countries’ officials in various fields.
- IRGC Thwarts Terrorist Attack by Jaish al-Adl
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force thwarted an attack by a team of terrorists affiliated with Pakistan-based so-called Jaish al-Adl in Sistan and Baluchestan, the IRGC Ground Force’s Quds Base said Wednesday.
IRGC border guards engaged the terrorists in Kastag village of Rask county, killing one of them and force the rest to flee into southwestern Pakistan. The operation also resulted in the confiscation of ammunition, weapons and explosives from the militants, it said.
- Red Sea Cargo Ship Traffic Plunges After U.S. Airstrikes
The container and dry cargo ship traffic through the Red Sea has posted a significant decline as shipping companies are forced to suspend their voyages through this route or divert it to the Cape of Good Hope, Anadolu Agency reported.
While daily container vessel traffic through the Red Sea halved on January 1-10, compared to the same period last year, total ship traffic decreased 25 percent with a significant decline in dry cargo ships, according to data compiled by Anadolu from MarineTraffic, a ship tracking and maritime analytics provider.
Yemen’s armed forces have targeted Israeli commercial ships in the Red Sea in retaliation for the occupying regime’s genocide in Gaza.
Last Thursday, the U.S. and UK launched joint strikes on Yemen, but more shipping companies halted traffic toward the Red Sea.
The Red Sea route accounts for nearly 12 per cent of global seaborne trade traffic.
The number of containers in the Red Sea decreased to 118 this January 1-10 from 248 in the same period last year.
Dry cargo ship traffic in the Red Sea decreased by 5 percent, year-on-year, on January 1-10. The figure was down 53 percent on January 10 from the beginning of this year.
While 45 dry cargo ships were sailing in the region on January 1-6, this number decreased to 21 as of January 10.
Speaking to Anadolu, Matthew Wright, senior analyst at ship tracking service, Kpler, said there are no container ships over 15,000 TEU in the area due to the joint airstrikes on Yemen that the U.S. and UK launched last week.
“On the bulk commodity side, tankers, dry bulk and LNG flows have been less affected, although transits via the Suez Canal are lower since the first diversions in December. Tanker transits are down around 15 per cent, for example,” he said.
The figure is expected to increase further following the warnings
to avoid the area for fear of retaliation, Wright noted, adding: “It’s still too early to make many conclusions on the impact on vessel movements. As most container traffic was already avoiding the Red Sea, the impact will be minimal. But, for bulk carriers, we expect to see a larger drop than seen over the last three weeks.”
Simon Heaney, senior manager at Container Research of UK-based maritime research and consulting services provider, Drewry, said: “There is only limited scope for more Cape of Good Hope diversions as most container ships that were using Suez have been rerouted.”
Pointing to the steep hike in spot market freight rates as an immediate outcome of the attacks, Heaney said Drewry’s World Container Index on Shanghai to Rotterdam subset jumped by 164 per cent from $1,667/40ft container on 21 December to $4,406/40ft on 11 January.
The figure saw a similar trend for Shanghai to Genoa, he added.
“The cost of hiring container ships has also increased, but much less severely, so far, as more vessels are required to cover the extra mileage from Cape diversions,” Heaney said.
On the impact of the diversion on the world economy, he said the freighter rates are not expected to get near to their levels during the pandemic period.
“The cost implication of the Red Sea attacks on commercial ships depends on the duration of the attacks,” Heaney said.
The delays and ship diversions will cause ships to cluster at ports, leading to port congestion and worsening equipment shortages and gaps in sailings, he stressed.
“These effects may significantly impact global supply chains, taking weeks or months to recover. Carriers must adjust schedules, networks and potentially introduce additional vessels to insure weekly service frequency,” he added.
Heaney highlighted that if Suez has to be avoided all year around, the container ship capacity will drop 9 percent globally.
“In the worst-case scenario, whereby Suez has to be avoided for the entirety of 2024, assuming a 30 percent increase in trade distance for the roughly 30 percent of container ship capacity that previously transited Suez, that would reduce effective capacity by some 9 per cent globally.”
He noted that this situation is not expected to completely shutter the supply and demand on a global level.
- U.S. Workers Against Gaza Genocide to be Fired
Republican leaders threatened disciplinary action and termination of their job against federal workers participating in a mass walkout protesting President Joe Biden’s backing of Israel’s bloody military campaign in Gaza.
More 85,000 Palestinians have either been killed or injured in what has been labeled Israel’s war of genocide against Palestinians.
The protest, led by an anonymous group dubbed “Feds United for Peace”, aims to observe a “Day of Mourning” as the Zionist regime continues its bombing campaign for over 100 days.
Hundreds across agencies including the White House and Pentagon plan to simultaneously take leave to demonstrate against Washington’s support of the apartheid state as the Gaza death toll passes 24,000. Israel enjoys staunch bipartisan political backing in the U.S.
But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and oversight Chairman James Comer promised to pressure agencies into prosecuting employees over the action. Stating the workers “deserve to be fired”, legislators argue the demonstration illegally constitutes an organized “strike” against government policy, violating statutes.
There is said to be unprecedented internal dissent within federal ranks over the Biden administration’s decision to continue backing its major ally despite allegations of genocide. Biden himself marked the 100-day anniversary with a controversial statement showing solidarity with Israel but failed to mention even once the mass slaughter of Palestinians.
“When your kids ask you, ‘What did you do?’, we don’t want to say that we just watched from the sidelines. And we hope that everyone who has a conscience looks at this situation and takes it upon themselves to not watch from the sidelines,” one of the organizers of the walkout is reported saying in Al Jazeera. She wanted to remain anonymous.
“We are really not activists,” said a second organizer. “There may be, among our group, people who are political appointees, but
we’re not political in any way,” said the second organizer. “This group really grows out of this immense frustration and sadness at seeing the war continue for so long — the massive death and destruction unfolding in Gaza over the last 100 days,” said an organizer who also wanted to remain anonymous.
Following a report on Feds United for Peace’s planned action last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, tweeted: “Any government worker who walks off the job to protest U.S. support for our ally Israel is ignoring their responsibility and abusing the trust of taxpayers.”
“They deserve to be fired,” he wrote, adding he would “work to ensure that each federal agency initiates appropriate disciplinary proceedings against any person who walks out on their job.”
TEHRAN TIMES:
- Iran says national security will be safeguarded regardless of limits
The Iranian defense minister has declared that there are no limitations when it comes to defending the nation’s interests and its people. “We condemn terrorism worldwide. Any action against the rights of the Iranian people will definitely receive a reaction, and we strongly respond, and we regard no limits when it comes to defending our national interests,” Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said on Wednesday. Speaking on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, Ashtiani highlighted the strategic relationship with Russia, stating that both nations have committed to adhere to the agreed terms in a memorandum of understanding between the two countries that is planned to be pursued with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The minister emphasized the importance of bilateral agreements, urging Russia to fully observe and follow issues related to Iran’s security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Ashtiani expressed confidence in Russia’s commitment to these matters.
- Iran defends counterterrorism efforts against Takfiri, Israeli targets
The UN representative for Iran has defended the nation’s recent counterterrorist efforts, which have targeted the bases of Takfiri terrorists in Syria and anti-Iranian terror groups in Iraq with ties to Israel. Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, made the remarks in a letter addressed to the world body’s Security Council on Tuesday. According to the ambassador, the actions were carried out in accordance with the Islamic Republic’s “inherent right of self-defense under international law and the United Nations Charter.” The full text of the letters from the Iranian ambassador to the UN is as follows: Upon instructions from my Government, and further to our letter dated 3 January 2024 (S/2024/14), I wish to inform you that the Islamic Republic of Iran, as one of the main victims of terrorism, has, in the exercise of its inherent right of self-defense under international law and the Charter of the United Nations, undertaken anti-terrorist operations. These operations include targeted attacks against the bases and facilities of terrorist groups situated in Syria and Iraq. In this regard, I would like to emphasize the following: 1) In the early hours of 16 January 2024, simultaneous anti-terrorism operations were carried out by the firing of several ballistic missiles.
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