WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 16 Pages Price 10,000 Rials 38th year No.12868 Wednesday JJULYULY 55,, 22017017 Tir 14, 1396 Shawwal 10, 1438 Post-sanctions Tehran to host ECO Iran comeback breaks Iranian, Greek artists win NITC inks workshop on combating Aussie hearts top prizes at Trumpism 76 leasing deals 4 desertification 10 15 cartoon contest 16 Major book center opens in Tehran CULTURE TEHRAN — A ma- as a robotics club have also been in- Saudis’ fear of desk jor center for pub- cluded in the big project. lications named the Tehran Book “The opening of the book garden Garden, covering an area of 110,000 is a big cultural event in the country square meters on Abbasabad Hills in so that our children can make bet- the northeast of the city, opened dur- ter use of this cultural and academic ing a special ceremony on Monday. opportunity,” Qalibaf said at the cer- Iran is delusional The ceremony was attended by emony. Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qa- Larijani for his part asked the of- libaf and Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, ficials of Ministry of Education to Persian media reported on Tuesday. provide the means for teachers and See page 2 The garden with 10 theaters and school children to visit the garden and amphitheaters will provide a good op- become more familiar with the oppor- portunity for the families and children tunities available for the creativity of to study and dedicate some time for the children. book reading. “The project aims to teach our chil- Permanent bookshops, an art gal- dren to be active and creative through lery, shops offering cultural products, modern methods and equipment,” children’s halls and workshops, as well Larijani said. 16 Intl. event issues Tehran Declaration, vows to fight dust storms POLITICS TEHRAN — Minis- representatives participating in the In- deskters and high-level ternational Conference on Combating representatives participating in the Sand and Dust Storms: UN-backed International Conference Having met in Tehran to exchange on Combating Sand and Dust Storms views, share experiences and best in Tehran (July 3-5) wrapped up the practices on combating Sand and Dust second day with the Tehran Ministeri- Storms and to contribute to global al Declaration, agreeing to “cooperate and regional efforts to put forward a on combating SDS at sub-regional re- concerted and collective response to gional, and international levels.” this serious challenge. Maryam Kamyab Here is the full text of the declaration: Recalling the UNGA Resolution Tehran Ministerial Declaration 70/195, 71/219, UNEA II Resolution International Conference on Com- 2/21 and WMO Congress Decision bating Sand and Dust Storms Cg-XV/3.3.3.6, UNESCAP Resolution Tehran, 3-5 July 2017 72/7 in which Sand and Dust Storms Tehran Times/ Tehran We, the Ministers and high-level has been acknowledged 3 VW follows Total deal ‘completely razed wall of sanctions’: government Theresa May Peugeot, Boeing POLITICS TEHRAN – The Iranian for Iran’s Petropars. was signed despite concerns about a new, sitting on report with Iran deal deskgovernment spokesman The contract holds for 20 years. unpredictable administration in the Unit- on foreign has said that the $5 billion deal between According to Nobakht, the deal shows ed States. Since coming to power, Donald Volkswagen AG plans to sell cars in Iran and the French Total sealed on Mon- that efforts aimed at isolating the Islamic Re- Trump has been reviewing Washington’s funding of British Iran for the first time in 17 years, day “completely razed the wall of sanc- public have failed miserably. approach to Tehran, discouraging many extremists taking advantage of easing sanc- tions”. He further noted that Total’s investment in Western companies from investing in the Speaking in a weekly press conference Iran is of great importance as it is the first ma- country. tions to expand amid concerns A report on the foreign funding of on Tuesday, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht jor contract since the historic nuclear agree- However, since the deal went into force about stalling growth in Europe extremism in Britain was given to hailed the deal as “a precious deal after the ment went into force in January 2016. and nuclear-related sanctions were lifted and China. Downing Street last year, it has been implementation of the JCPOA (nuclear ac- Iran’s deal with the French energy giant more than a year ago, Iran has been success- Volkswagen has signed a contract revealed, but Theresa May is still to cord).” fully expanding its ties with various countries. with local importer Mammut Kho- decide whether to make its findings Along with investments in the aviation and Iran signed a new Nobakht said the country’s daily produc- dro to offer Tiguan compact SUVs public. automotive sectors, this deal indicates that tion of crude oil surpassed 3.9 million barrels and the Passat family car, mainly at contract to develop the The Green party co-leader, Caroline the effects of the nuclear deal are being ma- last month, rising to a record high after the dealerships in the Tehran area, VW giant South Pars gas Lucas, said the delay in publishing the terialized one after another, Nobakht noted. removal of anti-Iran sanctions. said in a statement. Expanding into Home Office investigation, believed to Iran signed a new contract to develop the field with France’s Total, The government spokesman described emerging economies is part of VW’s focus on Saudi Arabia, “leaves ques- giant South Pars gas field with France’s Total the hike in oil production as well as the strategy to reduce its reliance on its China National Petroleum tion marks over whether their decision holding 50.1 percent of the share, and China agreement with Total as a milestone for the main markets and add new sources Corporation (CNPC) and is influenced by our diplomatic ties”. National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) tak- country, noting the anti-Iran sanctions re- of revenue. Since the beginning of her premier- ing a 30 percent stake, leaving 19.9 percent Iran’s Petropars. gime has fully collapsed. “By returning to Iran, the Volkswa- ship, May has sought to deepen Brit- gen brand is filling another blank ain’s relationship with the Persian Gulf, spot on the global automobile map,” visiting Saudi Arabia as one of her first Anders Sundt Jensen, the company’s Iranian diplomat meets UN Syria envoy in Astana trips after triggering the formal Brexit project manager for Iran, said in the POLITICS TEHRAN — Iran’s deputy Turkey and Russia in the Astana talks. The Astana talks have brought represent- process in March, a highly symbolic statement. deskforeign minister for Arab An Iranian delegation, headed by Jaberi An- atives from the Syrian government and op- move. Volkswagen is the market leader in affairs and UN Special Envoy for Syria Staf- sari, arrived in Astana on Monday to partake in position groups to the negotiating table in The whereabouts of the report Europe and China, and is struggling to fan de Mistura met on Tuesday in Astana, the fifth round of talks in pursuit of peace in Syria. order to find a solution to the Syrian conflict, into foreign funding of extremism and rebuild operations in the U.S. after the Kazakhstan. Iran, Turkey and Russia brokered the As- which broke out in March 2011. radicalization in Britain became a con- diesel-cheating scandal. That leaves Hossein Jaberi Ansari and the UN envoy tana talks on Syria and the first three rounds Jaberi Ansari also met with Aleksandr troversial issue in the final days of the Iran, with a population of 80 million, as discussed the latest developments in Syria. of the talks were held on January 23-24, Feb- Lavrentyev, the Russian negotiator at the general election after the terror attacks a rare opportunity for growth. Com- Jaberi Ansari highlighted the importance ruary 15-16 and March 14-15. talks, and Syria’s Ambassador to the UN in Manchester and London Bridge. panies from Boeing Co. to Total SA are of the UN role in helping the inter-Syrian talks The fourth round of the talks was held in Bashar Jaafari. It was commissioned by David jostling for early entry to the Islam- and reducing tension in Syria. May during which a document on creating Jaafari leads the Syrian government in the Cameron and approved by May as ic Republic a year after international De Mistura said that the UN supports Iran, de-escalation zones in Syria was signed. talks with the opposition in Astana. part of a deal with the Liberal Demo- sanctions tied to its nuclear program crats to secure the party’s support be- were lifted. fore a crucial vote on airstrikes in Syria PSA Group was the first car- in December 2015. maker to re-enter with a deal an- In written answers to Lucas this nounced last year to upgrade its West Asian week, both the Home Office and Peugeot factory near Tehran and Downing Street said the prime minister start building Citroen models in the Chess was personally responsible for decid- country. A few months later, Re- ing whether to release the report. nault SA said it would set up a new Championship The Home Office minister Sarah plant with capacity to build 150,000 Newton said: “The review into the fund- autos per year. underway in ing of extremism in the UK was commis- Iran auto production growth will av- sioned by the former prime minister and erage 11 percent through 2021, Fitch reported to the home secretary and the Group’s BMI Research said in April.