WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 16 Pages Price 20,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 39th year No.13241 Saturday OCTOBER 27, 2018 Aban 5, 1397 Safar 17, 1440 U.S. curbed by IRGC is forerunner Sepahan emerge Iranian artists display Iran’s defense power: in fighting victorious over works for Arbaeen cleric 2 terrorism 2 Esteghlal: IPL 15 pilgrims 16 Tehran: Russia-Turkey deal on See page 13 Idlib ‘was Iranian idea’ A deal reached between Russia and Turkey to have Russia and Turkey — which support New Iraqi PM, last month to attempt to peacefully resolve opposing sides in the Syrian conflict — meet the issue of Syria’s Idlib Province, the last each other halfway. major stronghold of anti-government mil- Conflict erupted in Syria back in 2011, when itants in the Arab country, was based in a small group of opposition forces took up arms its entirety on an Iranian proposal, says against Damascus. Soon, however, a mix of two-thirds of Iran’s chief negotiator on Syria. international terrorists and paid mercenaries Hossein Jaberi Ansari, Iran’s point man mingled with and then largely sidestepped the on the Middle East and North Africa, told armed Syrian opposition groups, effectively Press TV’s website in an exclusive interview turning the Arab country into a battlefield on October 10, that the deal, reached in Sochi for foreign governments opposed to Syrian ministers sworn in in mid-September, was based on Iran’s idea President Bashar al-Assad. 2 Iranian, Iraqi RCSs to build hospital in Karbala SOCIETY TEHRAN — Follow- Peyvandi thanked Iran’s Red Crescent desking a memorandum of Society for providing efficient health understanding inked between Iraq’s Red services to the pilgrims participating Crescent Society and Iran’s Red Crescent in Arbaeen trek. Society a hospital will be jointly built in President of Iraqi Red Crescent Society Karbala, ISNA reported on Friday. also highlighted that as per the memoran- President of Iraqi Red Crescent So- dum of understating Iran and Iraq Red ciety Yaseen Ahmed Abbass in a visit Crescent Societies will build a hospital with his Iranian counterpart Ali-Asghar in Karbala. 12 Trump signs new sanctions against Hezbollah U.S. President Donald Trump signed new “Over the past year we have levied sanctions targeting the Lebanon resistance the highest sanctions ever imposed on group Hezbollah. Hezbollah -- in a single year, by far. Just The legislation, known as the Hizbal- a few moments ago, I signed legislation lah International Financing Prevention imposing even more hard-hitting sanctions Amendments Act, was sponsored by Sen. on Hezbollah to further starve them of their Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican. The funds. And they are starving for them,” bill ramps up reporting requirements and Trump said during an event marking the places further financial and economic 35th anniversary of the attack on U.S. File photo sanctions on the group. Marine barracks in Beirut. 13 PERSPECTIVE Driving Iranian oil export to zero in short term is not easy: energy expert ARTICLE M.A.Saki By Payman Yazdani Referring to the significance of oil market Martin Love Deputy editor-in-chief TEHRAN — Touching upon the importance of stability he said, “Stability in world oil market is Political analyst from oil market stability for the U.S., senior energy in favor of U.S. Any increase in oil market directly North Carolina expert Omid Shokri says it is not easy to drive affect energy security in the U.S. Iran’s oil export to zero in short term. U.S. planning to drop Iran oil export to Khashoggi scandal: Following the brutal killing of Saudi Jour- zero but in short term it will not be easy A general overview nalist at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, There to drop Iran oil export. At long term with Insult to wisdom of have been lots of tensions between Saudi sufficient oil supply by major oil exporter of this era of rulers and their western allies particularly Iran’s role in world oil market may decrease, the entire world the U.S. Iran needs to keep its share in regional and discord The U.S. President Donald Trump has had world oil market. Iran needs to play active The murder of Jamal Khashoggi has proven different contradictory and weak stances towards energy diplomacy if interested to keep and es, it is obvious. Iran and a number of an extremely huge scandal for the tribal the scandal. Despite threatening serious punish- The issue was discussed with Omid increase its share in regional and world oil other countries would be far better off al-Saud family. Probably, worse than the ments against killers of the Saudi journalist at Shokri Kalehsar, a senior energy security market. It can be seen that Iran’s oil export Ytoday, economically and thus socially, savage murder was repeated denials of the same time Trump calls the Saudi regime as analyst and international relations expert will decrease more than %50 in contrast to if the U.S. was not militarily attacking or the act and contradictory explanations an important ally for confronting Iran. in Washington. post nuclear agreement.” 7 threatening to attack someone, somewhere, about it. and especially in the Middle East. It’s vital The barbaric act was committed by a to know some facts about all this and try country that comically claims it is fighting ‘Difficulty of building a grand theory of religion and international relations’ to analyze it and prognosticate what may terrorism in the region. Its claim of war Following is the text of the interview: religion’s relationship with international politics. or may not happen geopolitically, and the against terrorism is like its vehement denial EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Tehran Times does as good a job of this By Javad Heirannia When did the religious issues has been a The terrorist attacks of 9/11 in 2001 played a major that Khashoggi left the Saudi consulate matter of great in Theorizing of International role in highlighting the need for more rigorous as any newspaper I know. in Istanbul. TEHRAN — Professor Jonathan T. Chow from Relations? theorizing about religion in international relations As an American journo, one can say Those officials in the West who saw University of Macau says that “Religion can be A: Historically, the study of religion has been and there has been an outpouring of scholarship things in the Tehran Times, for example, Saudi Arabia as a stabilizing force in the an important factor in international politics, but a niche issue in international relations theory about religion since. As an indication of how the that are not readily going to find a main- region should now be ashamed of them- it would be a mistake to say that it is the sole or and has only become a major area of research in field has grown, the International Studies As- stream publisher in the U.S. One case selves. even the most important factor.” the last two decades or so. Some earlier scholars sociation—the most widely known professional in point was when, several years ago, I The murder of Khashoggi has been surely “Building a grand theory of religion and in- engaged with questions of how religion relates interdisciplinary association for international was writing paid opinion pieces in what ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Moham- ternational relations, I think, would necessarily to international relations theory (notably the studies--established a section for Religion and used to be one of the top 10 newspapers mad Bin Salam, also known as MBS. It is oversimplify the diverse and nuanced ways in theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, who articulated International Affairs in 2013. in the U.S. where I worked fulltime for an insult to the wisdom of the entire people which religious ideas, practices, and modes of a theory of Christian Realism, and the English Some argue that if the theory of Inter- a while in the 1970s – the Providence in the world that the killing had taken place social organization shape world politics,” Pro- School international relations theorist Martin national Relations means a constitutive and (Rhode Island) Journal. But like so many without the knowledge of MBS. fessor Chow tells the Tehran Times. Wight), but the study of religion in international critical theory, then bringing religion into newspapers in the U.S. today, the staff In Saudi Arabia, which is being run by a He adds that “It’s important to recognize relations began to come into its own in the 1990s International Relations is possible, but if at the Journal is a third of what it used tribal family, a crime of such a degree in a that theories have their limitations. Theories are with the proliferation of sectarian conflicts after the theory of International Relations is a to be, and the paper has shrunk in terms foreign country could not have happened thinking tools that offer structured approaches the collapse of the Soviet Union. Samuel Hun- explanatory-empirical theory, the theoriz- of pages by two thirds, too. I had written without the order of the dictator at the top. to investigating specific questions. One of the tington’s controversial 1996 book, The Clash of ing religion in International Relations is not a column there about the 19th century Such acts are trademark of dictatorial most exciting things about studying religion Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order possible and, in fact, there is not theological roots of Apartheid in South Africa after regimes, especially Saudi Arabia which is and international politics is that both are always (itself based on a 1993 Foreign Affairs article), positivism theory in International Relations.