WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 8 Pages Price 50,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 43rd year No.14005 Wednesday AUGUST 4, 2021 Mordad 13, 1400 Dhul Hijjah 24, 1442 ‘Iran drops case Greco-Roman wrestler Monthly exports from Iranian medical team reviews of prisoner swap Saravi wins bronze mining sector stands stuntman Aqdasi’s chart after with U.S.’ Page 2 at Tokyo 2020 Page 3 at $1.29b Page 4 Lebanese crash Page 8 Leader endorses Ebrahim Raisi as president TEHRAN — In a ceremony attended by a landslide. by number of high-ranking officials on Rahmani Fazli said the Interior Ministry Tuesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution followed the principle of observing the rule Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed Ebrahim of law, maintaining impartiality, creating Raisi as the 8th president of Iran. trust, establishing complete security and Raisi received the presidential mandate a fair competition, and providing a con- from the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. dition for high participation. At the beginning of the ceremony, They were intended to increase political Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani enthusiasm and encourage voter turnout, Fazli presented a report on the June 18 the minister said. presidential election in which Raisi won Continued on page 2 Iran’s foreign debt falls 4.3%: CBI TEHRAN – The latest report published External debt is the portion of a coun- by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) puts the try’s debt that is borrowed from foreign country’s foreign debt at $8.744 billion at lenders including commercial banks, the end of the first quarter of the current governments, or international financial Iranian calendar year (June 20), down institutions. These loans, including inter- 4.35 percent from $9.142 billion at the est, must usually be paid in the currency end of the previous year, IRIB reported. in which the loan was made. From the total foreign debt, $6.733 Foreign debt as a percentage of Gross billion was mid-term and long-term debts Domestic Product (GDP) is the ratio be- while $2.011 billion was short-term debts, tween the debt a country owes to non-res- the report confirmed. ident creditors and its nominal GDP. Nine national macro technology projects inaugurated TEHRAN – Nine national macro projects the help of Iranian expertise. have come on stream with high technolog- Smart management of wheat silos ical complexity and strategic importance. system, a medical smartphone with the For the first time, knowledge-based ability to process and analyze information, companies have succeeded in commer- nanodrop spectrometer used in biotech- Leader reflects on the outcome cializing the products in the fields of med- nology, stem cells, and medicine, advanced ical equipment, agriculture, and energy drones to monitor foreign customs trade, to meet the needs of the country, IRNA smart surgery system, Mediterranean fruit See page 3 reported on Monday. fly pesticide, paper disinfectant, and three of Iran presidential election The production of these products is a hybrid seeds are the products inaugurated khamenei.ir step towards self-sufficiency and meeting during the ceremony. the strategic needs of the country with Continued on page 7 Vladimir Alekno Kharanaq: a deserted, crumbling but Sheikh Jarrah, the heart of the Palestinian fails to live up to dreamy destination struggle for freedom expectations TEHRAN - Serenely situated in a remote valley about collections of adobe buildings in Iran. It was once The Israeli Supreme Court has adjourned a rul- The proposal leaves the question of Palestinian 70km north of Yazd in central Iran, is the deserted a prosperous farming village, but when water ing on an appeal by Palestinian families over legal ownership of their land unanswered but BY MASOUD HOSSEIN and crumbling mud-brick village of Kharanaq. supplies dried up the inhabitants left, leaving their forceful eviction from the Sheikh Jarrah a clear indication of where it will swing. It has t seems difficult to believe, but Kharanaq approximately dates 4,000 years, the town to turn to ruins, Ancient Origins writes. neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds; been met with anger by Palestinians who will Iran volleyball team, headed while its dilapidated adobe buildings that draw While most of the Old Town of Kharanaq the last historic bastion of Palestinian identity present their arguments in the next court session. by Vladimir Alekno, finished sightseers from around the world date back consists of crumbling homes and collapsing roofs, in the holy city. This is despite the Israeli Supreme Court hear- I around 1,000 years. there remain some historically important and In the meantime, until the next court session ing being held in Hebrew for the Israeli settlers in ninth place in the 2020 Olym- pic Games. It’s while the team had The abandoned town is a photographer’s well-preserved monuments. at least where a ruling could be made, Israeli and no Arabic translation for the Palestinians. come fifth in the previous edition dream with a labyrinth of streets, tunnels, pas- In recent years, a New Town was constructed within regime judges have proposed that Palestinians In essence, the proposal means Palestinians in Rio. sageways, and rooms, as well as more impres- 2km of the ancient town with government-supplied families remain in their homes for now as ten- have just been forced to agree that their land The Russian coach had been appointed sive buildings such as a tiny mosque, a shaking water and electricity. Apart from a few elderly people ants. They have been offered something that has will not belong to them in the future. as Iran coach to win the first-ever medal minaret, and an old caravanserai that welcomed who refused to leave their old houses and continue been described by the Israeli Supreme Court as There are many unfortunate calamities here with the team but failed to live up to the merchants and pilgrims centuries ago, according to live among the ruins, the rest of the Old Town’s a “protected status” that will allegedly safeguard in the latest episode of the brave Palestinian expectations. to Ancient Origins. inhabitants moved to the New Town. them from eviction for “the coming years”. residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood Yes, It’s absolutely disappointing. It’s Meaning ‘place of birth of the sun’, Kharanaq There are several magnificent monuments At the same time, they must pay an annual in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds. not clear that Iran can compete in the Paris is divided into two parts – the Old Town, which is inside the village. A Qajar-era (1789–1925) charge of around $465 to an Israeli settler or- Firstly, many West Asian media outlets have 2024 with the golden generation. Tokyo almost completely deserted, and the New Town, mosque has been fully restored and stands with ganization; an organization which lower Israeli regurgitated Israeli propaganda that some form 2020 was the right time and right place where tens of families continue to live. a 15-meter-high minaret, known as the Shaking courts had already declared as the owners of of comprise has emerged for the Palestinian for Iran volleyball to qualify for top four. The Old Town was constructed with sun- Minaret of Kharanaq. the Palestinian properties in the Sheikh Jarrah families in the decades old battle. Alekno had said there is no guarantee baked mud bricks, forming one of the largest Continued on page 6 neighborhood. Continued on page 5 to win a medal in Olympics but he was sure the 2021 Volleyball Nations League would help him know his team. BUT it didn’t work. Iran ambassador to UK warns of escalation over Israeli ship Pegasus project showed “My strategy is to move forward step by TEHRAN – Iranian Ambassador to the UK Mo- was a “very premature reaction.” tacked by suicide drones. Zodiac Maritime said Israel never hesitates step. We will go ahead game by game. Our hsen Baharvand has reacted to accusations by Iran and the UK both summoned each other’s two crewmen, a British and Romanian national, matches in the 2021 VNL have been analyzed London and its allies against Iran over last week’s ambassadors amid heightened tensions over the died in the attack. to spy on friends: ex- carefully. Now, we have valuable materials attack on an Israeli-operated oil tanker off the attack on the Israeli ship. “With profound sadness, we understand the that we can work on. I hope we can benefit coast of Oman. The Israeli-operated ship Mercer Street came incident onboard the M/T Mercer Street on 29 Lebanese diplomat In remarks to the Financial Times, the Iranian under attack off the coast of Oman on Thursday July, 2021 has resulted in the deaths of two crew from our analysis in the Olympics,” Alekno BY MOHAMMAD MAZHARI said prior to Olympic Games. ambassador cautioned that an escalation “doesn’t while traveling from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania members on board,” the UK-based Israeli com- help anybody.” He told the British paper that to the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah. The pany said in a statement on Friday afternoon, a TEHRAN - A former Lebanese ambassador to Chile, It was not just Alekno’s fault because Poland, and Canada says that the Pegasus project Iran’s volleyball federation played a key London’s decision to blame the Islamic republic oil tanker, managed by Israeli shipping magnate day after the attack. for last week’s assault on the MV Mercer Street Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime, was reportedly at- Continued on page 3 showed Israel’s desire to spy on its allies as well role in the failure.