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12 Pages Price 50,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 42nd year No.13674 Thursday MAY 28, 2020 Khordad 8, 1399 Shawwal 5, 1441 U.S. sanctions have Hezbollah warns of Israeli strongly denies Iranian doc spotlights lost efficiency: plan for Palestinian Willy Sagnol talk veterans deported after Iranian diplomat 2 state in Jordan 10 11 fighting in U.S. wars 12

200 industrial, mining, trade projects New Iranian to be implemented by Mar. 2021 — Iranian Industry, Mining di, the said projects are going to be and Trade Ministry plans to inaugu- implemented under a new program rate 200 major industrial, mining called “Persistent Production-Effective and trade projects across the country Employment-Sustainable Exports”. Parliament opens by the Iranian calendar year of 1400 As reported, some 1.69 quadrillion (begins on March 20, 2021), IRNA rials (about $40.23 billion) has been reported. invested in the mentioned project that See page 2 According to Deputy Industry, Min- are going to create job opportunities ing and Trade Minister Saeed Zaran- for 41,000 people. 4

Birthday of Iranian-Turkmen poet Makhtum-Qoli Faraghi celebrated TEHRAN — The 287th birth anni- The mausoleum of the poet is located versary of the Iranian-Turkmen poet in Aq-Tuqai village in Iran’s northern Makhtum-Qoli Faraghi (Magtymguly province of Golestan. Pyragy, 1733-1790) was celebrated in The ceremony was attended by a seminar aired on the IRIB channel Golestan officials and a number of of Golestan Province on Wednesday. Turkmen poets, while the message of Makhtum-Qoli is considered to be the the Minister of Culture and Islamic founder of authentic Turkmen literature Guidance Seyyed Abbas Salehi was by the people who speak the language. read at the ceremony. 12

Third Iranian tanker reaches Venezuelan waters TEHRAN — The third cargo of an Iranian President Nicolas Maduro said he tanker flotilla carrying fuel for Venezuela would announce in the coming days on Tuesday reached the nation’s exclusive a “plan” for fuel distribution. Gaso- economic zone as the previous two were line is so heavily subsidized that it is discharging at state run PDVSA’s ports, essentially free, but shortages have Refinitiv Eikon data showed. forced Venezuelans to either wait in According to Reuters, the Iran-flagged days-long queues or pay steep prices tanker Petunia crossed the Caribbean Sea on the black market.

Majid Asgaripour earlier on Tuesday, following the same “Now we will be able to go in phases route as vessels Fortune and Forest. The toward a new normal in terms of gas-

Mehr/ Fortune arrived on Monday at a port serv- oline supply,” Maduro said in a state ing PDVSA’s El Palito refinery. television address. 3

ARTICLE Iran plans to equip environmental defenders WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y Yuram Abdullah Weiler with high-tech facilities Analyst and journalist TEHRAN — Iran plans to provide a budget Pointing to the purchase of quadcopters 12 Pages Price 40,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 42nd year No.13656 Monday MAY 4, 2020 Ordibehesht 15, 1399 Ramadan 10, 1441 Following the Tehran Times: An audible Beheshti Revolutionary to equip the environmental defenders with to monitor protected areas, prevent crime, guidelines of voice of the oppressed newspaper press should technological advances, Jamshid Mohabbat identify and even deal with poachers, he said martyr Beheshti 2 people worldwide 3 9 defend truth 11 Martyr Qassem Khani, commander of the protection unit that some quadcopters can carry 100 liters of of the Department of Environment (DOE) water and spray it over areas burning in fire. The Tehran Times is looking for Soleimani: The real has announced. Installing cameras on rangers’ uniform journalists. It is planned to purchase quadcopters, is another plan that can be effective in shatterer of ISIS set up a nationwide wireless system and to documenting while helping the defenders to Send your C.V. via email address install cameras on the rangers’ uniforms, prove conflicts with poachers to the judiciary, below: urning logic and rationality on its head, he stated, Mehr news agency reported on he highlighted. [email protected] page 2 the psychopathic U.S. assassin-in-chief Tuesday. Mohabbat Khani explained about the has made the absurd claim that he Mohabbat Khani, referring to the order establishment of a wireless system, saying Twas the one who defeated Daesh (ISIS or issued by the DOE to equip environmental that “currently, in some provinces, protection JOB ISIL) in its entirety. This is while it was none protection facilities in the four areas under units do not have such system, and in other Required qualifications: other than the whiny wimp in the White the supervision of the organization, said that provinces, there are old wireless devices.” Adequate knowledge of English House himself who ordered the gangland the provinces are supposed to provide the The new wireless devices have a GPS that Relevant experience in media style, terror execution of the Iranian hero best facilities by estimating their needs and can be used to track and monitor the forces VACANCY responsible for the defeat of ISIS, Martyr coordinating with the DOE. in the event of an accident, and the rangers Familiarity with the principles Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani. He added that if this year’s budget is provided, can contact all the country’s police stations, of journalism As the coronavirus death toll in the U.S. many of the equipment will be upgraded. he highlighted. 9 approaches 100,000, the U.S. president, while taking a much-needed golf break khamenei.ir from his arduous duties defending the ARTICLE ARTICLE American republic against all enemies Farrokh Hesabi Kang stepped villageMohammad Jafari Tehran Times journalist Tehran Times journalist external and internal, took to Twitter to The usual victims claim “it was me who shattered 100% of the African Americans 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police added to national ISIS Caliphate.” This startling statement TEHRAN — Four Minneapolis police officers on suspicion of trying to pass a fake $20 bill Tuesday evening that included tense confronta- heritage list was in the midst of a prolonged presidential were fired Tuesday after the detention and at a convenience store, startribune reported. tions with police, who responded with tear gas. proclamation in defense of his golf outing death of 47-year-old George Floyd — a scene U.S. Police killed 1004 people in 2019. Black In the U.S., African Americans are 2.5 times TEHRAN — The stepped village of Kang in the “to get outside and perhaps, even a little that unfolded in a Facebook video showing a people were 24% of those killed despite being more likely to be killed by police than white people. northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi has been exercise,” following the former reality TV white officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he only 13% of the population. For black women, the rate is 1.4 times more likely. inscribed on the national heritage list. show star’s pathetic performance in coping pleaded with police, “I can’t breathe.” The FBI launched an investigation Tuesday, That’s according to a new study conducted by The national registration of the village will with the Covid-19 pandemic in America. Floyd died at Hennepin County Medical as the Minneapolis Police Department fired the Frank Edwards, of Rutgers University’s School lead to its better preservation as well as help This delusionary denizen in the Oval Center soon after the encounter, which start- officer as well as three others who were at the scene. of Criminal Justice, Hedwig Lee, of Washington tourism develop in the region, IRNA quoted the Office boasted incredulously of receiving ed when police detained him Monday evening The quick action didn’t prevent a large protest University in St. 10 province’s deputy tourism chief Marjan Akbari “Great reviews on our handling of Covid as saying on Wednesday. 19,” while complaining that “we made a lot Kang, with an antiquity of more than 3,000 of Governors look very good - And got no years, is situated at a distance of some 30 km from credit for so doing.” Bishop Talbert Swain , the provincial capital. of the predominantly African American The village, located on the highlands of Mount Church of God in Christ, in response to Binalud, is also adjacent to Nishabur, known for its the sickening, self-congratulatory post turquoise handicrafts and mines. by POTUS, poignantly pointed out that The village is surrounded by an eye-catching land- “100,000 people couldn’t give reviews Lifebot medical scape and it is home to warm and friendly people. because.....they’re DEAD.” Here, as in the Visitors experience traditional dishes, tasty local case of the ridiculous rant about shattering foodstuff and indigenous flatbread. There are also

ISIS, the truth is 180 degrees out of phase robot unveiledAlireza Soleymani pocket-friendly hostels and eco-lodges unites. with Trump’s Twitter post. The U.S. has IRNA/ A medical robot, dubbed ‘Keyvan “A beautiful place with a calm and enjoyable in fact proven itself to be exceptional in Lifebot’ was unveiled at Tehran’s nature, and traditional people associated with that the country has become the epicenter Shahid Hasheminejad hospital on the historical context of the village attribute it of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, Wednesday. to the Masouleh of Gilan,” according a foreign lagging far behind other nations in testing The robot is equipped with stereo visitor to the village. and response. vision technology which is used for Tip: Get there as early in the morning as possible Contrary to the Mar-a-Lago maraud- its reliability and effectiveness in and you will enjoy the cool and pleasant climate. er’s swaggering about shattering the ISIS extracting various information (like Get into one of the local eatouts nearby to try caliphate, General Qassem Soleimani color, or dimension). It can be also their smoked tea or other local delicacies cooked played a key role in the defeat of the tak- used for tracking or detecting objects. the traditional way. firi terrorist organization in both Syria

Mayram Kamyab Robots are increasingly being used The village is also known as ‘Khorasan’s Masouleh’, and Iraq. As Gil Barndollar, a senior in the healthcare sector as a potential as its bizarre architecture -each house is built on an- fellow at Catholic University of America’s solution to the current and future other’s rooftop, most of which having porch-balconies Center for Studies of Statesmanship and Mehr/ challenges. and earthen roofs- can also be found in Masouleh, a Defense Priorities put it, 3 historical village in northern Iran. 8 I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y POLITICS MAY 28, 2020

Iran breaking shackles of New Iranian Parliament opens U.S. sanctions: energy analyst POLITICAL TEHRAN — The new Iranian Parlia- deskment (Majlis), the 11th of its kind since POLITICAL TEHRAN — Seyyed Saeed Mirtorabi Hosseini, the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, was opened deskan Iranian oil and gas analyst and a fellow on Wednesday. scientist at Kharazmi University, has said that arrival of Iran’s Senior officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, oil tankers in Venezuela’s waters shows that the Iranian nation Judiciary Chief , Chief of Staff of Armed is breaking the shackles of United States’ sanctions. Forces Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, Army Commander “The United States has imposed sanctions [in the energy sec- Abdolrahim Mousavi, a number of key ministers of interior, tor] on two countries, Iran and Venezuela. But they were able to foreign affairs and oil and tens of other officials, attended oppose these unilateral U.S. sanctions. The successful shipment the inauguration ceremony. of oil tankers to Venezuela, which is in dire need of fuel, tells Iran The MPs in the 290-seat parliament swore the oath of that it is on the right track to confront the cruel U.S. sanctions. office before Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi to stay loyal to It symbolizes that the Iranian nation is breaking the shackles the constitution and guard the national interests. of U.S. sanctions,” Sputnik quoted him as saying on Tuesday. Also, the candidates for the post of parliament speaker Hosseini also noted that the U.S. is unlikely to launch an attack were announced in the afternoon session of the princi- on Iran’s tankers in the Atlantic Ocean or near the Venezuelan plist-dominated parliament. Key new MPs Mohammad coast, because it would cost it dearly. Baqer Qalibaf, Mostafa Mirsalim, Hamidreza Hajbabayee “Tankers are provided with an Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and Hassan Norouzi announced their candidacy for the Navy escort. I do not think that the United States will take such a post of speaker. step as attacking or hijacking Iranian tankers. It will be considered MP Mohammad Saleh Jokar, the representative of Yazd a violation of International Regulations for Preventing Collisions in the parliament, said these four representatives announced at Sea and generally cost the Americans a heavy price. The only their decision to stand for the post in the meeting of the disadvantage of these tankers is the possible lack of international Popular Faction of the Islamic Revolution Forces. insurance, as many large insurance companies have to comply According to Jokar, each candidate was to address the with the rules dictated by the United States,” he said. parliamentary faction for 15 minutes. The first of five Iranian tankers carrying 1.53 million barrels Qalibaf, Mirsalim, and Norouzi were elected to the of gasoline and alkylate reached Venezuelan waters late Saturday parliament from the Tehran constituency in the February to ease the Latin American nation’s fuel crunch. elections. Hajbabayee represents the city of Hamadan. The second tanker has also reached the Venezuelan waters. The Leader also pointed to the supervisory role of the the world. In Islamic Iran, the Islamic Consultative As- Qalibaf and Mirsalim competed with Hassan Rouhani Three other tankers are on the way to arrive in Venezuela. parliament, saying, “My emphasis is on upholding pie- sembly is a symbol of Islamic and religious democracy,” in the 2016 presidential election. The shipments have infuriated Washington as both Iran and ty, fairness and avoiding personal and factional hatred. Rouhani pointed out. Jokar also said MPs Abdolreza Mesri (from Kermanshah), Venezuela are under illegal U.S. sanctions. Neither the right of a hard-working director or manager He also said that the constitution is the basis for coop- (from Ardebil), Elyas Naderan (from Tehran), The U.S. recently beefed up its naval presence in the Caribbean should be violated and nor a leniency.” eration between the administration and Majlis. Alireza Monadi (from ), Seyed Reza Taqavi (from for what it called an expanded anti-drug operation. The Leader also advised new MPs to take revolutionary “Preferring national interests over partisan and fac- Tehran), Seyed Mohammad Reza Tajodini (from Tabriz), Washington has also threatened to take measures especially stance toward important international and domestic issues. tional interests will be the basis for the cooperation of the Amirhossein Qazizadeh Hashemi (from Mashhad), and against Iran, according to a senior U.S. official, who did not Ayatollah Khamenei also called on the new parliament government and parliament,” he noted. Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi (from Kerman) also announced provide further details. to give calm down public opinion in their parliamentary Elsewhere, Rouhani noted that independence of the their candidacy for deputy speakers. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday warned of speeches and establish a brotherly interaction with the three branches of the government does not mean conflict Ayatollah Khamenei: Economy must be new retaliatory measures against the United States if it caused prob- executive and Judiciary. among them. parliament’s priority lems for tankers. In his message, the Leader also called on the MPs to “We can maintain independence of the branches and In a message to the new parliament on Wednesday, abolish redundant and disturbing laws and avoid legis- interact in a way that we will be able to reach the main Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali lating abundant laws. goal,” he pointed out. Khamenei emphasized that attention must be paid to Iran, Afghanistan in agreement Elsewhere, he said that all must respect law. He added, “The parliament, government, Judiciary economy. Observing law is necessary to achieve objectives stated and armed forces are serving the well-being, justice, in- on migrant border incident, “In the area of economy, we have not got a favorable in the constitution and the parliament is obliged to pave dependence of the people and national interests of the grade in achieving justice in the ‘decade of progress and the way for this purpose. country. So, we should not forget these aims when we Foreign Ministry official says justice’…. This unwanted reality must make all prioritize The country will achieve its sublime objectives if there fulfil our duties.” livelihood of the poor classes of the society,” the Leader POLITICAL is enough, proper, and implementable laws, Ayatollah ‘Administration and parliament can counter TEHRAN — Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister said in his message. desk Khamenei remarked. U.S., coronavirus’ for International and Legal Affairs Mohsen The message was read by Ayatollah Mohammad Moham- Ayatollah Khamenei went on to say that Majlis will stand Rouhani also said that the administration and par- Baharvand said on Wednesday that Iran and Afghanistan are madi-Golpayegani, the head of Ayatollah Khamenei’s office. on “the top of affairs” if legislators be “active”, “clean”, liament can cooperatively counter the United States’ in agreement on that incident which led to tragic deaths of a The Leader noted that economy and culture are the “disciplined” and have a proper understanding of the sanctions and provocations and also the coronavirus number of Afghan migrants in border area. top priorities of the country. country’s “condition and priorities”. through cooperation. Baharvand told IRNA that “Currently, economy and culture are on the top list of Rouhani says Iranian parliament is symbol “So, in fighting the coronavirus and the United States’ there is no different views as the country’s priorities.” of Islamic democracy economic war and its terrorist acts, which are both eco- reported by certain foreign To solve economic problems it is necessary to revise Addressing the new parliament, President Rouhani nomic terrorism and more recently medical terrorism, media outlets. policies to boost employment, production, increase value also said Iran’s parliament is “symbol of Islamic and re- we can fight their sanctions and provocations and also Iranian diplomats and bor- of national currency and tame the inflation, the Leader ligious democracy”. this disease together through cooperation and synergy,” der guards have carried out suggested, adding that the general policies of the resistance “Majlis is an important symbol of democracy around the president pointed out. investigations which shows economy must also be prioritized. the Iranian guards were not He also attached great importance to reducing reliance involved in the incident, he on oil revenues. Key new MPs Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Mostafa Mirsalim, noted. The Leader also suggested MPs to avoid being involved Iranian and Afghan politi- Hamidreza Hajbabayee and Hassan Norouzi announce their in disputes under the influence of personal and factional candidacy for the post of parliament speaker. cal delegations held new talks tendencies or dragged into ethnic or regional groups. in Kabul on Tuesday on the incident. According to ISNA, the talks were inconclusive and the del- egations plan to continue the U.S. sanctions have lost efficiency: diplomat talks. POLITICAL TEHRAN – Iranian tankers to Venezuela amid U.S. sanctions Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has It was the second time that Iranian and Afghan officials met deskAmbassador to Venezuela against both countries has infuriated those also said that arrival of Iranian oil tanker on the issue. Hojat Soltani has said that the United States’ in the White House. in Venezuela breaks the United States’ Afghan news media have reported that about 50 Afghan mi- unilateral sanctions have lost their efficiency. Iran has warned to retaliate any aggression “unacceptable” and criminal blockade”. grants crossing into Iran illegally had been beaten and thrown “The United States’ unilateral sanctions against its tankers while noting that it has the “The first of five Iranian oil tankers into a river. Iranian political and border officials have refuted against Venezuela, Iran and a number of inherent right to trade with other countries. arrives in Venezuela breaking unacceptable the claim, saying the incident happened on the Afghan side of other countries have lost efficiency,” IRNA Mehdi Sanaei, a top advisor to Foreign and criminal blockade. #VivaLaSolidaridad the border. quoted him as saying on Tuesday in an Minister , said on Long live solidarity among the peoples,” According to some reports, 18 of the migrants, including a interview with the Al-Alam news network. Tuesday that arrival of Iranian oil tankers he tweeted on Sunday. 12-year old boy, were drowned in the Harirud river. He also said that arrival of Iranian oil in the Venezuelan waters in the Caribbean ‘Iranian oil tankers mark a Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry announced on May 9 that tankers in the Venezuelan waters was an is an end to a “unipolar system”. victory for international community’ an inquiry had been launched into the tragedy. “international victory”. “Iranian oil tankers’ arrival in the Ambassador Soltani also on Wednesday Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held “The Iranian oil tanker Fortune delivered Caribbean Sea is an important event based said that Tehran’s insistence on sending a phone conversation with acting Afghan foreign minister its cargo in Venezuela and three other on international law and with international oil tankers to Venezuela despite the U.S. Mohammad Haneef Atmar on May 10 discussing the deaths tankers are moving towards Venezuela,” El Palito refinery. dimensions which will remain in history opposition and threats was a victory for the of Afghan migrants. he said. Ambassador said, “Two Iranian oil as a main chapter in ending unilateralism. UN and international community. Iran’s Foreign Ministry has rejected as a “bitter joke” a claim The third cargo of the Iranian tanker tankers arrived in Venezuela without being This event rings the bell of end to unipolar “Forcing the aggressor and arrogant U.S. by the United States that Iranian guards were involved in the flotilla on Tuesday reached Venezuela’s harassed by any country.” system,” he tweeted in Persian. government to comply with its responsibil- tragic deaths of Afghan migrants. exclusive economic zone as the previous He described the day that the Iranian Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ities under international rules and treaties “Iran has strong ties with Afghanistan & leads the way to two were discharging at state run PDVSA’s tankers arrived in Venezuela as “great” and has hailed the arrival of Iranian tankers to and respectful to the freedom of shipping help Afghan leaders for inclusive Gvt. What happened to Afghan ports, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. “historic” for the people of both countries. Venezuela amid U.S. threats. and trade is the most important strategic nationals in Herat is tragic & unrelated to Iran, but U.S. regime’s According to Reuters, the Iran-flagged The five tankers deliver some 1.5 million “The ‘Fortune’ became this Monday # 25 effect of the tankers’ arrival in Venezuela,” allegation against Iran is a ‘bitter joke’,” the Foreign Ministry tanker Petunia crossed the Caribbean Sea barrels of fuel to Venezuela that despite May a symbol of freedom and courage for Soltani wrote on his twitter page. said in a statement published via Twitter on May 5. earlier on Tuesday, following the same route having abundant reserves, is facing fuel two peoples: Venezuela and Iran,” tweeted “The UN and the international community “The (US) regime is a war criminal in Afghanistan & state as vessels Fortune and Forest. The Fortune shortage due to illegal U.S. sanctions. Maduro while posting photos of the Iranian have been for years waiting and deserving sponsor of terrorism across the world,” the statement added. arrived on Monday at a port serving PDVSA’s Tehran’s decision to send Iran-flagged tanker docked in a Venezuelan port. such a victory,” he added. According to Tasnim, Iran spends eight billion dollars on Afghan migrants every year in various sectors. Based on the latest official figures, 951,142 Afghan refugees reside in Iran. In addition to the refugees, there are around 2.5 Tehran dismisses claims of torturing, detaining illegal nationals at Afghanistan borders million Afghan nationals living in Iran, inclusive of passport holders and undocumented Afghans. TEHRAN (MNA) – The Director-General of Bureau for Republic of Iran.” Iranian border guards had tortured and thrown as many as The UN refugee agency has, on numerous occasions, praised Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs of the Ministry of According to the studies made in this regard, these cit- 57 Afghans into the Hari River (Harirud) in western Herat Iran for hosting Afghan refugees for more than four decades. Interior Mehdi Mahmoudi on Wed. categorically turned izens may have tried to enter the land and territory of the province to prevent their illegal entry into Iran. down the claim of torturing and detaining illegal nationals Islamic Republic of Iran by crossing hard-to-pass areas of Iran has extensive evidence that the incident has not at borders of Khorasan Razavi province with Afghanistan, the river and some of them have drowned due to the water happened on its borders. According to Iran’s Foreign It is time to stand against U.S. saying such incidents have nothing to do with the border level, he added. Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, the confirmed guards of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The spread of such news has been leveled by the enemies reports received from the border guards of the Islamic warmongering, Iran says Regarding the rumors and incorrect news published in of the two countries of Iran and Afghanistan with the aim Republic of Iran show that such an incident has not occurred social media, claiming the torture and drowning of a num- of dividing and creating discord between the two nations. on the mentioned date and location. He noted that Iran has POLITICAL TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry has said desk ber of Afghan citizens in Hari River [Harirud] by Iranian Yearlong services rendered by the Iranian government not been associated with Afghan migrants and the claims that it is the time to stand against the United border guards, he added, “although there are fundamental to Afghan refugees is solid evidence for the said claim and of transferring people to camps or inhumane treatment States’ violence and warmongering. doubts about the accuracy of this issue and its connection these rumors will not disrupt friendly ties between the two are completely baseless. He added that due to weather “Regretful that 100k of United States soldiers killed in battles with the claimed time and place of the incident, this issue countries, Mahmoudi emphasized. conditions of the region, not a single Afghan citizen entered waged bc of US leaders’ instrumental rationality & insatiable has nothing to do with the border guard of the Islamic On May 1, some claims surfaced in media reports that the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran on that date. greed. US war machines have just led to killing, destruction, atrocities. Time to stand against US violence, warmongering, as remembering millions of lost lives,” the Foreign Ministry said in a tweet on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on May 2 Tehran urges lifting of ‘inhumane’ sanctions on Syrians that the U.S. is the biggest “military spender” and “arms seller”, POLITICAL TEHRAN – Ali-Asghar soon as possible. the Syrian people’s lives in different forms, also conferred on other issues, including the which has also been starting, instigating and benefiting from deskKhaji, the Iranian foreign In a phone talk with United Nations Mehr reported. provision of the grounds for the return of wars around the globe. minister’s special assistant for political af- Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen, Khaji also highlighted the significance of the Syrian refugees to their homeland and Zarif said the U.S. has long been the world’s top “military fairs, on Wednesday called the sanctions Khaji called on the related international helping the war-torn country retain its peace facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid spender, arms seller, war initiator and instigator and conflict against the Syrian people “inhumane” and bodies to gear up the efforts in line with the and stability in the fight against terrorism. packages to Syria, amid the novel coronavirus profiteer”. said it is necessary to remove the bans as lifting of the sanctions that have challenged During the conversation, the two sides pandemic. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y MAY 28, 2020 IRAN IN FOCUS 3

Diplomacy, respect key to resolving issues Iranian deputy FM meets with Iran, says Princeton researcher Afghanistan’s Abdullah POLITICAL TEHRAN — Iran and Afghanistan discussed desk POLITICAL TEHRAN — Seyed Nations to propose the denuclearization of a recent incident at the common border that deskHossein Mousavian, a West Asia about 50 years ago. resulted in the deaths of Afghan migrants trying to cross into former Iranian nuclear negotiator who “Unfortunately, after 50 years, despite Iran illegally. now works as a researcher at Princeton dozens of UN resolutions, the interna- Heading a high-ranking delegation, Deputy Foreign Min- University, has said diplomacy, respect, tional community remains at zero levels ister for Legal Affairs Mohsen Baharvand met with Head of and non-interference are key to resolving not going anywhere.” Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Ab- problems with Iran. The senior academic figure further ex- dullah Abdullah in Kabul on Tuesday evening. “The corona crisis is a global crisis that plained that the main reason for the failure of affects most countries in the world, but the region and the international community Iran’s problem in managing this crisis is in implementing the plan to free West Asia different from all other countries because of from weapons of mass destruction is the the worst sanctions in history,” Mousavian fact that in the region only Israel has an said at a virtual meeting of the Pennsylvania arsenal of nuclear weapons and does not Council on Foreign Relations, according fall under the UN resolutions. to Iran Press. The former Iranian diplomat said West “At the same time, corona’s crisis man- Asia is facing many crises such as war, agement in Iran has been much better than terrorism, civil war, and ethnic strife, and in the United States,” he said. therefore the danger of terrorist groups’ Due to the failure of the Trump adminis- access to technology and nuclear weapons tration in the regime change project in Iran, and mass killings is greater than ever. the White House has found the corona crisis Multiple initiatives would be needed to as an opportunity to intensify pressure on ensure peace, stability and security in the Iran and therefore has increased inhumane region, including regional arrangements for sanctions against Iran during the corona conventional weapons and non-conventional crisis, the former diplomat added. weapons, he remarked. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the results of a The researcher noted that the structure “Such arrangements create a balance of probe into a deadly incident along the Iran-Afghanistan borders. of Iran’s health system is strong, and at the Due to the failure of the Trump power and allay concerns about aggression Baharvand underlined the need for cooperation of both coun- same time, the Iranian people have real- and war. After the Revolution, Saddam in- tries within the framework of the joint committee to probe the ized that the U.S. policy has targeted their administration in the regime change vaded Iran with the support of Arab countries case, Mehr reported. country’s existence. project in Iran, the White House has found and all world powers. About 100,000 Iranians Abdullah stressed the good neighborliness between Iran and Therefore, he continued, they will be fell victim to Saddam’s chemical weapons, Afghanistan, saying his country wants a serious and fair inves- united in defending their country’s iden- the corona crisis as an opportunity to the materials and technology of which were tigation into the human tragedy. tity, existence, and independence, and will intensify pressure on Iran and therefore has provided to Saddam by the United States Earlier in the day, the Iranian delegation held a meeting with not succumb to U.S. pressure. increased inhumane sanctions against Iran and Europe.” an Afghan delegation headed by Foreign Minister Mohammad According to Mousavian, during the coro- “After the war, the United States topped Hanif Atmar in Kabul. na crisis, Qatar sent the most humanitarian during the corona crisis, the former Iranian the list by exporting hundreds of billions of At that meeting, Atmar called for Iran’s full cooperation on aid to Iran among its neighbors as well as diplomat says. dollars of conventional advanced weapons, joint investigations related to the incident. at an international level. turning the region into a full-fledged military “The purpose of this research is to get the facts, to take legal At the same time, Iran has neither passed but is in the middle of a complete contain- Elsewhere in his remarks, Mousavian zone that has been engulfed in a variety of action against the perpetrators, and to take the necessary measures through the corona crisis nor been defeated ment of the disease, he opined. said Iran was the first member of the United crises,” he concluded. to prevent such unfortunate incidents in the future, which may affect the relations between the two friendly and neighboring countries,” he said. On May 1, some claims surfaced in media reports that Iranian Tehran: U.S. police brutality knows no bounds border guards had tortured and thrown as many as 57 Afghans into the Hari River (Harirud) in western Herat province to prevent POLITICAL TEHRAN — It seems that It came after a video surfaced showing state of Minnesota, which led to his death, About 24 hours after Floyd’s death, hun- their illegal entry into Iran. The Khaama Press News Agency said deskthe United States police’s brutal treatment of an unarmed African-Amer- police has confirmed. dreds packed the streets of Minneapolis, many at least 23 of them drowned in Harirud. brutality against African-Americans knows ican man under the knee of a U.S. police “I stand before you and the city of Min- gathering at the intersection where Floyd Iranian border officials have dismissed reports that they were no boundaries, the Iranian Foreign Ministry officer before his death. neapolis here to say that our deepest con- was pinned to the ground by police officers drowned by Iranian border guards. Iran has said the incident said via Twitter on Wednesday. George Floyd died on Monday after be- dolences. The vast majority of the men and shortly before he died. happened on the Afghan side of the border. “6 yrs after ‘I can’t breathe’ pleas of Eric ing pinned down by a white officer despite women who proudly put on this uniform Tuesday evening, protesters begun at the Iran’s Foreign Ministry has rejected as a “bitter joke” a claim Garner, #GeorgeFloyd, another black man, yelling: “I cannot breathe.” each and every day understand the important intersection Floyd was last recorded alive and by the United States that Iranian guards were involved in the dies after a cruel, inhumane arrest,” the min- Four Minneapolis police officers were fired role and relationship that we must have, we later marched to one of the police precincts, tragic deaths of Afghan migrants. istry tweeted. on Tuesday, a day after a bystander’s cell must have will all of our community mem- CNN affiliate WCCO reported. “Iran has strong ties with Afghanistan & leads the way “It seems that US #PoliceBrutality against phone video captured one of them pressing bers,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria “We’re here to let them know this can’t be to help Afghan leaders for inclusive Gvt. What happened to blacks knows no boundaries. And as always, his knee on Floyd’s neck. Arrandondo. tolerated, there will be severe consequences Afghan nationals in Herat is tragic & unrelated to Iran, but the response to calls for justice, is employing The white Minneapolis police officer An ambulance took the suspect to the if they continue to kill us. This will not go on U.S. regime’s allegation against Iran is a ‘bitter joke’,” the even more force.” pinned him down with his knee in the U.S. hospital, where he died a short time later. another day,” a protester told the affiliate. Foreign Ministry said in a statement published via Twitter on May 5. “The (US) regime is a war criminal in Afghanistan & state Martyr Qassem Soleimani: The real shatterer of ISIS sponsor of terrorism across the world,” the statement added. 1 “The inconvenient truth is Iran and its proxy forces a bartender or a casino manager.” Addressing the rogue played a critical role in defeating ISIS in both Iraq and Syr- Republican American leader, the late Commander warned, Iran shows it is capable of ia.” Furthermore, General Soleimani was the chief architect “We are near you in places that you can’t even imagine. of Iran’s most successful mix of diplomatic and military We are a nation of martyrdom. We are the nation of Imam countering U.S.: ex-WH strategies, which have successfully transformed the Islamic Hussein (as).” Furthermore, the Martyred former Qods Republic from beyond a mere regional power into a force Force Commander predicted, “You may start the war, but official to be reckoned with on the world stage. we will be the ones to determine its end.” POLITICAL TEHRAN — Professor Frank N. von Hippel, Hailing from a small village in Kerman Province, General Some of the more clear-eyed U.S. officials have ac- deskformer assistant director for national security Qassem Soleimani joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard knowledged the stupidity of Trump’s cowardly assas- in the White House Office of Science and Technology, has said Corps (IRGC) after its founding in April of 1979. Upon com- sination of General Soleimani. Douglas London, a re- that Iran showed it is capable of countering the United States’ pleting basic training, the young Soleimani was immediately cently retired CIA Senior Operations Officer and Chief of sanctions by delivering oil to Venezuela. made a training instructor and subsequently rose through Counterterrorism for South and Southwest Asia, noted “This delivery is a symbolic action which showed Iran’s the ranks to become the leader of the prestigious 41st Divi- that as the IRGC Qods Force continues to expand its capability to counter the United States and its pressure. It also sion of the IRGC, whose sobriquet is Thar Allah (Vengeance scope of operations following the martyrdom of General showed that Iran will not give of Allah), which is also a nickname of Imam Hussein (as). after having invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, thereby isolat- Soleimani, “the greater the chances that American vul- in to sanction and pressure,” He served as a commander on the front lines during the ing and encircling Iran. It was General Qassem Soleimani nerabilities will be exposed, which would raise the cost ILNA quoted him as saying Sacred Defense, the 8-year-long war imposed upon Iran that went to Beirut in the early days of the Israeli attack on for the Trump administration in many respects.” Polit- in an interview published on by the U.S.-backed dictator Saddam of Iraq, and by March Lebanon to organize the resistance forces and coordinate ical analyst at Persis Media Maysam Behravesh writes, Wednesday. of 1998, he had assumed command of the elite Qods Force. combat operations. He stayed in Lebanon for the entire “Indeed, the Islamic Republic’s unconventional alliance He also noted that transfer Following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the duration of the conflict alongside Hezbollah Commander network reaches far and wide, and its workings have of oil to Venezuela proved inef- New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon, General Imad Moughniyeh (Martyred in 2008) except for a brief trip only intensified since the Soleimani killing.” Given the ficiency of the U.S. sanctions. Soleimani was responsible for helping the Americans de- back to Iran one week into the war when he returned for one U.S. president’s psychotic behavior and the coronavirus Iranian oil tanker For- feat the Taliban by sharing intelligence and supporting the day to give a briefing to Leader of the Islamic Revolution pandemic, those manifold American vulnerabilities are tune arrived and docked at Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. For a brief moment, it Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khameinei. becoming obvious to the entire world. its destination in Venezuela, seemed as though a genuine breakthrough had been facil- The petty U.S. president has long had it in for General “The killing of General Soleimani, a top-ranking mili- El Palito refinery, to deliver itated between the Islamic Republic and the U.S., only to Soleimani. In a July 22, 2018 post to Iran’s President Hassan tary official of a nation-state, who enjoyed the full support fuel to people who are under have all progress toward a thawing of relations sabotaged Rouhani, Trump threatened, “NEVER, EVER THREATEN of the leadership of Iran, is nothing but a crime,” wrote the intense sanctions pressure by the duplicitous, backstabbing Americans when president THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER Archit Shukla, a law student at the National University of of the United States. George W. Bush called out Iran as a member of the “Axis CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGH- Study and Research in Law in Ranchi, India. “The stupid The second Iranian tanker of Evil” in his January 2002 State of the Union Address. OUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.” In American leaders assumed that they can defeat the axis has also arrived in Venezuelan Martyr Soleimani was also the military genius who shat- response to this aggressive, adolescent assertion, General of resistance by assassinating General Soleimani,” wrote waters. Three other tankers are on their ways to the Caribbean tered the Israeli image of invincibility during the 33-day-long Soleimani declared, “It is beneath the dignity of the pres- Mohammad Ghaderi, editor-in-chief of Tehran Times to deliver their cargo to Venezuela. War of Tammuz in 2006 between the Lebanese Resistance ident of the great Islamic country of Iran to respond, so I International Daily. The stupid American leaders should The five tankers deliver some 1.5 million barrels of fuel to Movement, Hezbollah, and the Zionist entity. The war was will respond, as a soldier of our nation.” Martyr Soleim- know that Martyr Qassem Soleimani is the real shatterer of Venezuela that despite having abundant reserves, is facing fuel part of George W. Bush’s broad plan to destroy the resistance ani correctly observed that Trump’s rhetoric “is still that ISIS, not some poorly rated reality TV show actor currently shortage due to illegal U.S. sanctions. in Palestine and Lebanon, and topple the government in Syria of a casino, of a bar. He talks to the world in the style of cringing in the White House. The U.S., which has imposed sanctions on both Venezuela and Iran, says it is monitoring the convoy. Both Caracas and Tehran have warned Washington not to interfere with Third Iranian tanker reaches Venezuelan waters the delivery. Iranian Ambassador to Venezuela Hojatollah Soltani says the 1 The United States has criticized the shipment, as a safer world for all countries including the U.S.,” he added. U.S. abstention from aggression against Iranian tankers showed both OPEC nations are under sanctions. A U.S. official The ambassador also said the United States has finally that there’s still wisdom in the U.S. establishment. said earlier this month that President Donald Trump’s realized that fulfilling its commitments and responsibilities “The U.S. act of non-aggression against Iranian oil tankers administration was considering responses to the shipment, regarding international treaties is a good thing. showed that wisdom, foresight, and tactfulness is still alive at prompting the Iranian government to warn Washington “It (the U.S.) should also know that Barjam (Iran nuclear some levels of that country’s establishment,” Soltani tweeted against military action. deal), resolution 2231, NPT, not supporting terrorism, etc. on Monday. The vessels did not appear to encounter interference are other international commitments that should be observed “Those [individuals] should make the warmongers un- during their journey. and implemented,” the ambassador added. derstand that observing international regulations and The second tanker in the flotilla, the Forest, docked On Saturday, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran is always treaties by governments, including the U.S. government, Tuesday at a port serving PDVSA’s second largest refinery, entitled to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, will create a safer world for all countries including the Cardon, in western Venezuela, according to two sources and warned that if Iranian oil tankers in the Caribbean or U.S.,” he added. and the Eikon data. anywhere in the world get into trouble by the Americans, The ambassador also said the United States has finally realized Iranian Ambassador to Venezuela Hojatollah Soltani Tehran will definitely retaliate. that fulfilling its commitments and responsibilities regarding said on Monday that the U.S. abstention from aggression alive at some levels of that country’s establishment,” Soltani “Although some of the U.S. measures have created un- international treaties is a good thing. against Iranian tankers showed that there’s still wisdom in wrote in a tweet. acceptable conditions in different parts of the world, we “It (the U.S.) should also know that Barjam (Iran nuclear the U.S. establishment. “Those [individuals] should make the warmongers under- will not be the initiator of tension and clash,” Rouhani said deal), resolution 2231, NPT, not supporting terrorism, etc. are “The U.S. act of non-aggression against Iranian oil tank- stand that observing international regulations and treaties in a phone call with the Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin other international commitments that should be observed and ers showed that wisdom, foresight, and tactfulness is still by governments, including the U.S. government, will create Hamad Al Thani. implemented,” the ambassador added. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 4 ECONOMY MAY 28, 2020 200 industrial, Iran, Iraq discuss expanding transport cooperation mining, trade projects

ECONOMY TEHRAN – Iranian Transport and Urban deskDevelopment Minister Mohammad Eslami to be implemented by discussed expansion of transportation cooperation with his Iraqi counterpart over phone, IRIB reported. In the conversation, Eslami expressed hope that with the new Iraqi minister taking office, a new chapter will be begun in the Mar. 2021 two neighbors’ mutual cooperation. 1 In terms of the number of projects, projects. Kerman Province with 26 projects and in Currently, there are 12,500 projects with terms of the volume of investment, Khuzestan physical progress of over 60 percent across Province with nearly 360 trillion rials (about the country, of which 6,000 are related to $8.57 billion), have the largest share of the leading and prioritized industries, according mestic production and promote the country’s infrastructure in order to realize the “Surge said projects in the country, Zarandi said. to the official. none-oil exports. in Production” motto. He noted that the said projects, which are In the current Iranian calendar year The “Persistent Production-Effective Em- A same program (called “A-B-Iran”) was characterized with factors like completing which has been named the year of “surge ployment-Sustainable Exports” program has also defined by the Energy Ministry last year, the industry’s value chain, reducing imports, in production” by the Leader of the Islamic been defined by the Industry, Mining and under which numerous energy projects were being export-oriented, using technology and Republic of Iran Seyed , the Trade Ministry in line with the government’s inaugurated in various provinces across the creating jobs, have been selected as national government is determined to support do- new strategies for developing the country’s country.

Zahedan-Chabahar railway’s 2 sections IFX climbs 29% in a month Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Moham- to be completed by next 10 months mad Eslami “I am confident that with your presence in this position, we will experience a different and prosperous period,” Eslami said, adding “I am ready to meet [with you] both in Tehran and Iraq and to be able to lay the corner stone for a long-term cooperation.” Mentioning Shalamcheh-Basra railway project, the Iranian official said, “We have completed the railway to Shalamcheh for many years and I declare my readiness to invest in the completion of the project from Shalamcheh to Basra.” The minister further noted that Iran has 24 border crossing points with neighboring countries, adding: “We are imple- menting healthcare and safety protocols in all these terminals, and we hope that after the Eid al-Fitr holidays, trade relations will be resumed from land borders.” Mentioning the new Iraqi minister’s background in the country’s aviation sector, Eslami said: “Fortunately, the number of flights between the two countries has been good, and we expect the flights to resume after the pandemic conditions are alleviated, and our people will be able to travel to each ECONOMY TEHRAN — Head of tan-Baluchestan, to Chabahar port in ECONOMY TEHRAN — IFX, the on Investment (ROI) reached 180 percent other’s countries.” deskIran’s Budget and Plan- the province was previously planned to deskmain index of Iran’s in the previous year. The Iraqi minister for his part, expressed hope that several ning Organization (BPO) announced that be completed by the end of the current over-the-counter (OTC) market known as While growth and development in the meetings would be held to advance relations between the two two sections of Zahedan-Chabahar railway Iranian calendar year. Iran Fara Bourse (IFB), rose 29 percent Iranian stock market have been started in sides and complete the joint railway project. are going to be completed by the end of Chabahar Port in southeast Iran is the in the second Iranian calendar month of recent years, the previous year was in fact “We will try to get this [Shalamcheh-Basra railway project] the current Iranian calendar year (March most prioritized one for railway connection as Ordibehesht (April 20-May 20), Tasnim a time of flourishment for the country’s done as soon as possible and we will hold a joint meeting as 20, 2021). the port’s exemption from the U.S. sanctions news agency reported. stock exchanges. soon as possible,” he said. Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht made the on the country has become an opportunity As reported, the index stood at 11,113 Different factors contributed to the The Iraqi transport minister also said that in the near future, remarks during a visit to the southeastern for development of export, transit, and also points at the end of the second month, while past year’s prominent success in the stock the borders between the two countries will be opened, the province of Sistan-Baluchestan on Tuesday, transshipment through this port. its performance registered a 69-percent market. most important of which are railways and air communication. Mehr news agency reported. Lying on the coast of the Gulf of Oman growth since the beginning of the current One important factor was proper ground “We are also renewing and amending previously signed Also a deputy at Construction and Devel- in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, Chabahar Iranian calendar year (March 20). laid in the stock market and providing better agreements in line with the interests of the people of both opment of Transportation Infrastructures is the country’s only oceanic port and given IFB is one of the four major stock ex- conditions for traders. countries,” he added. Company (CDTIC)said, “The Zahedan-Khash its strategic location in the International changes of Iran. The other three ones are The other factor was the status of parallel In order to complete the Shalamcheh-Basra railroad, the and Iranshahr-Chabahar sections of the North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), Iran Mer- markets, such as those of foreign currency, 17-kilometer Khorramshahr-Shalamcheh railroad project was project are scheduled to go operational by development of the port is of high signifi- cantile Exchange (IME), and Iran Energy gold coin, and housing in the past year that completed in 2011 to connect the Iranian railroads to Iraq, the end of the current year, and the middle cance for Iran. Exchange (IRENEX). made making investment in the stock market and it was decided to join the city of Basra. section of the project, that connects Iran- The project for building the 610-kilo- Past Iranian calendar year (ended on an obviously better and more profitable To build the railroad, the Iraqi side was to take measures shahr to Khash, will be operational in the meter railroad was launched nine years March 19) witnessed a very fruitful per- choice for the investors. inside Iraq from Shalamcheh to Basra, but due to economic next Iranian calendar year 1400.” ago but due to lack of financial resources formance for the country’s stock market. And now despite the economic condi- problems and a shortage of funds, the Iraqi government has so Zahedan-Chabahar railroad which it was stopped for three years. Then the As TSE Head Ali Sahraei has announced, tion created by the coronavirus outbreak, far refused to build this part of Shalamcheh’s railroad to Basra. is to connect Zahedan, the capital city contractor of the project was replaced and the value of trades at the Tehran Stock the Iranian stock market is experiencing To complete the rail project, according to an earlier agree- of Iran’s southeastern province of Sis- the operation was started. Exchange jumped 2.6 folds, while Return more growth in the current Iranian year. ment reached with Iraqi authorities, Iran will construct a 700-meter bridge on Arvand River for the railroad to pass above the river and reach Basra Train Station after 32 kilometers. Iran and Iraq have been taking significant steps for boosting economic relations in the past few years. IMIDRO to revive 50 small copper mines by Mar. 2021 The two countries are following up plans for increasing ECONOMY TEHRAN — Iranian “Given the significance of reviving small their bilateral economic trade to over $20 billion. deskMines and Mining In- mines, we have doubled the organization’s Last March, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani headed a dustries Development and Renovation internal budget for the plan to revive small high-ranking political and trade delegation in a visit to Iraq, Organization (IMIDRO) announced that it mines in the current year”, Gharibpour during which the two sides inked several agreements and plans to revive 50 idle small copper mines in announced last week in a meeting on mon- emphasized expansion of trade ties. the current Iranian calendar year (ends on itoring the plan for reviving and developing March 20, 2021), IRNA reported. the small mines. As reported, reviving these mines will According to the official, based on an MOU Monthly red meat output up bear many fruitful results for the National signed three years ago, 500 small mines were 2% yr/yr Iranian Copper Industry Company. planned to be revived throughout the country IMIDRO Head Khodadad Gharibpour in a course of five years to create jobs for ECONOMY TEHRAN— Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) has announced that the National Iranian 25,000 people. deskannounced that production of red meat in Copper Industry Company has defined cop- This year’s slogan of surge in production Iran stood at 21,900 tons in the first month of the current per projects worth 100 trillion rials (about means that more minerals should be supplied Iranian calendar year (March 20-April 19), which was two $2.38 billion) to be implemented in the as the feedstock for the industrial units, and current year. it indicates the significance of reviving and Among the small copper mines throughout Last year, Gharibpour had mentioned this in the last month of the year. developing the small mines (which constitute the country, 94 mines are active, 96 mines plan as one of the most significant plans of Reviving the small mines is also among 98 percent of mines in the country) as some are idle, and 21 mines are being equipped. “Resistance Economy”, saying that IMIDRO the top plans of the country’s mining sector major sources of such supply. Reviving the small mines was one of the was strongly determined to carry out it. in the current Iranian calendar year, which IMIDRO and other related organizations major plans that Iran’s mining sector was Such strong will resulted in reviving 146 is named the year of “Surge in Production”. have already announced their support for seriously pursuing in the past Iranian cal- small mines in the previous year, although the IMIDRO head has announced that the this plan and the mining sector’s officials endar year (ended on March 19), which was planned figure was 150, which did not come organization is planning to revive 200 small have been suggesting different strategies named the year of “Pickup in Production”. true because of the coronavirus pandemic mines in the present year. for optimizing implementation of the plan.

NIDC digs 23 oil, gas wells in 2 months ECONOMY TEHRAN — National Iranian Drilling For the current year, a list of basic equipment needs of the deskCompany (NIDC) dug and completed dig- country have been identified in collaboration with NIDC’s percent higher than the output in the same month of the ging operation of 23 oil and gas wells during the first two months operational and support departments to be indigenized by previous year, IRNA reported. of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-April 19), the local companies and knowledge-based firms for the first The SCI’s report said that beef and veal had the lion’s company’s director for consolidated planning announced. time, he added. share (55.4 percent) in the country’s red meat output dur- Babak Zanganeh said the drilled wells consisted of 12 Earlier in 2019, Mansournejad had announced that almost ing the first month with 12,100 tons, followed by lamb and development/appraisal wells and 11 workover wells, Mehr 80 percent of the oil and gas industry’s drilling equipment mutton with 7,900 tons, goat meat with 1,420 tons, and red news agency reported. needs have been indigenized by NIDC in the past decade. meat from other livestock with 421 tons. Some 17,297 meters of digging has been conducted for According to the official, the equipment indigenized by As previously announced by the SCI, production of red the mentioned onshore and offshore wells, according to the NIDC includes drilling mud pumps, blowout preventers, trac- meat in Iran stood at 94,900 tons in the last quarter of the NIDC’s director. tion motors, draw-works, drilling fluid recycling systems, past Iranian calendar year, indicating 16 percent growth As announced by the head of NIDC’s Technology and mission centrifugal pumps, top drives, and drilling rig slow compared to the same quarter in the preceding year. Engineering Department, the company indigenized the circulation rate pressure systems. Iran is among the leading consumers of red meat in the knowledge for manufacturing 6,000 drilling equipment NIDC, a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), West Asia region with lamb being the most sought after. in collaboration with domestic manufacturers and en- undertakes most drilling operations across the country and However, the consumption per person is around a third gineers in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on has drilled 4,489 onshore and offshore oil and gas wells in the of what is normally seen in countries like the U.S. and Aus- March 19), past four decades after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. tralia, mainly due to the prohibition of pork in Islamic law. According to Behnoud Mansournejad, before this success, been tested in operation and approved by the operational Holding 70 onshore and offshore drilling rigs as well as The major part of Iran’s red meat imports comes from the technology for manufacturing the mentioned equipment units for optimal performance. equipment and facilities for offering integrated technical and countries like Brazil, where Iranian supervisors directly was in the possession of a handful of foreign companies. Mansournejad said that the use of the domestically-made engineering services, the company accounts for a major part control culling methods to ensure they comply with reli- Among this equipment, the parts related to the rotary Blow parts and equipment saved the country 45 billion rials (about of drilling exploration as well as appraisal/development wells gious rules. out Preventers (BOP) used in air drilling operations have $107 million) in the previous year. in the country. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y MAY 28, 2020 ENERGY 5

190 dams under study, Oil majors promise to maintain clean energy push despite pandemic construction across Iran The heads of the world’s largest oil and gas producers pledged Tuesday to maintain a strategic focus on producing cleaner energy ENERGY TEHRAN — Some located across the eastern boundary basin and helping to mitigate climate change despite reeling from the desk190 dams, with a total (Hamoun). impact of the coronavirus pandemic on oil and gas prices. reservoir capacity of 48.488 billion cubic Last year, Energy Ministry inaugurated Noting “concerns” that the coronavirus crisis could push oil meters, are under study or being constructed 10 new dams in six different provinces across and gas companies and governments to delay climate action, the across Iran, IRIB reported. the country which added 745 million cubic industry-led Oil and Gas Climate Initiative said it is dedicated to According to the Energy Ministry’s portal meters (mcm) to the total water storage maintaining this mission to help “combating the climate challenge”. (Paven), 90 of the mentioned dams with a capacity of Iran’s dams. “Rather than shifting our priorities, the COVID-19 crisis is total reservoir capacity of 29.724 billion The mentioned dams were inaugurated further crystallizing our focus on what is essential: health, safety cubic meters are under study and another as a part of a major program called “A B and protection of the environment while providing the energy 100 dams with a total reservoir capacity Iran” [the acronyms A and B stand for water, and vital products that society of 18.7672 billion cubic meters are under electricity in Persian”, in which nearly 10 needs to support economic re- construction. trillion rials (over $238 million) of projects covery,” OGCI CEO’s said in an Also, as of the current Iranian calendar were inaugurated in each of the country’s open letter published Tuesday. year’s first month of Farvardin (ended on provinces, on average. Chaired by former BP boss April 19), 183 dams with a total reservoir The program has continued in the current Bob Dudley, the OGCI was capacity of 52.443 billion cubic meters have calendar year (started on March 20). formed in September 2014 to been put into operation. Based on the “A B Iran” program, Energy help fund clean-energy ventures As reported, out of the total dams under Ministry plans to inaugurate some water, and coordinate industry efforts study, 31 dams are located across the Caspian electricity projects across the country every to support the Paris Agreement Sea basin, 52 dams are in the Persian Gulf week. climate goals. and the Gulf of Oman watersheds, while five Back in March, Managing Director of The OGCI member compa- dams are based in the central plateau and Iran Water Resources Management (IWRM) nies -- BP, China’s CNPC, Italy’s another two are in Sarakhs catchment area. Company Mohammad Rasouliha said more Eni, Spain’s Repsol, Saudi Ara- Out of a total of 183 operational dams, than 30 billion cubic meters of water was mco, Shell, Brazil’s Petrobras, 52 are related to the Caspian Sea catchment dams are located in the Persian Gulf and the the Central Plateau, 11 dams are in Sarakhs stored behind the dams across the country Exxon, Chevron, Occidental, area, 12 are based in Urumieh basin, 68 Gulf of Oman watersheds, 34 dams are in catchment basin, and another six dams are at the time. Norway’s Statoil and France’s Total -- operate about 30% of global oil and gas production in 130 countries. Peak demand Oil cargoes snapped up in Asia in sign Oil falls on U.S.-China tensions over The International Energy Agency in March expressed concern Hong Kong that sliding fossil fuel prices could discourage spending on ener- demand is coming back gy efficiency measures needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Asian buyers are snapping up distressed Oil prices fell on Wednesday after U.S. 12 percent this year, European Central At the same time, the massive financial shock of the pandemic cargoes of oil from Africa to West Asia in president Donald Trump said he was Bank President Christine Lagarde said, could jeopardize policies to support renewable energy and future another sign that demand is coming back in working on a strong response to China’s warning that a mild scenario is already low-carbon energy systems, market watchers say. the world’s biggest crude-importing region. proposed security law in Hong Kong. outdated and the outcome would be The OGCI said it plans to continue supporting governments as Indian, Chinese and South Korean re- A potential deterioration in relations between the medium and severe. they design efficient policies that can accelerate energy transitions. finers have been purchasing the so-called between the world’s two biggest Traders were also paying attention to It also reiterated its commitment to accelerate emissions reduc- distressed shipments, or crude that’s set to economies could ratchet up the pressure early signals on a meeting between the tions, such as through continued reductions in methane emissions. load in around a month or less, according on global businesses and oil demand Organization of the Petroleum Exporting “We will continue to work with others to support economic to traders and refinery executives. Some already weakened by the coronavirus Countries (OPEC) and its allies in less recovery and to transition to a healthier, lower-carbon future,” of the oil was already being stored at sea pandemic. than two weeks. the CEOs said in the letter. near Singapore, while other cargoes were Brent crude fell 45 cents, or 1.2 The group known as OPEC+ is cutting Speaking to the Financial Times earlier this month, BP’s CEO purchased just days before they were sched- that was built up during the unprecedented percent, to $35.72 a barrel by 0906 GMT output by nearly 10 million barrels per day Bernard Looney said global oil demand may have already peaked uled to load in June, they said. supply-demand shock earlier in the year and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) (bpd) in May and June, but the question is ahead of the pandemic lockdowns which may leave lasting changes Indian Oil Corp., the country’s biggest and may provide more support to the rally crude was down 26 cents, or almost 1 whether it will continue to do so as demand in energy consumption far into the future. refiner, has been perhaps the most aggres- in oil prices that’s been underway since percent, at $34.09. recovers after the easing of coronavirus On Monday, however, the head of the IEA Fatih Birol told sive buyer of prompt cargoes, releasing a late April. “As much as oil fundamentals are lockdowns in many countries. Bloomberg News he expected global oil consumption to return to slew of tenders for African, West Asian and Meanwhile, oil’s market structure has improving, there are still several flies in “Stock builds are falling and the market pre-crisis levels or above sooner or later given a sustained economic U.S. crude. While IOC is ramping up fuel made the case for hoarding crude less ap- the bullish ointment. They include the will be balanced in June, so who wants to recovery and low oil prices. output to meet rising domestic consump- pealing than it was a few weeks ago. Brent’s latest uptick in U.S.-China tensions,” willingly forego millions of crude barrels Before the crisis, world oil demand growth, which last year tion, other Asian processors are seeking six-month timespread was at a contango of said Stephen Brennock of oil broker in sales if he’s able to sell it in a recovering stood at around 100,000 b/d, was widely expected to flatline in the to make up for steep allocation cuts by almost $13 a barrel in late March, meaning PVM. market,” said Rystad Energy’s head of next decade as advances in renewable energy and electric vehicles OPEC+ producers such as Saudi Arabia prompt cargoes were that much cheaper “The threat of a fresh U.S.-China trade oil markets, Bjornar Tonhaugen. continued to sap the world’s need for fossil fuels. and Iraq, the traders and refiners said. than later-dated ones, encouraging trad- war is no longer just a tail risk and could Global energy investment is expected (Source: Platts) The return of prompt demand is occur- ers to lock in the spread for a profitable spell disaster for risk assets.” to fall by about 20 percent, or $400 ring as lockdown restrictions around the storage play. However, that gap has since Gloomy forecasts over the economic billion, this year because of the region are eased and as consumption of shrunk to about $3.10 a barrel at 10:30 impact of the pandemic also weighed on coronavirus outbreak, the International Global energy investment some oil products recovers. It’s helping to a.m. London time. crude prices. The euro zone economy is Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday. expected to tumble 20 percent in chip away at the overhang of unsold crude (Source: Bloomberg) likely to shrink between 8 percent and (Source: Reuters) 2020 due to COVID crisis: IEA

Global energy investment is expected to plunge by around 20 per- Russia to ease oil cuts starting July in line with OPEC+ deal cent or $400 billion in 2020, its biggest fall on record, because of the new coronavirus outbreak, the International Energy Agency Russia is determined to start easing oil output cuts from July, fuel from key refineries is loaded onto ships bound for (IEA) said on Wednesday. sticking to the terms of the OPEC+ deal struck earlier this Europe, has recorded a sharp rebound in European demand The Paris-based IEA said this could have serious repercussions year, according to people familiar with the key producer’s for some types of oil products, such as diesel, as lockdowns for energy security and the transition to clean energy as the global position. are relaxed. economy recovers from the pandemic. OPEC and its allies reached a historic accord in April “We see that the demand is approaching normal levels,” Governments are easing restrictions put in place to curb the to slash production as the pandemic savaged demand. As with the exception of jet fuel consumption, which may spread of the virus after the confinement of around 3 billion people part of that deal, the cuts would slowly taper from July. take as much as three years to return to the 2019 volumes, brought the global economy to a near standstill. But since the agreement was sealed, Saudi Arabia tried Mikhail Skigin, the terminal’s Chief Executive Officer told At the start of the year, global energy investment was on track to prop up the market with additional cuts and Persian Bloomberg in an email. for a 2 percent increase in 2020, its biggest growth in six years, the Gulf allies followed suit. As OPEC+ prepares to meet in Skigin expects Russia’s domestic refineries to return to IEA said. A total of $1.8 trillion was invested in the sector in 2019. two weeks’ time, members are weighing up whether to normal operations in summer after massive idling earlier “The historic plunge in global energy investment is deeply troubling extend the cuts or ease them. this month. for many reasons,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s Executive Director. Three Russian officials and two people in the industry, The cuts have been painful in Russia, where producers “It means lost jobs and economic opportunities today, as well speaking on condition of anonymity, said the nation’s have faced their greatest challenge in decades: shutting in as lost energy supply that we might well need tomorrow once the position is to stick to the plan. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry a large number of wells without permanently damaging economy recovers,” he said, adding that it could hurt the move Peskov told reporters on Tuesday the deal is “undoubtedly the fields. Russia is making about a quarter of the total towards cleaner energies. successful,” and said countries will look how the situation The discussion came up as Saudi Arabia, the de-facto OPEC+ cuts. The IEA said revenues for governments and industry are set develops before taking a decision at the June 9-10 meeting. OPEC leader, has pressed for extending the cuts, Kommersant Rosneft PJSC, which accounts for about 40% of nation’s to plummet by over $1 trillion in 2020 due to the fall in energy The historic April agreement, which marked the end of said, citing an unidentified person. The meeting didn’t output, has so far just limited oil flows to comply with its demand and lower prices. a price war between Moscow and Riyadh, helped to reduce reach a consensus, according to the newspaper. quota. But within the next three months it will look into Global energy companies have cut investments and shelved global glut and has prompted a recovery in crude prices. Russia has traditionally preferred a cautious, wait-and- “full shut-ins and long-term conservation of some of the projects to shore up their finances due to the crisis. The IEA said Brent traded at $36 a barrel on Tuesday -- almost 70% see approach before OPEC+ meetings, often agreeing to highest-cost projects,” Chief Financial Officer Pavel Fedorov higher debts after the crisis will pose lasting risks to investments. higher than a month ago -- as the easing of coronavirus proposals of its partners at the last moment. said this month. Investment in oil and gas is expected to fall by almost one-third. lockdowns around the world slowly lifts demand. At these Approaching normal According to the deal, Russian oil companies have to The IEA said if investment in oil stays at 2020 levels, it would levels, it’s still a blow for Russia’s budget. While the crude surplus remains at about 7 million to reduce their crude production on pro-rata basis by 2.5 reduce the level of global supply in 2025 by almost 9 million bar- On Tuesday Russian oil producers discussed the future 12 million barrels a day, Russia expects that global supply million a barrels in May and June, down from about 11 rels a day, a clear risk of tighter markets if demand moves back to of the OPEC+ deal with Energy Minister Alexander Novak, and demand could balance in June or July, Novak said in million barrels a day. Then the cuts will average 2 million pre-crisis levels. including the possibility of extending the deepest cuts for a statement Monday. barrels a day until the end of this year and will flatten (Source: Reuters) another two months, according to Kommersant, a Russian Russian industry players are also cautiously optimistic further to 1.5 million through April 2022. business newspaper. about the recovery. The St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, where (Source: Aljazeera) Solar, wind could provide 3 times Germany’s current Australia embarks on a mammoth renewable energy exporting project power demand by 2040 As well as being a world-class LNG exporter, around the clock energy supply. Australia may soon become a major exporter Most of the energy from the project will Solar and wind power sources in Germany have the potential to of renewable energy. be exported through the undersea cable to provide three times the country’s current power demand by 2040, Engineers are now looking to connect Sin- Singapore, but a small part will be delivered according to a new study by Aurora Energy Research. gapore with Darwin, using a 3,800-kilometer to consumers in and around Darwin. In its report Cost Potential Curves for Renewables: A Geo- undersea cable, effectively connecting the Sun Cable expects to reach financial close spatial Analysis, the consultancy says that the actual build-out South-East Asian country to the Australian grid. for the megaproject somewhere in 2023, with potential for renewables in Germany – considering geo-techni- Perth-based company Guardian Geomatics full commercial operations starting in 2027. cal, economic and socio-political constraints but also assuming has been awarded the contract to conduct a As an island nation with limited space technological advancement – is enough to generate nearly 1,800 route survey for the Sun Cable project which for power generation, Singapore has relied TWh early by 2040. is backed by Atlassian founder Mike Can- on LNG imports for about 95 percent of its Aurora notes that the economic renewable potential in the non-Brookes and Fortescue Metals founder electricity needs and despite the growth in country is limited to about 30%-40% available sites due to can- Andrew Forrest. solar PV and other renewables, Singapore nibalization effects. For onshore wind, the importance of site The two billionaire backers led a capital will continue to rely on natural gas for the quality will increase. raising round for the project last November. to be around $13 billion. The 15,000 hectare, 10GW solar farm next 50 years or so. Government regulations and growing opposition are acting as And while the total amount of money raised Guardian Geomatics will commence near Tennant Creek in Australia’s Northern Solar PVs contributed 174.3 MW in 2019, an obstacle for wind capacity expansion. In order for the country remains undisclosed, the two funds Grok preparations this month, with initial plans Territory is the largest solar farm in the world or just a meager 1.3 percent of total electricity to reach its target of bringing renewables’ share in power con- Ventures and Squadron Energy raised tens to utilize sister company Guardian Offshore’s currently under development. The project also capacity. Sun Cable says the project can supply sumption to 65% by 2030, the solar industry will need to add 9 of millions of dollars during this first capital vessel “Offshore Solution” to deliver the work, includes plans for a massive 50-megawatt a fifth of Singapore’s power. GW-11 GW of capacity a year, the report says. raise. The total cost of the project is expected starting later in 2020. battery storage facility which ensures a steady (Source: oilprice.com) (Source: Renewable Now) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 6 ADVERTISEMENTS MAY 28, 2020

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y MAY 28, 2020 ANALYSIS 7 Zionist regime cannot continue to live by sword if Tehran signals its oil trade Palestinians adhere to moral weight of their cause ‹legitimate›: Japanese expert BY Payman Yazdani By Mohammad Jafari According to Refinitiv Eikon data, the third cargo of an Iranian According to lessons of the humankind history, the Zionist regime tanker flotilla, Petunia, carrying fuel for Venezuela on Tuesday of Israel will certainly end its occupation just as all colonial has reached the nation’s exclusive economic zone. powers over the past century did, however the Palestinians’ The oil tankers encountered no signs of U.S. interference unity, resistance against oppressors and firm determination as it eased through Caribbean waters toward the Venezuelan to rely on their own maturity, ingenuity and dynamism will coast late on Saturday. Venezuelan officials celebrated the accelerate the process. arrival. Marwan Bishara, a senior political analyst, has opined in “Iran and Venezuela have his commentary published by Al Jazeera that the Palestinians always supported each other in are not powerless, so there is much they can do to stop Israeli times of difficulty,” Venezuelan expansionism. foreign minister Jorge Arreaza “Since the catastrophic Arab failure in the 1948 and 1967 tweeted. “Today, the first ship wars led to total Israeli control over historical Palestine, the with gasoline arrives for our Palestinians have been trying to recover their losses, but to no people.” avail,” he pointed out in his commentary. The Iranian officials had Refugees and prisoners in their own homeland, they have earlier warned of retaliatory tried armed struggle and peaceful negotiations with equal vigor, measures against the U.S. if but have failed to get justice or attain peace. Washington causes problems Both strategies entailed great sacrifice and major concessions, for tankers carrying Iranian but ultimately neither led to the liberation of Palestine from fuel to Venezuela. Israeli domination. To shed more light on the Worse, Israel’s appetite for expansion has grown with every issue we reached out to Sachi Palestinian concession, and now its delusion of invincibility is Sakanashi, Assistant Director driving it to illegally annex almost a third of what the Palestinians of JIME Center,Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. assumed would be their future state. Here is the full text of our interview with her: Regardless of whether it actually formalizes its de facto What is the political significance of Iran›s move? What annexation or not, Israel is already radically and unilaterally and extension of their own fight for justice. process, it abandoned much of the international solidarity is its message to the other countriese that are under heavy changing the reality on the ground. Syrians, Saudis, Yemenis, Egyptians and others may be movement. U.S. unilateral sanctions? So now what? What to do? What not to do? engrossed in their own tragedies, as they must be, but polls Today, Palestinians need to rebuild links to European, Latin I think Iran›s message is that Iran›s oil trade is legitimate It is important to remember that contrary to newspeak there consistently show that, collectively, Arabs see Palestine as their American, African and other foreign solidarity movements. and when there is a country that wants to buy Iranian oil, Iran is no “Palestine problem” but rather an “Israeli colonial problem” foremost cause in the struggle against colonialism. These would be essential for their struggle moving forward, will send it even across the Atlantic Ocean. - the region’s last colonial problem - and the Palestinians may Do not forget that. just as they were in ending apartheid in South Africa. Is it compliance to international norms to interrupt prove to be its only solution. Israel has always tried to separate Palestinians from Moreover, and unlike many forgotten indigenous populations, countries› legal trade unilaterally? Since its creation at the end of the 19th century, Zionism has Palestinians and the Palestinians from their Arab neighborhoods. Palestinians are not alone. They are part of a vast Arab region, The problem is that the U.S. has the power to impose its mutated from arguably a legitimate Jewish national movement Do not allow it and do not engage in secret negotiations. and can draw strength and solace from their Arab hinterland. unilateral sanctions to the other countries regardless of its in Europe to a European colonial enterprise in the eastern There are more than a few ways to connect and bridge the Palestinians also have a special connection to the Islamic unilaterality. But in this case, I don›t believe U.S. has decided Mediterranean. geographic divide. world, much of which has suffered terribly from Western to take any immediate action to obstruct Iran›s oil export to It led, among other things, to a century-long conflict, multiple As war and diplomacy come to a dead end, and as Israel dashes colonialism. Venezuela, partly due to the fact that the U.S. is aware that wars and hatred, fuelled by ethnic cleansing, dispossession forward arrogantly grabbing and annexing more Palestinian It is paramount to confront Israel’s peddling of religious such a move would not be able to gather enough support from and the displacement of millions of people. land, speak up and do not let Netanyahu and Trump get off easy. justification for its occupation with civic and universal, not the international community. Since then, increased Israeli colonization, especially in the Try not to repeat the mistakes of the past. religious, arguments. Iran has threatened that any U.S. possible action against occupied West Bank, devolved into a reprehensible system Try not to look back. Look ahead. Look for a third way forward. All colonial enterprises of the past several centuries have Iranian oil tankers will not be left unanswered. What can be of apartheid. The lopsided peace process has been terribly divisive for used varying degrees of religious justification, and Palestine has consequences of any U.S. mistake for world energy market? Interestingly, apartheid was born in South Africa in 1948, the Palestinians. It is what asymmetrical peace processes do. been the focal point of interest for all three Abrahamic religions. U.S. has not declared that it will physically disturb the same year the Palestinian catastrophe began, and it ended in Therefore, abandoning it must lead to some form of national But treating Palestine as a “promised land” or “a waqf” Iran›s oil export to other countries. They usually designate 1994, a year before apartheid basically started in Palestine with unity. turns the divine from a peacemaker to a real estate broker. organizations or individuals to block their property in the the Oslo-II agreement, which divided the occupied territories The dreadful competition between the main political factions Palestine belongs to all its inhabitants, especially its United States. It is possible that the U.S. Treasury will take into bantustans. has thus far proven detrimental to national unity and elections indigenous people. action, which might not have any immediate impact on the Like South Africa, Israel should be induced to produce its have been no less divisive. Winning Jewish support for justice and freedom in Palestine world energy market. own FW de Klerk to end its apartheid. Such a leader would find Instead of uniting against the occupation, the factions have is imperative to dispel Israeli propaganda, and indispensable Sachi Sakanashi has worked for two years from 2000 to the Palestinians ready to reconcile and together with Israel been preoccupied with managing it. to roll back Israeli hegemony. 2002 as a Cultural Attaché at the Japanese Embassy in Tehran. build a better future. While Fatah and Hamas continue to insist on holding onto Just as white people participated in the anti-apartheid Frederik Willem de Klerk OMG DMS is a South African their “strongholds”, the separated bantustans in the West Bank movement in South Africa and in the civil rights movement politician who served as State President of South Africa from and Gaza, some suggest the establishment of an overall political in the U.S., Jews are indispensable in the struggle against Biden slams Trump as 1989 to 1994 and as Deputy President from 1994 to 1996. umbrella, perhaps a reformed and expanded PLO, to unite apartheid in Palestine. ‘absolute fool’ for not De Klerk brought the apartheid system of racial segregation all the Palestinians around the undisputed cause of justice. Throughout their history, Jews have been the victims of to an end and negotiated a transition to majority rule in his But this will require a new generation of Palestinians to step racism, suffering greatly from European anti-Semitism. And for wearing face mask country. He and Nelson Mandela jointly received the 1993 Nobel up and take over from the predominantly septuagenarian and long, they have been at the forefront in the fight against racism. Prize for Peace for their collaboration in efforts to establish octogenarian leadership to chart a fresh, new way forward. This week, for example, I read an obituary titled, “Denis U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has called nonracial democracy in South Africa. All bureaucratic tasks and responsibilities, whether on the Goldberg Man of Integrity: South African Freedom Fighter, Republican President Donald Trump an “absolute fool” for And like South Africa, this does not mean ending Israel. level of the National Authority or the municipalities should be Anti-Zionist Jew, and True Mensch” written by Ronnie Kasrils, not wearing a mask in public to combat the spread of the It means liberating Israel from its paranoid garrison mindset left to technocrats, chosen on the basis of merit not partisanship. a prominent Jewish South African anti-apartheid activist about coronavirus. that sees hegemony as the only way to survive. This requires a great deal of maturity, ingenuity and dynamism. a comrade who had passed away. Reflecting on Goldberg’s The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s Considering we are all one human race, apartheid is ultimately Another interesting idea is for Palestinians to unite behind lifelong anti-racism struggle, Karsils emphasized: “As an anti- comments came on Tuesday, a day after he wore a black about hegemony, despite its racial or other pretexts. multiple strategies, instead of being divided behind one failed Zionist Jew he came to view Israel’s colonial-racism as akin to face mask while making his first public appearance in more It follows that the struggle against apartheid must be a strategy of negotiations. apartheid South Africa.” than two months. universal, indivisible struggle for justice and freedom - one This tactical decentralization means “popular mobilization” I know many such people, having worked closely with Jewish that opposes anti-Semitism, as it does colonial Zionism. where each Palestinian community should be able to design academics, students, journalists, feminists, editors, publishers, But what shape and path should it take? and embrace strategies of struggle according to its abilities lawyers, unionists, and activists on various progressive causes Palestinians have already begun to think about and debate and circumstances. including that of free Palestine. new ideas to end apartheid, which deserve further study and Palestinians in Gaza may want to retain their deterrence Palestinians must take down anyone who peddles anti- development. capabilities to defend against another Israeli assault, and Jewish slogans in their name and build on increasing Jewish But before we get into what the Palestinians need to do, let Jerusalemites may want to strengthen their city’s Palestinian resentment towards an Israeli leadership that does terrible us look into what they should not do. presence and character. things in their name. Surrender is not an option. Do not even think about it. Likewise, Palestinians in Israel may want to transform Israel’s When former US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders Accepting the so-called “deal of the century” put forward by binationality from demographics to politics. The Palestinians accused Netanyahu of “reactionary racism” and grew even more U.S. President Donald Trump and his ally Israeli Prime Minister in Jordan may want to work with Jordanians to block Israel’s popular in the process, it showed just how far the American Jewish Benjamin Netanyahu is to surrender to Israeli hegemony. It attempt to make their country the alternative Palestinian state. community and the Democratic Party have gone, bearing in means living in captivity in perpetuity. And the Palestinians in exile may want to promote the cause mind that most American Jews vote Democrat, not Republican. Without surrender, there is no victory. As long as the in foreign capitals. And so on. Palestinians need to nourish this new spirit and synergy to Palestinians do not lose, Israel cannot win. These micro strategies should be continuously synchronized counter the Israeli-inspired campaign equating anti-Zionism Refusing to give up or give in may not be easy, but it has and synergized as integral parts of the national struggle for with anti-Semitism. proven effective in frustrating Israel’s plans, and restraining justice and liberation as a whole. Anti-Zionism has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. After In a Twitter message, Trump appeared to make fun of a certain Arab regimes’ predilection for mischief. Palestinians should no longer be satisfied with passive all, Jews were the first to oppose Zionism. photo of Biden in his mask. In an interview with CNN, Biden Do not despair. Time and history are on your side. “steadfastness”. They need to reactivate and re-energize the A new Palestinian-Jewish partnership must fight Israeli responded, “He’s a fool, an absolute fool, to talk that way.” It may not seem that way judging from Israel’s visible popular base. injustice tooth and nail, exposing the Israeli government’s “Every leading doc in the world says you should be wearing confidence, (read arrogance), but even though it is a self- Comprising almost half the population between the Jordan malign attempts to label movements like Boycott, Divestment, a mask in a crowd,” Biden said. proclaimed country of “immigrants”, it has been bleeding River and the Mediterranean Sea, the Palestinians need to Sanctions (BDS) as anti-Semitic. The former vice president also noted that nearly 100,000 hundreds of thousands of emigrants, mostly to the U.S. immunize themselves against persistent Israeli repression In short, and as I argued recently, it is high time for a Americans have been killed by COVID-19 and suggested that And a high 40 percent of Israelis are thinking of emigrating, and marginalization. Palestinian-Jewish spring. as many as half of those deaths were the result of Trump’s as countless Palestinians risk their lives to reclaim their right Palestinians need to offset Israel’s new attempts at dividing The evolution of this renewed struggle in its totality will delayed response to the outbreak and “lack of attention and of return. and ostracizing them by improving business infrastructure determine the outcome - two states or one binational state, ego.” It is the same story repeated over and over again. Most if not and economic life to help people endure. not the opposite. «So I thought it was very unusual that he had one on,» all colonial powers lost to the weaker indigenous population They need to expand on one of their greatest recent The continuing debate about the singularity or duality of states Trump said at the White House. over the past century. So will Israel. achievements, namely institution building. is not only premature, it may prove divisive and debilitating. On Monday, Biden made his first public appearance since To that end, Palestinians have wisely framed their cause in This entails deflating an inflated bureaucracy by ending Israel will certainly oppose a one-state solution with the March by laying a wreath at a military veterans’ memorial legal terms and extracted many UN resolutions condemning corruption and nepotism and creating partnerships between same if not stronger determination it opposes a sovereign near his home in Wilmington, Delaware. Israel’s violations of international law. the public and private sector to improve economic planning Palestinian state with. Biden has been staying at home because of the coronavirus But international law does not deter the strong or save the and infrastructure development. The sooner the Palestinian leaders realize there are no short pandemic. Trump has criticized the 77-year-old candidate weak, certainly not when the U.S. flashes its veto at the mere Currently, one-third of the national budget goes to the cuts or off-the-shelf solutions the better they will be prepared for not leaving his house. mention of Israel. security apparatus, more than both the health and education for the long haul. Trump has also repeatedly ridiculed Biden as too old and Just do not depend on it. Depend on yourselves. And forget sectors receive. Given that it serves Israeli more than Palestinian That is why the Palestinian endgame should be justice and prone to blunders to beat him in November›s presidential about the UN convening an international peace conference security, there is no reason why it should continue to consume freedom. They are not only an attainable goal that everyone election. without American blessing. so much of the Palestinian budget. will rally behind, but also a prerequisite for peace and security U.S. government health officials have recommended Do not beat yourselves up too much. Be reasonable. Boosting national immunity is also about boosting individual in the region. wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where social Yes, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has made immunity in everyday life. They require changing Israel’s calculus, not defeating it, or distancing measures are difficult to maintain. its share of mistakes, but the Palestinians are not responsible for And there is no immunity without national and personal destroying it, as Israeli leaders whine and warn. More than 1,725,000 people have been infected with the the contempt and incompetence of certain Arab regimes, or the dignity. This is how major powers gave up their colonialism and coronavirus in the U.S. so far and over 100,000 have died, cynicism of Western powers, especially the U.S. appeasement A Palestinian may be able to block or defy the humiliation of how South Africa ended its system of apartheid. They were more than the number of American forces killed in the Korean of Israel. an Israeli soldier, but may still find him/herself powerless when forced to reconsider the calculus of gain and loss. and Vietnam wars combined. And stop with the self-pity. humiliated by a fellow (armed) Palestinian. Such humiliation In this way, Netanyahu’s Israel cannot have all the land All 50 states have now at least partially reopened, raising You cannot motivate and energize depressed people. It will is emotional and leads to indifference, even betrayal. This and all the security. It cannot continue to live by the sword fears among some health officials of a second wave of outbreaks. not kill you to smile. The best laughs are those mixed with tears. must stop. and preach Kumbaya to the Palestinians. A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety There is much to dread, but there is much more to dream about. And there is no dignity without work. This means there “Kum ba yah” (“Come by Here”) is an African American or depression, the most definitive and alarming sign yet of Do not underestimate the moral weight of your cause in the needs to be job creation, the expansion of good productive spiritual of disputed origin, but known to be sung in the Gullah the psychological toll exacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Arab world and beyond, regardless of what the doubters say. employment, so that poor Palestinians are not forced to slave culture of the islands off South Carolina and Georgia, with ties The troubling statistics, which suggest a huge jump from No matter how many dictators recognize Israel, a belligerent away at Israeli settlements. to enslaved West Africans. before the pandemic, were released last week in a tranche apartheid state will never achieve true legitimacy or security Palestinians are some of the most educated people in the In short, it cannot have its cake and eat it too. of data from the Census Bureau. The agency launched an regionally. region. Modest investment in human capital could yield great If history is any guide, Israel will end its occupation just as emergency weekly survey of U.S. households at the end of Never. national advantage in the long run. all colonial powers of the past century ended theirs. April to measure the pandemic’s effects on employment, Arabs see the struggle for justice in Palestine as a symbol As the PLO hedged its bets exclusively on the U.S.-led peace The sooner the better for both Palestinians and Israelis. housing, finances, education and health. claimed asitsown. ancient forests, andovergrownmonumentsthatnaturehasre- wilder Iran, brimming withremarkablegeologicformations, mysteries andintriguesoftheancients. glittering palaces,andthetombsoflonggonepoetsreveal coronavirus outbreak,the IRNAreported. sightseers onTuesday, afterovertwomonthsofclosuredueto properties duetoitshigh salinityandmineral content. dreamy views, butoneofthespringsisthought tohave healing concentration of ironoxidesediments. Notonly doesitmakefor Surt’s distinctivecoloringresults from ahigh Turkey—Badab-e like MammothHotSpringsinYellowstone andPamukkalein hot springs.Whiletravertineterraces arefoundinotherplaces— mineral two from water of cooling and flowing the by years of mountains.the striking panoramaofrust-colored travertineterracescutsacross province, isoneofthecountry’s amazinggeologicformations; a places: Badab-eSurt Iran’s mostwild andbeautiful placeshavebeenoptimallyutilized. and steep been constructed on different levels of the steep cliff. All levels thousand square meterinarea. Therequisitebuildingshave of stoneswithgypsumasbindingmaterial. Thecastleisten made havebeen Castle Alamout the of posts lookout and towers with valleysandhorribleprecipices. Kalayeh, fromtheenvironsofRoudbarAlamout. sideofGazorKhanVillagenortheastern intheenvirons ofMo’alem Valleys oftheAssassins”. Stark describedherexplorationoftheplaceinbook“The of Islam’shereticalIsmailisect, knownas‘Assassins’. for thefollowersofHasan-eSabbah(1070–1124),spiritualleader shelter a once northern Iran’swas AlborzMountains.Thecastle nests ontopofahillinrelatively remotevillageamidstthe reopens tosightseers Ancient mountainouscastle upper one, afeaturethataddstoitscharmandattractiveness. theof yard the forms house each of roof that way a in houses of rowsstep-like and dense to home is village County,the Sarvabad the daysofyore. which isconsideredacradleofKurdishartandculturefrom city isinparalleltothemountainslope. theof plan terracing and Storied texture. old its proves city the steep thattheroofofonehouseformspathwayfornext. somountainside a to blocks,clinging Lego giant like another one oftop on stacked photogenically are that houses earth-colored its mosttouristicones. in Iran,of villages andhenceone famous to nationalheritagelist Kang steppedvillageadded or kidnap leading political and religious figures of the day. nary organizationwhosemembersweredispatchedtomurder desk TOURISM desk TOURISM 8 Yet beneath thefootprintsofmanliesanevenlesserknown,Yet Stretched on a steep slope in Uraman Takht rural district ofrural Takht Uraman steep slopein on a Stretched Uraman inwestofthecountry,isalsoanothersteppedvillage, The existenceofnumerousgraveyardsinnerandoutside Also knownasthehistoricalcityofMasouleh, itfeaturesthe The stepped,limestoneformations werecreatedoverthousands Badab-e Surt, whichissituatedinthenorthernMazandaran of UNESCO,walls,According tothetentativelistrelicsof The relics of castle stand on the cliff of Kanglou-Marazi along In early1930s, British-ItalianexplorerandtravelwriterFreya Inscribed onthenationalheritagelistin2002,AlamoutCastle Nowadays, theruinedcastleisatoptraveldestinationin In popularmyth,Sabbahledabizarre, much-fearedmerce

1 Roughlyamillenniumold, Masoulehisoneofthemost I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y Iran ishometoturquoise-domedmosques, Cradle ofonetheoldestcivilizationsonEarth, the to doors its opened province in Qazvin TEHRAN – The historical castle ofAlamout The historical -

Tehran Times/Samira Nazari ISNA/Hanieh Hosseinpour HERITAGE &TOURISM where, accordingtoJudeo-Persiantraditionistheburial a Jewishshrine inthecityofHamedan, west-centralIran, TEHRAN – ThemausoleumofEstherandMordechaiis underwent amajorrenovationprojectintheearly1970s. through anarrow dirtalley. Butthesiteanditspremises only accessible and houses, by Hamadan,surrounded of part sarcophagus (stone coffin). square hallwithadomedceilingthatsurroundsthe main In mostcases, thesebuildingsincludeanentryhallanda era.that in built leaders religious Muslim shrinesof the (known asEmamzadeh), whichwasubiquitous amongst ly onaccountofitstraditionalPersianarchitecturalstyle and Mordechai, whohesaidwereburiedinSusa. times, rejectingthetraditionrelatingtombstoEsther place asasimplestructurewhichhasbeenrestoredseveral permission forJews toliveinHamadan. Yazdagerd I(ca. 399-420 CE),whoiscreditedwithsecuring King queenof Jewish the Dokht, Shushan to belong tually –1948)contendsthatthecurrentstructuremayac (1879 in costumes,andeatingdelicacies. raculous salvation byreadingtheBookofEsther, dressing occasion ofPurim, Jewsaroundtheworldmarkthismi the on year, Every BC. century 5th the in from annihilation of hercousin, savedJews throughoutthePersianEmpire King Ahasuerus,becamequeen, andwiththeassistance a youngJewishwomanwhocaughttheeyeofPersian was Iranian JewsandthewiderJewish community. Lots”]; hence, thesiteisofdeephistoricalsignificance to Jewish celebrationofPurim[alsoknownasthe“Feast 14th century. at thehandsofMongolinvaders,allegedlyoccurredin shrine’s constructionisunknown, itsdateofdestruction, of date original the Purim.While on especially year the out laid torest. shrine istheactualsitewhereMordechaiandEstherare another placeforburial.Soitisnotcertainlyknownifthe parallel tradition holdsthattheirbodieswerebroughtto appear ineitherBabylonianorJerusalemiteTalmuds.A not does and Iran of outside Jews the by supported not is of Esther(alsoknownastheMegillah). ofthetwocousinswhoplayedapivotalsite roleintheBook desk TOURISM Akbari as sayingonWednesday. the province’sdeputytourismchiefMarjan some rehabilitationworks, CHTNquoted province,underwent Razavi ern Khorasan ,northeast- in (cistern) Ab-Anbar ByAfshin Majlesi The purportedburialsiteofPurim’s Persian queenandapilgrimage site for IranianJews Until the1970s, theshrinewashiddenawayinacrowded The sagaofMordechaiandEstherformthebasisfor through for IranianJews site pilgrimage also a is The site Herzfeld datesthecurrentstructureto1602CE,part According totheencyclopedia,Herzfelddescribed German archaeologistandIranologistErnstHerzfeld According tothebiblicalbooknamedafterher, Esther This tradition,accordingtotheEncyclopediaIranica, The cistern’s dome, façade, worn-outwalls Coronavirus: a pilgrimage to Shah-e Cheragh after to apilgrimage Coronavirus: Shah-eCheragh two-month closure Explore mausoleumof Esther andMordechai (1789–1925) HajiNezam (1789–1925) –Qajar-era TEHRAN Qajar-era cistern restoration undergoes seasonal rainwater. permanent springsoron that arerelianton managementsystemsinaridareas water ground watercisterns. Itassociateswith Iranout asadesignationforroofedunder 260 millionrials(about$6,000), sheadded. of budget a with restored were bricks and The termAb-Anbariscommonthrough- - - - - A viewofthe modestmausoleumofEsther andMordechai inthe cityofHamedan,west-centralIran. cameras arenotpermitted. permitted tonon-Muslims. Photographywithlargedigital dle ofthecomplexbutentrancetoshrineisnotusually an exquisitedoorembellishedwithsilverandgold. lated objects, includingsomehighlyprizedoldQuransand of thecourtyard,nexttoshrine,whichshowcasesshrine-re by dazzlinggold-tippedminarets. flanked is dome blue-tiled Its period. late-Qajar the from and tileworkrepresentrelativelymodernembellishments elements andmotifsfromvariouscenturiesitscourtyard even abroadperday. ofthefaithfulfromallovercountryor draws hundreds brothers ofImamReza(AS),islaidtorest. Itnormally across thecountryhitnews. On March15, theclosureofholyshrinesandreligiousplaces virus. the combat to steps effective and scientific on based act could country whole the that universities,so and schools promoted the“StayHomeMovement”afterclosureof in Iran,thenationalheadquartersforcombatingcoronavirus coronavirus outbreak. country aftermorethantwomonthsofclosureduetothe holy shrinesandgrandcongregationalmosques aroundthe southern Iran, onMay26, 2020. mausoleum andpilgrimagesiteinthetouristcityofShiraz, dismissed therumorscirculatingaboutdamagetoEsther of Tehran’sJewishcommunity,paidavisittotheshrine. He that the shrine was set on fire and destructed. kings whoruledPersiafrom553to330BC. and subsequentlyasummerresidenceoftheAchaemenian given over to excavations. EcbatanawasthecapitalofMedia from antiquity, but significant parts of the city center are ancient world’sgreatestcities.Pitifullylittleremains of the old shrine. itself, orthegrave stonesclutteringtheplazaoutside renovation, however, did not significantly alter the shrine main street.The ished, makingtheshrineaccessiblefrom scaped setting. exotic birds, mammals, andreptilesinabeautifully land animals, representing morethaneightyspeciesincluding environment.educational capital, offers you scenes of wildlife in a safe, friendly and desk TOURISM desk TOURISM Experience wildlife insafe, wildlife Experience environment Tehran near Houses aroundthetombwerepurchasedanddemol There is also a modest museum in the northwestern corner corner northwestern the in museum modest a also is There The dazzlingshrineofmirroredtilesboastsarchitectural Following the official approval of the coronavirus epidemic head the Samayeh, issue,Homayoun the To investigate Earlier thismonth, someforeignmediaoutletsreported Known inclassicaltimesasEcbatana, Hamadanwasone Visitors arewelcometoenterthecourtyardinmid Shah-e CheraghiswhereSayyedMirAhmad, oneof On Monday, themausoleumreopenedalongwithother Spanning five ha in area, the zoo is home to some 800 friendly and educational and educational friendly A recent media Arecenthype Shah-e Cheragh (“King of Light”), a major Shah-e Cheragh(“KingofLight”), amajor TEHRAN – county, some50southwestofthe Iranian Zoo, whichissituated inMalard - climate. and civilizationsindesertareaswithanarid exceptional testimonytoculturaltraditions surrounding mountains. rely on snow-fed streams flowing down from are partsoftheiconicqanatsystems, which Photos depict people visiting Photos depictpeoplevisiting Qanats, according to the UNESCO,Qanats, accordingtoprovide Such undergroundreservoirsorAb-Anbars MAY 28,2020 MAY - - - - as atooltoattaintheirhostilegoals. not allowtheenemiesofIslamicRepublictousethem enemies oftheIslamicRepublic.” the in a corner which has been magnified and exaggerated by tact, andtheremaybeburntcarpetoutsidethiscomplex vices ofthegovernment andthesystem,” hesaid. support fromthegovernment, andaregratefulfortheser under theshadowofIslamicRepublicandall-round of hisvisitonMay17. dechai,” Mehr quoted Samayehassayingonthesidelines damage has been inflicted on the shrine of Esther and Mor byenemiesoftheIslamicRepublic.”waged and Mordechai’stomb, saying“thesearemediapropaganda Samayeh addedthattheIranianJewishcommunitydoes country this in Jews,live minorities,especially “Religious “The shrineofEstherandMordechaiiscompletelyin “Contrary totherumorspublishedinsomemedia, no - - - I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y MAY 28, 2020 SOCIETY 9

Iran plans to equip environmental Iran sends anti-corona medical supplies to Afghanistan

SOCIETY TEHRAN — A plane carrying medical aid pro- defenders with high-tech facilities deskvided by Iranian people and the private sector landed at Kabul airport on Tuesday, IRNA news agency reported. 1 Marine protection to be promoted ous years, 70 percent of fires in the country’s The shipment consists of masks, disinfectants, medical gloves Stating that the DOE is also trying to pro- forests and pastures have been set uninten- and hospital supplies donated by the people and the private mote protection in the maritime areas, he tionally by the tourists, and given that the risk sector of Iran to Afghans. noted that “to do this, we will soon launch air of wildfires is high this year, people should The aid is planned to be handed over to Afghan government monitoring system over the maritime areas be more careful when camping in nature. and Ministry of Health officials during an official ceremony. and wetlands in the country.” He cited fires that are set for cooking, Iran had previously assisted the Afghan government by 2,000 Fishermen’s boats are generally faster cigarettes, and other incendiary items, along coronavirus test kits. than the maritime rangers’ boats, which is with garbage that turns into a magnifying Earlier in April, Afghanistan appreciated Iran for offering why we have a problem preventing crime, glass by sunlight and ignites, as the main health and treatment services to Afghan refugees infected with and we have prioritized equipping the causes of wildfires in the country. coronavirus free of charge. boats, he emphasized. Another 20 percent of the fires were He went on to state that 50 marine intentional due to land-use changes and rangers will soon be recruited and trained, other illegal motives, and 10 percent were then they will be active in 7 provinces set naturally, he stated. FAO delivers first batch where there are maritime areas. In all provinces, teams of trained en- 70% of wildfires unintentionally set vironmentalist defenders are on duty, he of desert locust control Elsewhere in his remarks, Mohabbat Khani said, adding, these forces are equipped with pointed to the above-normal rainfall this the special firefighting facilities that have equipment to Iran provided been last year. year and last year and the increase in the Tehran – As part of an ongoing support provided by the Food and He further announced the readiness of vegetation of rangelands and forests across Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to Iran the Disaster Management Organization, the country and highlighted that the risk of for controlling desert locust infestation, the first consignment the Armed Forces, and the DOE, to deal wildfires in the country increases. of pest control equipment supplied by the Organization, was with possible fires. According to statistics recorded in previ- delivered to the country’s plant protection authority. According to a press release published by the FAO Representa- tion in Iran, this delivery includes 25 vehicle-mounted Ultra Low ‘Sympathetic Iran’ donates $35m to families affected by COVID-19 Volume (ULV) sprayers worth around USD 125,000. Iran is now experiencing the worst desert locust outbreak in the SOCIETY TEHRAN — A national campaign called worth 1.3 trillion rials (nearly $32 million), among the the peak of this national pride are the health professionals. desk last 50 years. The latest tracking data shows that seven out of 31 Iran-e Hamdel (literally meaning sympa- needy since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, Besides the health professionals, volunteers, university provinces of the country have been invaded by this pest so far and the thetic Iran) has collected 1.5 trillion rials (nearly $35 million Seyed Morteza Bakhtiari, head of the Imam Khomeini students and Basij forces have entered the battlefield new projection implies that this number might be increased to 10. at the official rate of 42,000 rials) to help the financially Relief Foundation said on Tuesday. against Corona and their services are indescribable, the Although, last year Iran managed to conduct pesticide spraying struggling families affected by the coronavirus outbreak. To date, 2,140,840 people have participated in the cam- Leader’s Twitter account wrote. operations in more than 700,000 ha of its rangelands, this year, Launched at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan paign, IRIB quoted Bakhtiari as saying. People’s participation in the fight against Corona was as the infestations have occurred in larger scales, the country (April 23), the campaign aims to provide financial assistance In a televised speech on April 9, Leader of the Islamic truly amazing: 1) people feeding the needy; 2) turning needs to expand the control operation and treat at least one to the needy affected by the pandemic. Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Corona outbreak houses into workshops to sew free masks; 3) disinfecting million ha of surface areas. Benefactors, charity centers and religious organizations is a test for all the world, both for governments and for na- public areas; 4) talking to landlords and shop owners to In this regard, FAO has financed a USD 500,000 emergen- have distributed some 9.5 million warm food packages, tions. The Iranian Nation shone brightly in this test, and at exempt people from their rents. cy Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) project to further enhance Iran’s national technical capacity for early warning, monitoring and management of desert locust. Regional initiative for locust infestation In the framework of this project, FAO assists the Plant Pro- tection Organization of the Ministry of Agriculture Jahad with Already hard-hit by coronavirus, a second wave of locust swarm invasion from East Africa threatens region increasing its technical capacity through training workshops and learning programmes for 320 pest and agriculture officers By Salman Parviz Spokesman for the ministry, Moham- the first time in many decades, there is a second The big prerequisite is both a swarm and in the locust affected provinces of the country. mad Reza Mir, said more than 200,000 threat of invasion by swarms in East Africa in rain – helping create conditions conducive This project also provides the country with additional handheld A trilateral plan among Iran, Pakistan and India hectares of orchards and farmland have late June and during July,” the FAO report says. for breeding and growth. Locust eggs dry out and knapsack sprayers, Personal Protective Equipment, chem- is being formulated to address locust swarm been under attack by desert locusts in seven Regional issue without rainfall. Rising temperatures also icals (pesticides), and data management and communications infestations that devour crops and threaten of the country’s 31 provinces. Locust swarms is nothing new to East Af- mean locusts can mature more quickly and software and hardware equipment. the livelihood and sustenance in the region, “The military have promised to help fight the rica and West Asia, but this year’s swarms are spread to higher elevation environments. already struggling with coronavirus pandemic. desert locusts, including by providing all-ter- expected to be larger than in 2019 because In just a few weeks, the next generation The desert locust is considered the most rain vehicles for use in areas which are hard their number increases on average 20-fold of pests will transition from juvenile stage destructive migratory pest in the world and a to access” Mir told ILNA adding that last year with each generation. The locust infestation and take wings. While a good rainfall in the Magnitude 4 quake hits single swarm covering one square kilometer the military “was a big help.” is the worst in 70 years in East Africa and has summer could save a region’s crops but at can contain up to 80 million locusts. An agreement was signed on March 19, ac- affected 23 countries in all. the same time it could increase chances of The Food and Agriculture Organization cording to which the Food and Agricultural The insects first swept through Somalia, locust hatching. SOCIETY TEHRAN — An earthquake measuring of the United Nations (FAO) said on Friday Organization of the United Nations agreed to Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan The region of Africa that includes Kenya desk4.0 on the Richter scale shook Tehran there was an increased risk along both sides provide Iran $200,000 and help to procure in January and February. Now, after those and Ethiopia saw a 300 percent of usual province on Wednesday. of India-Pakistan border. equipment for the country’s two desert locust locusts laid eggs, new swarms likely to be 20 rainfall between October and November The earthquake occurred at 1:41 p.m. local time at a depth of India, which was battered by Cyclone Amphan control centers for capacity building. times larger were beginning to eat their way last year. On one November day two years 12 kilometers near the city of Damavand, northeast of Tehran, on its east coast, announced that New Delhi is “In Pakistan, 38 percent of the area (60 per- through the region. of rain fell, causing floods and displacing according to the Iranian Seismological Center. waiting to hear from Islamabad on a proposal cent in Baluchistan, 25 percent in Sindh and 15 The World Bank has set up a $500 million people, reports ABC. On May 8, an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale for the collaborative action. Iran has already percent in Punjab) are breeding grounds for the program to fight the locust infestation in East Cyclone last year in Somalia brought heavy shook the same area, killing two and injuring 33. acknowledged and responded to the Indian desert locust, whereas the entire country is under Africa and parts of West Asia, which is said to rains that fed fresh vegetation to fuel the locusts The causative fault for the earthquake was Mosha fault, action plan, which includes an offer to provide the threat of invasion if the desert location is not cause economic damage costing $8.5bn this year. that are carried by wind to the Arabian Peninsula, 5km north of the city of Damavand. It has a history of major pesticide Malathion for aerial spraying to restrain contained in the breeding region,” according to Swarms of locusts, many billions strong, the largest in the world stretching from West historical earthquakes in 958 A.D. in Rey-Taleghan with an locust populations in southeastern provinces of an FAO report. The report highlights migration were moving from East Africa to West Asia Asia to northeast Africa. Scientists say due to estimated earthquake magnitude (EEM) of 7.7; 15 June 1665 Sistan-Baluchestan and South Khorasan. pattern of locust and its potential impact on and South Asia, “decimating livelihoods and climate change a warmer Indian Ocean means with EEM 6.5 that caused a landslide and created Taar lake in The plan of action was recommended after agricultural economy of Pakistan. devouring food”, said David Malpass, President more powerful tropical cyclones. the vicinity of Damavand, actually a mountain promenade in reports emerged that swarms of the destruc- The silver lining is that an already regu- of the World Bank Group, adding the locust The current situation remains alarming Tehran province; 27 March 1830 EEM 7.1 in Shemiranat; 2 tive pests were heading towards India after lated bilateral collaboration between India swarms threatened a “monumental crisis” and in East Africa where Kenya, Ethiopia and So- October 1930 EEM5.0 in Ah-Mobarakabad; 20 January 1990 breeding and maturing in Iranian and Pakistani and Pakistan exists, six regular meetings “a humanitarian emergency.” malia continue to face unprecedented threat EEM5.9 in Firouzkuh; and 9 May 2020 EEM5.1 in Damavand, provinces of Baluchistan. In India, more adult between India and Pakistan are held every The highly mobile species of short-horned to food security and livelihood. New swarms according to Mehdi Zare, a professor of engineering seismology. groups of small swarms have been reported year from June to November. grasshoppers travel in swarms of 30 to 50 mil- from current breeding will form from mid-June Tehran is one of the most hazardous metropolises in the which have spread into the states of Rajasthan, The FAO report shows that swarms of lo- lion insects, covering a distance of 150 km and onwards, coinciding with the start of the har- world in terms of the risk of different natural disasters, such Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. custs would be migrating to Pakistan in coming devouring up to 200 tons of crops per day. vest. There is a risk that swarms will migrant to as earthquakes, floods, subsidence, drought, landslide, fire Experts say that a larger than normal locust months from southern Iran’s border areas of East Africa’s locust swarm threaten the summer breeding areas along both sides of following an earthquake, etc. On the other hand, Tehran has attack could happen this year in India and a plague Baluchestan, Oman and East Africa. food security in an area already under the Indo-Pakistan border as well as Sudan and over 8,300,000 night time population with a mixture of old will give a heavy blow to agriculture, just in time According to the report, the last serious threat from plagues. A desert locust can perhaps West Africa, reports FAO. non-resistant structures as well as modern high-rise buildings when food security has become paramount. desert locust invasion in the eastern region of eat roughly its weight in fresh food per day The UN has warned of a major blow to that affect the vulnerability of this city. Iranian agriculture ministry’s Plant Protec- Pakistan occurred in 1993. Beginning in mid- (about two grams). A one square kilometer food supply as locust swarms gobble up tion Organization said the military was called 2018, some 25 years later, a major upsurge of swarm contains at least 40 million locusts, crops and gather to sweep across the region. for help last week for a second year to help fight desert locust developed in the Arabian Penin- each eat the same amount of food each Officials in Iran, Pakistan and India need WORDS IN THE NEWS locusts that have invaded the south of the coun- sula as a result of higher frequency of cyclones day as about 35,000 people, based on a to speed up coordination to deal with the try, threatening to destroy crops worth more originating in the Indian Ocean in 2019, that person eating an average of 2.3 kilograms locust infestation on a yearly basis. As the Security in Iraq than seven billion dollars. The locust swarms brought heavy rains to the Empty Quarter (Rub’ of food per day. threat of locust swarms heading from East also threaten livestock, endangering pastoral al Khali) along the borders of Saudi Arabia, Locusts can lay as many as 80 eggs per fe- Africa to West Asia region increases amid (November 05, 2003) communities and can have adverse impact on Oman, UAE and Yemen. male, and deposit them at a depth of 10 to 15 global warming, initiatives with a larger A week of increasing violence in Iraq has threatened Iraqis and the tourism industry. “This year the situation is aggravated as for centimeters below the earth’s surface. scope are in order. foreign forces alike. There are now signs that security in Baghdad is being increased - but will checkpoints be the answer? This report from Jonny Dymond: The sprawling headquarters of the Coalition Provisional ENGLISH IN USE Administration, sitting on the west bank of the Tigris, escaped from Tuesday night’s attack unscathed. There are some signs LEARN NEWS TRANSLATION that security in central Baghdad has been stepped up. Late on Tuesday night, a military checkpoint appeared on one of the main roads in the city’s business and commercial district. On Wednesday morning, a higher profile US army presence was Tehran to host autism conference on the streets outside the fortified hotels where most foreigners stay. But there’s a limit to what the occupying powers can برگزاری همایش اوتیسم در تهران do. To close down Baghdad with endless checkpoints and a large number of troops on the streets would not only provide چهارمیــن همایــش »اُتیســم، توانمندســازی نیــروی انســانی و خانــواده« The 4th conference on autism disorder with a theme of empowering human resources and families will be held in attackers with a greater range of softer targets, it would ,also make the city feel yet more occupied. Better intelligence اول اســفند مــاه در تهــران برگــزار می شــود. .Tehran on February 20 rather than a heavy-handed security presence, is what the ایــن همایــش توســط بنیــاد امــور بیماریهــای خــاص و بــا مشــارکت The event is organized by the Charity Foundation for Special Diseases in cooperation with the Special Education Organization, coalition needs most. Words ســازمان آمــوزش و پــرورش اســتثنایی، وزارت بهداشــت، ســازمان the Ministry of Health, the Welfare Organization and the sprawling: covering a large area Coalition Provisional Administration: The US-led بهزیســتی، و انجمــن روانشناســی ســامت ایــران برگــزار می شــود. .Health Psychology Association administration in Iraq - something that is provisional has been arranged for the present time but will be changed in the future unscathed: undamaged PREFIX/SUFFIX PHRASAL VERB IDIOM stepped up: increased checkpoint: a place where traffic has to stop and be checked “-et, -ette” Hand something around (As) broad as it’s long higher profile:more obvious fortified:fortified buildings are strengthened, to resist attack Meaning: small Meaning: to offer something to each person in a group Explanation: this expression means that there is no the occupying powers: countries which have taken power in Iraq For example: This marionette performance was For example: Willie helped hand the mugs around. real difference which alternative is chosen softer targets: places which are easier to attack the best school program I have seen in my 21 years of For example: A: “Do you prefer the white or the red heavy-handed: rough and thoughtless teaching. car.” B: It’s as broad as it’s long. I’ll only have it for a day.” (Source: BBC) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 10 INTERNATIONAL MAY 28, 2020

Hezbollah warns of Israeli plan for Palestinian state in Jordan The usual victims 1 Louis’s Department of Sociology, Several academics have challenged The Secretary General of the Lebanese resistance movement and Michael Esposito, of the University of Cesario’s methodology, namely his Hezbollah has warned of Israel’s plans for a Palestinian state Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. decision to “sidestep the benchmark” in Jordan. The researchers used verified data on police of using population to calculate racial In an interview with Lebanon’s Noor Radio on Tuesday, Sayyed killings from 2013 to 2018 compiled by disparity. It has been questioned wheth- Hassan Nasrallah called the Zionist regime a cancerous entity the website Fatal Encounters, created by er using population is an appropriate with no credibility in the region. Nevada-based journalist D. Brian Burghart. benchmark in these kinds of analyses: “Israel aims to occupy the entire Palestine and according to Under their models, they found that Critics of this technique believe that this scheme, Jordan is an alternative home for the Palestinian roughly 1-in-1,000 black boys and men population-benchmarking is flawed people,” he was cited as saying by the website of Al Manar TV. will be killed by police in their lifetime. because it assumes black and white He further asserted that Tel Aviv lacks the courage to wage For white boys and men, the rate is 39 people have an equal likelihood of another war on Lebanon, given the Muslim country’s defen- out of 100,000. encountering police. (An example of sive might. In fact, people of color in gen- population-benchmarking is, as Ce- “We warn Israel against committing a folly by launching eral were found more likely to be sario’s study explains, stating: “26% the great war, all factions of axis of resistance could engage killed by police than their white of civilians killed by police shootings in such a war,” Nasrallah said. counterparts. in 2015 were Black even though Black The Hezbollah leader vowed a firm response to any attacks According to Citylab,the study was civilians comprise only 12% of the U.S. by the Israeli military, noting that the fake and racist entity published in the Proceedings of the Na- population. According to this 12% bench- would not manage to survive. tional Academy of Sciences, or PNAS, a mark, more Black civilians are fatally “We neither want a civil war nor want to rule the country,” journal that recently drew controversy shot than we would expect, indicating he said. “We retaliate to any attack on our fighters everywhere.” for publishing another study on police disparity.”) Nasrallah further lambasted the U.S. military presence killing disparities. That study, led by Instead of using population, Cesa- in the region, asserting that it “indicates the weakness of its Michigan State University psychology rio analyzed variables such as the race allies” in West Asia. professor Joseph Cesario, published of the police officers, crime rates, and Ccording to Press TV, on Monday, the second-in-command on July 22, found that violent crime the racial demographics of locations of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement hailed the 2000 rates and the racial demographics of a where police shootings happened in liberation of southern Lebanon from the Israeli occupation as a given location are better indicators for crimes, white people are more likely to racial prejudice or because black people 2015. From that, he derived that black “turning point” in the history of the region. determining a police killing victim’s race. be shot. If you live in a county that has a are really violent enough to justify extra and Latino victims of police killings were “We have moved from the stage of despair to hope, from sur- As Cesario explained in a press re- lot of black people committing crimes, police force. The Cesario study, with its more likely to have been shot by black render to resistance, from humiliation to honor, and from defeat lease: black people are more likely to be shot. focus on crime rates, seems to fall in the and Latino cops, and that ”might not to victory,” Sheikh Naim Qassem said. Many people ask whether black or The two studies are just the latest latter camp. Both rely on media-generat- be due to bias on the part of Black or white citizens are more likely to be shot salvos in a long-running debate over ed police shootings data—Cesario’s uses Hispanic officers, but instead to sim- and why. If you live in a county that whether police violence towards African databases produced by The Washington ple overlap between officer and county U.S. redeploys additional has a lot of white people committing Americans is better explained because of Post and The Guardian. demographics.” military equipment to northeast Syria China’s president orders military to prepare for war Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered China’s armed strategic stability of the country.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also on several The United States has deployed additional military equipment forces to “comprehensively” strengthen the training of troops Xi’s call for scaling up battle readiness followed a deci- occasions accused China of not being transparent and honest to the northeast of Syria’s Al-Hasakah governorate, the country’s and be prepared for war, as tensions rise between sion to increase the budget for the Chinese military by 178 about the coronavirus pandemic. state-run news agency SANA reported citing local sources. and a number of other countries. billion dollars last year. China has defended its handling of the outbreak, repeat- According to the agency, a convoy of armored vehicles Speaking on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the It also comes amid the straining of relations with India edly saying it “has been nothing but open, transparent, and and other military equipment arrived from Iraq via the Al- National People’s Congress on Wednesday, Xi praised the over border issues and rising tensions with the United States responsible” in informing the World Health Organization Walid crossing point. SANA citied local sources as saying that Chinese army’s contribution to the country’s fight against and Australia over the coronavirus pandemic. (WHO) and affected countries about the pandemic. the equipment was intended to boost the capabilities of existing the coronavirus epidemic but called on the armed forces The U.S. and Australia have called for a probe into the More recently, the U.S. and China have clashed over U.S. bases in the region. to ramp up military training. origins of the coronavirus. Hong Kong and Taiwan. Moreover, six U.S. armored vehicles left Iraq’s El Mahmoudia “It is necessary to explore ways of training and preparing for Since the coronavirus epidemic broke out in the Chinese According to Press TV, separately on Wednesday, Wu village to the south of the Al-Walid crossing point, crossed the war because epidemic control efforts have been normalized,” city of Wuhan in late December, Beijing and Washington Qian, the spokesman for China’s Ministry of National De- Iraqi-Syrian border and headed towards a Syrian oil field con- China’s official news agency Xinhua quoted Xi as saying. have clashed over the spread and the virus’ origin. fense, said Taiwan’s reliance on “foreign forces” to advance trolled by US troops. “It is necessary to step up preparations for armed combat, U.S. President Donald Trump keeps referring to the new its secession bid from China posed the biggest threat to On October 9, 2019 Turkey launched an operation codenamed to flexibly carry out actual combat military training, and to coronavirus as the “China virus.” China’s national security. Peace Spring with the aim of creating a buffer zone in northern improve our military’s ability to perform military missions.” Trump has over the past weeks claimed that there is evi- “China’s homeland security and overseas interests are Syria, where, Ankara said, Syrian refugees would be able to re- Xi further said the military had to think about “worst-case dence Beijing created the coronavirus in a medical lab in the also facing some real threats,” Wu said. “China must have turn from Turkey. At the end of October U.S. President Donald scenarios,” adding that it had to be prepared to “resolutely Chinese city. This is while the U.S. intelligence agencies say a clear mind when it comes to national defense and be pre- Trump declared the pullout of U.S. military from the area of safeguard national sovereignty” and “safeguard the overall they have seen no evidence to show the virus is man-made. pared for danger in peace time.” the Turkish military operation, but at the same time added that Washington was determined to retain control of oil fields in the country’s northeast. Arab and Turkish mass media subsequently said more than once that the United States was regrouping its France halts hydroxychloroquine for With eye on election, Trump says he forces in the northeast of Syria. coronavirus treatment wants full Afghanistan pullout EU proposes 750 billion-euro coronavirus recovery fund

The European Union’s executive arm is proposing a 750 billion-euro ($825 billion) recovery fund to help the bloc’s economy through the painful recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said Wednesday. Gentiloni, who is in charge of economic affairs at the com- mission, wrote in a tweet that the move is “a European turning point to face an unprecedented crisis.” However, the 27-nation EU remains deeply divided over what conditions should be attached to the funds, and the commission proposal is likely to set off weeks of wrangling. Details of the plan are due to be unveiled later Wednesday, AP reported. The move comes as the world’s biggest trading bloc enters its deepest-ever recession, weighed down by the impact of the coro- navirus. Virtually every country has broken the EU’s deficit limit as they’ve spent to keep health care systems, businesses and jobs alive. While citizens across Europe are slowly returning to work and The French government banned Wednes- ing hydroxychloroquine as a preventive President Donald Trump on Tuesday 29. By the second quarter of 2021, all students move gradually offline and head back to classrooms, day the treatment of COVID-19 patients measure against COVID-19. renewed his desire for a full military foreign forces are supposed to withdraw, hardest-hit countries like Italy and Spain remain in desperate with hydroxychloroquine, a controver- Under the new French rules, the drug withdrawal from Afghanistan but added ending the U.S.›s longest war. needs of funds and want to avoid any long-term wrangling. sial and potentially harmful drug that can be used only in clinical trials to test its that he had not set a target date, amid The Taliban launched an armed re- Earlier this month, the leaders of Germany and France - his- US President Donald Trump has said efficacy against coronavirus - making it speculation he might make ending the bellion after it was toppled from power torically, the two main drivers of EU integration - agreed on a he is taking preventively. unclear if the French doctor, Didier Raoult, United States›s longest war part of his by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001. one-time 500 billion-euro ($543 billion) fund, a proposal that The move came after two French advi- would be able to continue using it at his re-election campaign. According to al Jazeera, Trump›s would add further cash to an arsenal of financial measures the sory bodies and the World Health Organi- hospital in Marseille in the south. «We›re there 19 years and, yeah, I comments come as authorities in Af- bloc is deploying to cope with the economic fallout. zation warned this week that the drug -- a Raoult has already rejected a compre- think that›s enough ... We can always ghanistan said they had released about That plan would involve the EU borrowing money in financial treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and hensive study published last week in The go back if we want to,» Trump told a 900 Taliban prisoners across the coun- markets - an unprecedented move by the commission - to help lupus - had been shown to be potentially Lancet medical journal, which found that White House news conference. try on Tuesday, approximately 600 of sectors and countries that are particularly affected by the pandemic. dangerous in several studies, AFP reported. administering hydroxychloroquine or its Asked if the Thanksgiving holiday them from the notorious Bagram jail The urgency of the coronavirus outbreak related compound chloroquine actually in- on November 26 was a target, Trump near Kabul. has prompted some doctors to prescribe the creased the risk of dying for many patients. said: «No. I have no target. But as soon The release is a part of a pledge by drug despite a lack of research to demonstrate Hydroxychloroquine, also used to treat as (is) reasonable. Over a period of time the Afghan government to free up to Don’t let patent rows hamper its efficacy against the novel coronavirus. malaria, is sold under the brand name but as soon as reasonable.» 2,000 of the armed group›s prisoners search for virus vaccine: UN Among them were a French infectious Plaquenil by French pharma giant Sanofi, The U.S. has already begun to with- in response to the Taliban›s three-day disease specialist who caught the ear of which promised to offer governments mil- draw its forces as part of an agreement ceasefire offer, which began on Sun- The UN patent agency has hailed the push to create a coronavi- Trump, who stunned his own adminis- lions of doses if studies proved it could be signed with the Taliban armed group day to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid rus vaccine and make it globally available, but warned against tration last week by revealing he was tak- safely used in the coronavirus fight. in the Qatari capital Doha on February al-Fitr. allowing copyright rows to overshadow and delay the process. “What we need in the first place here is innovation,” Francis Gurry, the head of the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organ- Trump threatens to close down social media after Twitter posts warning under his tweet ization (WIPO), told reporters in a virtual briefing. U.S. President has threatened to close down social media “Just like we can’t let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root According to AFP, World Health Organization member states platforms that do not support his agenda, a day after Twit- in our Country. It would be a free for all on cheating, forgery last week adopted a resolution recognising that extensive immu- ter posted a fact-checking notice on one of his tweets. and the theft of Ballots. Whoever cheated the most would nisation against COVID-19 would be a “global public good”, and Social media firms suppressed conservative points of win. Likewise, Social Media. Clean up your act, NOW!!!!” pushing for any vaccine to be equitably and fairly distributed to all. view, the president claimed – without any evidence – be- Twitter’s fact-checking notice was posted on a previ- Some, including South Africa, are calling for any vaccine fore saying his administration would “strongly regulate [the ous Trump tweet that claimed mail-in ballots could allow against the novel coronavirus to be patent-free. companies] or close them down, before we can ever allow widespread voter fraud. It immediately led to a presiden- But that idea has met with pushback from pharmaceutical this to happen”. tial eruption accusing the platform of “completely stifling companies and Washington, which opposes any challenge to Trump advised the companies to “Clean up your act, FREE SPEECH”. international intellectual property rights. NOW!!!!”. Trump’s outburst on Wednesday also followed Twitter’s Gurry pointed out that “there are provisions in internation- It is unclear whether the president’s professed goal refusal to delete a number of posts in which he accused a al legal instruments and there are provisions in national legal would be compatible with the first amendment to the U.S. television presenter of murder, again without any evidence. instruments which allow access, or intellectual property rights constitution. The widower of Lori Klausutis, a staffer for former Re- to be overridden in certain circumstances.” On Wednesday, he tweeted: “Republicans feel that Social publican congressman Joe Scarborough who died some The COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed over 350,000 people Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We two decades ago in an accident, had asked Twitter boss out of the more than 5.5 million infected worldwide, certainly will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can do, and failed, in 2016. We can’t let a more sophisticated Jack Dorsey to remove the messages because they sullied represents such an emergency, he said. ever allow this to happen. We saw what they attempted to version of that happen again. his wife’s memory. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y MAY 28, 2020 SPORTS 11

Ex-Tractor forward fortune Iran strongly denies Willy joins Auxerre

Former Tractor football team forward Kevin Fortune has joined Ligue 2 side Auxerre. Sagnol talk The 30-year-old player has penned a two-year contract SPORTSTEHRAN — The Football Federa- with the French team. desktion of the Islamic Republic of Iran The player, known for his contributions to RC Lens in the (FFIRI) has strongly denied reports that it has been recent past, has been without a club since February, after linked with Willy Sagnol. departing Iranian side Tractor FC. Fortune joined Tractor Italian site Foot Mercato has reported that the Iranian in August 2019 but scored once in 10 matches. federation has opened negotiations with the former Bay- Fortune was born in Paris, France but originated from ern Munich assistant but FFIRI spokesman Amir Mehdi Martinique. He made his debut for the Martinique national Alavi has dismissed claims the federation has held talks football team in 2019. with the Frenchman. (Source: Bein Sport) “That’s absolutely not true. Dragan Skocic will remain as Iran coach,” Alavi said. The Italian media had already reported that Andrea Stra- maccioni and Giovanni “Gianni” De Biasi were shortlisted to Asian half-marathon take charge of Iran national football team but the federation championship canceled refuted the speculations. Sagnol has never worked as head coach in a team and was assistant of Carlo Ancelotti in Bayern Munich in 2017. Tasnim— The first edition of the Asian half-marathon cham- Speculations about the Iranian football team can harm pionship has been canceled. the team since the team are in a sensitive situation. The event has been halted due to Covid-19 pandemic. The Persian are third ingroup C, five points behind Iraq The inaugural continental had been scheduled for July 19 in the 2020 World Cup qualification. at Shanghai, China. The Iranian football outfit have four must-win game ahead Asian Athletics Association President Dahlan Al Hamad and the rumors will definitely distract the team. has announced the cancelation of the competition, saying the After back-to-back appearances in 2014 and 2018, the health of the athletes is the association’s priority. aim now is to secure a third consecutive participation for the first time. Iran have reached the World Cup on five occasions. Dates for Women’s Olympic Iranian skater Nemati dies of Ex-Iran athlete Ghasem Koveitipour Asian Qualifiers Play-off final Covid-19 passes away confirmed

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in consultation with FIFA has approved the proposals by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and the Korea Football Association (KFA) to move their Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020 Asian Qualifiers Play-off matches to February 19 and 24, 2021. China PR and Korea Republic were set to contest Asia’s final spot in the Women’s 2020 Tokyo Olympic Football Tour- nament over two legs on June 4 and 9, 2020. Subsequently on March 30, 2020, the International Olym- pic Committee announced the decision to move the Tokyo Summer Olympics from July 24 - August 9, 2020 to July 23 - August 8, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest decision was confirmed to allow both Member Associations to have sufficient preparation time considering the challenging and unprecedented circumstances brought about by the pandemic. China PR and Korea Republic will be seeking to join Japan (men and women), Australia (men and women), men’s AFC U23 Championship winners Korea Republic and runners-up Saudi Arabia as Asia’s representatives at the Tokyo Olympic Games. SPORTSTEHRAN — Iran Nemati also was a member of Iran national SPORTSTEHRAN — Former Koveitipour won a bronze medal (Source: the-afc) desknational skate team team in the 18th edition of the Asian Roller deskIran athlete Ghasem at the 1974 Asian Games 4 × 400 m member Mohammad Nemati died of Skating Championship in Mumbai, India. Koveitipour has passed away on Mon- relay in Tehran. Coronavirus on Tuesday. Some media reports suggest that he day. He was laid in his hometown Kho- He has died at the age of 20 in his hometown has died from suspected poisoning. He died of heart attack at the ramshahr on Tuesday. Motorsport UK aims to get Mashhad. Nemati won a gold medal in South Tehran Times offers its heartfelt con- age of 69 in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Tehran Times offers its heartfelt Korea international competition in 2018. dolence to his bereaved family. Province. condolence to his bereaved family. back on track from July 4

LONDON (Reuters) — The governing body for motorsport in Britain aims to resume racing activities without spectators from July 4, it said on Wednesday. Persepolis keeper Radosevic ready to become first choice Motorsport UK suspended all its events throughout the SPORTSTEHRAN— Bozidar Radosevic says that Mehdi Rasoul Panah over his unpaid salaries. country from March to the end of June due to the COVID-19 deskhe thinks about football rather than finan- “I talked to Mr. Rasoul Panah and he vowed to pay my pandemic. cial issues as he hopes to wear the No. 1 shirt at Persepolis. salary in the coming days. But, the most important thing “We have explained our plans to government and are The Croatian goalie returned to Tehran after more than for me is that I’ve finally returned to Iran. My priority is fortunate that motorsport takes place outdoors over large two months break due to coronavirus outbreak. football, not financial issues.” controlled spaces,” said Motorsport UK chairman David Speaking about the isolation time in his hometown, Persepolis and Iran national team goalkeeper, Beiran- Richards in a statement. Radosevic said: “It was a difficult time for me. It was hard vand, will leave the team at the summer to join the Belgian “Our plan is that, subject to government advice and ongoing for professional footballers because you couldn’t practice team Royal Antwerp. lifting of restrictions, motorsport will resume from 4th July. as much as you wanted to. I tried to continue my personal “I’ve been here for the last four seasons and I’ve been “We are making this announcement now as event organizers, training program during the quarantine time.” waiting for this opportunity to become the No.1 goalkeeper venues, preparation specialists, the supply chain, volunteer The 31-year-old goalkeeper joined the Reds in 2016 as at Persepolis,” Rado spoke about the possibility of becoming marshals, officials and competitors all need time to put in Alireza Beiranvend’s backup. He won Iran Professional League the first-choice stopper for Persepolis in next season. place their plans.” (IPL) with Persepolis for three consecutive seasons along with “You can see how I have behaved and tried my best Silverstone was due to host the British Formula One Grand Prix winning Hazfi Cup and the Iranian three times. in training and matches and I hope it’s my turn in the on July 19 but could now have two races, in late July and August, Radosevich also met Persepolis acting general manager next season.” under a revised calendar and dependent on government approval. “If we move into August that might give a little more certainty but, actually, I think it’s probably essential that there’s clarity on the quarantine situation in advance of that,” Silverstone Premier League clubs vote to resume Olympic chief Bach consults with IOC circuit boss Stuart Pringle told Sky Sports television. contact training members over virus fallout Britain is due to introduce a 14-day quarantine period for most arrivals in the country from June 8. Formula One has Premier League clubs voted unanimously A targeted return date of June 12 was Olympic chief Thomas Bach on to the floor to discuss “the issue of a yet to be granted an exemption. on Wednesday to resume contact training described by Premier League chief executive Wednesday held a series of talks with vaccine”, according to a second source. as the English top-flight took a significant Richard Masters last week as a “staging post”. International Olympic Committee Bach warned last week that 2021 step towards a possible restart in June. Players and coaches have argued they will members on the potential consequences was the “last option” for holding the The Premier League was put on hold in need until at least the end of June to reduce of the coronavirus pandemic that has delayed Tokyo Games, stressing that Empty Japan stadiums could March due to the coronavirus pandemic, the risk of injuries after such a long lay-off. seen the Tokyo Games pushed back a postponement cannot go on forever. with Liverpool agonizingly close to the title. Some players have voiced fears over year to 2021, sources said. He said he backed Japan’s stance soon hear the sound of app-lause Clubs returned to training in small and their safety and that of their families due Bach was to address the 100 IOC that the Games will have to be cancelled socially distanced groups last week but to the virus. members in three different sessions if the coronavirus pandemic isn’t under A new Japanese smartphone app will allow fans to send virtual they have now moved to stage two of the Watford captain Troy Deeney has not decided by language and local time control by next year. cheers and jeers to sports stadiums in the hope of creating atmos- “return to training protocol”. returned to training after three positive zone. The German wouldn’t say, however, phere at matches played behind closed doors due to coronavirus. “Premier League shareholders today cases were registered by the Hornets over Bach’s aim is to canvas the mem- whether a vaccine was a prerequisite Instrument maker Yamaha said its remote cheering system voted unanimously to resume contact concerns he could spread the virus to his bers for their view on “how to handle for going ahead with the Olympics, but will let users tap buttons on the app to deliver cheers -- or boos training, marking another step towards five-month-old son. the consequences of the coronavirus was lukewarm on the idea of holding -- via dozens of speakers placed inside grounds. restarting the Premier League season, French World Cup winner N’Golo Kante pandemic”, a source told AFP. them without fans. Event organisers can pre-set various types of cheers and when safe to do so,” the league said in has also been given permission by Chelsea The IOC president wants to hear In March, the Tokyo 2020 Olym- jeers, and change the intensity levels depending on the num- a statement. to train at home. “thoughts, ideas and experiences of all pics were postponed to July 23, 2021 ber of users pressing their buttons -- aiming to replicate the “Squads are now able to train as a group Germany’s Bundesliga has already man- members across the globe”, it added. over the coronavirus, which has killed roar when a goal or home run is scored. Even when a live and engage in tackling while minimizing aged to complete two rounds of fixtures since While Bach addressed all Olympic hundreds of thousands around the audience is permitted, fans may still use the app to prevent any unnecessary close contact.” returning behind closed doors and there has actors on March 24 when announcing world and halted international sport potentially coronavirus-laden droplets flying through the air It added: “Discussions are ongoing as been little player opposition to La Liga’s plans the postponement of the Tokyo Games, and travel. It was the first peacetime through shouting. work continues towards resuming the sea- to return in Spain from June 11. it is the first time since the COVID-19 postponement of the Olympics. They can pick which side of the stadium to send their chosen cheer son, when conditions allow.” Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson outbreak that he has specifically con- The IOC has already set aside $800 or jeer, and can remotely join chants that only designated users can The small number of positive tests said playing at an empty Anfield and win- sulted IOC members. million to help organizers and sports begin.The company originally planned to launch the app in later this from the first two rounds of testing at ning the Premier League title with no fans Bach was backed up by Olympic federations meet the extra costs of a year, but accelerated its development after the coronavirus forced Premier League clubs has raised hopes present would be “pretty strange”. Games executive director Christophe postponed Olympics. sporting events to be cancelled or played without fans. of a return next month. Liverpool were 25 points clear of 2019 Dubi, IOC sports director Kit McCon- According to the latest budget, the Yamaha said a recent test of the system at a 51,000-seat Eight cases of coronavirus among play- champions Manchester City when the nell, IOC director general Christophe Games were due to cost $12.6 billion, stadium produced a sound similar to that of a live crowd. ers and staff have been detected from 1,744 league was shut down, on the verge of De Kepper and chief operating officer shared between the organizing com- The firm deployed 58 speakers at the Ecopa Stadium and tests in the Premier League. being crowned English champions for the Lana Haddad. mittee, the government of Japan and invited officials from football teams Jubilo Iwata and Shimizu In the second-tier Championship, just two first time in 30 years. The IOC’s medical and scientific Tokyo city. S Pulse to send in remote cheers and boos. positive tests were registered from 1,014 tests. (Source: AFP) director, Richard Budgett, also took (Source: Mirror) (Source: Eurosport) Prayer Times Noon:13:02 Evening: 20:33 Dawn: 5:08 (tomorrow) Sunrise: 6:51 (tomorrow) MAY 28, 2020 ART&CULTURE I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y www.tehrantimes.com Managing Director: Mohammad Shojaeian Editor-in-Chief: Ali A.Jenabzadeh Ebrahim Haqiqi reproduces world-famous Editorial Dept.: Fax: (+98 21) 88808214 — 88808895 [email protected] Switchboard Operator: Tel: (+98 21) 43051000 Advertisements Dept.: Telefax: (+98 21) 43051430 artworks in new collection “Coronaism” Public Relations Office: Tel: (+98 21) 88805807 Subscription & Distribution Dept.: Tel: (+98 21) 43051603 ARTTEHRAN – The 70-year- works that reflected these feelings. I did not Webmaster: [email protected] deskold Iranian graphic de- intend to just depend on humor and satire, Printed at: Jame Jam Bartar Borna - 44197737 signer Ebrahim Haqiqi has reproduced some although the entire collection is a bitter satire world-famous artworks in his new collection that reflects our memories of the coronavirus “Coronaism”, which is on view in an online days,” he said. Tehrantimes79 Tehrantimes79 Tehrantimes79 exhibit at Golestan Gallery in Tehran. “It was important for me to select works He has picked works by Vincent van Gogh, by world-famous artists so that visitors could No. 18, Bimeh Alley, Nejatollahi St., Tehran, Iran P.o. Box: 14155-4843 Rene Magritte, Francisco Goya, Leonardo da easily recognize the works and discover that Zip Code: 1599814713 Vinci, Frida Kahlo and Edvard Munch, having I have worked on works by other artists. added a number of elements representing However, some criticized asking why I had the coronavirus days such as face masks. reproduced works done by others. Initially, “In the last days of 1398 (Iranian cal- they didn’t have any understanding of my endar year March 2019-2020) when the goal but gradually they caught on to the main home quarantine was observed across the idea,” he mentioned. country and we were not able to take a trip He said that he found the images by search- and were forced to stay at home, I began to ing on the Internet and he also scanned some make these paintings and publish them on from books and images that he had. my Instagram,” he told the Persian service “I tried not to ruin the original work be- GUIDE TO of Honaronline. cause they belong to the masters of art and SPIRITUAL AWAKENING “Those days there were shortages of masks, I have great respect for them; I only meant plastic gloves and disinfectant solutions and to add this new virus and pour the feelings the outbreak of COVID-19 was much more of man into the world-famous works,” he serious,” he said. explained. Enmity produces rancor and destruction. “In those days I noticed that some artists Haqiqi further added that he preferred to Imam Ali (AS) had remade some world-famous paintings. display his works in a gallery where visitors The idea was also shaped in my mind to work could come and see the works, but due to the on some of the world’s famous paintings pandemic, he decided to display them in an and reproduce new designs. I first began online exhibit at Golestan Gallery. to work on one painting by Rene Magritte, “I made a collection of 100 works and because I am very much interested in works showed them to some of my friends who DEFC productions garner 39 by Magritte and had worked on a selection finally chose 50 for the exhibit. Each painting of his works in a collection of posters in the is created in three copies which are offered international honors over years between 1969 and 1974,” he explained. for sale,” he said. “I thought how I can represent the elements He said that he is also planning to select last Iranian year A remake of René Magritte’s “The Son of Man” by Iranian graphic designer Ebrahim related to the new virus in these works better 70 of the works for a book he plans to publish Haqiqi from his collection Coronaism that is on display in an exhibit at Golestan ART and noticed that portraits and close-up paint- in the future. TEHRAN – Films produced at the Documentary Gallery in Tehran. deskand Experimental Film Center (DEFC) collected ings had more potential for reproductions, Haqiqi received a lifetime achievement 39 awards at the international events during the last Iranian calendar and elements such as face masks can be seen solutions, but later I thought more senses missing and I thought I would like to reflect award from the 37th Fajr Film Festival in year from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020. better in these works,” he said. need to be added and only symbolic elements them all in my reproductions,” he noted. January 2019. He received the award for the The productions from the center were screened in over 130 inter- “In some of the reproductions at the very are not enough. Feelings such as loneliness, “Therefore I began further investigations posters he has created for Iranian movies national events, the DEFC announced on Wednesday. beginning I only added images of masks, anxiety, and isolation, which were common into works by other artists and chose works over his career spanning for over a half a plastic gloves and containers of disinfectant in every individual around the world, are with more open and wider spaces, and chose century.

Birthday of Iranian-Turkmen poet Iranian doc spotlights veterans Makhtum-Qoli Faraghi celebrated deported after fighting in U.S. wars

“Beloved” directed by Yasser Talebi was DEFC’s most honored film during the last Iranian calendar year winning 21 awards at international events. Directed by Yasser Talebi, “Beloved”, about an 82-year-old woman who prefers a hard, solitary herder’s existence with her cows to a more comfortable life among people, won 21 awards. It took first place among the top five mid-length films selected by audience votes at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto, Canada. The documentary also received the best photography award and the High School Students Award at the Sole Luna Doc Film Festival in Palermo, Italy. The Trento Film Festival in Italy also honored the movie with the This file photo shows people gathering at the mausoleum of Makhtum-Qoli Faraghi A scene from the Iranian documentary “Deported Veterans without a Country” by jury special mention and a UNESCO honorable mention. in Aq-Tuqai village in Iran’s Golestan Province to celebrate the birthday of the poet. Mohammad Tayyebi. “Finding Farideh”, Iran’s submission to the 2020 Oscars, which is about a Netherland-based Iranian woman who was adopted by 1 “Iran has long been the cradle “He was not the only poet of the Turk- ARTTEHRAN – An Irani- United States. a Dutch couple forty years ago and returns to Iran to search for her of culture, poetry and literature. Every cor- men. His morals, strong beliefs in religion deskan documentary direct- The documentary has been produced family, was DEFC’s second most honorable production. ner of this land is decorated with shining and his love for people made him a famous ed by Mohammad Tayyebi scrutinizes in collaboration with Filmar, a film studio Among the honors the film won was the best film award at the gems that have not been restricted in their poet and a shining star in the sky of culture the multiple cases of non-U.S. veterans cofound by Tayyebi and Sonia Sarlak in 1st edition of the Nostalgia Film Festival, an independent Iranian homeland and have found national and that bestows light upon those seeking the who fought for the U.S. Army in Iraq, Italy. film event established by Iranian director Mohammad Qanefard in international fame with their works, words truth. He is known as one of the pioneers of hoping that they will receive U.S. citi- As an independent private institution Milan, Italy. and behavior,” Salehi said in his message. poetry with moral themes,” he mentioned. zenship without further requirements, in the cinema industry, Filmar’s activi- Co-directed by Azadeh Musavi and Kurosh Atai, “Finding Farideh” “Makhtum-Qoli Faraghi, the promi- “Paying tribute to this Turkmen poet but the U.S. declined to grant them citi- ties include production, distribution and was named best documentary at the 5th Herat International Women’s nent poet of the everlasting green land of is honoring humanity and human moral zenship, and others who were deported education in the field of cinema. Film Festival in Afghanistan. Golestan, is one of the great men who is virtues. The concepts and themes hidden on different charges. “Victory” directed by Hamid Kuhpai DEFC productions have also won 48 awards at Iranian events famous in the world of poetry and litera- in the poetry of Makhtum-Qoli have turned “Deported Veterans without a Country” on the challenges and struggles Muslims over the past Iranian calendar year. ture,” he added his works into a treasure full of moral vir- is scheduled to be broadcast by Press TV endured in their efforts against Apartheid “No Place for Angels” about the national Iranian women’s hockey “He is from among the people and lived tues,” he said. in the near future. in South Africa and their memories of team was the most honored documentary of the center. among them and composed his poetry about “I hereby express my sincere regards Numerous people from across the world detainment, torture and death was pro- Directed by Sam Kalantari, the film received the special jury award the pains and concerns of the people of his toward the brave and friendly Turkmen joined the U.S. Army and fought for the duced at Filmar in 2018. at Cinéma Vérité, Iran’s major documentary film festival, which is time. His deep religious beliefs and his love people and those who hold a commem- country in Afghanistan and Iraq in hopes “The Beginning” by Agim Abdula and organized by the DEFC in Tehran every year. towards Prophet Muhammad (S) bestowed orational ceremony for this great poet,” of receiving U.S. citizenship. However, “Aysan” by Kheradmandi Mehrshad are It was also picked as best documentary at the 38th edition of the a deep meaning to his poetry,” he noted. he concluded. they could not obtain citizenship in the other productions by the company. Fajr Film Festival in Tehran. Vocalist Alireza Qorbani to give Art Bureau to display artworks on Palestinians’ resistance online concert at Vahdat Hall ARTTEHRAN – The Art Bureau plans to The Art Bureau’s Visual Arts Office is the organizer deskshowcase a collection of artworks by a of the project, which was arranged to respect and sup- ARTTEHRAN – Vocalist Alireza Qorbani will be number of Iranian artists on the resistance of Palestinians port the years-long resistance of the oppressed people deskgiving an online concert at Vahdat Hall in Tehran after the pandemic. of Palestine. today, the Rudaki Foundation announced on Wednesday. The collection was created last week by 50 artists in It also included the release of poetry recitation and “Zero Degree Orbit”, “Bridge”, “Arghavan” and “Smell of Gisoo” an art project in Mashhad in the courtyard of the holy music videos with the central themes of resistance of are among the pieces Qorbani will be singing during the concert. shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam. The Palestinians. During the pandemic, Qorba- project was carried out in three days to mark Interna- There are plans to hold the exhibit in Tehran as well. ni in collaboration with several tional Quds Day on May 22. International Quds Day was initiated by the founder of Italian singers and overseas mu- Mohammad-Ali Rajabi, Masud Nejabati, Ali Vazirian, the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini in 1979 to express sicians released a music video Hassan Ruholamin, Abbas Barzegar Ganji, Zahra Asadian, solidarity with Palestinians and oppose the Zionist regime. Artists draw paintings on Palestinians’ resistance in the inspired by Persian poet Sadi’s Nasser Taqizadeh, Abbas Gudarzi and Mehdi Farrokhi The day is observed by rallies around the world on the courtyard of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad famous poem “The Sons of Adam were among the participating artists. last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan. on May 22, 2020. Are Limbs of Each Other” last week. The music video was released to promote the message of peace Monstra Lisbon Animation Festival picks movies from Iran and friendship during the COV- ARTTEHRAN – Several movies by Iranian who perform the familiar story of the wolf and the yearlings in ID-19 pandemic. deskfilmmakers are competing in the various school as a puppet show. The nanny goat grieving for its yearlings Qorbani has collaborated with sections of the 20th Monstra Lisbon Animation Festival un- and the angry wolf in its solitude face each other. numerous musicians during con- derway in Portugal. In the Supershorts section, Mehdi Barqzadegan’s “Show certs around the world. He gave a “One Person” by Mahbubeh Kalai is competing in the Student Off” is competing. concert at WOMEX – the World Shorts category of the event, which is being organized online The film tells the story of a crow who has lost one of her Music Expo in October 2017. this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. tail feathers. However, the crow removes all her feathers so Vocalist Alireza Qorbani per- Composer Saman Samimi, tar The movie is about a bowl that has three motifs of roses. In as to attract more attention. Just then, among the crowd, a forms at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall player Milad Mohammadi and per- the bowl, there is a universe of meaning that is the story of love fox notices her. on March 14, 2016. (Tasnim/ cussionist Hossein Zahavi accom- and loneliness. This section also features “Mellat Bank” by Ruhollah Saadat- Mohammad Delkesh) panied him in the performance. “Am I a Wolf?” by Amir-Hushang Moein has been selected mand. It is about some employees frustrated in a small office. Their Music ensembles from Ukraine, to screen in the Short Film Competition. boss is disappointed by the situation but he finds the solution. Greece, India, Colombia, Sweden, Germany, the U.S., France and several “Show Off” by Mehdi Barqzadegan is competing in the Super- Produced at the Institute for Intellectual Development of The Monstra Lisbon Animation Festival opened on May 25 other countries also gave performances at the expo. shorts of the Monstra Lisbon Animation Festival in Portugal. Children and Young Adults, the movie is about a group of children and will run until May 31.