WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 8 Pages Price 50,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 42nd year No.13908 Saturday APRIL 3, 2021 Farvardin 14, 1400 Sha’aban 20, 1442 Certain groups, countries Iran’s Foolad ask AFC Iran to start producing Islamic Revolution unhappy over growing to change venue in Sputnik V vaccine this Art Week set for Tehran-Kabul ties Page 2 Saudi Arabia Page 3 month Page 7 April 7-14 Page 8 JCPOA Joint Commission to meet in Vienna, Iran’s inviolable JCPOA policy there won’t be direct Iran-U.S. talks TEHRAN - Officials from Tehran and Analysts said even without face-to-face Washington will travel to Vienna on talks, which Tehran has ruled out, the Tuesday as part of efforts to revive the presence of both of Iran and the United in words of Ayatollah Khamenei 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and P5+1 States in Vienna would mark a step for- countries, though they will not hold direct ward in efforts to bring both sides back See page 3 talks, diplomats said on Friday. into compliance with the accord. The decision was taken after the Joint “Iran and the U.S. will be in the same Commission of the JCPOA – the official town, but not the same room,” a European name for the 2015 nuclear deal – which diplomatic source said. A Western diplo- is led by the European Union foreign mat said a shuttle diplomacy approach Iran-China cooperation policy chief held a virtual meeting on would be adopted. raises concern in the West Friday. Continued on page 2 IMF should respond to Iran’s legal request: CBI governor TEHRAN- The governor of the Central He made the remarks in a virtual meeting Bank of Iran (CBI) said that the Inter- held on Thursday on the sidelines of the 2021 national Monetary Fund (IMF) should Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group respond to Iran’s legal request. and the International Monetary Fund. Abdolnaser Hemmati said, “We expect During the meeting, which was participated the International Monetary Fund to re- by the governors general of the central banks spond to Iran’s legal request as soon as of the MENAP region, the CBI governor said possible, without discrimination or intru- since the outbreak of the coronavirus, sion or pressure from the United States”. Continued on page 4 TEHRAN – Over history, Iran and China to a new, strategic level. have always enjoyed good relations but The plan, officially known as the “Com- their recent cooperation deal will upgrade prehensive Cooperation between the Is- their ties to a strategic level, something lamic Republic of Iran and the People’s that the West never wanted to see. Republic of China,” manifested a strategic History took a new turn on March decision by Iran. 27 when Iranian Foreign Minister Mo- “The document focuses on the capacities hammad Javad Zarif and Chinese State and perspectives for bilateral cooperation Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang between the two countries in various areas Yi signed a document on a long-term including economic and cultural fields, Mohammadreza Abbasi cooperation plan that would boost Teh- among others. ran-Beijing relations in various fields Continued on page 3 Mehr/ Promising future Iranians mark Nature Day at home amid U.S. pulls three Patriot anti-missile batteries ahead of Iran coronavirus fears from Persian Gulf region football team TEHRAN – As the government has imposed a the global coronavirus pandemic has forced The United States has removed at least three Pa- High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) was also ban on outdoor get-togethers, people in Iran people to stay home this year and observe triot anti-missile batteries from the Persian Gulf proposed to be removed, but officials said it BY MASOUD HOSSEIN celebrated the national festival of Nature Day, self-isolation protocols in the fight against region, in a first step under U.S. President Joe would remain in the region for now. ran national football team called Sizdah Bedar, to help curb the spread of the viral disease. Biden to pull the U.S. forces away from West Asia. At the end of the Trump administration, there showed a promising perfor- the coronavirus. ‘Sizdah’ means thirteen, and ‘Bedar’ means One of the Patriot anti-missile batteries was were about 50,000 U.S. troops in the region. mance against Syria in a friend- Every year on the 13th day of spring, which is to get rid of, bearing the meaning of ‘getting rid removed from Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air As a result of the new move, several thousand I an official holiday in Iran known as the Nature of thirteen’. Sizdah Bedar also marks the end Base, which had been put in place in recent years U.S. troops are expected to leave the region ly match held in Tehran on Tues- day as part of preparation for the Day, Iranian families go on a picnic at parks or of Noruz celebrations, which begin on the first to help protect American forces. over time. 2022 World Cup qualifiers. in the countryside in celebration of the ancient day of spring. The changes come while Saudi Arabia has The U.S. officials said the withdrawal is an It was Dragan Skocic’s third match in festival. It is the second consecutive year that the been targeted with drone attacks from the Yemeni effort to further reduce the U.S. posture in West charge of Iran. The team had previously To prevent the spread of coronavirus, author- virus has altered the age-old traditions. Also last forces in acts of retaliation against the Saudi Asia after decades of military engagement in defeated Uzbekistan and Bosnia and Her- ities have closed all parks and public places in year, in an act that was far different from the sole war on Yemen. the region. zegovina in two friendly matches. Iran on April 2 and have imposed severe penalties of the age-old Noruz traditions, a majority of Other U.S. military capabilities, including The Journal said the changes come while Iran look forward to participate in for picnicking. Iran’s Health Ministry said on people stayed home instead of coming together, an aircraft carrier and surveillance systems, Saudi Arabia endures rocket and drone attacks the FIFA World Cup for the third time Thursday that the total number of coronavirus visiting loved ones, or spending time in nature. are being diverted from the region to answer from inside Yemen. in a row but they have a difficult task cases in the country has exceeded 1,897,000 On the 13th day of Farvardin, which falls on military needs elsewhere across the world, U.S. reports say American leaders have ahead since the remaining matches and the death toll has reached 62,759. April 2 in normal years and April 1 in leap years, the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as realized that the kingdom is waging a losing will be held at the centralized venue in While Iranians have always upheld the every Iranian people try to spend and enjoy this claiming on Thursday. war in Yemen and want Washington to desist Bahrain in June. time-honored tradition on the thirteenth day in the best possible way. According to the paper, an anti-ballistic from the conflict. The ‘Persian Leopards’ are scheduled day of Noruz by spending the day outdoors, Continued on page 6 missile defense system known as a Terminal Continued on page 5 to play Hong Kong and Cambodia on June 3 and 7 in Manama.The matches against Bahrain and Iraq will be also held on June 11 and 15.For the match against Syria, Sko- ‘Fakhra’ vaccine to be mass-produced by late May Muslims have become cic showed that he is not afraid to blood TEHRAN – Iran will start mass production of home- The vaccine has been injected into 15 volunteers, COVIRAN BAREKAT, the first coronavirus the new scapegoats in young talent into his senior team. Jafar grown ‘Fakhra’ vaccine for COVID-19 by the end of the IRNA quoted Ahmad Karimi, manager of Fakhra vaccine made by researchers at the Headquarters Salmani, Omid Noorafkan, Mehdi Tikdari third Iranian calendar month of Khordad (May 21). vaccine production project, as saying. for Executing the Order of the Imam which was Europe: historian Fakhra vaccine, named after martyred nuclear In the first phase, 135 volunteers will get the unveiled on December 29, 2020, started to be and Mehdi Ghaedi, who are aged 24 and BY MOHAMMAD MAZHARI scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was unveiled and vaccine, he said, adding that the second phase will mass-produced on Monday. below, were invited to the team. TEHRAN - An American historian says Muslims started the clinical trial on March 16. start 35 days later. The process of research and The second Iranian coronavirus vaccine, Razi The Croat didn’t call up veterans Ma- have been used as scapegoats for the failures of The first dose of the vaccine was injected into development of the Fakhra vaccine began in March Cov Pars, started the clinical trial by injecting it into soud Shojaei and Ashkan Dejagah and European policies. the son of martyr Fakhrizadeh. 2020, by isolating the virus from among 35,000 two volunteers during a ceremony on February 27. it means that he is keen to build on the “In many ways, in contemporary Europe, Muslims The production of various diagnostic kits of samples of Iranian patients and performing various On January 27, Health Minister Saeed Namaki success of the previous warm-up match- have been unfairly blamed for the failures of recent Eu- COVID-19 and mobile specialized laboratories tests to identify the virus, so that the vaccine reached said Iran will soon be one of the world’s important es.