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8 Pages Price 50,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 42nd year No.13858 Tuesday JANUARY 12, 2021 Dey 23, 1399 Jumada Al Awwal 28, 1442 E3 complicit in Esteghlal, Archaeologists to make Fajr Soldier of the violating JCPOA, Share the final attempt to unearth Revolution picks says Page 3 Spoils: IPL Page 3 Laodicea Temple Page 6 12 street plays Page 8

‘Iran won’t be indifferent to Iran serious about its freezing its money by South Korea’ – The Governor of the Central Iranian nation has been blocked in South Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnaser Hemmati, Korean banks for more than two years, in a meeting with South Korean Vice For- this is unacceptable and Iran definitely eign Affairs Minister Choi Jong Kun, said will not be indifferent towards this issue.” Iran will not stay indifferent to blocking Expressing hope for the results of the recent nuclear decisionsSee page 3 its money by South Korea. negotiations between the two countries Hemmati called on the South Kore- in this regard, Hemmati said: “South Ko- an government to take an independent rean banks have frozen our resources in approach towards the issue of releasing this country for many years and even our Iran’s resources in the country, saying: deposits have not received any interest.” “Seven billion dollars belonging to the Continued on page 4

Iran plans to import AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from India, China, Russia TEHRAN – Iran plans to import some two India, China, and Russia by the end of the million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 year, IRNA quoted Mohammad Reza Za- vaccines from India, China, and Russia farghandi, head of the Medical Council, by the end of the current Iranian calendar as saying on Monday. year (March 20). Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were never The Iranian-made vaccine is more re- on the agenda to be purchased by Iran liable than many foreign-made vaccines, due to their high prices, transportation but it takes a long time to be approved. problems, and the need to be kept ex- So, the health ministry plans to import tremely cold, Zafarghandi said. some two million doses of vaccines from Continued on page 7

Night-long nightmares, one year after Iran’s retaliation TEHRAN – An American newspaper Many American soldiers are still deal- has broken the story of some U.S. ing with psychological disorders after the troops who survived Iran’s missile attack on that night, The Washington attack on American military bases in Post said in a report on Sunday titled

Iraq on the early hours of January 8, “These U.S. troops survived one of the 2020 in revenge for the assassination greatest crises of Trump era. A year later, of Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani by the they’re still coping”. America government. Continued on page 2 File photo

Karimi can make a Doc “The Fourteenth Province” studies Democrats give Pence ultimatum to remove difference in football: separation of Bahrain from Iran Trump from White House expert TEHRAN – Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Karimian ple considered it a black mark and others said US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has stepped up Democrat Joe Biden will be sworn is as president. has made a documentary named “The Four- that Iran had no other choice, and this bipolar the pressure on Vice-President Mike Pence to Trump has said he will not attend Mr Biden’s BY FARROKH HESABI teenth Province”, which studies the separation attitude made the job difficult for us.” act to remove Donald Trump from office over swearing-in ceremony. ran football expert Amir Ha- of Bahrain from Iran in 1971. He said that he chose a middle way to make his role in last week’s storming of Congress. Pelosi wrote to lawmakers saying the House jrezaei supports Ali Karimi’s The film won the Golden Lantern for best his documentary and stated, “History is full of Lawmakers are expected to bring up a reso- of Representatives would present a resolution on Icandidacy for the presidency of documentary during the 11th Ammar Popular positive and negative issues, but in ‘The Four- lution asking Pence to invoke the 25th Amend- Monday to formally request that Mr Pence invoke the Football Federation of the Is- Film Festival, which is organized every year teenth Province’, we tried to give a neutral account ment to declare the president unfit for office. the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which lamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) and by a number of Iranian revolutionary figures. of an unpleasant historical event to prevent the Mr Pence is said to oppose the idea. If he refuses, would allow Mr Pence to remove Mr Trump from sees it as a message to those who Speaking to the Persian service of MNA on likelihood of errors arising in the future.” the House will hold a vote to impeach Trump who the White House and become acting president. have damaged the country’s foot- Monday, Karimian said that he started research He lamented that the Iranian people do not had urged supporters to march on the Capitol. The House could vote on the resolution on ball in the last decade. for the documentary in 2018. have much knowledge about this issue and other The Republican president has been accused Tuesday. After that, Mr Pence and the cabinet The legend of Iran football and Persepolis “The research was really profound so that historical events and added, “We tried to prepare by Democrats and an increasing number of would be given 24 hours to act before the House’s club has officially submitted his bid to become it could even be turned into a book,” he said. first-hand accounts and documents to raise the fellow Republicans over the riot, following a potential move toward impeachment. president of the FFIRI. To make the documentary, Karimian began awareness of the issue.” rally in which Trump repeated unsubstantiated “We will act with urgency, because this pres- In an exclusive interview with Tehran searching for those officials who were involved in The decline of Iran’s Qajar dynasty, followed allegations of vote fraud. Five people died in ident represents an imminent threat to both,” Times, Hajrezaei talked about Karimi’s chal- or had directly witnessed the process of the separation. by a consequent politico-military crisis during the attack, including a Capitol police officer. Ms Pelosi said in her letter on Sunday. “The lenge for Iranian football’s top job. The documentary also studies the role of Moham- the Pahlavi era, is associated with the firm es- Trump has made no public statements since horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy “Honestly speaking, Ali Karimi and the mad Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s last monarch, in this issue. tablishment of British hegemony in the Persian he was banned from several social media plat- perpetrated by this president is intensified and ones who have been introduced by him as “The separation of Bahrain is a disputable Gulf with a view to guaranteeing India’s security. forms - including Twitter - on Friday. so is the immediate need for action.” his vice-presidents, will not likely make the issue,” Karimian said and added, “Some peo- Continued on page 8 He is due to leave office on 20 January, when Continued on page 5 “fundamental changes” but they can make difference. I am not even sure who will win the election. “However, I support his candidacy for No ETs here, only Americans Tehran writes the presidency of the FFIRI and consider it BY MUNIR A. SAEED There, still readable. for the New American Century”. to Guterres, as a message from football society to those Recently I dug out an old document I wanted to “Project for the New American Century”. It You should read that document. Especially who have done nothing and also harmed read again. I fished it out from under a pile of other was not created by your regular Joe Six Pack. now. Nothing could be more relevant. criticizing WHO for the Iranian football over the past 10 or 15 old material I had printed and saved. Perhaps But by some of the top names that controlled Emmanuel Macron told us that what we saw years. The football community will use for posterity. Traveling with my now “mobile” U.S. foreign and military policy for decades and in Washington is not American. No, Mr. Macron, biased support of Karimi as a symbol and his voice should library, or what’s remaining of it, courtesy of then went on to start major overseas wars when as in many other things, you are again wrong. be heard by those who have led football for war-torn Yemen, I particularly wanted to read they came to power, during the George Bush You should really stop making silly comments on ‘inadequately-tested years. The Iranian football fans have made pages that scared the hell out of me when I first administration, who also lost the popular vote world politics. What we saw was very American. American vaccine’ request for transition and Karimi and his read them, and my hand-written comments on and was then declared winner by the U.S. Su- I don’t know what you were reading or observing group, who among them is the legendary the margins. Twenty years ago. I found it. Dusted preme Court. That was also another drama that or doing 20 years ago. TEHRAN – The Academy of Medical Sciences of Iran , can make it happen,” it, trying hard to breathe as I did. eventually ended in tragedy. Thanks to “Project Continued on page 5 has written a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Said Hajrezaei, one of the country’s most Guterres, criticizing the World Health Organiza- respected Iranian football analysts. tion for being biased in favor of inadequately-tested The election for the presidency of the COVID-19 vaccines produced in the United States. Iranian football federation will be held on “We are concerned that the WHO is biased in Feb.28. The federation is currently heading by Iranian exemplary favor of inadequately-tested American technology, Heydar Baharvand after Mehdi Taj announced which could risk many lives around the world, in his retirement. order to woo the U.S. back into the organization,” “It has always been said that football exporters reads the letter undersigned by Seyed Alireza Ma- must be separated from politics, but Politics randi, president of the Academy of Medical Sciences often manifests itself through football, honored of the Islamic Republic of Iran. and it has often been used as political “While the meaning of your silence and that of propaganda. Even we can see that FIFA, TEHRAN – Iran’s 24th National Export’s Day other human rights organizations in the face of these as the international governing body of ceremony was held on Monday at the place oppressive medical sanctions has never been clear football, makes decisions based on po- of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, to our medical community, what did the Executive litical considerations. Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) during which Director of the WHO’s Health Emergency Program “I hope that Karimi’s candidacy will not the country’s top exporters were introduced mean when he responded to our Leader Ayatollah be invalidated or rejected in the process of and honored. Khamenei’s rejection of inadequately tested vaccines, vetting the candidates. Karimi has already The ceremony was attended by senior of- by saying “Do not politicize this virus” during a re- secured support from football figures and ficials including First Vice President Es’haq cent press conference?” Marandi wrote, referring fans. As I said, this is a clear protest by Jahangiri, Industry, Mining, and Trade Min- to remarks recently made by Leader of the Islamic the football community against those who ister Alireza Razm Hosseini, ICCIMA board Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prohibiting have never lived with football and have members, some MPs, and representatives of the import of American and British coronavirus never loved football but have chaired our the private sector. vaccines to Iran. football governing body. Even if Karimi is Ghayoumi Shahab This is the first time that the ICCIMA is “Nothing else explains why a senior WHO official not elected, some of the current people still directly in charge of selecting and introducing would involve himself in the rational, measured, the country’s top exporters. must be removed from the football federa- Mehr/ and scientific determinations of a member state.” tion,” he concluded. Continued on page 4 Continued on page 7