WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 16 Pages Price 10,000 Rials 38th year No.12930 Tuesday SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 Shahrivar 28, 1396 Dhul Hijjah 28, 1438 Rouhani: U.S. will pay Turkey to react to Kurdish Sculpture of “Alan” picks Golden high price if Trump referendum with violence: Maryam Mirzakhani Leaf at Duhok festival scraps nuclear deal 2 ex-CIA officer 7 to be unveiled 12 16 76 figures ask U.S., EU leaders to sustain Iran nuclear deal POLITICS TEHRAN — Today ment to report to the US Congress on desk76 senior political, whether Tehran continues to comply diplomatic and military figures from with the Iran nuclear deal. Credible across Europe in a statement, arguing reports suggest that President Trump Trump that any unilateral US action that jeop- is seeking a way to justify declaring ardizes the Iran nuclear deal would that Iran is no longer compliant with trigger a crisis in US-Europe rela- the deal. tions, damaging the US’s international Today 76 senior political, diplomatic standing and credibility in Europe. and military figures from across Europe Next month the US Administration have published a statement which a has no concludes its review of relations with copy of it sent to Tehran Times news Iran and addresses its next require- paper, arguing that any unilateral 13 Oil Ministry announces priorities ECONOMY TEHRAN — Devel- istry’s priorities which also puts other alternative deskoping joint oil and issues into spotlight, Tasnim reported. gas fields while paying especial at- Taking advantage of young and tention to environmental protection skilled workforce, boosting coop- are among the main priorities of the eration with the private sector and Iranian Oil Ministry for the next four attracting more foreign investment years. especially for petrochemical projects, for JCPOA: President Hassan Rouhani in a de- and reducing gas flaring have been cree on Monday outlined the Oil Min- put atop agenda. 4 Saudi prince purging dissent ex-WH before rise to throne With a crackdown on dissenters and country where half the population is a charm offensive to woo the king- under 25, though the timing of his as- dom’s swelling youth population, cension remains unknown. the House of Saud regime’s king-in- Already viewed as the de facto ruler official See page 7 waiting Mohammed bin Salman is controlling all the major levers of gov- cementing his grip on power, ana- ernment, from defense to economy, lysts say. MBS is seen as stamping out traces The 32-year-old crown prince, of- of internal dissent before any formal File photo ten known as MBS, is set to be the first transfer of power from his 81-year-old millennial to occupy the throne in a father King Salman. 13 Human Rights ‘Ridiculous’ if Trump doesn’t back 2-state solution: Palestinian official Iraq top ‘no imported A senior Palestinian official said Monday estinians, in search of what he has labelled occupied West Bank. court rules to it would be “utterly ridiculous” if Donald the “ultimate deal”. “It would be utterly ridiculous if Trump commodity’ in Iran Trump did not commit to the two-state But Palestinian officials have grown in- doesn’t eventually say that,” Nabil Shaath, suspend Kurdish solution, ahead of a meeting between creasingly frustrated at the failure of Trump’s a senior Abbas adviser, told journalists in MNA — Head of Iran’s High Council the U.S. president and Mahmoud Ab- team to commit to the two-state solution, the Ramallah when asked about the two-state referendum of Human Rights Mohammad Javad bas. focus of international diplomacy since at least solution. Larijiani said human rights is not an Trump is due to meet Abbas on Wednes- the early 1990s. “What the hell are we negotiating? We Iraq’s top court has ordered the sus- “imported commodity” in Iran, rather day before the Palestinian president’s address Members of Israeli Prime Minister Benja- are negotiating a diplomatic accord between pension of the Kurdistan Regional it is founded on “Islamic rationality”. to the United Nations General Assembly the min Netanyahu’s government openly oppose Abu Mazen and Netanyahu where they can Government’s (KRG) planned referen- Head of High Council of Human Rights same day. a two-state solution, while the premier him- meet each other? No,” he added, referring to dum on independence. Mohammad Javad Larijani made the re- The U.S. leader has been seeking to re- self has indicated in recent months that he Abbas by his Arabic nickname. The Supreme Court declared on marks in a meeting with visiting Belgian start peace talks between Israel and the Pal- plans no “uprooting” of settlements in the (Source: AFP) Monday the ruling, which calls for all Chamber chairman Siegfried Bracke and preparations for the September 25 his accompanied delegation on Sunday in vote to be halted, following a review Tehran. Spanish police confiscate Catalan referendum material of multiple “requests to stop the ref- During the course of the meeting, the Spanish police have seized more than a mil- the illegal referendum, as well as printing who have agreed to help stage the referen- erendum”. two sides discussed democracy in secu- lion pro-referendum posters and pamphlets plates, have been used so far,” it added. dum on September 14. “The supreme court has issued lar liberal governments and democracy in Catalonia, according to government offi- Catalonia’s regional government plans to Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s prime minister, has the order to suspend organizing the based on Islamic rationality. cials. hold a vote on independence on October 1, urged people not to participate in the vote. referendum set for September 25 Other matters such as freedom of Authorities claimed the 1.3 million prints, despite Spain’s Constitutional Court having “If anyone urges you to go to a polling ... until it examines the complaints speech, egalitarianism, the right to have a which included about 700,000 leaflets pro- ruled the ballot illegal on the basis it defies station, don’t go because the referendum it has received over this plebiscite lawyer, the issues of death penalty, drugs moting a “yes” vote in the region’s planned the nation’s constitutional decree declaring can’t take place, it would be an absolutely being unconstitutional,” it said in a and ‘retaliation in kind’ were discussed and vote on independence, from a warehouse Spain indivisible. illegal act,” he said on September 13. statement. compared between the two government near Barcelona on Sunday. Ada Colau, Barcelona’s mayor, criticized Catalonia, a region of 7.5 million people Haider al-Abadi, Iraq’s prime minis- systems. “The proceedings were carried out dur- Madrid’s response to the crisis during a with its own language and culture, accounts ter, had previously demanded the sus- The Iranian offical pointed out that the ing the morning of today [Sunday] and are pro-referendum meeting, attended by more for about 20 percent of Spain’s economic pension of the referendum. HR council adheres to and improves on the result of investigations carried out by the than 700 mayors from across Catalonia, on output and has significant powers over mat- At least three legislators have filed human rights and it is tasked with support- Civil Guard of Catalonia for the localization Saturday. ters such as education, healthcare and wel- complaints against the planned vote, ing and empowering non-profit organiza- of materials that promote the referendum “It’s a disgrace that we have a government fare. a parliamentary source told Reuters tions related to human rights. suspended by the Constitutional Court,” the that is incapable of dialogue and instead About 49.4 percent of Catalans are against News Agency. Larijani further expressed his concern interior ministry said in a statement. dedicates itself to pursuing and intimidating independence, while 41.1 percent are in fa- “We have received several com- over Islamophobia in the West and said “This is the largest intervention of this ille- mayors and the media,” he said. vor, according to a poll commissioned by the plaints and this is why we decided to this approach is not inconsistent with the gal material made so far. Altogether, almost Spain’s state prosecutor ordered a crimi- Catalonian government in July. suspend the referendum,” said Ayas al- fundamentals of Western democracy. one and a half million materials to promote nal investigation into the 712 Catalan mayors (Source: agencies) Samouk, a court spokesman. Belgian Chamber chairman, for his The KRG, which governs the part, said his country needs to get better semi-autonomous Kurdish region in acquainted with Iran’s experiences, and northern Iraq, has said a pro-inde- went on to describe the meeting as a pos- pendence vote would not trigger an itive turning point. He expressed optimism immediate secession. that these talks could paint a better picture Massoud Barzani, president of the of the judicial system of Iran. Christians in KRG, said a “yes” result would instead Stressing that some political inclinations kick-start “serious discussions” with promote Islamophobia, Siegfried Bracke Tehran celebrate Baghdad. added “people are not interested in such Iraqi PM demands suspension propaganda; for instance, an anti-Islam the rite of of Kurdish independence referendum party in the parliament with more than Meantime, Iraqi Prime Minister 150 members managed to secure only Exaltation of Haider al-Abadi has formally demand- three seats.” ed suspension of the upcoming Kurd- “We believe that different religions can ish independence referendum amid coexist peacefully in one country and our Holy Cross the central government’s strong op- government fully respects Islam and Mus- position to the planned vote.