WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 16 Pages Price 40,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 39th year No.13563 Wednesday DECEMBER 25, 2019 Dey 4, 1398 Rabi’ Al thani 28, 1441 Top commander felicitates Expediency Council still Stramaccioni, Congratulations on birth anniversary of evaluating FATF-related Esteghlal; an unsolved the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ to all Jesus Christ 2 bills 2 problem 15 monotheists in the world Iran, India to expand transit co-op through Chabahar port TEHRAN – Iranian Transport and Urban between Iran and India has been followed Zarif, Ansarullah official Development Minister Mohammad Esla- in a variety of aspects and a number of new mi and Indian Minister of External Affairs agreements have been reached, the most Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met on Monday important of which were in transportation in Tehran to discuss expansion of transport and transit with Chabahar in focus. and transit cooperation between the two In the past few years, the development countries, especially through Chabahar port. of Chabahar port has been pursued very Speaking to the press after the meet- seriously, so that trade activities in the hold talks in Oman ing, the Iranian minister noted that the port have more than tripled in the past See page 2 development of economic cooperation two years, according to Eslami. 4 Tehran rejects Reuters’ claim on unrest death toll TEHRAN — An official at Iran’s Supreme accusations is basically very easy,” he National Security Council (SNSC) has said, describing the act as a psychological denied a claim by Reuters that said the operation against the Islamic Republic. death toll of the recent Iran unrest was “When asked to offer sources or docu- 1,500 people. Alireza Zarifian Yeganeh, ments, the media outlet would refer you head of the SNSC Information and Com- to invisible creatures,” he added. munications Secretariat, said such claims In a report on Monday, Reuters claimed were part of the anti-Iran disinformation that about 1,500 people were killed during campaign, Mehr reported. less than two weeks of unrest across Iran “Such news producing and leveling that started on November 15. 3 ‘Antithesis of justice’: Khashoggi verdict roundly condemned A Saudi court ruling over the state-spon- Shaalan al-Shaalan announced the conclu- sored killing of dissident journalist Jamal sion of the so-called trial in the Khashoggi Khashoggi has drawn outrage across the case that had been closed to the public. political spectrum, including from a number He said that out of the 31 suspects in- of states, the United Nations, several rights vestigated in connection with the killing, groups and even some American lawmakers. 21 had been arrested and 11 put on trial. They have unanimouslydenounced the ruling Death sentences were eventually issued that dismissed charges against top Saudi for five people and jail terms totaling 24 officials, saying it failed to deliver justice. years were handed down to three others, In a televised press conference in Riyadh he added, without naming any of those mfa.ir on Monday, Saudi Deputy Public Prosecutor sentenced. 13 ARTICLE Indian citizenship law and discrimination against Muslims ARTICLE Mahnaz Abdi By Reza Amouei neighboring countries and the region. Besides duce a citizen hierarchy. Accordingly, some illegal Chris Cook Head of the TehranTimes TEHRAN — Some Indian ethnic and religious Muslims, non-Muslims also opposed and protested Indian immigrants are given priority to others UCL Senior Research Fellow Economy Desk minorities, especially Muslims, are not happy with the new citizenship law, as they are concerned because of their religion. While non-Muslim the bill giving citizenship to non-Muslim migrants. about the huge number of immigrants that will immigrants will be able to obtain Indian citi- The Indian citizenship law has stirred protests come to India due to the law. A significant part zenship, such opportunity is not provided for Private sector over the past few weeks, many calling them the of the recent protests was demonstrated in the Muslim immigrants. Based to statistics, about From Nuclear to dissatisfied with largest demonstrations in the government of the northeast of the country. 20 million Muslim Immigrants in India do not Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In other words, people in the northeastern have identification document and are regarded NewClear states of India, where a large number of Bang- as non-citizen and illegal immigrants, despite national budget bill The protests have also been very violent and n the course of many visits to Iran inflammatory. Indian police said at least 23 pro- ladeshi immigrants live, believe that the bill living in the country for decades. will undermine local culture and increase the The Indian critics say the law undermines over the years I have come to real- n December 8, President Hassan testers have been killed in the protests. ise that no country is the subject The government stated in its justification immigrants’ influence in these areas. the country’s secular constitution. I Rouhani submitted the administra- What is wrong with the citizen- Old-line ethnic acts by the Indian of such fascination and mistrust in tion’s draft of the national budget for the law that it will grant Indian citizenship Iran as the United Kingdom. So my O for non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, ship law? government bill for the next Iranian calendar year 1399 friends at ‘Tehran Times’ are inter- The most important disadvantage of the law is The citizenship law had already been stated to the Majlis. Bangladesh and Pakistan. ested to hear my thoughts in relation that it creates a hierarchy among citizens based earlier in 2016, but the protests at that time rolled The proposed budget amounted to about By the legislation, a great number of non-Mus- to Anglo-Iranian relations following on their religion. In fact, the bill seeks to intro- back the law. 1.988 quadrillion rials (about $473.5 billion lim immigrants will stream into India from 13 the recent UK election. at the official rate of 42,000 rials), with a This election was fought and won 14-percent rise from the current year’s ap- by Johnson’s Conservative party in proved budget. The budget bill was submit- Intl. reactions to Saudi scandalous verdict on Khashoggi murder order to “Get Brexit Done” so that the ted under a condition that the next year is UK will now definitively – after three predicted to be one of the toughest years in By Zahra Mirzafarjouyan Khashoggi went missing on October 2 after en- not waive trade or diplomatic ties with Riyadh, years of political paralysis - leave the terms of economy for the government and TEHRAN (MNA) — Alongside the announce- tering the consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents regardless of the outcome. European Union. I believe this result country, as the U.S. intensified sanctions are ment of the Saudi court verdict over the murder needed to marry his Turkish fiancée Hatice Cengiz. The disappearance of Khashoggi received a fair to be positive for Iran for two reasons, limiting Iran’s sources of revenue. of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkey, UK, and Agents of the Saudi government killed Khashoggi amount of attention internationally in the past year. the first being Prime Minister John- Although Planning and Budget Organi- international rights groups and bodies condemned inside the consulate and apparently dismembered Turkey, in particular, believes it was premeditated son as a person, and the second being zation (PBO) has announced that the budget and criticized the court’s conclusion. his body, which has never been found. murder, and after denials, Saudi Arabia ultimately the new role and responsibilities of bill has been prepared based on the eco- Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for the Wash- Audio recordings, CCTV footage, and forensic admitted to the murder of the journalist. Johnson’s office as UK Prime Min- nomic realities of the country, and its main ington Post and a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mo- evidence all point to his murder. According to The CIA found that Saudi Crown Prince ister in international diplomacy and characteristic is considering the impact of hammed bin Salman, was living in a self-imposed Turkish officials, Khashoggi was killed by a hit Mohammed bin Salman probably ordered the commerce for an independent UK. the U.S. sanctions on Iran’s economy, the exile in the United States where had been granted squad of 15 men who arrived from Saudi Arabia operation. But Riyadh has consistently denied Johnson as a Person bill has drawn many criticisms specially residency status. He had been sharply critical of on 29 September and were present in the building that the crown prince was involved. Saudi Crown “Those are my principles, and if by the private sector, as the Head of Iran Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammad bin on the day of Khashoggi’s disappearance, leaving Prince denied allegations that he had ordered you don’t like them....well, I have Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines Salman, and the country’s king, Salman of Saudi shortly afterward. Khashoggi’s murder but said he took full respon- others.....” Groucho Marx. and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam-Hossein Arabia. He also opposed the Saudi Arabian-led US President Donald Trump announced an sibility for it since it was committed by people As with President Trump it is a mis- Shafe’i believes that there will be the risk of intervention in Yemen. investigation, but he insisted that the US will working for the Saudi government. 11 take to view Prime Minister Johnson budget deficit in the next year. through the lens of rational statecraft.