IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

TEHRAN – Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei reacted to the U.S. president’s tweet regarding Iran’s efforts to plot against a U.S. diplomat and noted that Trump’s remarks are based on false reports.

He made the remarks on Tuesday, noting that the U.S. president made his remarks not based on the information provided by the intelligence of foreign policy organizations but according to false reports.

“We are sorry to see that U.S. officials make their remarks based on distorted reports that even led to Iraq and Afghanistan war in the past,” he added.

According to Rabiei, U.S. authorities, especially the current president, seek to disrupt regional peace.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iran “1000 times greater in magnitude” following a false report of a U.S. media on alleged Iran plan to assassinate a U.S. diplomat.

“We hope that U.S. would not commit another strategic mistake and certainly, if that happens, Iran will give an appropriate response,” Rabiei highlighted

Rabiei also called more interaction among the 3 branches of government as the best mechanism to be used at the time of fighting against today’s hardships faced by Iran.

The government spokesman said that the government’s authority to make some decisions in critical situations is low, adding that the combination of Iran’s branches of government and mutual understanding in decisions will help shorten the decision-making and implementation process.

“Coordination of the three branches of government can be effective in solving problems namely as COVID-19 which has created many problems for the world, Iran is the only country that also deals with it as well as sanctions simultaneously,” Rabiei added.

“A number of important issues require decisions that are not all in the hands of the executive power and the government, the full authority of the government in some decisions in crisis situations is in the lowest degree,” Rabiei said, adding: “Thus, the presence of two forces alongside the government and understanding in decisions both helps to shorten the decision-making process and leads to cooperation in implementation. This kind of cooperation in the current situation is one of the inevitable necessities of this historical period that the Iranian nation is experiencing.”

Referring to the 3 branches of government meeting on Sunday, Rabiei stated: “In this meeting, various issues were raised by the heads of the three branches of government, the most important issue was how to increase investment. Investment security and investment problems in the country were also discussed.”

“The other part of the meeting was devoted to discussing the expansion of exports with neighbors and the region, and the rapid return of currency to the wheel of production was discussed, and strong cooperation was envisaged,” added the spokesman

Rabiei noted: “Currency market and stock market issues, policies to reduce liquidity and reduce inflation, and plans and proposals that require the cooperation of the three powers were discussed in this meeting. Discussions were also held on how to coordinate legislative, regulatory, and judicial enforcement in various cases and the mechanisms that can quickly form such coordination.”

He reminded, “One of the topics of the meeting was regional issues. The sensitivities of our region today regarding the U.S. presence in the region and the conspiracies of the Zionist regime in the region were discussed.”

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According To Iran News, Iranian Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei said that trade volume exchange between Islamic Republic of Iran and Venezuela, as two independent countries in the world, has nothing to do with anyone else, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to sell its oil.

He made the remarks on Sat. on the sidelines of a meeting with the managers and directors of Public Relations Departments at the Central Taskforce against Smuggling Goods and Foreign Exchange and added, “Iran and Venezuela are two independent states. In addition to conducting trade and business activity with other countries in world, Islamic Republic of ran also exchanges trade with Venezuela.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rabiei pointed to some rumors spread in the recent weeks on the trade exchanges between Tehran and Caracas, he added, “Iran sells goods to Venezuela and buys goods in return. This trade has nothing to do with anyone else.”

He reiterated, “Iran and Venezuela are two independent states and exchange different goods with each other and we will not hesitate to sell its oil in the international markets.”

Earlier, Reuters reported that an Iran-flagged tanker is en route to Venezuela, carrying fuel. Meanwhile, a senior official in US President Donald Trump’s administration told Reuters Thursday on condition of anonymity that the United States was considering measures against Iran in response to the fuel shipment.

Ever since withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, Washington has launched a so-called maximum pressure campaign against Tehran, seeking to pressure it with a growing list of widespread sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic.

The United States has also over the past few years imposed harsh economic sanctions on Venezuela to pressure the country’s President Nicolas Maduro to step down, forcing millions of Venezuelans to abandon their homeland due to a lack of basic food and necessities.

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei yesterday said that the current government is anti-sanctions and it is after pushing back sanctions and wiping the country from the Coronavirus.

Speaking in his weekly presser, he said the country is marking Health Week these days and felicitated the week to all who are involved in the health sector of the country.

He added that despite the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the government has not stopped its programs and it pursues its policies and necessary plans to tackle this problem.

He reiterated that the number of production of masks has increased from 400,000 to over 4m masks since the outbreak of the virus and disinfectants are available in all stores nationwide.

He added that according to the statistics, the number of persons infected with the virus is on the decline and so far over 72m people have been screened.

Rabiei reiterated that at this moment there is nothing as normality and all should observe social distancing till the moment the health ministry announces the country is clean.

On the impacts of sanctions on the humanitarian aids, he said that the U.S. President has taken a stand which causes a psychological climate, adding that he does not unfreeze Iran’s money and instead he claims Iran spends its money in other places. He reiterated that the government will announce exactly where the loan from IMF is to be spent and today all Iranians understand that if a civilian decides to export medicines, he faces problems.

Rabiei noted that currently the country is deprived of banking transactions and those who deny there are sanctions on medicines despite these evidences should tell us why imports of medicines face problem.

He also said he is surprised why some people in the country take side with the foreign-based Persian TV channels as everyone knows who run those channels and what are their goals.

Rabiei added that the government strategy in tackling with the Coronavirus is both to save people lives  and their jobs and the government is determined to stop more unemployment in the country.

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A Ukraine International Airlines jetliner crashes a few minutes after take-off from Tehran to Kyiv early Wednesday, killing all 176 crew members and passengers.

In their initial reactions to the incident, Iranian officials attributed the crash to technical failure and dismissed the possibility of the plane having been shot down by missiles.

However, after conducting thorough investigations, Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces released a statement on Saturday, acknowledging that the Ukrainian plane had been brought down by missiles fired “unintentionally” due to “human error.”

The discrepancy between the initial accounts and the subsequent investigations gave rise to a wave of public anger, with some accusing government officials of seeking to cover up the truth.

Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Monday, Ali Rabiei, the administration’s spokesman, said, “As a matter of fact, we did not lie. Lying means conscious and deliberate falsification of the truth. Such a thing never took place.”

Elaborating on his own statements on Thursday during which he ruled out any likelihood that the aircraft had been downed by a missile, Rabiei said those remarks were made “based on information available to the administration at the time, which rejected the role of any missile” as the cause of the crash.

None of the administration officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, were aware of the cause of the plane crash until Friday evening when the administration was provided with the findings of an investigation by General Staff of the Armed Forces, he explained.

Head of the Aerospace Division of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, explained that the operator in charge had identified what his air defense system had detected as an incoming cruise missile. He then “took the wrong decision” in a “ten-second” time span after a failure in the communication network prevented him from obtaining permission for the launch.

The Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces were on the highest level of alert at the time of the incident after President Donald Trump had threatened to strike 52 targets inside Iran, if the country attempted to avenge the US assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, in Baghdad.

Rabiei said as soon as Iran President Rouhani ascertained what had caused the plane crash, he ordered that, away from misinformation, the public be informed accordingly.

He also commended the General Staff of the Armed Forces’ statement as an “honest and responsible” admission of liability for the incident. “This is a good start,” he said, expressing confidence that the incident will continue to be addressed in a transparent way until all matters are resolved.

Rabiei also said Iran needed to take all technical precautions to “reduce the likelihood of human errors to zero.”

The spokesman, meanwhile, drew attention to the “root cause” of the tragedy, namely “the US regime’s cowardly assassination of General Soleimani that raised the specter of war over our country and [thus] imposed heavy psychological pressure on our society.”

He also noted that “the incidence of a single error” should not call into question all the sacrifices and endeavors exerted by the country’s defense forces.

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He also highlighted that are resolving the tensions in the region is solely up to regional countries alone.

“Some are seeking to sow instability in the region and unfortunately Yemen is under the toughest attacks,” he said voicing Iran’s readiness to ensure security and resolve the crisis in that country.

He hoped that during Rouhani’s visit to New York for the UN General Assembly, Iran would be able to show its rightfulness and peace-seeking face to the world.

“We see no sign of US’ honesty and accordingly there is no chance for a meeting between Rouhani and Trump in New York,” he said, “To start talks with Iran, US must remove all the imposed sanctions.”

The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani  left Tehran for the Turkish capital on Sunday to attend a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts in order to discuss a political resolution to the crisis in Syria.

Before leaving Tehran for Ankara on Sunday evening, President Hassan Rouhani told reporters that issues in the region must be resolved through regional dialogue.

Rouhani also pointed to the US intervention in the affairs of the region, condemning the illegitimate US military presence in the east of the Euphrates in the north of Syria as a destabilizing factor.

The Iranian president stressed the need to continue the fight against terrorists in Syria’s Idlib region.

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Addressing the issue of the French $15 billion letter of credit for Iran, he underlined that this money should be accessible to Iran to make the country able in doing its purchases.

He added that 19 issues of disagreement with other parties have reduced now to three ones, saying “the most important of these agreements was letting Iran have access to money and sell its oil.”

“I think we have made some improvements and the rest is just to receive the permits in the last months of 2019,” he added.

Following his extensive talks in Paris on ways to salvage the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the JCPOA, France’s foreign minister Le Drian on Tuesday said talks with Iran over the creation of credit lines guaranteed by Iranian oil revenues were continuing.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters on Wednesday in Slovenia that the focus of talks with the French side is on oil sale and ways to facilitate Iran’s free access to its revenues.

“Iran has repeatedly stated that it will resume full implementation of its commitments to the JCPOA only when it can freely sell its oil and fully access its oil revenues. France’s initiative is exactly about this issue,” Araghchi said.

“Europe should either purchase Iran’s oil, or provide us with a $15 billion letter of credit, which can in fact be considered as pre-purchasing our oil,” he added.

“After receiving the $15 billion package, Iran is ready to hold talks with the remaining signatories to the JCPOA; but the truth is that there are still serious differences in opinions between the two sides on the agenda of these talks,” he said.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not, under any circumstances, negotiate with any side over its red lines,” Araghchi stressed.

The Iranian diplomat then voiced doubt that European countries could take an effective measure to live up to their commitments before September 7, which is Iran’s deadline for taking the third step in scaling down commitments to the JCPOA. He said Iran would thus take the step on the exact date.

As a first step, Iran increased its enriched uranium stockpile to beyond the 300 kilograms set by the JCPOA. Next, it announced that it had begun enriching uranium to purity rates beyond the JCPOA-limit of 3.76 percent.

Araghchi then dismissed rumors over the possibility of a meeting between President Rouhani and President Trump on the sidelines of the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting, saying “such a meeting is by no means on agenda. As Mr. Rouhani has stressed, not only there is no chance for a bilateral meeting with Trump, but also, there won’t be any grounds for the presence of US in Iran’s talks with the remaining sides to the JCPOA as long as Washington has not returned to the deal and lifted all nuclear sanctions against Iran.”

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French President Macron is leading a European effort to salvage the JCPOA after the United States unilaterally pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and imposed sanctions on Tehran. Macron has held extensive phone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and there has been exchanges of diplomats between the two countries in recent weeks. Deputy Foreign Minister Araghchi is now in Paris heading a politico-economic delegation to further discuss the situation around JCPOA.

“The visit of Mr. Araghchi and his accompanying delegation from Oil Ministry and Central Bank to Paris is aimed at discussing ways that Europeans would implement their commitments under JCPOA. As mentioned before, Iran’s oil should be bought and its revenue should be delivered to Iran,” Rabiei added.

Iran announced in May 2019 that it is reducing commitments to the JCPOA according to the paragraphs 26 and 36 of the deal, asking European countries to stop their mere verbal support and implement practical measures that would shield Iran’s economy from damages of US sanctions. Tehran has so far taken two steps in reducing commitments and the probable third one may come on Saturday. Iran says that all its measures are reversible as soon as its legal demands are met.

“If Iran is satisfied with European measures, we will not take the third step, rather, we will reconsider some issues. But Tehran will make the next step if it doesn’t feel satisfaction [with EU measures],” Rabiei highlighted.

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Reacting to some speculations over Zarif’s visit to France, the government spokesman said, “We do not have any role in the France-US talks, and there has been no intention to hold talks with any American official there.”

Foreign Minister Zarif visited Biarritz on Sunday at the official invitation of his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to continue consultations on the recent initiatives proposed by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.

The visit came concurrently with a meeting of seven economic powers of the world, known as G7, in the French city.

During the trip, Zarif met with the French president after which he said he had “constructive” negotiations with Macron on ways to salvage an international nuclear deal signed between Iran and the then P5+1 countries back in 2015.

“France has offered proposals to Iran about ways to implement the JCPOA (the nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and steps that the sides are required to take [to save the deal],” Zarif said.

He added that Iran has also presented proposals so that the JCPOA would be implemented completely.

Iran’s top diplomat noted that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his French counterpart have held telephone conversations over recent weeks and said his meeting with Macron was also held in continuation of talks between the two presidents.

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“Stability in forex market, stock exchange market, the growth in foreign trade and domestic production, and exports surplus besides reduction of our reliance on oil revenues are all among the positive signs that Iran is experiencing,” he added.

Rabeie also informed that the current MAPNA Group’s Managing Director Abbas Aliabadi is to be appointed as the new managing director of the giant Iranian car manufacturing company Iran Khodro (IKCO).

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