TEHRAN (Iran News) Brigadier General Goudarzi announced on Monday that the border closure plan has begun in the southeastern region of the country, and currently, it is being implemented at the Hangeh-ye Zhal border in Baneh, located in the West Azarbaijan Province of northwest Iran.

He detailed that the plan to close the borders would be finalized within a timeframe of three to five years, incurring a cost of three billion euros.

He stressed that the new law designed to regulate border exchanges necessitates coordination with the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to facilitate the reopening of border crossings and markets in Kordestan province.

“We need to persuade the Iraqi side to open the border crossings and to set a specific time and place for the importation of goods across the border,” he added.

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A Thursday report by the IRIB News said the new copper cathode plant, located in Varzaqan region in East Azerbaijan province, will be able to produce 3,000 metric tons (mt) of copper cathode per year.

The plant uses heap leaching method to process 14 million mt of copper ore per year, said the report.

The plant has created 175 permanent jobs and another 525 jobs on the wider industrial sector. The government has spent 15 trillion rials ($30 million) to open the project.

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, who was on a provincial trip to East Azerbaijan, used a video conference link to open the project.

Raisi had promised in a previous trip to East Azerbaijan that he would make the preparations for the launch of an independent company in the region to control the Sungun copper mine which is the largest open-cast copper mine in Iran.

Sungun had been controlled by National Iranian Copper Industries Co. (NICICO) a company that is mostly focused on vast copper mines and smelters in Iran’s southeastern province of Kerman.

Raisi said in a gathering of people in the East Azerbaijan’s provincial capital of Tabriz on Thursday that an independent company had been set up to control the copper industry in the region.

He said the company will spend its entire revenue in projects in East Azerbaijan and will operate independent of the NICICO.

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Owji said on Thursday that Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan had almost finalized agreements for doubling the volume of gas mentioned in their swap deal.

Under the current agreement, Turkmenistan supplies 5-6 million cubic meters per day of gas to Iran’s northeastern regions while Iran supplies the same amount to Azerbaijan on its northwestern border.

“Fortunately, everything is ready for the increase (of the volume) in the gas swap agreement and it will be doubled very soon,” Owji told reporters in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, where he held talks with senior government officials and attended an energy forum.

The Iranian oil minister said the increase had been discussed in talks in Tehran, Baku and Ashgabat in recent months.

Owji had indicated in January that the country has the capacity and infrastructure required to increase the volume of gas swapped with Turkmenistan to 40 mcm per day or 10-15 billion cubic meters per year.

Iran’s current administrative government has hailed the gas swap operation with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan as a major success in the field of energy diplomacy.

Experts say the deal has allowed Iran to deepen its economic ties with the two neighbors. Reports say Iranian state and private firms have signed major deals with counterparts in Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan in recent months.

Reports in the Iranian media published last week suggested that Iran is working on similar oil and gas swap arrangements with Russia, a country where energy exports have been targeted by Western

Meanwhile Owji and Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov signed a memorandum of understanding to increase Turkmen gas transfers through Iran to Azerbaijan.

Owji met and held talks with Jabbarov on Friday in Baku, Azerbaijan.

During the meeting, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on enhancing mutual cooperation.

Under the memorandum of understanding, the parties agreed to double the volume of gas transported from Turkmenistan to the Republic of Azerbaijan via Iranian lines.

The two sides also discussed other economic issues of mutual interest in the areas of energy, oil, gas, transportation, and bilateral trade.

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The lawmaker, Mojtaba Zolnouri, who serves as the head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said Tehran has made it clear that it will not accept any change in international borders in the region.
“The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is very clear, unequivocal, and decisive. We do not accept any change in the borders of the region. The territorial integrity of the countries in the region must be preserved. At the same time, we do not accept the deployment of any supra-regional forces near our borders,” Zolnouri told Russian state news, Sputnik.

“Therefore, if part of the territory of Armenia is to be taken and our border conditions change, that is, to have a new neighbor, it is not acceptable for us. The existing borders must be completely protected and the shared border of the Islamic Republic of Iran with Armenia must be maintained,” he continued.

The comments came after Armenia claimed that the Azerbaijani forces have advanced into its sovereign territory in Syunik province. Azerbaijan confirmed that it had deployed troops to the borders with Armenia but said its forces did not enter Armenian territories.

Zolnouri said Iran backs the territorial integrity of both Azerbaijan and Armenia. “We support the position of Azerbaijan in preserving the territorial integrity of this country and the position of Armenia in preserving the territorial integrity, territory and neighborliness with Iran. We are neighbors of both countries and based on the conditions we had in the past, both countries are viewed as our neighbors, and by maintaining this neighborliness without accepting any change in the region, we support the territorial integrity of both countries,” the lawmaker noted.

Zolnouri also accused Israel of trying to “create dispute among the region’s countries and muddy the waters in order to fish in the troubled waters.”
Israel is doing so to later intervene in the region, he said.

The lawmaker said terrorist Takfiri groups are being organized in the vicinity of Iran’s borders with help from Israel and some countries in the region, and this issue is very sensitive in the view of Iran and it won’t let it happen.

“Any insecurity on our borders will be severely responded to and there is no way for foreigners to enter this area,” he said.

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Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, issued a statement on Friday saying that Iran was closely following developments at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is closely and sensitively following the developments of the past few days along the borders of the two neighboring countries, Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan,” Khatibzadeh said on Friday.

“Iran hopes that the dispute would be settled as soon as possible with the two sides’ prudence and through peaceful ways,” the spokesman noted.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran underlines the necessity of maintaining stability and calm in the region, and calls on both sides to show restraint, avoid fueling the disagreements, and respect the two countries’ borders,” he added.

He also expressed Iran’s preparedness to contribute to the peaceful settlement of the two countries’ differences, including the recent dispute.

The statement came after Armenia accused Azerbaijan of incursion into Armenian territories.

On Friday night, Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian held telephone conversations with a number of his counterparts to inform them of the situation at the border with Azerbaijan.

“Had phone conversations with colleagues presenting the situation resulted from the incursion of Azerbaijani armed forces in Armenia’s state border. This encroachment attempt on the sovereign territory of Armenia, violating international law, is unacceptable,” he said on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of advancing into its Southern territory. On the same day, Armenia’s Security Council held a meeting in which Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan briefed the military leaders of the tensions between Baku and Yerevan.

“Today’s Security Council sitting is dedicated to the events taking place at the border section close to Sev Lich in Syunik Marz and the surrounding area. Earlier today Azerbaijan’s armed forces crossed the state border of the Republic of Armenia and advanced as far as 3.5 kilometers in that section. In fact, they are trying to surround and siege the Lake,” the prime minister said at the meeting.

He added, “Of course, this is unacceptable to the Armenian side, because it represents an encroachment on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. It still remains to be seen why such an action was possible, but it should be noted that this is an act of subversive infiltration. It should also be stated that our armed forces responded early this morning with appropriate tactical maneuvers and other necessary measures.”

Pashinyan said Armenia “cannot in any way tolerate and come to terms with the situation at hand.”

On the other hand, the Republic of Azerbaijan has confirmed that it deployed troops to areas bordering Armenia but said this deployment occurred inside Azerbaijani territories.

“According to the trilateral statement signed on November 10, 2020, with the improvement of weather conditions in the settlements of the liberated Lachin and Kalbajar regions bordering with Armenia, which have a difficult mountainous terrain and climatic conditions, the Azerbaijani border forces are deployed in the positions of our country. This process is carried out in the usual mode and in a systematic manner,” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement added, “Measures to strengthen the border protection system implemented within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan are carried out on the basis of maps available to each of the sides that define the border line between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since regaining its independence, there has been no state border between the two countries for obvious reasons, and for this reason we speak about the complicated technical process, which is currently accompanied by disagreements between the sides.”

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry accused “official circles” in Armenia of using border tensions for pre-election purposes.

“We recommend that the political and military circles of Armenia not be alarmed, accept the reality of the interstate border regime along the Zangilan, Gubadli, Lachin and Kalbajar regions of Azerbaijan and not unreasonably aggravate the situation in the region. Such cases can and should be resolved through mutual contacts between the military on both sides,” the Azerbaijani statement said.

Armenia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the Azerbaijani military was “forced” to retreat from some areas but it is yet to completely withdraw.

“Despite the fact that as a result of the actions taken by Armenian military units the Azeri troops were forced to pull back from some areas, a part of them are still located in territory of the Republic of Armenia,” the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by Armen Press. “The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia attach importance to the need of resolving the situation peacefully, but at the same time announce that infringements against the sovereign territories of Armenia are totally unacceptable and the Azerbaijani side must pull back to its original positions without pre-conditions.”

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani has launched some major power and water projects in Kermanshah, Ardabil, and East Azarbaijan provinces in western and north-western Iran.

The projects, which were inaugurated by President Rouhani through videoconference calls on Thursday, include the second gas unit of Dalahoo Combined Cycle Power Plant in Eslamabad-e-Gharb County in Kermanshah province.

President Rouhani inaugurated five water and electricity projects worth over $210 million in three provinces during the 18th week of the Energy Ministry’s A-B-Iran program.

Inaugurated through video conference in a ceremony held in Tehran, the mentioned projects included a dam, a power station, two small-scaled solar farms, and some electricity transmission lines.

As reported the said projects were put into operation in Ardebil, East Azarbaijan, and Kermanshah provinces in the west and northwest of the country.

With the mentioned projects operational, a total of 1.7 megawatts (MW) has been added to the country’s solar power generation, 310 MW to the capacity of the combined cycle power plants, and 21 million cubic meters was also added to the storage capacity of the country’s dams.

The solar power plants, one with a capacity of 0.2 MW and the other with a capacity of 1.5 MW were inaugurated in Ardebil province.

The 0.2 MW power plant with a cumulative electricity output of 326,000 kWh is going to save 0.11 million cubic meters of natural gas consumption annually and emit 274 tons of carbon dioxide.

The 1.5 MW solar power plant with a cumulative output of 244,000 kWh will save 0.85 million cubic meters of natural gas, and also prevents the emission of carbon dioxide equivalent to 2056 tons per year while saving 655 cubic meters of water in the year.

The 310-megawatt gas unit of Dalahou Combined Cycle Power Plant in Kermanshah Province was also among the inaugurated projects, which was put into operation with a total investment of 109 million euros (about $130 million).

Kalghan Chai dam in the city of Bostanabad in East Azarbaijan was the third project inaugurated via video conference in the presence of Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian.

With a total capacity of 21 million cubic meters, the mentioned dam was constructed with 13.2 trillion rials (about $31.4 million) of investment.

Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony via videoconference, President Rouhani announced that the directive for the implementation of a program to award free electricity to 30 million low-consuming subscribers will be referred to the Energy Ministry over the next two months.

“This program, which will be implemented in the next two months, is a gift from the government to the people of our country, especially the residents of the villages, who are mainly among the low-consuming households,” Rouhani said.

He further stressed: “We are witnessing that the effort, dedication, and devotion of our nation, including employees, workers, and engineers throughout the country has paid off, and this condition is of great importance for us.”

Rouhani pointed out: “We are not in normal conditions and this year, and we are organizing such great inauguration ceremonies at the most difficult and severe time of sanctions.”

The Iranian president went on to say: “In the history of Iran during the last 2.5 years and from the beginning of 2018 until today, there has been no record of such pressure on the nation, and the people resisted these conspiracies with more endurance every day.”

Rouhani reminded: “We have proved that the United States has failed, and we definitely declare to the world and to history that the United States used all its plans and power to defeat the Iranian nation in order to put pressure them.”

Stating that the United States has suffered major political defeats in recent weeks, Rouhani said: “In more than seventy years since the establishment of the United Nations, there has been no record of the United States drafting a resolution against the Iranian nation, begging for votes for months, and calling on various countries.  When the United States introduced a plan in the Security Council that was against Iran’s arms embargo, only one country voted for the United States, and 13 countries either voted against it or rejected the US resolution, that is, they rejected their plan.

The President continued: The U.S. ‘snapback’ mechanism resolution raised at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting about 10 days ago during a meeting on regional issues and the Palestinian cause and it also failed when 13 out of the 14 members delivered a speech and rejected it.”

The Iranian president also stressed: “With the resistance of the Iranian nation, on the one hand, the political defeat of the United States in the United Nations has been embodied, and on the other hand, we witness the prosperity of Iran.”

The inauguration ceremony of several developmental plans accomplished with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani in attendance via video conferencing.

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According To Iran News, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday launched a number of electricity and water projects in the country during a video conference event.

The projects were inaugurated in the southern province of Bushehr and northwestern province of West Azarbaijan.

They included the first steam unit of the Assaluyeh combined cycle power plant in Bushehr and the Oshnavieh Dam in West Azarbaijan.

Earlier this year, Iran’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said inauguration or ground breaking ceremonies will be held for 250 major water and energy projects in the country during the current Persian calendar year (started March 20).

“We are going to use every opportunity for serving people in this year named ‘surge in production’ (by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) in order to prepare the infrastructures for surge in production, with water and energy being among the most important ones,” Ardakanian said in April.

This year, with a 500,000 billion rial investment, inauguration or ground breaking ceremonies will be held for 250 major water and energy projects in the country, he added.

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei says the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iran are taking place at a critical time of U.S. pressure and attempts to drive a wedge between the Iranian nation and government, calling for a large turnout in the polls to foil Washington’s “evil intentions.”

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with thousands of people from Iran’s East Azarbaijan Province in Tehran on Tuesday, marking the anniversary of the Tabriz uprising of February 18, 1978.

The Leader called elections a contributor to the strength of the country and said the U.S. formed think tanks of dozens or hundreds of people to plan to alienate the Iranian people and the youth in particular from the government.

He referred to the massive turnout of the people on the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution last Tuesday and in processions to honor Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani earlier, and said, “The same thing should happen in the elections, meaning that the enemies should see for themselves that, in spite of their persistence in attempting to drive a wedge between the people and the establishment, people receive the elections well, which is reason for pride for the Islamic establishment.”

“Elections neutralize many of the evil intentions that the Americans and the Zionists (Israelis) have in mind against Iran,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “These elections are the response to the chicanery and deception of Iran’s enemies.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said friends and foes alike were watching the elections.

“Enemies want to know what all of their attempts, the economic difficulties that exist in the country, the perfidy of the Westerners and the Europeans (in the Iran deal matter) toward Iran, and all the pressures — the maximum pressure, as they call it themselves — have finally done to the Iranian people,” the Leader said. “Our friends all over the world, too, are watching with concern to see what happens.”

Iran’s 11th parliamentary elections will be held on February 21, 2020. The date will also feature interim elections for Iran’s Assembly of Experts, which elects and oversees the activities of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the “first-class idiots in the U.S. are once again lining up to say some nonsense about” Iran.

“Partially, what they say is to affect the [turnout in the] elections… to make people despair of the ballot box,” the Leader said.

“The nonsense they speak is also partially to make up for their ineffectiveness,” he added, referring to how the regional tide had turned against America after the assassination of General Soleimani.

“The Americans wanted our dear martyr (General Soleimani), who had a very deep impact on the region, to be taken out so that they could prevail. Things turned out the opposite way.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said the U.S. did all in its power — in military, political, security, economic, cultural, and media terms — over the past 40 years to topple the Iranian establishment. Not only did America fail in those attempts, the Leader said, but it also saw the Iranian establishment grow “a thousand times” stronger.

The Leader said the U.S. was the most indebted country in the world — with 22 trillion dollars in national debt — and was merely making itself up to look good.

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the story of the British giant passenger ship RMS Titanic, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912, and said, “Just as the splendor of the famous ship Titanic did not stop it from sinking, attempts to make up America’s appearance do not stop it from sinking, either, and America will sink.”

The Leader said Iran was opposed to no nation or race but only to arrogance and tyranny.

“America has dozens of [military] bases in the countries around ours, but if something happens one day, these bases will be of use neither to America nor to those who give their money to it… because American arrogance is collapsing.”

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