TEHRAN (Iran News) In statement issued today, the Ministry reacted to the Israeli regime’s early Saturday airstrike on Iran.

The public relations office of the Iranian air defense command issued a statement on Saturday, announcing that Israeli airstrikes against military centers in Tehran, the western province of Ilam, and the southwestern province of Khuzestan have been intercepted and countered successfully.

As per the inherent right to legitimate defense, which is enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, Iran is duty-bound and entitled to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression, read the statement.

Iran categorically condemns the Zionist regime’s aggressive action against several military centers in Iran, considering it a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter, especially the principle of prohibiting threats or resorting to force against the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of countries, it added.

As emphasized by the relevant authorities of the Islamic Republic, the foreign ministry said, based on the inherent right to legitimate defense, which is also enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter, Iran is entitled and duty-bound to defend itself against the Israeli aggression.

Calling for maximizing all its material and spiritual capabilities to defend its security and vital interests and recognizing its duties toward regional peace and stability, the Islamic Republic reminds the regional countries of their individual and collective responsibility to safeguard peace and stability in the region, the statement noted.

Iran thanks all peace-loving countries in the region and other states that have expressed disgust toward and condemned the aggressive action of the Israeli regime by recognizing the critical situation, it further noted.

The continuation of the occupation, illegal actions, and Israeli atrocities in the region, especially the genocide of the Palestinians and the aggression against Lebanon, which is supported by the US and some other Western countries, is the main cause of tension and insecurity in the region, the statement underlined.

The statement also urged the responsibility of the UN member states, member states of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, member states of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the convention on the prohibition of genocide and international humanitarian law, to take an immediate step to halt genocidal war and aggression against Gaza and Lebanon and to put an end to the Zionist regime’s warmongering.

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TEHRAN (Iran News)  Muhannad Hadi also expressed concern over the deteriorating health situation in the blockaded territory, saying, Al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals, two of the three remaining facilities in the northern Gaza were attacked, which “intensified the already alarming humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza.”

Israeli forces increased their pressure on these hospitals to evacuate, but the patients had nowhere to go, he warned, adding that aid and humanitarian teams must do their utmost to save the lives of civilians.

He highlighted that power failure and lack of equipment led to the death of two patients in Indonesian hospital.

Since Thursday, the United Nations has issued urgent request to allow its teams to northern Gaza to rescue dozens of wounded trapped in the rubble but the Israeli forces failed to heed the call.

Every minute is important and these delays are life-threatening for these people. Relief and humanitarian teams must obtain permission to save lives without delay, Hadi added.

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TEHRAN (IFP) – Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has rejected any negotiation over the Islamic Republic’s “legitimate” ballistic missile program.

According To Iran News, Majid Takht Ravanchi said at a virtual UN meeting that Iran’s defense policy is crystal clear.

“On numerous occasions, we have made our position on the country’s defense capabilities completely clear,” he noted.

“Under the international law, every country is essentially entitled to develop a conventional missile program, and Iran is not exception,” said the official.

“Hence, Iran will not negotiate on its legitimate ballistic missile program,” he underlined.

He said Iran pays due regard to its national security.

“As Iran is located in a sensitive region such as the Middle East, we will not allow our security and conventional defense might to be compromised, restricted or undermined,” he said.

“Iran won’t be intimidated into abandoning its legitimate defense tolls by the bullying policies of certain powers,” said Takht Ravanchi.

He said the only source of instability and insecurity in the region is the presence of a large number of American troops in almost all countries neighboring Iran and the ones in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman region.

Another source of instability and insecurity, he said, is the flow into the region of the most sophisticated weapons made by the US and other Western countries.

“The Persian Gulf has been suffering from foreign interference and unfair rivalries for years. Due to the unrestrained inflow of dangerous Western weapons, this region has turned into a powder keg. In order to sell more arms, these countries fuel differences in the region and have adopted the ‘divide and rule’ policy,” he said.

He expressed hope countries in the region will soon welcome Iran’s peace initiative known as the Hormuz Peace Endeavour (HOPE).

He further noted the 2015 nuclear agreement, officially known as the JCPOA, was the outcome of marathon talks and there is no point putting it on the negotiating table again.

Takht Ravanchi said that under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the JCPOA was concluded as a comprehensive, long-term and appropriate solution to the Iran nuclear issue in order to establish a new relationship with Iran and facilitate and boost trade and economic cooperation and transactions with Tehran.

“The conclusion of the JCPOA was the result of marathon talks, including difficult tit-for-tat arrangements, and any offer of revising, renegotiating or extending the deal runs counter to UNSC Resolution 2231, and will definitely be not acceptable for Iran,” the top official added.

“After withdrawing from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, the U.S. re-imposed all of its nuclear sanctions, and ever since, has adopted a hostile approach toward the JCPOA and Iran, covertly and overtly bothering Iran’s trade partners constantly and extensively,” he added.

“With these measures, the U.S. has committed blatant violations of the JCPOA and has systematically and constantly breached its legal obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the UN Charter and the international law,” he explained.

Moreover, by impudently threatening to punish other governments if they refuse to violate Resolution 2231, the US has both reneged on its commitments under that resolution and practically prevented other state parties from living up to their obligations,” he said.

Takht Ravanchi also touched upon Washington’s breach of a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

“The United States has also refused to abide by a quia timet injunction issued by the unanimous vote of judges of the International Court of Justice on October 3, 2018 which obliges the US to remove impediments to the sales of humanitarian supplies to Iran,” he said.

“Still, instead of adopting remedial measures authorized under the JCPOA, Iran exercised maximum restraint and strategic patience for one year at the request of the three European countries,” he said.

However, he explained, Iran’s restraint was met with the United States’ so-called “maximum-pressure” policy and ever-increasing illegal sanctions as well as the three European countries’ absolute failure to deliver on their commitments.

“Under such circumstances, we had no choice but to take remedial steps in full compliance with paragraphs 26 and 36 of the JCPOA which stipulate that Iran has every right to stop the implementation of its commitments, in whole or in part, if new sanctions are slapped on the country or if previous sanctions are re-imposed,” he said.

“So, Iran’s measures are in full compliance with our rights and obligations under the JCPOA, and more importantly, they are reversible,” said the top official.

Takht Ravanchi underscored that the United States has slapped more than 1,500 sanctions on Iran targeting all of the country’s economic sectors and destroying almost all benefits of the JCPOA for Iran.

“Such sanctions, which are expected to increase even until the last minutes the current US administration is in office, amounts to a full-scale war where weapons have been replaced by an economic tool.

“Based on U.S. officials’ comments, the sanctions are aimed at starving Iranian people using food and medicines as a weapon, a practice which is even forbidden during wartime,” said Takht Ravanchi.

He said Washington’s claim that sanctions do not include humanitarian supplies is a “sheer lie.”

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According To Iran News, Iran has asked the United States to comply with the temporary verdict issued by the International Court of Justice in The Hague over Tehran’s case against Washington.

Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht-Ravanchi said the U.S. is breaching the court ruling by imposing different sanctions on Iran.

In a speech at the UN General Assembly, the top Iranian envoy referred to the United States’ use of coercive measures as a foreign policy tool.

He touched upon the sanctions that Washington has imposed on Iran over the recent years, saying the bans have intensified after the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Takht-Ravanchi noted the sanctions have directly or indirectly targeted Iranian companies and people and affected Iran’s free trade potential.

“This comes as the U.S. president has blatantly announced that the toughest sanctions will be slapped against Iran, leading to more problems for the Islamic Republic,” he said.

“In response to these illegal and unlawful measures which run counter to the principles of the UN Charter, international law and the 1955 bilateral agreement between Iran and the United States, the Islamic Republic of Iran brought a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice and called on the court to issue a provisional order to stop the United States’ illegal actions,” he said.

“On October 3, 2018, the International Court of Justice issued, by consensus, a binding provisional order obligating the US to stop its restrictive measures in accordance with its commitments under a treaty of amity, and to guarantee that restrictions do not apply to permits needed to transfer money in areas stipulated in the court ruling,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the U.S. has not abided by the court’s provisional order so far and has, ironically enough, imposed more sanctions and tightened its coercive measures, so much so that more Iranian banks have come under sanctions recently amid the spread of the coronavirus outbreak,” he said.

The Iranian ambassador to the UN said these sanctions have created problems for Iran with regards to the procurement of medicines and equipment needed to combat COVID-19.

“The U.S. is obliged to abide by the court order, and any non-compliance will bring international responsibility for the US. The court has asked both parties to the lawsuit to avoid any measures that would worsen or intensify the case,” he said.

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IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

TEHRAN – Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has complained to the world body over US President Donald Trump’s threat to use force against the country, warning that the Islamic Republic will not hesitate to exercise its right to self-defense in the face of any American military adventurism.

In letters addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and President of the Security Council Abdou Abarry, Majid Takht-Ravanchi said Trump had threatened Iran with an attack and made “a baseless allegation” against the country over an alleged assassination plot.

“Such a provocative statement constitutes a gross violation of the very fundamental principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, particularly its Article 2(4) that clearly prohibits the threat or use of force,” he wrote.

Takht-Ravanchi was reacting to Trump’s Monday tweet, in which he referred to “press reports” that Iran “may be planning an assassination, or other attack, against the United States” to avenge Washington’s assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Suleimani in Iraq early this year.

Earlier, the Politico news magazine had cited unnamed US officials as claiming that Iran was weighing to assassinate U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks before the American presidential election in November.

Trump, however, threatened, “Any attack by Iran, in any form, against the United States will be met with an attack on Iran that will be 1,000 times greater in magnitude!”

The Iranian envoy further reminded the UN that the U.S. president had threatened Iran several times following the assassination of General Soleimani, calling on the Security Council to help put an end to such American threats.

“This is not the first time that the President of the United States has threatened to use force against Iran. Following the horrific assassination of Major General Qasem Suleimani, the Commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on 3 January 2020 (S/2020/13), and in the course of 3 to 5 January 2020, he threatened on five different occasions to use force against Iran (S/2020/16),” he explained.

On January 4, Trump threatened to target 52 sites, some “at a very high level & important to Iran and the Iranian culture” if Tehran took revenge for the U.S. targeted killing.

“We seriously warn about any further military adventurism against Iran by the United States that must bear the full responsibility for all consequences,” Takht-Ravanchi wrote.

“The irresponsible policies and unlawful practices of the United States pose a serious threat to international peace and security. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the United Nations Security Council to demand that the United States put an end to its threats and unfettered policies and hold that country accountable for its wrongful acts,” the diplomat added.

He also stressed that Iran reserves the right to defend itself against any U.S. act of aggression.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right to self-defense to protect its people, defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and secure its national interests against any aggression,” he wrote.

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Iran says the overwhelming consensus among members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) against the U.S.’s push to reinstate all anti-Iran UN sanctions proves Washington’s isolation once again.

The Islamic Republic’s mission to the United Nations made the remarks in a statement on Tuesday, hours after the UNSC dismissed the controversial American bid because of a lack of consensus at the highest UN body over the so-called snapback of sanctions against Iran.

“Today, the overwhelming majority of the Security Council members rejected once again the admissibility of the recent letter” submitted by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “notifying” the council of Washington’s intention to “snap back,” or restore, all UN sanctions on Iran.

The statement reminded that “through individual or joint letters addressed to the Council’s President, 13 out of 15 members of the Security Council” as well as Iran “have already strongly refuted the legal merit of the US letter.”

The U.S.’s push comes while it has lost the right to enable re-imposition of the sanctions due to its 2018 departure from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and other countries — officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — that has been endorsed in the form of Security Council Resolution 2231.

The UN Security Council dismisses attempts by the U.S. to reinstate all UN sanctions against Iran due to a lack of consensus in the 15-member body over such a move.

The Iranian statement further said, “Given that the stated objective of the U.S. is to destroy Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA, Iran trusts that the Council members will continue preventing that country from undermining the UN, including the Security Council.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Indonesia’s UN Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, the UNSC’s president for August, said at a meeting on the Middle East that the 15-nation body was “not in the position to take further action” on the new US push.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet later that the UNSC members had to use a meeting on the Middle East, not Iran, to refute the US attempt “as null and void” after Washington prevented a debate at the Council about its “unlawful notification” a day earlier.

The new anti-Iran bid comes after the UNSC similarly snubbed a resolution drafted by the US to extend an arms embargo against Iran that will expire in October under the JCPOA.

The Iranian mission, meanwhile, pointed to the allegations that the United States has been using against Tehran in order to try and justify its anti-Iran campaigns throughout the world, including at the Security Council.

Washington ceaselessly accuses Iran of trying to “destabilize” the region and the world, alleging that the Iranian peaceful nuclear program features “diversion towards military purpose” with that end in mind.

“Regarding unfounded accusations against Iran raised in the Council meeting by the US, it must be stressed that almost all problems in the Middle East stem from the continued occupation of Palestine by the Israeli regime and its expansionist policies supported by the US, as well as the meddling, destabilizing policies and destructive practices of the United States, which cannot be covered up by no amount of smear campaign,” the mission said.

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Nowadays you cannot find any media in the West either in Persian language or local languages that it has not covered Iran-China strategic agreement. More important than the media it is the security officials in the Western countries who have pointed to this agreement one after the other that they have encouraged Iranian people to revolt against the agreement or they have become more realistic and have pointed to the trend of effects of the agreement and the conditions after its implementation and have called it a way for passing through the barbed wires of the Western sanctions against Iran.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

For example, Former U.S. Acting and Deputy Director of CIA Mr. Michael Morell in his twitter account wrote, “China and Iran win and we lose.” He criticizes the West’s policies especially the White House’s for pulling out of the nuclear deal with Iran, the JCPOA, and writes, “This is a direct result of our go-it-alone policy on Iran. This is a key reason why so many, including Tillerson and Mattis, were against the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.  Policy missteps have real consequences.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in her twitter accounts writes, “China partners with Iran ending Iran’s global isolation. The partnership … would vastly expand Chinese presence in banking, telecommunications, ports, railways and dozens of other projects.”

Apart from the Western officials, most Western analysts believe that the goal behind the agreement is that both Iran and China want to show that they have other alternatives than the West even some of their projects do not come on stream.

These reports and assumptions are published that the agreement has net been sealed yet and all these speculations and analyses are based on a publication of the initial draft of the agreement as the proposed document.

American newspaper Wall Street Journal in a report on the comprehensive agreement between Iran and china writes, “Iran and China are seeking to cement a wide-ranging partnership that would deflect U.S. economic pressure and ease Tehran’s global isolation. And according to the agreement which should be approved by Iran’s parliament, China can take advantage of Iran’s oil resources and in return, Iran will enjoy China’s investments. Iran and China’s partnership can help both countries to fight with U.S. pressures on both states.”

Meanwhile American daily The New York Times in an article “Defying U.S., China and Iran Near Trade and Military Partnership” like Wall Street Journal called the Iran-China 25-Year Agreement  a act in line with weakening the Donald Trump Administration’s anti-Iran measures. The daily claimed that it had obtained the detailed 18-page proposed agreement and writes, “Iran and China have quietly drafted a sweeping economic and security partnership that would clear the way for billions of dollars of Chinese investments in energy and other sectors, undercutting the Trump administration’s efforts to isolate the Iranian government because of its nuclear and military ambitions.”

And more important these two American papers, it is Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post’s  reaction to the agreement as it an analytical article wrote, “Proposed China-Iran deal is bad news for Israel.” The daily in this article details the agreement and writes, “With Iran and China working on a multibillion-dollar 25-year economic and security deal, Israel has many reasons to be concerned and even alarmed.”

The Israeli paper also points to the American “maximum pressure” campaign which has clearly had a major impact on Iran, but a massive influx of Chinese investments will go a long way towards undoing it.”

That Iran really has paved the ground for China’s serious presence in its oil and transportation sectors in order that both countries can open a totally new bed in the global economy depends on smartness and cognition of the current condition of the West. The Westerners have been grounded by the Coronavirus pandemic but Iran and China have managed to overcome it with the less casualties comparing to the West. So this point indicates that both countries will win the biggest economic competition of the 21^st Century and put the U.S. in a position to begrudge failure of its cruel sanctions with totally woeful result.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

The post The U.S. Loses , Iran Wins appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, Iran called on the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to help the Islamic Republic arrest the criminals who have fled the country and return the money they have embezzled.

The Islamic Republic’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Kazem Gharibabadi said on Thursday that he has asked the new Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to get involved in the issue and have the Iranian criminals arrested and extradited.

In a message on his Instagram page, Gharibabadi said some convicts have looted people’s property and now take refuge in the safe haven of some Western countries.

“Yesterday, I talked to new Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Ms. Ghada Waly. In this conversation, I called for the serious involvement of this office in the issue of the return of these lawbreakers, as well as the return of looted property,” he noted.

On Monday, Iran’s Judiciary Chief Seyed Ebrahim Raeisi ordered bringing back and prosecuting the criminals convicted of financial crimes who have fled the country to escape justice.

“Those facing charges must surrender to justice and know that they cannot escape justice,” the top judge stressed.

Raeisi also lashed out at certain Western states for harboring criminals and fugitives who have fled Iran.

“One of the examples of injustice and major cruelties to humanity is that a number of countries claiming to fight against organized corruption and money-laundering have sheltered economic criminals and their dirty money,” the Judiciary chief added.

Since August 2018, Iran’s Judiciary has been holding public trials of individuals involved in major economic corruption cases.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has permitted the Judiciary to take special measures in order to confront economic corruption and called for “swift and just” legal action against financial crimes.

The Leader has described “outright and unequivocal” treatment of economic corruption as one of the Judiciary’s major duties, stressing that confronting economic corrupts must be decisive and effective.

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According To Iran News, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif highlighted the United States’ war crimes, violation of agreements and terrorist acts and said Washington has no right to vilify Iran by abusing the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“US has tried to heighten tension w/ Iran & bully others to follow,” Zarif wrote in a post on his Twitter account on Thursday.

“But having admitted to:

-Terror assassination in Iraq

-Complicity in war crimes in Yemen & Palestine

-Piracy

-Breaching JCPOA, UNSCR 2231, & IAEA decisions,” he added.

The Iranian top diplomat underlined that, therefore, “It (the US) retains NO right to abuse UN & IAEA to vilify Iran.”

Zrif also attached a copy of an International Court of Justice ruling in 1971 that reads, “One of the fundamental principles governing the international relationship thus established is that a party which disavows or does not fulfill its own obligations cannot be recognized as retaining the rights which it claims to derive from the relationship.”

It came after US officials said that Washington would seek to restore all previously canceled sanctions against Iran if the UN Security Council fails to preserve an embargo on weapons supplies to Tehran, which expires this fall.

Under UNSC Resolution 2231, the arms embargo on Iran will be lifted in October 2020 as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal; however, the US says it will use a range of options to prevent this and use a Security Council provision to block the expiration of ban.

While the US is no longer a party to the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it recently launched a campaign to renew the Iran arms ban — in place since 2006/2007 — through a resolution at the Security Council, but Russia and China are most likely to veto it.

US President Donald Trump quit the JCPOA in 2018, calling the accord from Barack Obama’s presidency “the worst deal ever.”

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According To Iran News, A senior Iranian diplomat denounced the illegal and inhumane sanctions that have been unilaterally imposed on Syria, calling for efforts to help the Syrian people amid the coronavirus outbreak.

In a telephone conversation on Wednesday, Senior Assistant to Iran’s Foreign Minister in Special Political Affairs Ali-Asghar Khaji and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen discussed the latest political and on-the-ground developments in Syria, humanitarian issues, the Syrian people’s problems, and holding the next meeting of Syria’s Constitutional Committee.

They also stressed the necessity of providing humanitarian assistance for the people of Syria, particularly amid the outbreak of the coronavirus, helping the return of the displaced persons and refugees, and the continuation of the political process for the peaceful settlement of the Syrian issue.

In the conversation, the senior assistant to Iran’s foreign minister highlighted the illegality and inhumanity of the unilateral sanctions against Syria, calling for the removal of the sanctions.

Khaji also stressed the need for the restoration of stability and security to Syria and the fight against terrorism.

Since the outbreak of war and foreign militancy in Syria in 2011, Iran has stood by the Syrian government and supported its people against terrorist groups, including Daesh (ISIL).

The Syrian army has managed to liberate most of the areas occupied by terrorists over the past months and has begun the reconstruction process.

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