IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says revenge for Iran’s senior commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimeni, who was assassinated by the United States, is certain and will be exacted at the right time.

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks on Wednesday at a meeting with organizers of programs to commemorate the first martyrdom anniversary of top Iranian and Iraqi anti-terror commanders, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and a group of their comrades.

The two commanders were martyred in a drone strike ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump near the Baghdad International Airport on January 3. Back then, General Soleimani was in the Iraqi capital on an official visit at the invitation of the Iraqi government.

The two figures were highly popular because of the key role they played in eliminating the US-sponsored Daesh terrorist group in the region.

Ayatollah Khamenei recalled the million-strong funerals that were held for the two commanders, saying the “unforgettable” ceremonies “surprised the arrogance’s soft war generals and served as a first severe slap in the face of the Americans.”

The Leader added that Iran’s retaliatory missile strike on the American Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq had been another slap in the face of the Americans

Ayatollah Khamenei said a tougher slap will, however, be the subjugation of arrogance in the software sector, which requires the efforts of revolutionary youth and faithful elite, besides the expulsion of the United States from the region, which demands the nations’ will and resistance.

“Of course, this harsh slap is separate from revenge, because those who ordered and killed General Soleimani must see revenge, and this revenge is certain [and will be taken] at the right moment,” the Leader added.

Ayatollah Khamenei said General Soliemnai’s “historic” martyrdom turned him into a hero for Iranians and the entire Muslim Ummah.

“The reason why martyr Soleimani became a hero for the Iranian nation and different strata of people (even those beyond imagination) honored him and expressed their feelings was that martyr Soleimani was the embodiment of cultural values of Iran and Iranians,” the Leader said.

He also mentioned courage and the spirit of resistance as two of the prominent characteristics of General Soleimani.

The Leader further said General Soleimani had “wisdom, ingenuity, sacrifice and altruism” and was a man of spirituality and sincerity, not hypocrisy.

General Soleimani defeated arrogance both during his lifetime and with his martyrdom, Ayatollah Khamenei said. “The U.S. president said that they spent 7 trillion dollars in the region but achieved nothing and finally he was forced to visit a military base for a few hours in the dark of night. The whole world acknowledge that the United States has not achieved its goals in Syria and especially in Iraq,”

“The hero of this great work is General Soleimani, which was done during his lifetime,” he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader advised the people and officials to double their efforts to strengthen the country in economic, science, technology and defense sectors, and not to trust the enemy.

Ayatollah Khamenei further stressed the country should focus on neutralizing the sanctions instead of securing their removal, saying, “The lifting of sanctions is in the hands of the enemy, but neutralizing them is in our own hands.”

“Of course, we do not mean that we should not seek to lift the sanctions, because if the sanctions can be lifted, we should not delay that even by an hour,” he explained.

Criticizing Europe’s hypocritical behavior, Ayatollah Khamenei said that three European countries also showed extreme malice and hypocrisy.

He also urged Iranians to preserve national unity, calling on the country’s three branches of power to strengthen national unity through synergy and cooperation.

Referring to the imposed sanctions on Iran, Leader of the Islamic Revolution called on authorities to look for the ways to defuse sanctions rather than the ways to lift them.

“Of course, we are not saying that we should not seek to lift the sanctions. If the sanctions can be lifted, we should not hesitate to do it even for an hour,” he noted.

“If the sanctions can be lifted in a right, wise, Iranian-Islamic and dignified way, it should be done, but the main focus should be on defusing the sanctions,” Leader added.

“I support the officials of the country as long as they adhere to the goals of the nation,” Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted.

The post Leader Urges Nation , Officials to Focus on Defusing Sanctions appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Inflation is the opposite of deflation, which is a decrease in price levels. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the US economy has experienced very low inflation and even deflation. Outside of a few sectors, such as health care, Americans have not had to deal with many unusual price increases.

In 2021, however, as Reade Pickert and Vince Golle explain at Bloomberg, “Americans are likely to see prices jump across a variety of sectors next year, thanks in part to Covid-19 vaccines that will potentially turbocharge demand for such pandemic casualties as travel and tickets to sporting events.”

A moderate level of inflation occurs naturally in a growing economy.

Hyperinflation, which is usually defined as inflation above 50%, is destructive to an economy. In recent years, hyperinflation has destroyed the economies of Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Argentina. The nature of the inflation being discussed for the US in 2021 is 2% to 4%, nowhere near the 438% rate predicted for Venezuela for 2021. Some people hear the word “inflation” and panic, but there is no need for that.

And, according to Pickert and Golle, “One critical ingredient will be missing to sustain higher inflation: a tight labor market.” Wages are likely to stay low, which will keep “pressure” prices, too.

As with most things (especially when it comes to financing), inflation is good for some people and not for others. Moderate inflation has plenty of economic benefits: Higher prices encourage businesses to invest and expand. Interest rates go up, so banks start paying interest on checking accounts again. And higher wages, which will indeed come to certain sectors of the labor market, give workers an incentive to spend money.

Early on in a period of inflation, corporate profits will increase because inventory costs may reflect pre-inflation prices – but wages will not increase right away.

Over time, wages and costs will both increase, and depreciation will be based on historic costs that do not reflect actual replacement values. Managers will need to think about costs differently, and some will do better than others.

If wages increase by 4% a year, then a mortgage with a 2.5% interest rate gets cheaper each year by comparison (essentially, if you owe somebody money, in a period of inflation you’re paying back your lender with cash worth less than it was at the time you originally borrowed it). However, a bank CD paying 2% interest would also lose spending power every year during inflation periods. Bond prices also fall.

In recent years, consumers have been trained to “wait for the sale” – to avoid buying a good because it’ll surely be cheaper later. In a deflationary environment, goods do in fact go down in price over time. But under inflation, prices go up, so it doesn’t make sense to wait.

(In a hyperinflationary economy, people essentially find that shopping is a better use of their time than going to work. If prices are increasing daily or even hourly, wages can’t keep up.) In 2021, act quickly based on real-time circumstances rather than what you expect to happen in the future – and think about whether you’re more of a debtor or a saver.

The post Inflation Is on the Way for 2021 appeared first on Iran News Daily.

IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei yesterday said the United States has fallen into substantial decline and Washington’s regime will not live long.

The Leader in a televised speech on the occasion of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday anniversary yesterday, said the White House itself has admitted that the U.S. is nosediving.

“To be fair, the U.S. regime has gone into a dramatic political, civil and moral decline. What I’m saying is not an analysis. It is something that they themselves are saying,” the Leader said.

“This is the word of their own spokespeople as well as authors and thinkers inside the United States,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“Over the past several years, they have written a number of books which have been published in high circulation inside the U.S.,” he noted.

“These books shed light on some facts,” the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei said one of these books, which has been translated into Persian, is full of evidence indicative of the “decline of the U.S. political system due to moves by the U.S. president.’

“Such an empire won’t last long,” the Leader stressed.

“It is obvious that when a regime gets to this point, it will not last long and will explode,” he said.

Anti-Islam Stances Show Wicked Nature of Western Civilization

He once again lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron for supporting the blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Ayatollah Khamenei said “some rulers suffered humiliation by insulting the Prophet” whose cartoons were published by the French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo.

“Backing cultural savagery and the criminal act of a caricaturist is another side of the coin of support for MKO terrorists and [former Iraqi dictator] Saddam [Hussein],” said the Leader.

“The Islamic community’s anger and protest at this event indicates that the Muslim world is alive,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Leader noted a lesson should be learned from this development.

“The French government links the event to human rights and freedom of expression. This is the same policy that is associated with the world’s most violent terrorists, i.e., terrorists who [in the past] killed our president, judiciary chief, prime minister and a number of officials as well as 17 thousand people in our country,” the Leader noted, referring to the MKO terrorist group.

He said France is one of the governments which helped Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein during the eight-year Iraqi-imposed war on Iran in the 1980s.

“They claim they favor freedom and human rights and the like,” said the Leader.

“The Quran and the Prophet Muhammad have been insulted several times so far. They cannot besmirch the Prophet Muhammad’s dignity and honor at all. Such move show the wicked nature of the West’s civilization,” he added.

Noting that presidential rivals are accusing each other of extensive fraud in the election, he said the U.S. political system is suffering a serious decline. He also said that Iran enjoys calculated policies that will not change with a change in U.S. Government. “No matter who wins the U.S. elections, it won’t affect our policy toward the U.S. Some people talk about what will happen if this or that one is elected. Yes, certain events may happen but they don’t concern us. Our policy is calculated and clear.”

“The U.S. regime suffers from severe political, civil, and moral deviations. This is what their own analysts say. Such a regime won’t last long. Of course, if certain people hold office, they speed up its destruction, while with others it may take a little longer.”

Highlighting the need to focus on domestic capabilities to boost the country’s economy, he noted that the economy should not be tied to the developments of another country and the solution to problems is not outside the country.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei called for an immediate end to the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. He noted that Azerbaijan is ‘entitled’ to liberate its occupied territories while highlighting that the security of Armenians living in the region should be ensured.

Terrorists should not be stationed near Iranian borders and that if Iran feels a threat, it will adopt a decisive response, he warned.

“The war between our neighbors, Azerbaijan and Armenia, is a bitter event and must end as soon as possible. Of course, Azerbaijani land seized by Armenia should be freed and the safety of its Armenian residents must be secured. If terrorists approach the Iranian border, they’ll be dealt with severely.”

The Leader who was delivering his speech on the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversaries of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the sixth Imam of Shias, Imam Jafar al- Sadiq (AS), stated: “The entire humanity has been addressed by the Prophet of Islam (PBUH). One can say that more than any other time in history, humanity is undergoing immense suffering. Inequalities, warmongering, extremist materialism are more prevalent in the world today. These days, they use science and technology in order to exercise these satanic powers.”

He emphasized: “The U.S. is the very Pharaoh and the tyrant of our time.”

The post U.S. Suffering Moral , Civil Decline appeared first on Iran News Daily.

In the U.S., no current or party recommends war with China but in order to shift the blame of the inefficiencies of the tenant of the White House in Washington both in settling up the economy and in better performance regarding the coronavirus, the condition of the presidential campaign increases the pressure against China day in day so that this climate has convinced the Chinese for prepping for a probable war with the U.S.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

The issue of embroilment between this two countries started when Beijing and Washington engaged in a global blame-game over the deadly coronavirus and were at odds on almost every front, from trade tensions to the South China Sea, Taiwan, Xinjiang and Huawei, and they made their new and old differences public in the media.

Worse still, their recent wrangling over Beijing’s imposition of a draconian national security law in Hong Kong has further emboldened hardliners on both sides, accelerated the downward spiral and put the world’s top two economies on a headstrong – and dangerous and obstinate – collision course.

Analysts warn that the U.S.-China relations with an unprecedented pace are deteriorating, and this condition can worsen and end in a full military confrontation between both states. Last month, senior diplomats of China and the U.S. had a meeting in Hawaii after nearly one year, and despite both sides had pinned high hopes on the result of the meeting because there was a panic that the tensions between the two countries gradually prepared the grounds for military disputes and war, but the events after this meeting show the failure and effects of the meeting in their bilateral relations.

The secret meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Yang Jiechi, the top diplomatic aide to Chinese President Xi Jinping, took place – perhaps coincidentally – at Pearl Harbor, scene of a pivotal moment for the U.S. and world history when it was bombed by the Japanese nearly 80 years ago. And it seems no development has been seen in their relations.

Government officials and experts have warned that since the official and academic relations between the U.S. and China have been restricted significantly and the traditional dampers like trade, tourism and academic relations have almost become ineffective, their relations are deteriorating with an unprecedented pace.

Graham Allison, American political scientist and the Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at Harvard University, says, “The remainder of 2020 could pose as severe a test for the US and China as the final five months of 1941 did for the United States and Japan.” He has said, “Japan’s surprise air strike on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 – which dragged the U.S. into World War II – had been beyond Washington’s imagination, that ‘a nation less than one-quarter the size of the U.S. would launch a bolt from the blue against the most powerful nation in the world’.”

Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst in the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says,” “China has seen the coronavirus as an opportunity to exploit U.S. weaknesses, and so China might be tempted to resolve territorial disputes through force. I think there’s a real possibility of miscalculation by Beijing in assuming the U.S. won’t or can’t respond militarily.” I think very likely China’s calculations that the U.S. has no will or capability for having a military action would turn out wrong.

Yuan Peng, president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a government-linked think tank in Beijing, drew parallels between the post-coronavirus world and the situation after World War I more than a century ago.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi refuted claims that China was a revisionist power seeking to expand its sphere of influence at the expense of the U.S. He said, “China never intends to challenge or replace the U.S., or have full confrontation with the U.S.”

Any military action between both countries, even in the lowest scale, can totally overshadow world economic condition. The processes ahead for escalation in tension between these two big economic and political powers are so high that each one by itself can be the base for a tumult and strategic mistake between both states. But in this condition, the U.S. economy, with mammoth volume of debts on the shoulders of the U.S. government, shows this country is more fragile than China.

Hence, in this condition the role of the United Nations especially its Secretary General and ultimately the UNSC’s becomes more important and it warns of an unwanted mission. Today with the great danger which is threatening the world and smells the preparations for the Third World War, all joint and united organizations are tasked with responsibility to lessen this huge amount of tension through talks.

The imposed poverty resulted by the downward economic growth because of the Coronavirus pandemic and its compulsory management has today created a global disaster that emergence of the second one like the war between two economic and military superpowers would be something beyond the world’s endurance and all should work together and not to let the course of daily growing bitterness between these two states expand the perils.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

The post U.S.-China War Getting Serious appeared first on Iran News Daily.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

TEHRAN – The remaining signatories to a 2015 Iran nuclear deal say they will do everything possible to preserve the landmark accord following their first meeting since the United States launched an unlawful push to restore United Nations sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The meeting of the Joint Commission to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was co-chaired by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, European External Action Service Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid.

In a post on her Twitter account at the end of the talks, Schmid wrote that it was “important” that the participants — Iran, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China — were “united in resolve to preserve” the nuclear deal.

She added that the parties were also determined to “find a way to ensure full implementation of the agreement despite current challenges.”

All parties to the JCPOA –Iran, Russia, China, the UK, France and Germany- reiterated that the U.S. is not a participant in the nuclear deal and has no right to use the mechanisms embedded in the JCPOA or in the UNSC Resolution 2231, he underlined.

The JCPOA Joint Commission deems that the U.S. government’s anti-Iranian attempts at the UN are illegal, considers as null and void the U.S.’ bid to trigger the snapback mechanism, and believes that Washington’s measures will get nowhere, he added.

“All JCPOA members and the majority of the international community members are opposed to the U.S.’ unilateral policies and its policy of weakening multilateralism, international organizations and multilateral approaches in the international relations. Everybody complains about the measures the U.S. is taking to ruin the international institutions,” Araqchi stated.

He further criticized the inefficiency of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a financial mechanism developed by the three European members of the JCPOA- saying while the channel was supposed to organize trade interaction between Iran and Europe in defiance of the US sanctions, it has fallen far below Iran’s expectations.

The European parties have come up with some ideas to improve the efficiency of the payment channel, Araqchi added, saying one initiative is to allow Russia and China to join the INSTEX and carry financial transactions.

The EU3 has also proposed the idea of increasing the number of INSTEX shareholders and finding new financial resources to fund the channel, the Iranian deputy foreign minister noted.

Speaking after the meeting, Araqchi also said Iran’s JCPOA partners do not recognize the U.S. as a participating side and “do not regard this country as entitled to use the mechanisms of the JCPOA or Resolution 2231.”

“The convergence among the participants sent an important message to the world about the position of the JCPOA’s members,” he said. “This is, of course, the stance of the majority of the international community. The mood at the UN Security Council is also similar.”

“All JCPOA members and the majority of the world community are against America’s unilateral policies and undermining multilateralism and global institutions in international relations. Everyone is complaining about the measures that the US takes to destroy international bodies,” he said.

The Iranian diplomat added that a number of initiatives have been put forward on ways to safeguard the JCPOA against Washington’s unilateralism, adding, “All signatories are determined not to allow the U.S. to impose its own will [on others] and unilaterally kill a deal that has the support of the international community and the Security Council.”

In turn, Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on Twitter that the Vienna meeting “demonstrated that its participants are fully committed to the nuclear deal and are determined to do their best to preserve it.”

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani says the United States is not legally authorized to trigger the so-called “snapback” mechanism to reinstate UN sanctions against Iran.

President n Rouhani said on Wednesday that Washington has pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and, hence, is not legally authorized to invoke the sanctions.

“It is stipulated in that mechanism (snapback) that signatories or one of the signatories to the JCPOA can use this mechanism. However, the U.S. cannot use this mechanism as it has clearly announced that it has pulled out of the JCPOA, and that it is the worst agreement, and has withdrawn from it,” said Rouhani.

He then criticized some people who claim the U.S. would not have been able to withdraw from the JCPOA if the foundation of the agreement were stronger.

“Is there an agreement which the US has not pulled out of?” asked the president rhetorically.

“You are saying that the foundation of the JCPOA was not strong enough, but how about the US withdrawal from the WTO, UNESCO, NAFTA and the Paris Climate Agreement? Was their foundation weak, too? The U.S. has pulled out of whatever useful agreements,” said Rouhani.

He then touched upon sanctions, which, he added, has put Iranian people under pressure, and said, “We are standing up to these sanctions, which will come to an end one day … and the rule of tyrants at the White House will not last forever, either.”

“Economic war is in line with plots hatched by the global arrogance against the country,” Rouhani said speaking at the cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning.

He further said, “We have a very heavy responsibility during the Government Week, like the conspiracies that were plotted against us in the 1970s, and today the global arrogance has plotted against us. At that time, they wanted to overthrow the Islamic system by assassinating the officials. The next day, they pursued this goal with the imposed war and today with the economic war.”

The President called the month of Muharram a large and large school in the world of Shiism and Islam and said: the atmosphere of the country should be Hosseini from the first day of Muharram.

He added, “Once again we are on the eve of the blessed and life-giving month of Muharram. We receive the cultural blessings, trust, and strength of our resistance from the month of Muharram, and always in the month of Muharram, we open the windows of our souls and hearts to the shining sun of guidance and salvation, the Ashura culture, to receive both the light of guidance and the life-giving warmth of that sun.

President Rouhani noted, “The people of Iran witnessed well these days, and on August 19, 1956, the enemy apparently achieved an apparent success that year, but inwardly their path was wrong, but these days, on August 15, 2020, they did not seem to succeed either and they failed in the Security Council”.

“They prepared all this, they sent people and they were begging in different countries and they called, even on the day of the voting, they were constantly pressuring other countries, but they still failed,” he said.

The President said: “I thank the 11 countries that did not vote in the UN Security Council on the plan to extend the arms embargo on Iran, and the two friendly countries – Russia and China – that voted unequivocally against the United States.”

He stated that the U.S. is left alone, the Iranian nation must see this greatness because this victory belongs to the nation and the government is the representative and servant of the people and this event is unprecedented in the history of the United Nations.

The head of the government, stating that strengthening the Islamic Republic is in the interest of all of us, said: Of course, in these special circumstances, we understand and know that the enemy has not achieved and will not achieve its goals with its pressures, but has caused problems and harassed people.

President Rouhani pointed out: “We must stand against the enemy because this period is coming to an end. If anyone in Iran thinks that this regime of the White House and that these oppressive sanctions are permanent, they are both wrong. Both the tyranny of the White House will not last forever and the sanctions will not last forever and the sanctions will break and disappear.”

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IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that the U.S. has targeted Iran’s interests in the region and taken measure to put pressure on Iran’s regional friends.

United States has targeted Iran’s interests in the region, Zarif said in his address to Majlis (Parliament) formal session this morning.

The U.S. anti-Iran measures aim to divide people from the government and undermine the Islamic system, the foreign minister added.

All those measures are concealed behind the “Maximum Pressure” policy the US follows, said Zarif stressing that they have been written on John Bolton’s book.

Zarif further stressed the need to be united and preserve national solidarity.

He called on the national bodies to contribute to the goal of bolstering peace and stability in the region.

Meanwhile, he stressed the importance of fostering better relations with neighbors.

Today, Iran enjoys the best level of relations with Turkey, Russia, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan and some neighbors in southern part of the country, the foreign minister stated.

He referred to his visits to Russia and Turkey almost 20 times, and several other visits to Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan as indication of Iran’s focus on its neighboring cooperation.

About the U.S. policies in the transition period, Zarif said the United States tries to prevent understanding and recognition of new powers taking shape in the global community.

Elsewhere, he talked about the Astana talks on Syria peace process and Iran’s positive role in the process of peace talks.

Iran, Russia and Turkey are the three guarantors of peace in Syria suffering from unrest and terrorist acts since March 2011.

At his remarks, Zarif spoke about ties with Beijing, stressing that there is no secret issue about Iran’s agreement with China.

Whenever the two countries reach any agreement, it will be made public, he added, highlighting transparency about process of drafting the agreement.

Iran’s re-joining Silk Road project is among the important issues of the 25-year agreement between Iran and China, he noted.

Zarif also underlined the need to keep economic pulse strong as the US through economic terrorism has been trying to exert pressure on Iran.

Further, he referred to Iran’s accession to Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as an indication of the priority given to the issue of economy and also economic relations with neighbors.

He also stressed that he had made every effort to reduce the economic pressure and Iran is removing the U.S. dollar from its trade currencies.

Zarif added, “Removing the dollar from Iran’s trade in interaction with some countries will reduce the pressure of sanctions and we will pursue this issue by barter and have some success.”

In the other part of his speech, Zarif, referring to the U.S. efforts to maintain the previous conditions, said, The U.S. trying to securitize the world.”

Noting that the United States has also securitized Corona, the foreign minister added, “The United States treats China as if the Coronavirus is a security development. Although there are some theories that Corona is a security issue on both sides, the United States has its own reasons to securitize it.”

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Head of Iranian Civil Defense Organization described the chemical attacks by Saddam’s regime in the cities of Sardasht and Halabja as a chemical holocaust, saying that European countries that helped Saddam to produce these weapons should be held accountable today.

Speaking at the National Conference on Chemical Defense held in Tehran on Sunday, Brigadier-General Gholam-Reza Jalali said: “Prohibition of the production and stockpiling chemical weapons in the world must have executive requirements.”

“Today we still witness the use of chemical weapons against the people. For example, ISIS used chemical weapons against the Iraqi people, and everyone knows what countries created the terrorist group,” head of Iranian Civil Defense Organization added.

He went on to say that the conventions prohibiting the production and accumulation of chemical weapons are not being implemented, and the United States and European countries are producing and stockpiling them, so an organization like the International Atomic Energy Agency must be set up in the chemical field to prevent this.

The official also criticized the performance of international institutions such as the fact-finding committees for chemical attacks because they do not disclose the behind-the-scenes production and sale of chemical weapons.

General Jalali referred to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution’s fatwa regarding the ban on the production and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and said: “Iran has an economic and defensive approach toward the chemical industry.” The chemical industry is the engine of the country’s economy, and Iran is now one of the hubs of petrochemicals and chemicals, he noted. With an industrial and economic view in this industry, Iran has been able to create jobs in this field, the official concluded.

Meanwhile addressing the ceremony, the senior aide and adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the West and international organizations were silent against the biggest chemical attack in history.

Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi referred to the chemical bombing of Sardasht and Halabja by Saddam’s regime, saying, “Today, the chemical bombing of Halabja is the largest chemical attack in history in terms of geographical area, but at that time the world’s mass media remained silent about this incident and the United States, Europe, and the international organizations showed a green light to it.”

Having 8000 martyrs and 107,000 veterans due to chemical attacks, Iran has been one of the biggest victims of chemical attacks in the world, he noted.

Referring to Iran’s strategies in the face of chemical and microbial threats, former Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) stressed the need to develop infrastructure and use modern technology, strengthen the training sector and build the necessary equipment to deal with this type of threat.

“To better deal with chemical and microbial threats, it is necessary to develop relations with other countries,” General Safavi added.

“In the fight against the coronavirus, Iran has been able to succeed with the role played by the armed forces along with other organizations, and these experiences must be transferred to other countries,” the official concluded.

The National Conference on Chemical Defense was held in Tehran on Sunday on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the chemical attack on Sardasht with the attendance of senior military officials of Iran, including the senior aide and adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi and Head of Iranian Civil Defense Organization Brigadier-General Gholam-Reza Jalali.

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According To Iran News, Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious disease expert, is warning that the country has yet to get through the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak.

“People keep talking about a second wave,” Fauci said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. “We’re still in a first wave.”

The comments arrived as pockets of the US experience surges in new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.

California, Texas, Arizona and Florida are among states reporting consistent increases in case counts. In Texas, health authorities on Tuesday registered the state’s highest number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

US President Donald Trump and Vice President Pence have cast the increase as largely a product of an uptick in the nation’s testing capacity. Pence wrote in an op-ed earlier Tuesday that the media’s coverage of a “second wave” was “overblown,” arguing that the administration’s approach “has been a success.”

But Fauci told the Journal that higher percentages of positive tests in some states “cannot be explained by increased testing.”

He also pointed to people’s behavior, saying that it’s “very risky” to congregate in places such as bars when “the location they are (in) indicates they shouldn’t be doing that.”

In a separate radio interview, Fauci, a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, said that a combination of individual behavior and states relaxing health restrictions too soon was responsible for some of the increases.

“States may say they’re in this particular stage, but then you might find people are not adhering to the guidelines,” he told NPR. “That’s clearly increasing the risk and likely explaining some of the upticks you’re seeing.”

The US has reported more than 2.1 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 116,000 deaths caused by it, according to a Johns Hopkins University database.

Fauci indicated earlier this month that the White House task force continued to do “substantial” work, but he said Tuesday that his last meeting with Trump came two weeks ago, when he and other health experts informed the president of vaccine development efforts.

Like Pence, Trump has repeatedly touted the nation’s testing capacity, something it struggled with at the outset of the outbreak, as the reason for the recent rise in cases.

Trump, who is planning to host a campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday, told reporters on Monday that “if we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any.”

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill about Fauci’s latest remarks.

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According To Iran News, The UN human rights body will hold an urgent debate on allegations of “systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests” in the United States on Wednesday.

According to a released statement, the decision by the UN Human Rights Council followed a request last week by Burkina Faso on behalf of African countries.

In the past recent weeks, the US Police have killed two people of color, George Floyd in Minneapolis and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.

Their death, a poignant reminder of repeated unjustifiable killings of members of the African-American community by the US police, has been followed by protests across the country.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in his live speech to the Iranian nation on June 3, said the “I can’t breathe” slogan used by the American people today is taking the words out of the mouth of all nations that the US has oppressed.

America is falling into disgrace due to their own behavior, he said, also pointing to American officials’ mismanagement of the coronavirus outbreak. Despite the fact that the US was infected with the virus later than others, US officials’ failed to use other countries’ experiences and the result was many times more fatalities, he said.

Despite all their crimes, Americans still pretend to back human rights, added the leader, noting “it is as if that black man was not a human”.

The American nation is feeling embarrassed for its government and they have the right to feel so, he said.

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