**IRAN DAILY
– Iran’s Javanmardi out of Asian Para Games for ‘personal issues’
Iranian para shooting sensation Sareh Javanmardi will not take part in October’s Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, due to “personal issues”, said the president of the Iranian Sports Federation for the Disabled.
Speaking to ISNA, Mohammad-Shervin Asbaqian did not provide further details on the matter but said: “Javanmardi is carrying on with preparation ahead of the upcoming qualifying events for the 2024 Paralympics as she remains focused on success in Paris.”
– What is the main obstacle to improving relations between Tehran and Cairo?
Nowadays, the issue of improving relations between Iran and Egypt is discussed at various political levels and has become the focus of observers and analysts. The latest case in point on such comments could be considered as the Baghdad II Conference held in Amman, the capital of Jordan, and the announcement made by Baghdad regarding its readiness to host a dialogue between Tehran and Cairo.
Abdallah al-Ash’al, former deputy foreign minister of Egypt, who attended the third Tehran Dialogue Forum, introduced the United States and Israel as the main obstacles to warmer relations between Tehran and Cairo.
Yet it seems that relations between the two countries should be looked at and analyzed from another perspective.
– VP: Construction of INSTC, gov’t’s policy
Iranian vice president for political affairs reacting to rumors on Caspian Sea developments, emphasized that Iran’s interests are fully secured. Mohammad Jamshidi addedthat the construction of the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC) is our government’s policy, IRNA reported.
Reacting to the rumors, Jamshidi wrote on his website, “It is the Islamic Republic of Iran government’s policy to construct the North-South Corridor both for transit and for energy transfer objectives.”
**KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
– Kazakhstan, Iran Stress Expanding Annual Trade to $3bn
Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Iran and Kazakhstan Amir Abedi said that Tehran and Astana eye increasing annual bilateral trade to $3 billion.
“One of the topics we discussed was the issue of transit and logistics and the Kazakh side’s investment in the south of the country in Bandar Abbas,” the Abedi said in an interview with national Iranian TV on Thursday after the two countries held their 18th round of the joint economic commission, which started in the Kazakh.
The Iranian economic official added that “as regards banking issues, there were good talks and agreements were made between the two countries.”
– Iraq’s Justified Move to Execute Takfiri Terrorists
Iraq is to hang some 14 notorious terrorists involved in the massacre of 1,700 soldiers in 2014 when the macabrely murderous US-created, Saudi-funded, and Zionist-armed Takfiri heretics had seized Tikrit.
The victims who were mostly young recruits kidnapped from Camp Speicher were shot in cold blood after being lined up with hands tied behind their backs.
As borne out by videos and photos the Takfiris used to load scores of soldiers onto trucks, forcing them to lie face down and opening fire on them. Many were dragged to the edge of the Tigris River and thrown into the water on being shot in the heads.
– Zob Ahan Down Beirut Club at WASL West Asia League
Iranian basketball club Zob Ahan 79-72 have defeated Lebanon’s Beirut Club in WASL-West Asia. Farid Aslani Haji Abadi led Zob Ahan with 16 points, and Ken Horton scored 19 points for Beirut Club.
Zob Ahan had lost to Beirut Club 73-56 in their previous match, Tehran Times reported.
Each Sub-Zone league consists of eight (8) teams divided into two (2) groups of four (4). Each team will play the other team at home and away.
**TEHRAN TIMES
– Astana hosts 18th Iran-Kazakhstan Joint Economic Committee meeting
The 18th meeting of Iran-Kazakhstan Joint Economic Committee meeting was held on Thursday in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, at the end of which the two sides signed a comprehensive document to expand cooperation in numerous areas including trade, agriculture, environment, tourism, science, and technology, education and sports. As IRIB reported, the two countries’ Joint Economic Committee meeting was co-chaired by Iranian Agriculture Minister Javad Sadati-Nejad and Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov.
Sadati-Nejad and Smailov held talks before the two countries’ joint meeting to discuss major areas that should be agreed upon in the event’s concluding document.
– Tehran, Yerevan to form joint working group on health
Iran and Armenia will set up a joint working group with the aim of boosting relations in the health sector. In a meeting in Tehran, Iranian Health Minister Bahram Einollahi and Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan discussed ways to expand ties in areas related to health.
On the sidelines of the meeting that was held on January 22, Einollahi said relations between Iran and Armenia have a long cultural and historical background.
– Shah Abbasi caravanserai handed over to ministry of tourism
A Shah Abbasi caravanserai in Semnan, used as a prison over the past four decades, has been handed over to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts. After years of waiting, and upon the order of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Shah Abbasi Caravanserai of Semnan was finally delivered to the ministry of tourism, CHTN quoted Semnan’s Governor-General Seyyed Mohammadreza Hashemi as saying on Friday.
This caravanserai was at the disposal of the Prisons Organization for many years, the official said.
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