*** IRANDAILY
-- Former Palestinian ambassador to Iran Zawawi dies at 85
Palestine’s former ambassador to Iran, Salah al-Zawawi, passed away at a hospital in Tehran on Monday at the age of 85. The Palestinian Embassy in Tehran announced the former diplomat’s passing in a statement, saying he died of an illness, according to ISNA.
Zawawi brought to an end four decades of diplomatic mission, starting in 1980, in the Islamic Republic in early January 2022. He was one of the founding members of the Fatah political party, and the second Palestinian ambassador to Tehran since the victory of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
-- EU pursuing Trump’s failed sanctions policy against Iran: FM
Iran’s foreign minister censured the European Union’s new round of sanctions on the Islamic Republic, saying the 27-member bloc is sticking to former US president Donald Trump’s “ineffectual” policy of sanctions against Tehran.
In a telephone conversation with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian slammed Brussels’ “overused and obsolete” policy regarding Iran.
-- Iran categorically rejects Western claim of enriching uranium above 60%
Iran categorically rejected a report by Western media that it has enriched uranium to levels above 60 percent purity, saying the country’s nuclear facilities have never enriched uranium above that level.
The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi made the remarks in reaction to a report by Bloomberg that claimed “the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is trying to clarify how Iran accumulated uranium enriched to 84 percent purity.
** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
-- Iran Denies Enriching Uranium Above 60%
Iran on Monday denied reports that it has enriched uranium up to 84 percent, describing the claims as “slander” and a “distortion of the facts”.
“The presence of a particle or particles of uranium above 60 percent in the enrichment process does not mean enrichment above 60 percent,” the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesman Behruz Kamalvandi said.
The existence of such particles is a totally normal issue in the course of uranium enrichment and could happen even when the feedstock entering centrifuge cascades decreased momentarily, he said.
-- CBI Official: Iranian Banks No Longer Need SWIFT
Iranian Central Bank deputy governor Mohsen Karimi has said that all banks of Russia and a number banks have been connected to Iran’s financial telecommunications system, obviating the need for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).
All Iran-China banking agreements sigend during Presidnent Raeisi’s visit to Beijing are confidential, Karimi told reporters, noting that this is because it’s publication will cause challenges in its realization.
-- Iran’s ‘Beyond the Wall’ Screened at Geneva Human Rights
Iranian movie ‘Beyond the Wall’ is scheduled to vie at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.
The film directed and written by Vahid Jalilvand will represent Iran at the 21st edition of the event.
The film is about a blind man whose suicide attempt is interrupted by his building’s concierge who informs him of an escaped woman’s hideout in the building. It becomes the blind man’s goal to help her.
** TEHRAN TIMES
-- ACL: Ansari strike takes Iran's Foolad through
Foolad of Iran defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Faisaly 1-0 in the AFC Champions League 2022 (West) Round of 16 on Monday.
Sasan Ansari scored the only goal of the match in the 64th minute in Doha’s Al Thumama Stadium.
The team, headed by Javad Nekounam, are only Iranian team to compete in the ACL after Persepolis, Esteghlal and Gol Gohar were barred from competing in the season after failing to complete the required licensing criteria on time.
-- Fajr Music Festival honors songwriter Hamid Shahangian
Songwriter and musician Hamid Shahangian, best known for the anthem “Khomeini, Oh Imam!”, was honored on Sunday by the 38th Fajr Music Festival.He received an award from Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili at Tehran’s Arasbaran Cultural Center.
Shahangian was also presented with a portrait of himself done by Ali Minai. The honoring ceremony was held on the sidelines of the anthem competition, which has been organized at the festival for the first time.
-- Shiraz’s cultural identity preserved by its people, ICOM chairman says
The cultural identity of Shiraz, the capital of the southern province of Fars, has been preserved by its people, the Chairman of the National Committee of Iranian Museums (ICOM) has said.
It has been the people of Shiraz who have protected the cultural identity of the city throughout history, Mehr quoted Seyyed Ahmad Mohit Tabatabai as saying on Monday.
When several Iranian cities during the Mongol invasion of Iran in the 13th century were destroyed forever, the people of Shiraz tried to protect their city, historical monuments, and cultural heritage, which they did very well, he added.
“Their efforts have resulted in what we have today as our cultural heritage,” he noted.
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