** Iran Daily
-- Leader: Enemy seeking to polarize Iranian nation
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the enemy has always sought to polarize the Iranian nation, calling on the country’s student community to adhere to the principles of realism in its demands.
Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks on Tuesday in an address to a group of university students and campaigners of student movements, according to Press TV.
“Student activities should not polarize the student community and the country. Polarization is the will of the enemy. Students’ demands must be accompanied by realism and providing scientific and practical solutions,” the Leader said.
-- Iran, Oman condemn Israeli aggression against Palestinians
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi on Wednesday strongly condemned the Israeli aggression and “barbaric crimes” against “defenseless” Palestinians during the fasting month of Ramadan as he spoke with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman on the phone.
The Sultan of Oman also condemned Israel’s actions, particularly its desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and vowed to continue advocating the legal rights of the Palestinians.
-- Pakistan welcomes Iran-Saudi Arabia détente
Pakistan welcomed restoration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar in a meeting with Iran’s Ambassador to Islamabad Seyyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini on Tuesday said Pakistan is the happiest country in the world in this regard, according to Mehr news agency.
** Kayhan International
-- Russia Calls for Joint Front Against Western Sanctions
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for independent countries to “join forces” against the “blackmail” of Western sanctions, as the longtime diplomat continued his tour of Latin America.
Discussing the war in Ukraine with Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil here, Lavrov referred to allies Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua as countries “that choose their own path.”
All are, like Russia, the subject of damaging economic sanctions, he said.
“It is necessary to join forces to counter the attempts of blackmail and illegal unilateral pressure of the West,” Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Gil.
-- Army, IRGC Reiterate Solidarity to Protect Iran
The commanders of the Iranian army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps on Wednesday underlined the unshakable solidarity and coordination between their forces in ensuring Iran’s security and foiling hostile plots and threats.
IRGC commander Major General Hussein Salami and a number of other senior IRGC generals met Army chief Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi on the occasion of the National Army Day.
Salami described the IRGC and the army as two sturdy pillars of Iran’s defense power, saying the two forces’ integrity, solidarity, unity, cordial interaction and unbreakable fraternity signify the Islamic Republic’s great military power that paves the way for victory over the enemies.
-- Islamic Jihad Warns Zionists Against Letting Hunger-Striking Palestinian Prisoner Die
The Zionist regime will pay the price if Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan dies while in detention, an Islamic Jihad official has warned.
“Israel is fully responsible for the life of the captive Khader Adnan,” the movement’s national relations head, Khaled al-Batsh, said in a statement.
Adnan has been on a hunger strike for 74 days in protest against his arbitrary detention by the Zionist regime. His lawyer said that his strike was “threatening his life.”
The 44-year-old, from the town of Arraba, in the northern West Bank district of Jenin, was detained on 5 February and immediately went on hunger strike in protest against his illegal detention.
** Tehran Times
-- Iran has never left negotiating table: Raisi
President Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi has said that Iran has never left the negotiating table to revive the JCPOA – the 2015 nuclear deal -but it sought to neutralize economic sanctions.
Speaking on Tuesday evening in a cordial meeting with clerics, Friday prayer imams and groups and young elites of seminary students, Raisi said the government is determined to solve the problems with a plan and relying on the internal power, the will of the nation, the blood of the martyrs and the considerable increase and strong presence of the people in the Feb. 11 demonstrations and Quds Day this year as the elements of production of power for the country, according to a readout by the official website of the Iranian presidency.
-- Official says foes misusing Ukrainian plane tragedy
Mohammad Dehghan, Iran’s Vice-President for Legal Affairs, has decried some countries for misusing the Ukrainian plane issue as a pretext to harbor hostility toward Iran.
Speaking on a TV show on Tuesday, he said “no wise person believes the 2020 plane tragedy happened on purpose.”
A verdict was handed down by an Iranian military court to those responsible for shooting down the Ukrainian passenger airliner.
Dehghan said the verdict will undoubtedly have a worldwide impact because certain nations have unfairly abused the accident.
-- Iran’s annual export to Iraq increases 15%
The value of Iran’s export to Iraq increased by 15 percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20), an official with Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) announced.
Farzad Piltan, the director-general of TPO’s Office of West Asian Countries, said that based on the data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran exported commodities worth over $10 billion to its neighbor in the previous year.
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