Irandaily | No. 4401 | National

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Navy Ready to Extend Presence to Atlantic Ocean

Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari has expressed the readiness of Iranian naval forces to extend their presence to international waters, including the Atlantic Ocean, to protect the Islamic Republic’s interests.
“In order to protect the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran and establish security for our country’s trade vessels and oil tankers in free and international waters, we are ready to extend our presence in these areas and even in the Atlantic Ocean,” Press TV quoted Sayyari as saying on Sunday.
He added that Iran’s presence in the Atlantic Ocean would be in accordance with international regulations and would take place if Iran deems it necessary. He emphasized that Iran’s Navy enjoys high capabilities to extend its presence in the high seas ‘to convey the message of peace and friendship to friendly and brotherly countries in the region and other countries around the world’.
The commander pointed to the country’s efforts to fight piracy and noted that the Islamic Republic was among the first countries to dispatch fleets to areas such as the Gulf of Aden to maintain the security of connecting routes and Iranian trade vessels and oil tankers.
Sayyari noted that the fleets of Iran’s Navy succeeded in playing a very effective role in improving global security and fighting marine terrorism.
He further said that all the equipment of Iran’s Navy has been designed and manufactured according to modern state-of-the-art technologies, adding, “This is why we have a strong presence in the high seas.”
Iran’s Navy has been increasing its naval presence in international waters since last year.
In addition, in line with international efforts to combat piracy, the Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to protect vessels involved in maritime trade, especially ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.

EU Foreign Policy Based on Washington’s Diktat

Senior official Ali Akbar Velayati has described the European Union as a puppet of the United States as it follows Washington’s instructions on its foreign policy.
“The European Union has no independence in its foreign policy,” the senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Sunday.
“The Eastern and Central Europe joined the NATO after separating from the former Soviet Union and NATO obeys the US,” Press TV quoted Velayati as saying.
Describing the revolutionaries in the Middle East and North Africa as holding Islamic views, Velayati said they would play a role in any possible future developments.
“It is obvious from the people’s votes and slogans that individuals with Islamic views will play a major role in regional developments,” he added.

Diversion of Islamic Awakening
Referring to the ongoing unrest in Syria, Velayati said the new and old imperialism seek to divert the current of the Islamic Awakening.
“In Syria, people took to the streets in pursuit of reforms but the westerners got Al-Qaeda involved in popular movements,” Velayati added.
On December 11, President Barack Obama said the US would recognize the opposition coalition in Syria as the legitimate representative of Syrians.
The UK, France, Turkey, and the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council earlier recognized the militants fighting against the Syrian government.
Syria has been the scene of unrest since March 2011 and tens of thousands of people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the turmoil.
The Syrian government says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country.
Damascus blames western countries and some of their regional allies including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey of arming the opposition and fueling the crisis in the country, as reports indicate that a large number of insurgents fighting the Syrian government are foreign nationals.
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said in August that the country is engaged in a ‘crucial and heroic’ battle that will determine the destiny of the nation.
Iran has repeatedly rejected foreign intervention in Syria’s internal affairs, calling for national dialog as the only way out of the country’s prolonged impasse.

Tehran-Beijing Ties, A Factor in Strengthening Asia Peace

Iranian lawmaker Hossein Sobhaninia described the relations between the Islamic Republic and China as an important factor in strengthening peace and stability in Asia.
“The two countries [of Iran and China] have vast capacities and potentials to expand cooperation in the fields of tourism, energy, building roads and railways as well as investing in various fields of industrial technologies,” Sobhaninia said on Saturday.
The lawmaker made the remarks in a meeting with Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Bai Lichen in Tehran, ICANA reported.
“Close parliamentarian cooperation between the two countries will provide the necessary ground for expanding all-out ties and overcoming obstacles on the way of expanding relations,” Sobhaninia added.
“This cooperation will be conducive to strengthening peace and accelerating progress in the region,” he said.
Bai, for his part, said China attaches great importance to expanding economic, political and industrial relations with Iran.
Iran is currently China’s third largest supplier of crude, providing Beijing with roughly 12 percent of its total annual oil consumption--nearly one million barrels per day.
Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said in September that Tehran was prepared to increase annual trade with China to $100 billion.
In July, member of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce and Industries Yaqoub Estilaf said that the total value of annual trade exchanges between the two countries currently stands above $45 billion. Describing Iran as China’s second trade-economic partner in the Middle East, Bai said the two countries have many capacities and opportunities to increase the volume of their trade.

Canada Bans Futile
Elsewhere, Sobhaninia said the anti-Iran sanctions imposed by Canada will not block Iran’s path to progress and self-sufficiency.
“Anti-Iran bans [imposed] by Canada and similar measures will not affect Iran’s march [toward progress]...and will [only] strengthen the Iranian nation’s resolve to achieve independence and self-sufficiency,” Sobhaninia, a member of Iran Majlis Presiding Board, said on Friday.
Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird announced on December 11 that Ottawa has imposed new sanctions on Iranian oil, gas, mining, metals and shipping sectors.
Sobhaninia noted that the Canadian government’s move is a reaction to its political failures and Iran’s strong stance against global arrogance and hegemony. “Such comments against Iran are usual by the United States, Britain, the Zionist regime [of Israel] and their allies such as Canada which show their hostile position [against Iran],” he added.
The lawmaker further pointed out that the western countries have admitted that they have never been able to bring the Iranian nation to its knees by imposing and aggravating sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program with Washington and the European Union using the false allegation as pretext to impose illegal unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
In the latest move, Washington on Thursday imposed fresh sanctions on seven Iranian companies and five nuclear experts for contributing to the country’s nuclear energy program.
The bans prohibit all kinds of transactions by American entities with designated Iranian firms and persons. Iran rejects the allegation over its nuclear energy program and argues that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

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