Tehran, Iran, Sept. 4

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An Iranian man was taken to hospital after trying to set himself on fire in front of Tehran municipality in a potential protest against the deteriorating economic situation in the country.

The young man immolated himself, using fossil fuel, in front of the building of Tehran municipality on Tuesday morning regardless of people and police officers’ warnings and screams, ISNA news agency reported.

His two children and colleague were also next to him during the incident.

He was taken to hospital soon after the suicide attempt.

Follow Trend on Telegram. Only most interesting and important news</s>TEHRAN, Sep. 05(MNA) – The head of City Council of Tehran Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani paid a visit to Mehr News Agency headquarters in the center of the Iranian capital.</s>The northern neighbourhood, which is located at an altitude of 1,612 metres above sea level, has a cold climate thanks to its proximity to Alborz Mountain range.

During the Qajar period, Tehran was chosen as the capital of Iran, and Tajrish became the summer resort of the citizens. Many of aristocrats built gardens there for their summer residence.

There are several Qanats in Tajrish district, and some of them still have water supplies. As people moved from other parts of the country to Tehran and its suburbs, some of them settled in Tajrish. As a result, Tajrish became a part of the city and was not a sheer summer resort anymore.

Today, the only thing left from the old Tajrish neighbourhood is its traditional market and several houses next to Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine.

Tajrish Square, located at the end of Tehran’s Vali-e Asr Avenue, is one of the city’s busiest commercial centres.

The old market, the great Tajrish Tekyeh (a place where Shiites gather for mourning of Muharram) and Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine are among the most beautiful attractions of this neighbourhood.

What follows are Tehran Picture Agency’s photos of the neighbourhood:</s>The Turkish government has handed over Iranian opposition journalist Arash Sohashargh to the Tehran regime, according to a report by online news outlet Artı Gerçek.

Columnist Yıldız Candan wrote for Artı Gerçek that Sohashargh, who was accused by Tehran of opposing the regime and who sought asylum in Turkey last year, is being held in a prison in Gilan province. Candan said Sohashargh had been followed by Iranian intelligence, citing the jailed journalist’s family members.

According to Candan’s article, Sohashargh’s family became alarmed when he went missing in the Turkish province of Van in February 2018 despite the fact that the Iranian journalist was under the protection of the United Nations. “If these allegations are true, then there was unlawful cooperation between Turkey and Iran with regard to the extradition of an opposition member,’’ Candan noted.

Iran is accused of the arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists’ family members and the confiscation of passports and travel bans preventing people from leaving Iran as well as the ongoing surveillance of journalists and their families.

Meanwhile, Turkish police on Monday physically prevented pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputies from laying a black wreath in front of the Embassy of Iran in Ankara to protest the imminent execution of Kurdish prisoner Ramin Hossein Panahi.

During an ensuing scuffle, police manhandled HDP deputy Filiz Kerestecioğlu, who wanted to make a statement and grabbed a banner another woman was carrying, according to a report by Kurdistan 24. Police forcefully dispersed the group and also arrested four people who were participating in the demonstration against Panahi’s expected execution, beating one to the ground.

In a statement made by the HDP, Kerestecioglu said the conduct of the Turkish police meant Ankara supported the Tehran government’s policy of executing political prisoners. Appearing along with deputies Saliha Aydeniz and Dirayet Taşdemir, she condemned both states.

“This is the approval of oppression, fascism and capital punishment. They [Turkish authorities] only know how to attack. We do not know what kind of dirty bargains they have with Iran. But we, as deputies, know very well the right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the law,” she said.

An Iranian court in Kurdistan Province sentenced Panahi to death earlier this year for taking up arms against the state.

The HDP’s co-leader Pervin Buldan and Sezai Temelli, meanwhile, for the second time in two months, penned a letter to Iran’s Ambassador Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian Fard, urging his country to halt the carrying out of Panahi’s death sentence.

“If Israel were ever to announce it was going to execute a young Arab man, these low-lives would bring the sky down,” Botan tweeted.

On Monday Panahi’s brother, Amjad Hossein Panahi, said Iranian authorities could carry out the execution within 48 hours.

Turkey is ranked 157th among 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). If Turkey falls two more places, it will make it to the list of countries on the blacklist, which have the poorest record in press freedom.

Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by SCF show that 237 journalists and media workers were in jail as of September 2, 2018, most in pretrial detention. Of those in prison 169 were under arrest pending trial while only 68 journalists have been convicted and are serving their time. Detention warrants are outstanding for 145 journalists who are living in exile or remain at large in Turkey.

Detaining tens of thousands of people over alleged links to the Gülen movement, the government also closed down some 200 media outlets, including Kurdish news agencies and newspapers, after a coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.</s>Iran’s rial has fallen to a record low as worried residents of Tehran queued up outside beleaguered money changers.

The currency has seen a staggering 140% drop in value since America pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal only four months ago.

Those who went to work at the start of the Iranian week on Saturday saw their money shed a quarter of its value by the time they left the office on Wednesday.

Signs of the currency chaos can be seen everywhere in Tehran, where travel agents offer holiday prices only in hard currency and nappies have disappeared from store shelves – something acknowledged by the supreme leader.

Many exchange shops in Tehran simply turned off their electronic signs showing the current rate for the US dollar, while some Iranians who want hard currency sought out informal money traders on street corners.

Exchange shops that remained open offered 150,000 rials to the US dollar.

Iran’s economy has faced troubled times in the past, whether from the shah overspending on military arms in the 1970s or the Western sanctions following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and US embassy takeover.

Drastic fluctuations in oil prices have also taken a toll.

This time, however, the currency has crashed along with hope many felt following the 2015 nuclear deal Iran struck with world powers, including the administration of then-US president Barack Obama.

Iran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions. The West had feared Iran would use its nuclear material to build atomic bombs, while Tehran has always insisted its activities are purely peaceful.

In May, despite the United Nations repeatedly acknowledging Iran had lived up to the terms of the deal, US president Donald Trump withdrew America from the accord.

Shortages of essential goods have been acknowledged by Iranian leaders (AP)

He said he wanted stricter conditions placed on Iran that included limiting its ballistic missile programme, curtailing its regional influence and forever limiting its nuclear activities.

While European nations say they want the deal to continue, America’s enormous influence in global financial markets led oil companies and aeroplane manufacturers to quickly withdraw from working in the country.

Harsher sanctions loom in early November, including those targeting Iran’s oil industry, a key source of hard currency.

The Trump administration denies it is seeking to overthrow Iran’s government through economic pressure, but Iranian officials say the link is clear.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, called the US moves economic “sabotage” this past weekend, and specifically mentioned the nappy shortage. Some 70% of material for disposal diapers is imported. As the rial falls, it makes purchasing the material from abroad more expensive.

“Imagine that in Tehran or other major cities, baby diapers suddenly become scarce. This is happening, this is real, this is not make-believe,” Khamenei said, according to a transcript on his official website.

In making a direct reference to nappies, he said: “This makes people angry. On the other side, the enemy wants people to be angry with the government and system. This is one of their ways.”</s>Baku. 31 August. REPORT.AZ / Kremlin confirmed the preparations for the summit of the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran to be held in Tehran on September 7, that in the framework, a bilateral meeting of the Russian and Turkish leaders will be held in particular. .

Report informs citing the TASS, the press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

Earlier it was reported that the trilateral summit may take place on September 7 in another Iranian city - Tabriz.

"We received information from the Iranian side that they again returned to the variant of Tehran, so the trilateral meeting is being prepared in Tehran," Peskov added.

He also confirmed the information of the Turkish side that within framework of the summit, the presidents of Russia and Turkey - Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will hold a separate meeting, during which they will discuss "traditional issues".</s>Tehran, Sep 5 (IANS) Six construction workers were killed in a crane crash accident in Iran’s capital Tehran on Tuesday evening, official IRNA news agency reported.

The crane had been installed in a construction site in the Chitgar district to the west of Tehran where the workers were busy working, the spokesperson for the firefighting department of Tehran municipality told IRNA.

Seyyed Jalal Maleki said that the firefighters working to rescue the other people were injured in the crash accident.

The cause of incident is under investigation, the report said.</s>Iran’s rial has fallen to a record low as worried residents of Tehran queued up outside beleaguered money changers.

The currency has seen a staggering 140% drop in value since America pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal only four months ago.

Those who went to work at the start of the Iranian week on Saturday saw their money shed a quarter of its value by the time they left the office on Wednesday.

Signs of the currency chaos can be seen everywhere in Tehran, where travel agents offer holiday prices only in hard currency and nappies have disappeared from store shelves – something acknowledged by the supreme leader.

Many exchange shops in Tehran simply turned off their electronic signs showing the current rate for the US dollar, while some Iranians who want hard currency sought out informal money traders on street corners.

Exchange shops that remained open offered 150,000 rials to the US dollar.

Iran’s economy has faced troubled times in the past, whether from the shah overspending on military arms in the 1970s or the Western sanctions following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and US embassy takeover.

Drastic fluctuations in oil prices have also taken a toll.

This time, however, the currency has crashed along with hope many felt following the 2015 nuclear deal Iran struck with world powers, including the administration of then-US president Barack Obama.

Iran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions. The West had feared Iran would use its nuclear material to build atomic bombs, while Tehran has always insisted its activities are purely peaceful.

In May, despite the United Nations repeatedly acknowledging Iran had lived up to the terms of the deal, US president Donald Trump withdrew America from the accord.</s>Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday of planning to "abuse" the presidency of the U.N. Security Council to criticise Tehran, Washington's arch-foe.

DUBAI: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday of planning to "abuse" the presidency of the U.N. Security Council to criticise Tehran, Washington's arch-foe.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Tuesday that Trump would chair a U.N. Security Council meeting on Iran this month to spotlight its "violations of international law" during the annual gathering of world leaders in New York.

"He plans to abuse presidency of SC (Security Council) to divert a session ... to blame Iran for horrors US & clients have unleashed across M.E. (Middle East) #chutzpah," Zarif wrote in his tweet.

Trump in May withdrew from Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers which is aimed at stalling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities in return for lifting some sanctions, and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions suspended under the deal.

European powers have been scrambling to salvage the accord, but the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said Tehran would relaunch its nuclear programme at a higher level than previously if the nuclear agreement collapsed.

"We are far more advanced than at the time of agreeing to the nuclear deal," spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted as saying by the state broadcaster IRIB.

"And we will never be able to return to the previous level of nuclear activity if we go out to the next, but we will step into more advanced levels," Kamalvandi said.

Tehran has also warned that it might quit a treaty designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons if the agreement is abandoned.

In Washington, Trump said on Wednesday he remained open to the possibility of talks between Washington and Tehran, but said Iran was in turmoil and struggling to survive.

The United States, which holds the Security Council presidency for September, has unsuccessfully pushed the council to call out Iran. Haley has regularly attacked Iran, accusing it of meddling in the wars in Syria and Yemen.

Haley said on Tuesday that Trump was chairing the Security Council meeting "to address Iran’s violations of international law and the general instability Iran sows throughout the entire Middle East region."

"There's only one UNSC resolution on Iran. .@realDonaldTrump is violating it & bullying others to do same," Zarif wrote on Twitter.

Iran is still subject to a U.N. arms embargo and other restrictions contained in the resolution, which enshrines the nuclear deal.

In February, Russia vetoed a U.S.-led bid for the Security Council to call out Tehran for failing to prevent its weapons from falling into the hands of Yemen’s Houthi group, a charge Tehran denies.</s>DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran on Saturday rejected a Reuters report that Tehran has moved missiles to Iraq, saying it aimed to hurt Iran’s ties with neighbours, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Twitter he was “deeply concerned” by the reports that Iran was transferring ballistic missiles into Iraq. He urged Iraqi leaders to quickly form a new government after a May 12 parliamentary election.

“Such false and ridiculous news have no purpose other than affecting Iran’s foreign relations, especially with its neighbours,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said, according to IRNA.

Iranian, Iraqi and Western sources told Reuters that Iran has given ballistic missiles to Shi’ite proxies in Iraq and is developing the capacity to build more there.

“This news is solely aimed at creating fears in the countries of the region,” Qassemi added.

Pompeo, in his tweet on the reports of the transfer of the missiles, said, “If true, this would be a gross violation of Iraqi sovereignty and of UNSCR 2231.”

He was referring to U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which underpinned the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal earlier this year and his administration is currently reimposing sanctions against Tehran.

Earlier, Pompeo spoke by phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi “to reaffirm U.S. support for Iraq’s efforts to form a modern, nationalist Iraqi government,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

Pompeo emphasized the importance of safeguarding Iraq’s sovereignty during this critical time, she said.

He also spoke to Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi to discuss political developments and relations between Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in north Iraq, Nauert added.

Any sign that Iran is preparing a more aggressive missile policy in Iraq will exacerbate tensions between Tehran and Washington, already heightened by Trump’s decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal.

It would also embarrass France, Germany and Britain, the three European signatories to the nuclear deal, as they have been trying to salvage the agreement despite the new U.S. sanctions against Tehran.

According to three Iranian officials, two Iraqi intelligence sources and two Western intelligence sources, Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to allies in Iraq over the last few months. Five of the officials said it was helping those groups to start making their own.
An Iranian man attempts self-immolation in front of the Tehran city hall.