Iran Daily

Le Drian: France to strive to keep JCPOA alive
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday that Paris will do its best to keep the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers alive.

Louvre brings �unprecedented� show to Tehran
Journalists flooded Iran�s National Museum on Monday for the arrival of more than 50 artworks from the Louvre � the first major show by a Western museum in the country�s history.

Oscar winners announced
�The Shape of Water�, a whimsical science-fiction fable set during the Cold War, won best picture at an Academy Awards fueled by stirring calls for a more inclusive Hollywood.

Amano: Collapse of Iran deal would be �great loss�
Any collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers would be a �great loss�, the head of the UN atomic agency policing the accord said on Monday, alluding to a US threat to pull out of it.

Eurosceptic parties surge in Italy vote, but no majority
Two populist and stridently anti-European Union political groups � both fierce rivals � surged in Italy�s parliamentary election at the expense of the country�s traditional powers, but neither gained enough support to govern alone, preliminary results showed Monday.

Visiting South Korean delegation meets North Korean leader Kim
A South Korean delegation met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday, a South Korean official said, after arriving in the North on a visit aimed at encouraging North Korea and the United States to talk.

Zarif criticizes EU �extremism� towards Tehran
Iran�s foreign minister slammed the European Union for �extremism� in relationship to Tehran in an interview published Monday ahead of a meeting with his French counterpart.

Iran, Turkey emphasize expansion of parliamentary ties
Iran and Turkey underlined that expansion of parliamentary ties can help Tehran and Ankara improve their relations.

Media playing unique role in empowering society in face of crises
The media play an important and unique role in time of crises in empowering the society to accompany and assist the people and promote empathy, said the managing director of the Islamic Republic News Agency.

Tehran Times

Transit of goods via Iran up 20% in 11 months
Based on the latest data released by Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, transit of goods via maritime and land borders from March 21, 2017 to February 19, 2018 has witnessed an increase of 20 percent in comparison with the same time in the preceding year.

�Iran can resume nuclear enrichment to 20% purity in 2 days�
Behrooz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on Monday that Tehran can resume enriching uranium to the purity of 20 percent in less than two days.

Militants agree to allow civilians to leave Ghouta: Russia
Russia says militants based in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta have promised to allow civilians to leave the enclave as Syrian troops are in the midst of an operation to drive out terrorists.

Saudi-led blockade on Qatar falling apart
Senegal reinstated its ambassador to Qatar in August 2017 in a bid to encourage the resolution of a dispute between Saudi Arabia and its allies against Doha.

Hariri expresses hope for a female prime minister
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri Monday expressed his hope that a woman would one day hold the premiership in Lebanon, noting that this would be an achievement for the country.

Students protest French FM�s remarks
A number of students gathered in front of the Foreign Ministry in downtown Tehran on Monday to voice their protest against France over anti-Iran comments by its Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who held talks with a number of Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday.

Amano: JCPOA collapse would be a �great loss for multilateralism�
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukio Amano said on Monday that collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,
would be a �great loss for nuclear verification and for multilateralism�.

Iran to Le Drian: Missiles are for deterrence
In separate meetings with the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Tehran on Monday, Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif insisted on Iran�s long-held policy that Tehran�s missile program is defensive.

Iran dismisses media reports on CTBTO�s monitoring of nuclear installations
The Iranian foreign ministry rejected as �unreal� the media reports claiming that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which oversees a global ban on nuclear test explosions, is monitoring the country�s nuclear activities.

Zarif criticizes Europe for trying to please Trump
Any measure to please any country which has on numerous occasions violated the 2015 nuclear pact is �futile�, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said, criticizing European countries for trying to appease U.S. President Donald Trump to stay in the deal.