Iran News Daily
 
Gov�t May Use Military Against Locusts Threatening Crops
Government may use its military for a second year to help fight locusts that have invaded the south of the country, an Agricultural Ministry official was quoted as saying on Friday, as the swarms threaten to destroy crops worth more than $7 billion.

 
Eid al-Fitr Prayers to Be Held Nationwide With Observance of Protocols
President Hassan Rouhani has said that the country will hold Eid al-Fitr and Quds Day events in compliance with protocols set to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

 
Trump, Pompeo, Hook Represent U.S. Dangerous Ruling Class
The Secretary of Iran�s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has lambasted US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook for their �mindless and dangerous� behavior.

 
UN Official Urges Lifting, Suspending Anti-Iran Sanctions
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for removing or suspending sanctions against Iran to help the country in its ongoing fight against the coronavirus.

 
South Korea Imports No Iran Crude
South Korea�s U.S. crude oil imports in April increased 32.1% from a year earlier, although overall crude imports fell as some refiners lowered run rates to cope with a slump in demand, customs data showed on Friday.

 
Iran to Remain Key Energy Source for Iraq
Until suitable alternatives materialize, Iran will continue to be a crucial supplier of energy to rapidly growing Iraq for years to come, insists Luay Al-Khatteeb, the former Iraqi minister of electricity.Al-Khatteeb spoke with Abbas Kadhim, director of the Atlantic Council�s Iraq Initiative�barely a week after leaving the government post he had led since October 2018.

 
Tehran City Council Chairman Calls for Lifting Brutal Sanctions
The Chairman of the Islamic City Council of Tehran in a message to his counterparts in 25 metropolis cities throughout the world urged them to defend the legal rights of Iranian citizens against the US brutal sanctions enabling Iran to cope with the coronavirus humanitarian crisis.

 
Iran�s OPEC Governor Kazempour Ardebili Passes Away
Iran�s governor to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has passed away after suffering a brain hemorrhage and falling into a coma.

 
Mayors of Tehran, Kabul Discuss Joint Action Against COVID-19
The mayors of Tehran and Kabul discussed ways to broaden cooperation between the two municipalities and share experiences in the battle with the novel coronavirus.

 
Online Int�l Conf. On Quds to Replace Rallies
According to Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, head of the Islamic Seminaries of Iran, a two-day online international conference will be held on the issue of Palestine.

 
Iran Dismisses U.S. Claim China Must Be Blamed for COVID-19 Outbreak
Iran has rejected the US claim that China is to blame for the spread of the novel coronavirus, saying the move is aimed at diverting public opinion inside and outside the United States from the incompetence of the Trump administration.Foreign Ministry Spokesm

Tehran Times
 
Iran, Russia, Syria adamant in terror fight: Tehran
Ali Asghar Khaji, who acts as senior assistant to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for political affairs, has said that Iran, Russia and Syria will continue cooperation in fighting terrorism.

 
Stock market attracts $8.3b in 2 months
Iran�s stock market has attracted 350 trillion rials (about $8.33 billion) of liquidity since the beginning of current Iranian calendar year (March 20), the managing director of Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), which is Iran�s major stock market, told ILNA.

 
COVID-19 slashes Iran�s airport passenger traffic by 80%
Passenger traffic at Iranian airports was plunged by 80 percent in the first month of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 20) due to the coronavirus pandemic, IRNA reported on Saturday.

 
Coronavirus could cost global economy $8.8t: ADB
The coronavirus pandemic could cost the global economy between $5.8 trillion and $8.8 trillion (�4.7 trillion-�7.1 trillion), according to Asian Development Bank (ADB).

 
EU is united in opposing Israeli West Bank annexation
The European Union will make a diplomatic push to try to stop Israel from going ahead with a plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, the bloc�s foreign policy chief said on Friday.

 
Boeing to deliver more than 1,000 missiles to Saudi Arabia
Boeing has won two contracts worth $2.6 billion to deliver more than 1,000 air-to-surface and anti-ship missiles to Saudi Arabia, the U.S.� defense department announced yesterday.

 
Russia calls opponents� of nuclear deal �helpless�, �ignorant�
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia�s permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations, has said that opponents of the 2015 nuclear deal, known
as the JCPOA, are �helpless and even ignorant�.

 
Home sweet home: thousands of migratory birds land in Iran�s Allah-Abad wetland
For the second consecutive year, Allah-Abad wetland is becoming a refuge for species of migratory birds including flamingo, crane, mallard, bustard, see-see
partridge, heron, and even some native ones, such as eagles, falcons, and bitterns.

 
Parliamentary committee enumerates steps needed to counter Israel�s anti-human moves
The Iranian Parliament National Security and Foreign policy Committee on Saturday approved a plan to counter Israel�s hostile moves against peace and security.

 
A U.S. decision to invoke snapback provision would be a strategic error: CSIS deputy chief
Eric Brewer, deputy director at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), has said that a decision by Washington to invoke the
snapback provision would be a strategic error and will undermine credibility of the United States.

 
Top researcher: Israel�s war strategy changed after General Soleimani�s assistance to resistance front
Head of the Research Center of the International Islamic Awareness Organization Hossein Akbari underlined that Israel was forced to change its war strategy from offensive to defensive mode after IRGC Qods Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani stood beside the resistance front�s leaders.

 
UN human rights chief urges U.S. to lift sanctions on Iran
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has urged the United States to lift sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, stressing that the sanitary situation called for such a move in order to save lives.

 
China says U.S. sanctions destabilize West Asia
Wang Qun, the China�s ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, said on Friday that the United States� sanctions on Iran are distorting global oil supply and further destabilizing West Asia, Reuters reported.

 
Court in Iran sentences Fariba Adelkhah to 6 years in prison
A court in Iran has sentenced Fariba Adelkhah, a senior research fellow at Sciences Po University in Paris, to six years in prison on national security charges.

 
Iran�s OPEC governor Kazempour Ardebili dies of brain hemorrhage
Iran�s governor to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has passed away after suffering a brain hemorrhage and falling into a coma.