Iran Daily
 
Rouhani: Trump’s secret Iraq visit proof of US defeat
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday the fact that US President Donald Trump recently had to travel to Iraq secretly and briefly shows America’s failure in the countries that it has invaded.

 
US fires tear gas across Mexico border to stop migrants
US authorities fired tear gas into Mexico during the first hours of the New Year to repel about 150 migrants who tried to breach the border fence in Tijuana.

 
President Xi: Taiwan reunification with China ‘inevitable’
Taiwan’s unification with the mainland is “inevitable”, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday, warning against any efforts to promote the island’s independence and saying China would not renounce the option of using military force to bring it into the fold.

 
Iran to invest in Indian refinery
Iran will invest about 15 billion rupees ($215 million) to expand a refinery run by Chennai Petroleum Corp. Ltd. in south India, the company’s managing director said, amid US sanctions on the Persian Gulf country that have hit its oil exports.

 
Minister expects 21% increase in new defense budget
Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami expected the country’s defense budget would rise by 21 percent in the next Iranian calendar year (to start on March 21).

 
Iran sympathizes with Russia over deadly building collapse
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Wednesday sympathized with victims of a deadly gas explosion in a building in Russia.

 
Zarif: US, Israel may withdraw from planet Earth after UNESCO departure
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif deplored Washington and Tel Aviv’s decision to leave UNESCO and a number of other international agreements, saying that they may decide to withdraw from planet Earth in their next move.

 
Rouhani congratulates Bangladesh on successful elections
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a message on Wednesday congratulated the victory of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the recent parliamentary elections in Bangladesh.

 
Tehran Times
 
$215m to be earmarked for Anzali wetland nano bioremediation
A total budget of 9 trillion rials (nearly $215 million) will be allocated to implement a scheme on restoration of the endangered Anzali wetland in northern province of Gilan by removing contaminants using domestic bioremediation nano-technology, ISNA reported on Wednesday.

 
‘Resistance only way for Palestinians to regain their rights’
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that resistance is the only way for Palestinians to fight the Zionist regime of Israel and regain their rights.

 
Lebanon ‘close to forming government early in new year’
Following a lengthy meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri says the two sides are “determined” to form a new government early in the New Year as part of efforts to end an eight-month political stalemate.

 
Turkish-backed forces fully withdraw from Manbij front lines
Turkish-backed forces have completely withdrawn from the front lines with Kurdish-led fighters near Manbij in north east Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday.

 
Exhibition of Firuzeh Awards opens in Tehran
A retailer arranges carpets in a pavilion during the exhibition of the 4th Firuzeh Awards at Tehran’s Goft-o-Gu Park on January 2, 2019.

 
New chapter in Iran-China ties to flourish more rapidly: envoy
Iran’s ambassador to China has said a new chapter in relations between Tehran and Beijing, which has coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution and the Chinese economic reform, will flourish more rapidly than ever.

 
EU will continue to save nuclear deal in 2019: Mogherini
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has said that work to save the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, will be continued in 2019.

 
‘Is anything left for Trump to withdraw from,’ Zarif asks
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has censured a move by the U.S. and the Zionist regime to leave the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), asking if there is anything left for the two countries to withdraw from.

 
Defense budget to increase 21 percent: Hatami
The budget bill of the next Iranian year (beginning on March 21) has envisioned a 21% increase for the development of defense sector, Defense Minister Amir Hatami said on Wednesday.

 
Rouhani: Trump’s secret Iraq visit exposed defeat
President Hassan Rouhani says Donald Trump’s recent tiptoeing into Iraq was clear sign of the failure of America’s agenda for Iraq.