Short News Summary for Sunday, September 4, 1397 (03/September/2018). Read the most important news from Iran and the world on the fourth day of September 97 here moment by moment.
Latest News
22:42 4.6.1397 A shooting in Florida has left at least four dead. Reports from Florida indicate that on Sunday, several people were killed in a shooting at a video game tournament in Jacksonville. A sheriff's office tweeted asking people to stay away from the scene. Local media, citing police sources, reported that four people have been killed and about 10 others injured in the incident. According to Reuters, one suspect in the shooting has been killed, and it is still unclear whether there is another suspect at the scene.
22:26 4.6.1397 Netanyahu: Jews are still in danger. The Prime Minister of Israel says that despite decades since the Holocaust, Jews are still in danger. Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday to 300 Jews living in Lithuania: "In these 75 years, what has changed for the Jewish nation? That they should not destroy us; they are still seeking our destruction." According to AFP, the current threats against Jews come from Iran and the Hamas group in Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu stated: "What has changed is our ability to defend ourselves by ourselves... This is an extraordinary historical change." Lithuania hosted over 200,000 Jews before World War II, to the extent that its capital, Vilnius, was known as the 'Jerusalem of the North.' However, historians believe that during the occupation of this area by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944, over 195,000 Jews, nearly the entire population, were killed. Today, about three thousand Jews live in this country of 2.9 million.
21:07 4.6.1397 A response from Ashna to the claims of two MPs: Shame is also a good thing. Hesam al-Din Ashna, an advisor to the Iranian President, rejected the statements of some MPs regarding Hassan Rouhani's British dual citizenship and wrote to them: "Shame is also a good thing." Mr. Ashna, in his Telegram channel, referred to Mr. Rouhani's background and positions, writing: "From where did you receive the order to slander someone who... has been elected president of Iran twice by the people?" Abolfazl Torabi, a member of the committee investigating dual citizenship officials, said on August 19 that one 'very important and high-level' official obtained British citizenship during his studies in Scotland and still holds this citizenship. It is said that Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, studied in Scotland. Previously, Mojtaba Zolnoor, a representative from Qom, stated that Mr. Rouhani's son holds British and Canadian citizenship, but Hesam al-Din Ashna has denied this claim as well. Some sites have reported that Majid Rouhani is Mr. Rouhani's son. Additionally, according to reports from some sites, one of Mr. Rouhani's daughters lives in Austria. Mr. Rouhani's office has neither confirmed nor denied these reports.
20:00 4.6.1397 Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has returned to prison. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen who had been on leave for three days after two and a half years in prison, has returned to prison. The Associated Press reported that Ms. Zaghari returned to prison on Sunday while her family hoped her leave would be extended. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, has been imprisoned in Iran since 2016 on charges of espionage and sentenced to five years in prison. While it is said that Iran has requested money from British officials in exchange for her release, Iranian officials deny this.
20:00 4.6.1397 'Today's Youth' magazine ceases publication after half a century. The magazine 'Today's Youth,' published by the Information Institute, has ceased publication in Iran after half a century of activity. Majid Fallah Shajai, the deputy editor of this magazine, wrote in an Instagram post that economic problems led to the closure of Today's Youth. According to Mehr news agency, less than a month ago, the magazine 'World of Sports,' another publication of the Information Institute, was shut down a month before its 50th anniversary. 'Today's Youth' had entered its 52nd year of activity this year. This magazine was initially published under the name 'Youth Information' from 1958 to 1960 and then its publication was halted. The publication of the magazine 'Youth' began on October 4, 1966, which later added 'Today' to its name. In the years before the 1979 revolution, the circulation of this magazine reached up to 300,000 copies. The publication of 'Today's Youth' has ceased in Iran while this magazine is currently published in the United States under the name 'Youth' and is approaching its 33rd year of publication.
17:54 4.6.1397 The deputy of Qom seminary: The majority of the seminary does not support Rouhani's government. The deputy of the Qom seminary rejected reports about his role in organizing a gathering of clerics opposed to the government, stating that 'the majority of the seminary does not support Mr. Rouhani's government.' Mohammad Hassan Nabavi said in an interview with Khabar Online that he did not participate in the gathering of clerics opposed to the government. He also expressed ignorance about which body issued the permit for this gathering, while stating that holding a gathering in the seminary is 'not without accountability.' Mr. Nabavi commented on a controversial slogan written at this gathering, saying: 'This is a very wrong action and should not have given others an excuse; but the real question is whether this slogan really implies that we will kill the president?' Mr. Nabavi also stated that 'the majority of the seminary does not support Mr. Rouhani's government.' In a gathering held on August 16 with the theme of 'demanding economic justice' at the Feyziyeh School in Qom, an image of a slogan at the event that implicitly threatened Hassan Rouhani with the fate of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani became newsworthy. The Iran newspaper reported that the organizers of this gathering stated: 'The political center of the seminaries is also an organizer, and the propaganda department of the seminaries supports us.'
16:24 4.6.1397 Ejei: The decision on house arrest remains in place. The spokesman for the judiciary of the Islamic Republic on Sunday, in response to a question about the possibility of lifting the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement, stated that no decision has been made in this regard. According to Mehr news agency, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said: 'Some relaxations have occurred regarding the close relatives of the house-arrested individuals, which is not new, and the decision of the Supreme National Security Council remains in place.' In this context, last week, the Kalemeh news website wrote that although 'repetitive rumors' about lifting the house arrest have emerged ahead of Eid al-Adha, but the follow-up by this website indicates the continuation of the house arrest status.
15:43 4.6.1397 The trial of the 'Sultan of Coins' is likely to be held next week. The spokesman for the judiciary of Iran announced on Sunday the likelihood of holding the trial of Vahid Malmoulin, known as the 'Sultan of Coins': 'This person is the one who bought two tons of coins.' According to this judicial official, 'This case has 18 defendants, and in the indictment issued for some of them, corruption on earth has been raised.' At the end of July, less than two weeks after the police commander of Tehran announced the arrest of an individual known as the 'Sultan of Coins,' the spokesman for the judiciary identified this individual as Hamid Malmoulin, stating that this person was also arrested in 2012 and was acquitted after explanations from the Central Bank. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy and spokesman of the judiciary of Iran, said on July 24 that in the years 2012 and 2013, when several major currency and coin sellers were arrested, Hamid Malmoulin and his son, Mohammad Reza, were also among those arrested. Mehr news agency on Sunday reported the name of this defendant as 'Vahid' according to the judicial official.
15:31 4.6.1397 Over 300 defendants convicted of financial corruption 'in recent years.' The spokesman for the judiciary of Iran on Sunday provided statistics on the conviction of 311 individuals in financial corruption cases in the country. According to Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, 311 convicted individuals related to financial corruption have been sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or five to 25 years in prison. 'Of these, in recent years, six have been sentenced to death, two of whom appealed the sentence and their execution was changed to twenty years in prison. Of the four, one has been executed, one is in the execution phase, and two have raised retrials.' He added: 'Three have been sentenced to life imprisonment, 14 to 20 years in prison; 95 to 5 to 10 years, and 36 to 10 to 15 years, and those sentenced to up to one year are 34. 124 have also been sentenced to one to five years in prison.' Mohseni Ejei noted that 'these are related to recent years' and stated that among the remaining individuals '54 have been permanently dismissed, 93 temporarily dismissed, 9 have been exiled, and about 70 have been sentenced to lashes.'
13:54 4.6.1397 An F-5 fighter jet of the Iranian army crashed in Dezful. A reporter from Fars news agency on Sunday tweeted about an incident involving an F-5 fighter jet in the vicinity of Dezful. Mehdi Bakhtiari in his tweet also reported the death of the pilot of this fighter jet named Manouchehr Fattahi. In this context, Mehr news agency quoted an 'informed source' stating that this aircraft encountered problems due to technical failure during landing at the fourth fighter base in Dezful and crashed.