Briefing on Iran’s daily developments

In final presidential debate;

Raeisi says will abide by JCPOA if nation’s interests secured

The main Principlist candidate said in the final presidential debate Sat. that he will continue the JCPOA if it secures the nation’s interests, accusing Rouhani’s administration of not being able to implement the deal.

The seven hopefuls started their final showdown at 17:00 Tehran local time (1230 GMT) which is under at the headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRIB) located in the north of the Iranian capital of Tehran.

Ebrahim Raeisi, Mohsen Rezaei, Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh, Saeed Jalili, Alireza Zakani, Abdol-Nasser Hemmati, and Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi are the seven candidates are running in this round of presidential elections in Iran.

Lifting of sanctions key to conclusion of Vienna talks: China

China's representative in talks on reviving JCPOA in Vienna said in an interview that lifting sanctions is key to any agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

China's envoy to the Vienna talks on Saturday said lifting sanctions was key to concluding an agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

He told Al-Sharq news website that all parties in the negotiations were committed to finding solutions, but some unresolved political issues remain.

Iran gas condensate export likely to surge in 2021 2nd half

Informed sources say that if all sanctions are lifted in the second half of 2021, Iran's gas condensate will take over the market and Iran can export 3,730,000 metric tons of condensate during this period.

According to informed sources, Iranian exporters intend to increase LPG exports to full capacity if sanctions are lifted, which would increase shipping costs by increasing supply from the Middle East.

Assuming the complete lifting of US sanctions in the second half of 2021, Iran can export 3,730,000 metric tons in this period and will need at least 33 ships to transport it, the sources added.

Joint IRGC, Army air defenses ready to confront any threats

Commander of Khatam ul Anbia Air Defense, Brigadier General Ghader Rahimzadeh the Iranian sky is the safest sky in the region, adding that "The army and IRGC air defense forces are ready to confront with any threats."

Brigadier General Ghader Rahimzadeh made the remarks on Saturday during a meeting with the IRGC Air Force commanders, during which he hailed the high level of the preparedness of the air forces.

6th round of JCPOA Joint Commission kicks off in Vienna

The 6th round of Joint Commission meeting of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) started in Grand Hotel Wien in Vienna on Saturday in presence of delegations of Iran and P4+1 (Germany, France, Russia, China and UK).

The meeting will be headed by Deputy Secretary-General of European Union (EU) Foreign Action Service Enrique Mora and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for the Political Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araghchi who is the head of Iranian delegation in Vienna talks.

Putin dismisses claims on Russia's satellite offer to Iran

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed as fake news the claims that Russia was preparing to offer Iran an advanced satellite system that would enable Tehran to track potential military targets in the Middle East.

"It’s just fake news. At the very least, I don’t know anything about this kind of thing, those who are speaking about it probably will maybe know more about it. It’s just nonsense, garbage," Putin said in an interview with NBC TV channel, TASS reported.

All participants stress successful result in Vienna talks

Russian Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov at the start of 6th round of JCPOA Joint Commission meeting said that all participants emphasized successful result of Vienna talks.

In a tweet on Sat., Ulyanov wrote, “The Joint Commission of #JCPOA opened today the sixth round of the #Vienna Talks.”

“All participants reiterated their determination to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion. All of us want to do it ASAP, but the quality of an outcome document comes first,” he added.

German FM urges flexibility, pragmatism in JCPOA talks

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Saturday urged all sides to show flexibility and pragmatism in talks about the Iranian nuclear deal which are due to resume.

“It is about flexibility and pragmatism from all participating parties,” he told Reuters.

“Playing for time is in no-one’s interest,” he added. 

These remarks by Heiko Maas come as the new round of talks on reviving Iran nuclear deal known as the JCPOA is going to start in Vienna on Saturday afternoon.

Need for smart armaments to be met by Defense Industries org.

Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) said the Iranian Defense Industries Organization is able to meet the demand of the Iranian Army for the smart armaments.

Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh made the remarks at the latest exhibition on achievements by the Ministry of Defense in the field of ground combat.

Americans trying to prolong JCPOA talks: Pres. candidate

Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, one of the candidates of Iran’s 2021 presidential election, said the US tries to prolong the ongoing JCPOA talks.

In his remarks before the third Presidential debate, on Sat., he said: "Americans seek to prolong the ongoing JCPOA talks to have the upper hand."

COVID death toll in Iran tops 81,911

The number of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Iran surpassed 81,911 on Saturday.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of 81,911 people so far, with 115 more Iranians succumbing to the deadly disease in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry’s spokeswoman Sima Lari said on Saturday.

CBI says UN arrears are paid

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced on Sat. that Iran has paid its arrears to the UN.

Iran lost its vote in the 193-member General Assembly in January because it was more than two years in arrears. 

CBI announced today that Iran has paid $16 million of its frozen assets in South Korea to pay the dues to the UN.

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