Headlines in Iranian English-language dailies on Dec 2

According to Ashura News, quoted by the IRNA news agency

*** IRAN DAILY

--Ministry: 14 Iranian provinces report zero or one COVID death

The Iranian Health Ministry announced in a Wednesday statement that 14 provinces reported either zero or one daily COVID-19 fatality.

The statement listed the provinces with no deaths as Qom (northern Iran), Ardebil (northwestern Iran), Markazi (northern Iran), Hormuzgan (southern Iran), Ilam (western Iran) Bushehr (southern Iran), North Khorasan (northeastern Iran) and Qazvin (northern Iran), saying the provinces with one daily fatality were Sistan and Baluchestan (southeastern Iran), Zanjan (northwestern Iran), Kermanshah (western Iran), Lorestan (western Iran), Hamedan (western Iran) and Mazandaran (northern Iran).

-- Iran’s annual oil sales significantly higher: Minister

Iranian Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji said: “The amount of oil sales has increased significantly compared to last [Iranian] year’s.”
Referring to the joint meeting of the Parliament and the government on the occasion of the Day of the Parliament, Owji said the Ministry of Petroleum prepared a comprehensive report on the sale of oil, export of gas and petrochemical products in the last 100 days, IRNA reported.
Owji said that Iran’s oil sales witnessed new increases using the existing capacities.

-- Iran’s tallest oak tree nationally registered in western city of Baneh

The 430-year-old oak tree with a height of 19 meters in Baneh, Kurdestan Province, was registered on Iran’s Natural-National Heritage List as the tallest oak tree in Iran, according to the western city’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Department.
Located in the village of Nejo, the chestnut-leaved oak (called Mazudar in Persian), was nationally registered as a natural heritage with the number 693, said the head of the department, Sa’dollah Rahimikhah, IRNA reported.
Addressing the introductory ceremony of the tallest tree on Tuesday, Rahimikhah said that the tree’s canopy coverage is 202 square meters, its canopy diameter and canopy length are 12 and 16 meters, respectively, Rahimikhah said.   

*** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL

-- Iran Says Will Not Sacrifice Demands

A senior member of Iran’s negotiating team said Wednesday the country has entered the new Vienna talks with “clear demands and proposals”, but it will not sacrifice the nation’s demands and rights for the sake of deadlines.
“The Islamic Republic has come to Vienna with full seriousness and is negotiating with transparent demands and proposals,” Press TV quoted the source as saying.
The country, the source added, “stands prepared to continue intensive talks as long as needed, but it will not be ready to sacrifice its principled demands and the Iranian nation’s rights for mere artificial deadlines or timetables”, it added.

-- Iran All Set to Become Gas Exporting Hub

The deft diplomacy of Iran continues to bear fruits in a variety of spheres, no matter what impediments the US tries to throw in the path of the Islamic Republic with its self-defeatist policy of economic terrorism.
One of the major economic achievements of the past week was the signing of a trilateral gas deal involving the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Central Asian Republic of Turkmenistan, and the Caucasus Republic of Azerbaijan.
The agreement, which was signed in the Turkmen capital in the presence of heads of the three countries on the sidelines of the 15th summit of the 10-nation Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) during the visit of President Hojjat al-Islam Seyyed Ibrahim Raisi, foresees a gas swap deal of up to 2 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year.

-- Iran Beat Philippines in Asian Squash Championship

Iran’s women’s team defeated the Philippines 3-0 in the 20th Asian Squash Championship on Wednesday.Iran started the campaign with a 2-1 loss against Malaysia.
Team Melli will play India on Friday.
The competition started on November 30 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and will finish on December 4.

*** TEHRAN TIMES

--Analyst praises Raisi administration's view toward neighbors

Director of the Office for the Study and Compilation of Iranian History has praised the policy of the new administration of Ebrahim Raisi toward neighboring countries.

"The doctrine of the current administration towards the countries of the region is such that one can expect effective achievements in the region," Abbas Salimi Namin said in an interview with IRNA on Tuesday, citing the tripartite gas agreement between Turkmenistan, Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan as an example. 

Salimi Namin added, “Any kind of relationship with neighboring countries, because it is cost-effective and creates security for the parties are effective and helpful. However, sometimes countries lose or neglect this lucrative opportunity while the most stable and effective relationship is the relationship between neighboring countries, and if a country can make good use of this gift, it will best serve the national interests."

-- Golden Pen of Belgrade honors Iranian illustrators Matak, Zakeri

Iranian illustrators Mohammad-Hossein (Mason) Matak and Majid Zakeri have won two of three awards at the 51st Golden Pen of Belgrade awards, and the 16th International Biennial of Illustrations.

Slovakian illustrator Jozef Pevolka won the other prize of the event, while Serbian artist Nikolina Radulovic Velic received the grand prix, Iran’s Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA - Kanoon) announced on Wednesday.

Works by 31 Iranian illustrators have also been published in the catalog of the biennial, whose front cover features an illustration by Iranian artist Nuhsin Sadeqian, the winner of the grand prix of the 50th Golden Pen of Belgrade.

-- Istakhr, once legendary residence of Persian kings

The ancient city of Istakhr was the seat of local governments and a royal residence of Persian kings during the Sassanid era. Moreover, it acquired importance as a center of priestly wisdom and orthodoxy.

Istakhr rose to fame when Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanian Empire, chose it as his residence in 224 CE when the Persian nobleman dethroned a lawful ruler in Persia, Artabanus IV, king of the Parthian Empire.

Situated near the legendary Persepolis, which was once the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenids, Istakhr allowed the new Sasanian dynasty to identify itself with a glorious past. The builders of Istakhr often reused architectural elements from the monuments of Persepolis. The Achaemenid royal tombs of Naqsh-e Rostam are not far from Istakhr too.