Headlines in Iranian English-language dailies on Dec 28

According to Ashura News, quoted by the IRNA news agency,

*** IRAN DAILY

-- JCPOA talks get underway in Vienna based on agreed joint document

Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal on Monday sat down for a new round of talks in the Austrian capital with a focus on the removal of US sanctions on the Islamic Republic in a verifiable process.
Hours before the resumption of the eighth round, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said negotiations to revitalize the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will be based on a joint document agreed during the last round earlier this month.

-- 145 NGOs urge UN to provide protection to Palestinians against Israeli settlers’ attacks

The Palestinian NGOs Network urged the United Nations to provide international protection for Palestinian civilians against attacks conducted by Israeli settlers who are backed by the military.
In a statement, the network, which includes 145 organizations, demanded that the UN take urgent measures to provide international protection for Palestinians amid escalated settler attacks, especially in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

-- Maduro calls for global condemnation of US assassination of Gen. Soleimani

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged the international community to condemn the US assassination of Iran’s Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani ahead of the second anniversary of what he branded as a “horrific crime”.
In an interview with Lebanon’s satellite news broadcaster Al Mayadeen TV, Maduro stressed the need to “raise the voice once again, in condemnation of the crime of assassinating the hero of the nations, General Soleimani.”

*** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL

-- Ayatollah Khamenei ‘a Man of Great Wisdom’

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced that he will soon visit Iran at the invitation of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to work on furthering cooperation between their two countries.
The visit will come as part of Venezuela’s plan to revive ties with the Mideast countries in the coming year, he said.

-- Vienna Talks Resume to Remove Iran Sanctions

Iran said talks that were set to resume Monday in Vienna should focus on removing sanctions on the Islamic Republic and “guarantees” the U.S. will not abandon its obligations again.
Negotiations to remove the sanctions resumed in late November, after a five-month hiatus following the election of Iran President Ebrahim Raisi.

-- Golan Residents Protest Zionist Settlement Plan

Citizens of the occupied Golan Heights on Monday renewed their condemnation of the Israeli settlement schemes in the Syrian territories, stressing their determination to foil those plans aimed at forcibly displacing its residents and destroying villages and towns.

*** TEHRAN TIMES

-- Iran Sets the Stage for a Deal in Vienna

Shapour Mohammadzadeh, head of the Literacy Movement Organization, described the literacy situation in Iran before and after the Islamic Revolution on the occasion of the forty-second year of the establishment of the Organization.

-- Beijing pursuing balanced foreign policy in Persian Gulf: GSA chief

Giorgio Cafiero, chief executive officer of Gulf State Analytics (GSA), tells the Tehran Times that “the Chinese pursue a balanced foreign policy agenda in the Persian Gulf.” The comments by Cafiero comes as Saudi Arabia is building its own ballistic missiles with the help of China, according to United States intelligence assessments and satellite images.

-- Foreign Ministry: Iran will name new ambassador to Yemen

In response to a question posed by the Tehran Times correspondent, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that Iran plans to appoint a new ambassador to Yemen.