Iran Launches Fajr Satellite Into Space

New Generation of Saeqeh Jets
‘Pilgrims Attacked in Line With Zionist Goals’
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Managing Director of Iran’s
Aviation Industries Organization Manouchehr Manteqi
announced on Monday that Tehran will soon unveil the
second version of its homemade Saeqeh (Thunderbolt)
fighter jet. An advanced model of Saeqeh fighter jet,
named Saeqeh 2, will be unveiled in the near future as
one of the latest achievements of Iran’s aviation industries, Manteqi said in a ceremony in Tehran. “The number
of homegrown innovations employed in this aircraft is at
least three times more than the previous one,” he added.
TEHRAN (Press TV) -- Iran on Monday denounced the terrorist attack against Shia Lebanese pilgrims in Syria, saying the
crime has been conducted in line with the goals of the Israeli
regime and terrorist groups to take revenge on the resistance
movement. “The main perpetrators of such crimes are those who
are providing terrorists with logistic and financial support,”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said. Afkham
also expressed deep concern over Al Khalifa regime’s intensified
use of security approach toward Bahraini opposition, including
its recent move to revoke the citizenship of dozens of dissidents.
VOL NO: LV 9685 TEHRAN / Est.1959
Tuesday, February 3, 2015, Bahman 14, 1393, Rabi as-Sani 13, 1436, Price 10000 Rials
2U.S. Hints at Sending5
Viewpoint
By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer
The Last Stage of
Imperialism
Obama’s Remarks
Confirm US Involvement
in Ukraine Coup: Lavrov
Troops to Iraq, Syria
WASHINGTON
(Dispatches)
-- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker
told ABC that he is not opposed to
deploying American combat troops
to Iraq.
“I think aggressively, we need to
take the fight to ISIL and any other radical terrorist in and around
the world,” Walker said, during
an interview on “This Week”
said, adding, “we have to go beyond just aggressive airstrikes…
and ultimately, we have to be prepared to put boots on the ground
if that’s what it takes”.
The U.S. and coalition members
say they have launched more than
2,000 airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq since August 8, and have provided troops
to help train and assist Iraqi and
Kurdish forces on the ground.
However, the attacks have failed
to drive out ISIL terrorists from
where they are holed in.
In an interview at the end of
September, President Obama acknowledged that the U.S. “underestimated” the gains ISIL was able
to make in Syria in the midst of that
country’s bloody four-year war.
Obama, who officially ended
the nearly nine-year Iraq War in
2011, stressed that the mission
against ISIL is not America’s
alone.
“This is not America against
ISIL, this is America leading the
international community to assist
a country with whom we have a
security partnership with to make
sure that they are able to take care
of their business,” Obama said.
In November, Obama authorized
the deployment of up to 1,500
additional troops purportedly to
serve in a non-combat role and
help train Iraqi and Kurdish forces, nearly doubling the American
military presence in the country.
When pressed to clarify whether
he was endorsing putting “U.S.
boots on the ground in Syria,”
Walker responded, “No, I don’t
think that is an immediate plan,”
but said “I wouldn’t rule anything
out.”
“I think when you have the
lives of Americans at stake and
our freedom-loving allies anywhere in the world, we have to be
prepared to do things that don’t
allow those measures, those attacks, those abuses to come to our
shores,” Walker said.
Outgoing Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel meanwhile said the
United States might eventually
need to send non-combat ground
troops to Iraq.
Hagel, who announced his resignation under pressure in November, told CNN all options must
be considered in Iraq, including
sending troops for non-combat
roles such as gathering intelligence and locating ISIL targets.
“I think it may require a forward
deployment of some of our troops
...,” he said. “I would say we’re
not there yet. Whether we get
there or not, I don’t know.”
Hagel’s comments echoed
testimony by General Martin
Dempsey, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, to Congress last
fall when he said U.S. troops
might have to take a larger role
on the ground in Iraq.
Such a deployment would be in
addition to the 4,500 U.S. troops
already committed to training and
advising roles in Iraq.
Hagel also said he had conflicts
with White House officials on releasing prisoners from the U.S.
detention facility in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba.
As secretary of defense, Hagel authorized which prisoners
would be released and when. He
told CNN that the White House
did not agree with his cautious
approach, saying there were disagreements on “the pace of the
releases”.
Asked by CNN if he had been
pressured, Hagel said, “we’ve
had a lot of conversations” with
the White House and Congress on
the releases.
7
“Egypt Engaged in
Talks on Importing
Zionist Regime Gas”
8
ISIL
Terrorism
Approaching End
Iran Launches Fajr Satellite Into Space
The Safir rocket carrying the Fajr satellite rises into the sky after launch in central Iran.
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran on
Monday launched an observation
satellite -- its first since 2012 -- with
President Hassan Rouhani declaring
it safely entered orbit and that he had
personally ordered the mission.
The Fajr (Dawn) satellite was
placed 450 kilometers (280 miles)
above Earth’s surface, said Al-Alam
television, an Arabic-language station owned by the Islamic Republic.
It is the fourth such satellite launch
by Iran, after three others between
2009 and 2012.
Iran’s space agency later said the
satellite had begun transmitting data
to its stations on Earth.
The satellite is capable of staying
in the space for 1.5 years and can
taking and transmitting high-quality
and accurate pictures to stations on
earth.
The satellite was locally made,
said the official IRNA news agency,
as was its launcher, according to
Rouhani who noted that Iran’s aim
was to have no reliance on space
technology from abroad.
“Our scientists have entered a new
phase for conquering space. We will
continue on this path,” Rouhani said
in a short statement on state television.
President Rouhani congratulated
the nation on the successful launch
of Fajr satellite and said the Iranian
scientists have entered a new phase
in space sciences.
Al-Alam said the Fajr satellite
would be able to take accurate pictures from space.
The launch came as Iran started 10
days of celebrations for the 36th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution,
culminating on February 11, “Victory Day” when the U.S.-backed
shah’s reign officially ended in
1979.
Defense Minister General Hussein
Dehgan echoed Rouhani’s comments, stating that the launcher,
named Safir-Fajr, shows “the ability
of Iran to build satellite launchers”.
In February 2010, Iran launched a
satellite containing a rat, turtles and
insects.
Separate missions under Iran’s
space program have seen two capsules launched. One, in January
2013, included a monkey that was
recovered alive.
The country is one of the 24
founding members of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which was set up in 1959.
NATO, U.S. Weigh Arming Ukraine
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) --
With pro-Russian fighters pressing
their attacks in Ukraine, NATO’s
military commander Gen. Philip M.
Breedlove now supports providing
weapons and equipment to Kiev’s beleaguered forces, and an array of U.S.
administration and military officials
appear to be edging toward that position, American officials said.
President Obama has made no decisions on providing such lethal assistance. But after a series of striking reversals that Ukraine’s forces
have suffered in recent weeks, the
Obama administration is taking a
fresh look at the question of military
aid, the New York Times reported.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who
plans to visit Kiev on Thursday, is
open to new discussions about providing lethal assistance, as is Gen.
Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, officials
said. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who is leaving his post soon,
backs sending defensive weapons
to the Ukrainian forces.
Fearing that the provision of
weapons might tempt President
Vladimir Putin of Russia to raise the
stakes, the White House has limited
American aid to “non-lethal” items,
including body armor, night-vision
goggles, first aid kits and engineering equipment.
But the failure of economic sanctions on Russia is pushing the issue
of weapons back into discussion.
Fueling the broader debate over
policy is an independent report to
be issued Monday by eight former
senior American officials, who urge
the United States to send $3 billion
in arms and equipment to Ukraine,
including anti-armor missiles, reconnaissance drones, armored
Humvees and radars that can deter-
mine the location of enemy rocket
and artillery fire.
Michèle A. Flournoy, a former senior Pentagon official who is a leading candidate to serve as defense
secretary if Hillary Rodham Clinton
is elected president, joined in preparing the report. Others include
James G. Stavridis, a retired admiral
who served as the top NATO military commander, and Ivo Daalder,
the ambassador to NATO during
Mr. Obama’s first term.
“The West needs to bolster deterrence in Ukraine by raising the risks
and costs to Russia of any renewed
major offensive,” the report says.
“That requires providing direct
military assistance — in far larger
amounts than provided to date and
including lethal defensive arms.”
Pro-Russians have captured the
airport at Donetsk and are pressing
to take Debaltseve, a town that sits
aside a critical rail junction.
All told, the pro-Russian fighters
have captured 500 square kilometers — about 193 square miles — of
additional territory in the past four
months, NATO says. The assessment
of some senior Western officials
(Continued on Page 7)
FM Zarif Discusses Expansion of Africa Ties
TEHRAN (Press TV) – Iran’s
Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad
Zarif on Monday stressed the importance of improving relations with
African countries, saying Africa has
been a strategic partner for Tehran in
regional developments.
“The foreign policy of the Islamic
Republic of Iran has always been
based on very close ties with African countries,” Zarif told reporters
after a meeting with Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed in
Nairobi.
He added that Iran has always at-
tached significance to ties with African states.
The Iranian minister noted that he
had exchanged views with his Kenyan counterpart about the “very
complicated phenomenon of terrorism” and ways to boost bilateral
cooperation.
Zarif further said a comprehensive
agreement with the P5+1 countries
would safeguard all Iran’s nuclear
rights, adding, “It (the deal) can
also give the opposite side the assurance that Iran’s nuclear activities
are peaceful.”
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council
– Russia, China, France, Britain
and the U.S. – plus Germany have
been holding talks to secure a final
comprehensive deal over Tehran’s
nuclear program.
Since an interim deal was agreed
in the Swiss city of Geneva in November 2013, the negotiating sides
have missed two self-imposed
deadlines to ink a final agreement.
Iran and the P5+1 countries now
seek to reach a high-level political
agreement by March 1 and confirm
the full technical details of the accord by July 1.
The Kenyan foreign minister said
her country has always maintained
good and growing relations with
Iran and hoped the two countries
would further expand cooperation,
particularly in oil and gas sectors.
Mohamed also said Kenya recognizes Iran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
The Iranian foreign minister embarked on a diplomatic tour of four
East African countries - Kenya,
Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania - at
the head of a delegation on Sunday.
The four-leg visit has been described as the beginning of a new
chapter in Tehran’s ties with African
countries.
Iran already has a significant presence in agricultural and economic
projects in some African countries
and has been a major contributor to
humanitarian missions in the continent over the past years.
The intensified diplomacy on Africa is a sign of Iran’s willingness to
engage deeper in African political
(Continued on Page 7)