Iran Daily
 
Iran apologizes for ‘unintentionally hitting’ Ukrainian jetliner due to ‘human error’
Iran said on Saturday a Ukrainian passenger plane that had crashed Wednesday near Tehran had been “hit unintentionally” while the military was on high alert in the tense aftermath of Iranian missile strikes on US targets in Iraq.

 
French PM offers concession to unions over pension reform



French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe offered a major concession to unions contesting his government’s overhaul of the pension system on Saturday, in a move aimed at ending strikes which are now in their fifth week.

 


Oman’s new monarch backs peaceful policy of Sultan Qaboos
Oman’s new monarch pledged Saturday to follow the non-interference policy that made the kingdom a vital regional mediator under his late cousin Sultan Qaboos who reigned for half a century.


 
Merkel, Putin agree Iran nuclear deal should be preserved by all means
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that preserving the Iranian nuclear deal is a matter of “tremendous importance”, adding that the agreement should be kept by all means necessary.

 
NAM states protest US visa refusal to Zarif



The 120-member nations of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) strongly opposed Washington’s refusal to issue Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif a visa to attend an upcoming United Nations Security Council meeting.



 
Tehran Times
 
Steel exports up 19% in 9 months on year
Iran’s crude steel exports rose 19 percent during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21, 2019) from the same period of time in the previous year, IRNA reported on Saturday.

 
Ukraine: Iran pleaded guilty to plane incident
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Iran pleaded guilty to shooting down Ukrainian plane even before completion of international commission’s work.

 
Iraq in talks to buy Russian S-400
Iraq has resumed talks with Russia to buy its S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, a senior Iraqi lawmaker told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency following the U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander and Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes there.

 
ISIL praises ‘allied’ U.S. for assassinating Gen. Soleimani
The ISIL (Daesh) terrorist group has hailed the recent assassination of Iran’s top military commander, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, by its “allied” US forces in Iraq, describing the criminal act as a “divine intervention” made by direct order of American President Donald Trump.

 
“No Fly Zone” picked as best film at Ammar festival
Iranian director Amir Dasargar’s movie “No Fly Zone” was crowned best at the 10th Ammar Popular Film Festival (APFF).

 
Zarif blames ‘U.S. adventurism’ for tragic plane incident, offers apologies
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday expressed apologies and condolences to all those who have been affected by the tragic Ukrainian plane incident near Tehran, saying “the U.S. adventurism” has led to this tragedy.

 
Iranian UN envoy says U.S. must leave the region
Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, has said that the U.S. must leave the region, noting that the U.S. is unwelcome in the region.

 
Rouhani says Iran “deeply regrets the disastrous mistake” of plane downing, promises justice
President Hassan Rouhani issued a statement on Wednesday saying that investigations will continue to identify and prosecute all those involved in the unintentional downing of a Ukrainian
passenger plane near Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport on January 8.

 
Iranian parliament to discuss Ukrainian plane incident on Sunday session
The Iranian Parliament is slated to review the details of the Ukrainian plane incident in an open session on Sunday.

 
Trump assassinated Gen. Soleimani to create ‘diversion’ from impeachment
The U.S. assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, was perpetrated on the direct orders of Donald Trump to serve as a “diversion” for the American president, who is presently grappling with an impeachment inquiry, overshadowing the upcoming U.S. presidential race and putting his re-election at stake, says a political analyst in New York.