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WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COMI N T E R N A T I O N A LD A I L Y8 Pages Price 50,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 42nd year No.13861 Monday JANUARY 18, 2021 Dey 29, 1399 Jumada Al thani 4, 1442Pompeo’s attempts to linkal-Qaeda to Iran intendedto please Israel Page 2Sitting volleyball leaguethe best preparation forParalympics: Rezaei Page 3Iran trying to start massCOVID-19 vaccinationby next two months Page 7Steel productsoutput increases9.5% Page 4LethaldemocracySee page 3Top IRGC commander: We can hitmoving targets in the oceanTEHRAN – The commander of the IslamicRevolution Guards Corps (IRGC), MajorGeneral Hossein Salami, said on Saturdaythat targeting aircraft carriers and warshipsby long-range ballistic missiles is part ofIran’s defense strategy.Speaking at the final stage of the GreatProphet 15 military drill on Saturday, Salami said, “One of our most importantgoals in defense policies and strategies isto reach the ability to hit enemy weaponry,including aircraft carriers and warships,using long-range ballistic missiles. It isusual to hit moving targets in the sea by lowspeed cruise missiles, but using long-rangemissiles is a great defense breakthroughfor us because we can hit moving targetsin the ocean from the heart of our land,”according to the Tasnim news agency.The IRGC carried out the final stage ofthe drills on Saturday with strategic operations of long-range ballistic missiles thatsuccessfully hit the mock enemy’s vessels1,800 kilometers away in the NorthernIndian Ocean.Continued on page 2Iran ready to raise oil output topre-sanction levelLatin America News Agency/ Matt HechtTEHRAN — Managing director of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC)said on Sunday that Iran is ready to rapidly increase its oil production back tothe pre-sanction levels, IRNA reported.“Iran is ready to halt the deliberate reduction in oil production and increase itsoutput to 95 percent of the pre-sanction levelin just one day,” Ahmad Mohammadi said.The official noted that more than 80Spanish translation of “My UncleSoleimani” appears in VenezuelaTEHRAN – A Spanish translation of “MyUncle Soleimani”, a book that reflectsMartyr Qassem Soleimani’s affection forchildren, has recently been published inVenezuela.Published by the El Faro InternationalPublishing House, the book was introducedin capital Caracas during a ceremony at-Young coaches needsupport, coach saysBY FARROKH HESABIaipa football coach PirouzGhorbani believes that thepresence of young coaches inthe Iran Professional League (IPL)has brought new sharp ideas andtactical concepts into football.“The league has become more dynamicover the past years as the level of the teamsis so close and most of the teams withyoung coaches are playing good footballthese days,” Ghorbani said in an exclusiveinterview with Tehran Times.Saipa earned a late win over Zob Ahanon Friday. The victory sent the Tehranbased football team to the ninth place atthe IPL table.Ghorbani, who is Ebrahim Sadeghi’sassistant coach at Saipa, talked about hisdecision to join Saipa and the current condition of the team.“Working with Sadeghi, who is oneof the best Iranian coaches in my opinion, convinced me to join Saipa. He isa courageous coach who dares to fieldyouth players and gives them time toimprove. This is the strategy of Siapafootball club. Establishing a style ofplay or a footballing philosophy at aclub requires patient and consistentefforts and the coaching staff has beensupported by the club management. Ithink Saipa officials should supportSadeghi and do not think about winningtrophies in the short-term. This is dueto the huge financial investment ofthe big Iranian clubs comparing to aclub like Saipa,” said the former Irannational team player.Asked about the quality of the 20202021 IPL, Ghorbani responded: “Ifwe want to talk about the quality ofplayers, I think Esteghlal and Sepahan are the best squads. However, noteam emerge as the clear favorites towin the league. Persepolis, Esteghlal,Sepahan, and two or three other teamshave the chance to win but nothing isguaranteed for them.”Ghorbani, who played almost a decadein Esteghlal, was under pressure duringthe recent months by the angry Esteghlal fans in social media. The reason wasthat he had called the Blues archrivals,Persepolis, as ‘the most technical teamin Iran’ in one of his interviews.“Unfortunately, there is somethingwrong with social media in our country.You should just say the things that people like to hear, regardless of what theactual facts are. But I have my own lifephilosophy,” Ghorbani added.tended by Mayor Erika Farias Pena, thehead of the Capital District Government,Jacqueline Faria and Iranian AmbassadorHojjatollah Ansari.The mayor read an excerpt from thebook for the cultural figures and otherpeople who attended the ceremony.Continued on page 8The idea of ‘exceptionalism’ is deeply ingrainedin our national DNA: American authorAnti-Netanyahu protests resume across Israelfor 30th week in a rowBy Mohammad MazhariTEHRAN – An American author says topplinggovernments around the world is one of Washington’s “specialties”.“Overthrowing governments is one of our specialties,” Stephen Kinzer tells the Tehran Times.Kinzer also criticizes U.S. exceptionalism.“The idea of ‘exceptionalism’ is deeply ingrained in our national DNA,” Kinzer tells theTehran Times.“Last week gave us a glimpse, on a greatlyreduced scale, of the havoc we have wreakedelsewhere.”Kinzer, a former New York Times journalist,says no nation like the U.S. intervenes in others’domestic issues.The following is the text of the interview:How do you assess the recent mobattack on Capitol building by pro-Trumpprotesters? What is the message of thisThousands demonstrated against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv,and at traffic junctions, bridges and intersectionsnationwide for the 30th week in a row on Saturday.In Jerusalem, thousands marched throughthe city toward Paris Square, the central site ofthe demonstrations in the capital, adjacent to theprime minister’s official residence on Balfour StreetHundreds of protesters braved a cold night inJerusalem on Saturday to press on with their callsfor Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tostep down over corruption charges against him.Demonstrators gathered at a Jerusalem squarenear Netanyahus official residence. The weekly protests have been taking place for over seven months.Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach oftrust and accepting bribes in three cases involvingbillionaire associates and media moguls, chargesthat he denies.The protesters insist Netanyahu cannot prop-incident for the U.S and the world?A: Over the last century, no nation hasintervened as often as the United States in somany countries so far away from its own borders. Overthrowing governments is one of ourspecialties. Last week (January 7th) gave us aglimpse, on a greatly reduced scale, of the havocwe have wreaked elsewhere.U.S. administrations and institutesmostly back protests against governmentsall around the world but when it comesto the U.S., they rally around national integrity. Isn’t it a kind of double-standard?A: The idea of “exceptionalism” is deeplyingrained in our national DNA. Americansgrow up presuming that, as Secretary of StateMadeleine Albright famously asserted, “We arethe indispensable nation, we stand taller andwe see further than other countries.”Continued on page 5Iran, Nicaragua to expand museum relationsTEHRAN – The National Museum of Iran andthe National Museum of Nicaragua have signeda Memorandum of Understanding to lay theground for further cooperation including thearrangement of joint online shows during thecurrent coronavirus era.On Wednesday evening, the signing ceremony of the MoU was held online in Tehran andManagua.Jebrael Nokandeh, the director of the NationalMuseum of Iran, Majid Salehi, the ambassadorMehr/ Seyed Hussein MirpourSpercent of the country’s oil productioncapacity comes from the southern oil-richregions, adding: “Given the government’sgoal of exporting 2.3 million barrels of oiland gas condensate per day during the[Iranian calendar] year 1400 (begins onMarch 21), a big share of the mentionedfigure will be produced in the southernoil-rich regions.”Continued on page 4of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Nicaragua andIsaac Lenin Bravo Jaen, the ambassador of theRepublic of Nicaragua to Iran were present inIran National Museum meeting room, an officialwith the museum told the Tehran Times.The Minister of Culture of the Republic ofNicaragua, Luis Morales, and Javiera PérezGuerra, the director of the National Museumof Nicaragua attended the event online at theNational Museum of Nicaragua in Managua.Majid Salehi’s welcome was the initiator ofthe ceremony. He considered museums as animportant factor in expanding cultural relationsand friendship between the two countries.Nokandeh called the event, “a turning point”in the cultural and museum relations between thetwo countries and said: “Despite the circumstancescaused by the coronavirus disease, the signing ofthis memorandum shows the determination ofthe two countries to deepen the cultural relationsbetween the two nations.Continued on page 6Imam Rezashrine hostsmournersof Prophet’sdaughterPilgrims commemorated the martyrdom anniversary of Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra (SA), thedaughter of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), atthe holy shrine of Imam Reza in the city ofMashhad on Saturday night.This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony was held under strict healthprotocols.erly lead the country while under indictment forcorruption.His trial is set to begin evidentiary hearingsnext month.Israel will hold its fourth national elections intwo years in March, in what will likely be anotherreferendum on Netanyahu as he faces a challengefrom defectors within his Likud party.The protesters also say Netanyahu and his government have bungled the coronavirus response.The country has seen its economy hit hardby virus restrictions throughout the year and isagain under a nationwide if partial lockdown amidsurging infection rates.Netanyahu and his allies have used Israel’svaccination drive, in which more than a tenthof its population has been immunized, to try tobelittle the protesters and their cause. They saythe prime minister is working to end the outbreakwhile they hold demonstrations.‘Compliance-forcompliance’ approachneeded to reinstateJCPOA: HarvardresearcherBY M.A. SAKITEHRAN – Stephen Herzog, a research fellow atthe Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard University, predicts that Iran and the U.S. will followa “compliance-for-compliance” approach to revivethe nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).“Biden—with the support of the E3—and IranianPresident Hassan Rouhani intend to pursue a “compliance-for-compliance” approach to reinstating thedeal,” Herzog tells the Tehran Times.“This will likely need to involve a phased timeline ofde-escalation measures by both sides,” Herzog adds.On January 4th, Iran resumed enriching 20percent uranium at the Fordow nuclear facilityin response to Donald Trump’s withdrawal fromthe Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),reimposition of illegal economic sanctions, failureby the Europeans to protect Iran from sanctions aswell as the assassination of nuclear scientist MohsenFakhrizadeh, which Iran holds Israel responsible forthrough a collusion with the Trump administration.However, the Harvard researcher believes theIslamic Republic is not going to develop nuclearweapons.Contrary to claims by the U.S. and Israel, Iranhas never been seeking to develop nuclear weapons.The Leader of the Islamic Revolution has declaredproduction, stockpiling, and use of weapons of massdestruction (WMDs) as haram- religiously banned.Continued on page 5