{"id":257088,"date":"2022-03-21T10:27:31","date_gmt":"2022-03-21T09:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=257088"},"modified":"2023-01-31T08:23:08","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T07:23:08","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-march-21-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-march-21-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 March 21, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

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THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS<\/h2>\n

UPDATE: 7:00 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

Raisi Resorts to Lying and Bragging During Nowruz Speech<\/h3>\n

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“We promised that we do not trade the interests and security of the people for anything else,” Iranian regime’s president Ebrahim Raisi said during his new year’s address. “Everyone saw that we prioritized increasing the country’s defense, missile and space capabilities because the country’s security is a priority. We have shown that the power of the field is in favor of the power of diplomacy.”<\/p>\n

Ignoring the state of economic misery in Iran, Raisi added: “Fortunately, signs of economic growth and stability and a significant increase in the value of foreign trade and non-oil exports have emerged during our time. We increased trade with our neighbors for the benefit of the people. Official statistics, which are still up to the end of the third quarter, show economic growth above 5%.”<\/p>\n

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IAEA Chief Raises Serious Concerns Over Iranian Regime’s Nuclear Program<\/h3>\n

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On March 20, Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said: “It is worrying that we have found traces of enriched uranium at undeclared sites, uranium which was under a very special process that had not been reported at any other site and places where no nuclear material should have been found. So our questions to Iran have been very simple, and clear: If there was nuclear material there, where is it now? If there was equipment, where is it? And what has happened to it now? Because we have no record of this. This resulted in a repetitive and tedious process of questions and answers that were technically unreliable and led to deadlocks at certain points. The explanations we received for the existence of those particles are not acceptable.”<\/p>\n

“When negotiations with the IAEA are deadlocked, it is hard to imagine anyone being able to reach a comprehensive agreement like the current one,” Rafael Grossi added. “If the flow of information is disrupted or the information the agency receives is unsatisfactory or inaccurate, it is professionally wrong for me to reach a positive conclusion at the end of the road. A country that enriches uranium to 60%, it is practically for military use.”<\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 12:30 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arab Countries Voice Condemnation Against Tehran-backed Houthis Attack Against Saudi Targets<\/h3>\n

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According to the Saudi Gazette on Sunday, March 20, Arab countries have condemned the Houthi terrorist attack on Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abu al-Ghaith strongly condemned the terrorist attack by Houthi militants who targeted economic and civilian facilities in several areas of Saudi Arabia using ballistic missiles and UAVs.<\/p>\n

The Arab Parliament has also strongly condemned the terrorist attack by Houthi militants targeting the desalination plant in al-Shaqiq, the Aramco facility in Jazan, and a power plant in Dhahran al-Janub, using drones and ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n

The Secretariat of the Arab Council of Ministers in Tunisia condemned the attacks by Houthi militias and their deliberate and systematic attempts to target civilians and economic facilities in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

Dr. Al-Hajraf, Chairman of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, strongly condemned the consistent launches of ballistic missiles and drones by Houthi militias in a systematic and deliberate manner and called it a clear violation of international norms and laws that have targeted innocent civilians and nonmilitary facilities.<\/p>\n

The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hussein Brahim Taha, strongly condemned the repeated attacks by Houthi militants on civilian lands and targets in Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and UAVs.\u00a0Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Pakistan, and Djibouti also strongly condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist act.<\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 8:30 AM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

Clashes Break Out as Security Forces Try to Prevent Nowruz Festivities in Northwestern Iran<\/h3>\n

On Sunday, March 20, on Persian new year’s eve, when the counterinsurgency unit was dispatched and attacked the people’s Nowruz ceremony in the streets of Oshnoyeh in West Azerbaijan province, the people resisted, and clashes erupted. Security forces responded with tear gas and pellet guns.<\/p>\n

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