PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping is welcomed by Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani in Tehran

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Looking for political support and economic recovery after confirmation of the July 2015 nuclear deal, Iran’s leaders have welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tehran.

Xi, the first head of state visiting Iran since “Implementation Day” on January 16, arrived on Friday and was officially welcomed by President Rouhani on Saturday. He will also meet the Supreme Leader.

The two leaders signed letters of intent for strategic economic cooperation, with Rouhani proclaimed a goal of links worth up to $600 billion within the next 10 years.

With estimated trade of $50 billion between the two countries, Iran’s links with China have been vital as Tehran tried to cope with years of US-led sanctions. Beijing remained the largest customer for Iranian oil, even as almost all other countries halted purchases and Tehran’s oil exports dropped 40%.

This week Iranian politicians and media have hailed Xi’s visit, with the prospect of more economic ties. Despite the start of the lifting of sanctions, the Government is facing a large budget deficit and the postponement of many projects for infrastructure. Foreign investment is essential for the recovery of many sectors, including Iran’s oil and gas fields.

As he arrived in Tehran, Xi said, “In cooperation with the Iranian side and by benefiting from the current favorable conditions, China is ready to upgrade the level of bilateral relations and cooperation so that a new chapter will start in bilateral relations on the long term.”

Artist Faraghdani Acquitted of “Illegitimate Handshake” But Serving 12-Year Sentence

Artist Atena Faraghdani and her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, have been acquitted of “illegitimate relations” for shaking hands during a prison visit; however, Faraghdani is still serving a 12-year, 9-month sentence for her work.

Faraghdani and Moghimi were charged after they shook hands in front of two prison guards at a meeting to discuss her case on June 13, 2015. The lawyer was held for four days and then released on bail.

A recipient of the 2015 Courage in Cartooning Award, Faraghdani was sentenced for a drawing she posted on Facebook showing MPs with animal heads, as she criticized a bill outlawing voluntary sterilization and restricting access to birth control. The artist was convicted assembly and collusion against national security, propaganda against the State, and insulting the Supreme Leader, the President, MPs, and the Revolutionary Guards who interrogated her.

Faraghdhani is still appealing the decision.

Iran Criticizes Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Support for Saudi

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed as “unacceptable” the support of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for Saudi Arabia in its dispute with Tehran.

At end of an emergency meeting in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Thursday, the OIC backed Saudi Arabia over its cutting of ties with Iran, accusing Tehran of supporting terrorism and interfering in other countries’ affairs.

Saudi Arabia had called for meeting following the diplomatic crisis sparked by Riyadh’s January 2 execution of prominent cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and a crowd’s burning and ransacking of part of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said on Friday that the Jeddah meeting was convened with the aim of supporting Saudi Arabia’s state terrorism:

Given the continuation of Palestine’s occupation, inhuman blockade of the Palestinians, and growing threats of Takfiri extremism and terrorism against international peace and security, the hasty and irresponsible measure by the Saudi government to insist on the emergency meeting and issue a statement lacking consensus have intensified divisions among members and undermined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Activist Masouleh Imprisoned Since June Without Charge or Access to Lawyer

Activist Shokoufeh Azar Masouleh remains in prison after seven months without a formal charge, a court date, or access to a lawyer.

Azar Masouleh was among women demonstrating in front of Parliament in autumn 2014 over acid attacks on women on the streets of Isfahan. She also participated in protests to the right of human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, a political prisoner from 2010 to 2013, to practice law.

She was arrested last June, without a warrant, at her home.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency said Azar Masouleh is accused of propaganda against the regime, collusion, and establishing conflicting groups against the regime”.

Friday Prayer Leaders Challenge President, Support Crackdown on Elections

In the latest fight over the crackdown on February’s elections for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts, Friday Prayer leaders have supported the Supreme Leader and challenged President Rouhani.

The clerics, who follow guidelines from the Supreme Leader’s office, defended the purge of thousands of candidates by the Guardian Council. The prayer leader in Bojnoord said the Council’s bans were necessary to avoid a “poisoned and infected” atmosphere for the vote, while the Isfahan prayer leader said the process ensured the “fittest people” became MPs and warned that the enemy was using any dispute to cause “chaos”.

The Guardian Council has disqualified 60% of the more than 12,000 candidates for Iran’s 290 seats in Parliament. Only 30 of about 3,000 reformists were approved, amid hardline fears that the reformist bloc would ally with centrists around President Rouhani and former President Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Among those banned were 50 current MPs.

Facing criticism of the bans, the Supreme Leader defended the Council on Wednesday, saying the disqualifications were necessary to remove those who did not support the Islamic Republic. However, Rouhani refused to accept Ayatollah Khamenei’s line, asserting the next day that the bans would be unacceptable as they produced a “one-party Parliament”.

See Iran Daily, Jan 22: Rouhani Hits Back At Supreme Leader Over Clampdown on Elections

Revolutionary Guards: “US Navy Suffering Psychological Stress” Because of Us

The Revolutionary Guards have declared that the US Navy is “stressed” as it nears Iranian waters, following the brief detention of 10 American naval personnel earlier this month.

The Guards’ naval commander, Admiral Ali Fadavi, said on State TV on Friday, “The Americans are passing through the Strait of Hormuz with a lot of psychological stress.”

On January 12, the Guards seized the personnel and two US Navy boats after the Americans entered Iranian territorial waters, reportedly because of a navigation error. Following intensive diplomacy between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif — both of whom feared the incident could undermine implementation of the July 2015 nuclear deal — the sailors and boats were released the next day.

The Guards continued to celebrate the incident as an example of their strength and American weakness, and Fadavi repeated this in his television appearance and a meeting on Saturday:

Had the US continued its unprofessional deeds after the detention of its 10 marines by the IRGC, all its warships could have gone sinking.

The admiral declared that the speed of the Guards’ missile-launcher vessels is twice that of the US navy’s, and that it will be soon increased to three times.

At the same time, he said that the Guards observed rules of conduct: for example, the detained US sailors were “privileged to watch the European Cup football tournament”.