2 Editorial Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

Happy Nowrouz

On the occasion of the arrival of ancient Iranian’s Nowrouz, I wish to

convey my best wishes to all Iranian from and other parts of the World Happy Nowrouz.

This message is sent with the pope that the new year, and the years to come, more than ever, will be year of

friendship, fellowship, peace and tranquility, in the region and all over the world.

A peace and tranquility that will bring mutual understanding and cooperation in the field of economics. A year to

end all the international and regional shortcomings and failures. A year full of workmanship, efforts, and economic development at both international and regional relationship

between Iran and Britain as two old trade partners.

Dr. Amir Houshang Amini

Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Report 3

Iran's foreign trade during the nine month of year 1396

(20 March 2017 to 20 December 2017)

According to the statistics Iran's foreign trades as indicated in the of the I.R of Iran's volume during the nine following tables: Customs Department, the month of the year 1396 are

Primary import/export statistics of non-oil goods with the calculation of gas’s Liquidities during the nine month of 1396

nine month of the year nine month of the year Percent of changes 1396 1395 Activity Weight Value Weight Value (Thousand (Million (Thousand (Million Weight Value tons) Dollar) tons) Dollar)

Import 26.595 37.570 25.147 31.755 5.76 18.31

Export 88.576 31.640 95.125 32.413 -6.88 -2.39 4 Report Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

Imports:

The most important imports 4.052 thousand Tons and 6.656 thousand tons and 2.563 million during the nine month of 1396, million Dollars and 15.24 percent Dollars and 4.15 percent of have been done with countries, as of weight and 17.72 percent of weight and 6.82 percent of value follows: 1) "China" with 3.581 value, 3) "Turkey" with 1.589 and 5) "Germany" with 684 thou- thousand tons and 9.452 million thousand tons and 2.576 million sand tons and 2.095 million Do- Dollars and 13.46 percent of Dollars and 5.98 percent of llars and 2.57 percent of weight weight and 25.16 percent of value, weight and 6.86 percent of value, and 5.58 percent of value. 2) "United Arab Emirates" with 4) "Republic of Korea" with 1.104

Five main countries dealing with Iran in importing goods according to the value During the nine month of 1396

Other countries 1st ChinaQtr 37.86 2nd Qtr % 25.16 3rd Qtr % 4th Qtr Slice 5 United Arab Slice 6 Emirates Slice 7 17.72% Germany Slice 8 Republic of Korea Turkey 5.58% 6.82% 6.86%

Exports: During the nine month of 1396, a petrochemical products and other agricultural, mineral, carpet and compound of exported goods with kinds of goods such as industrial, handicrafts are as follows: the separation of gas liquidities,

Export statistics of goods separating of gas liquidities, petrochemical products And other kinds of goods during nine month of the years 1395-96

nine month of the year 1396 nine month of the year 1395 Share of Total Sort of exported goods Weight value Weight value Weight Dollar (Thousand Tons) (Million Dollar) (Thousand Tons) (Million Dollar) Petrochemical 19.617 9.584 23.202 10.379 -15.45 -7.67 products

Gas liquidities 12.996 5.098 13.374 5.245 -2.83 -2.81

Other kind of 55.964 16.958 58.549 16.789 -4.42 1.01 goods

Total 88.576 31.640 95.125 32.413 -6.88 -2.39 Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Report 5

Percent of Weight of Exported goods Percent of Value of Exported goods During the nine month of the year 1396 During the nine month of the year 1396

Gas liquidities Gas liquidities 14.67% 16.11 1st Qtr 1st %Qtr 2nd Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 3rd Qtr Slice 4 Slice 4 Other kind of goods Petrochemical Products Petrochemical Products Other kind of goods 63.18 22.15% 24.93% % 53.60%

During the nine month of 1396, Dollars and 10.96 percent of million Dollars and 8.23 percent most of exports have done with weight and 14.63 percent of of weight and 9.52 percent of the countries, as follows: value, 3)"United Arab Emirate" value, and 5)"Af-ghanistan" with 1)"China" with 24.798 thousand with 12.836 thousand tons and 4.646 thousand tons and value of tons and value of 6.527 million value of 4.458 Million Dollars 2.004 million dollars and 5.04 Dollars and 28.00 percent of and 14.49 percent of weight and percent of weight and 6.33 weight and 20.63 percent of 14.09 percent of value , 4)"Re- percent of value. value, 2)"Iraq" with 9.706 tho- public of Korea" with 7.293 usand tons value of 4.628 million thousand tons and value of 3.011

Five mail countries dealing with Iran in exporting goods according to the value During the nine month of 1396

China QtrچینOther countries 1st 2nd Qtr 34.80 20.63 % % 3rd%77.22 Qtr 4th Qtr

SliceIraq 5 Slice 6 Slice14.63 7%

Afghanistan Slice 8 Republic of Korea United Arab Emirate 6.33 % 14.09 9.52% %

Average price of each ton of exported goods has been 357 Dollars, increasing 4069 percent in value compared with the similar period last year. 6 Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

"Tehran"

Tehran, as one of the main tourist destinations in Iran, has a wealth of cultural attractions. It is home to royal complexes of Golestan, Saadabad and , which were built under the reign of the country's last two monarchies. There are several historic, artistic and scientific in Tehran, including the National , the Malek Museum, the Cinema Museum at Ferdows Garden, the Abgineh Museum, Museum of the Qasr Prison, the Carpet Museum, the Reverse Glass Painting Museum (vitray ), and the Safir Office Machines Museum. There is also the Museum of Contemporary Art, which hosts works of famous artists such as Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol. The Iranian Imperial Crown Jewels, one of the largest jewel collections in the world, are also on display at Tehran's National Jewelry Museum. A number of cultural and trade exhibitions take place in Tehran, which are mainly operated by the country's International Exhibitions Company. Tehran's annual International Book Fair is known to the international publishing world as one of the most important publishing events in Asia.

Tehran is the capital of Iran and is the most populous city in Iran population of its metropolitan . With a and Western Asia, and it has the area. In the Classical era, part of population of around 8.8 million second-largest metropolitan area the territory of present-day The- in the city and 15 million in its in the Middle East. It is ranked ran was occupied by Rhages, larger metropolitan area, Tehran 29th in the world by the prominent Median city. It was Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Tehran 7

subject to destruction following territory of present-day Tehran the city was recovered under the the Arab, Turkic, and Mongol was a suburb of the prominent reigns of the Saljughs and the invasions. Its modern-day inh- Median city of Ray). Kharazmians. eritor remains as an urban area In the Avesta's Videvdat, Rages Medieval writer Najm-od-Din absorbed into the metropolitan is mentioned as the 12th sacred Razi declared the population of area of . place created by Ohrmazd. Ray about 500,000 before the Tehran was first chosen as the In inscriptions, Ray Mongol invasion. In the 13th capital of Iran by Agha Moh- appears as a province (Bisotun 2, cen-tury, the Mongols invaded ammad Khan of the Qajar 10–18). From Ray, Darius I sent Ray, laid the city in ruins, and dynasty in 1796, in order to reinforcements to his father Hys- massacred many of its inha- remain within close reach of taspes, who was putting down the bitants. Iran's territories in the Caucasus, rebellion in Parthia (Bisotun 3, Following the invasion, many of before being separated from Iran 1–10). In some the city's inhabitants escaped to as a result of the Russo-Iranian texts, Ray is given as the bir- Tehran. Wars, and to avoid the vying thplace of Zoroaster, although In July 1404, Castilian amba- factions of the previously ruling modern hist-orians generally ssador Roy González de Clavijo Iranian dynasties. place the birth of Zoroaster in visited Tehran while on a journey The city was the seat of the Khorasan. Ray's modern-day inh- to Samarkand, the capital of - Qajars and Pahlavis, the two last eritor, Ray, is a city located co-Mongol conqueror Teymur, monarchies of Iran. It is home to towards the southern end of who ruled Iran at the time. In his many historical collections, incl- Tehran, which has been absorbed diary, Tehran was described as uding the royal complexes of into the metropolitan area of an unwalled region. Golestan, Saadabad, and Nia- Greater Tehran. Mount Dam- Early modern era: Italian varan, as well as the country's avand, the highest peak of Iran, traveler Pietro della Valle passed most important governmental which is located near Tehran, is through Tehran overnight in buildings of the modern era. an important location in 1618, and in his memoirs, he Large scale demolition and 's Sha-hnameh, the mentioned the city as Taheran. rebuilding began in the 1920s, Iranian epic poem that is based English traveler Thomas Herbert and Tehran has been a des- on the ancient legends of Iran. It entered Tehran in 1627, and tination for the mass migrations appears in the epics as the hom- mentioned it as Tyroan. Herbert from all over Iran since the 20th eland of the protoplast Key- stated that the city had about century. umars, the bir-thplace of king 3,000 houses. Tehran's most famous landmarks Manuchehr, the place where king include the , a Freydoun binds the dragon fiend memorial built in 1971 under the Aždahāk (Bivarasp), and the reign of Mohammad Reza Pah- place where shot his arrow lavi to mark the 2,500th year of from. the foundation of the Imperial Medieval period: During the State of Iran, and the Milad To- reign of the Sassanian Empire, in wer, the world's sixth-tallest self- 641, Yazdgerd III issued his last supporting tower which was appeal to the nation from Ray, completed in 2007. The Tabiat before fleeing to Khorasan. Ray Bridge, a newly-built landmark, was dominated by the Parthian was completed in 2014. family, and Siyavash— The majority of the population of the son of Mehran the son of Tehran are Persian-speaking peo- Choubin, who resisted the 7th- A portrait of Qajar ruler Agha ple, and roughly 99% of the century Muslim invasion of Iran. Mohammad Khan, kept at London's population understand and speak Because of this resistance, when Persian, but there are large popu- the Arabs captured Ray, they V&A Museum lations of other Iranian ethnicities ordered the town to be destroyed In the early 18th century, Karim such as Azerbaijanis, Armenians, and rebuilt anew by traitor Khan of the Lors, and Kurds who live in aristocrat Farrokhzad. ordered a palace and a govern- Tehran and speak Persian as their In the 9th century, Tehran was a ment office to be built in Tehran, second language. well-known village, but less possibly to declare the city his Tehran is served by the inter- known than the city of Ray capital; but he later moved his national airports of Meh-rabad which was flourishing nearby. government to . and Khomeini, a central railway Ray was described in detail by Eventually, Qajar king Agha station, the rapid transit system 10th-century Muslim geogra- Mohammad Khan chose Tehran of , a bus rapid phers. Despite the interest that as the capital of Iran in 1776. transit system, trolleybuses, and a Arabian Baghdad displayed in Agha Mohammad Khan's choice large network of highways. Ray, the number of Arabs in the of his capital was based on a Classical era: Tehran is situated city remained insignificant and similar concern for the control of within the historical region of the population mainly consisted both northern and southern Iran. Media (Old Persian: Māda) in of Iranians of all classes. The He was aware of the loyalties of northwestern Iran. By the time of Oghuz Turks invaded Ray the inhabitants of former capitals the Median Empire, a part of the discretely in 1035 and 1042, but Isfahan and Shiraz to the Safavid 8 Tehran Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

1909. As a result, the monarch was exiled and replaced with his son Ahmad, and the parliament was re-established. After World War I, the consti- tuent assembly elected Reza of the as the new monarch, who imm- ediately suspended the Baladie law of 1907, replacing the dece- ntralized and auto-nomous city councils with centralist appr- oaches of governance and pla- nning. From the 1920s to the 1930s, under the rule of , the city was essentially rebuilt from scratch. That followed a sys- Tehran and in the winter tematic demolition of several old buildings, including parts of the and Zand dynasties respectively, Sepahsalar e Tonekaboni con- , Tekye Dowlat, and was wary of the power of the quering Tehran in July 1909 and Tupkhane Square, which local notables in these cities. The growing social awareness of were replaced with modern buil- Thus, he probably viewed The- civil rights resulted in the dings influenced by classical Ira- ran's lack of a substantial urban Constitutional Revolution and nian architecture, particularly the structure as a blessing, because it the first constitution of Iran in building of the National Bank, minimized the chances of 1906. On June 2, 1907, the par- the Police Headquarters, the resistance to his rule by the liament passed a law on local Telegraph Office, and the Mili- notables and by the general governance known as the Baladie tary Aca-demy. public. Moreover, he had to rem- (municipal law), providing a The changes in urban fabric ain within close reach of Azer- detailed outline on issues such as started with the street-widening baijan and Iran's integral nor- the role of councils within the act of 1933, which served as a thern and southern Caucasian city, the members' qualifications, framework for changes in all territories(at that time not yet the election process, and the other cities. The Grand Bazaar irrevocably lost per the treaties of requirements to be entitled to was divided in half and many Golestan and Turkmenchay to vote. The then Qajar monarch historic buildings were dem- the neighboring Russian Empire) Mohammad Ali Shah abolished olished to be replaced with wide which would follow in the course the constitution and bombarded straight avenues. As a result, the of the 19th century. After 50 the parliament with the help of traditional texture of the city was years of Qajar rule, the city still the Russian-controlled Cossack replaced barely had more than 80,000 Brigade on June 23, 1908. That Location and subdivisions: The inhabitants. Up until the 1870s, followed the capture of the city metropolis of Tehran is divided Tehran consisted of a walled by the revolutionary forces of into 22 municipal districts, each citadel, a roofed bazaar, and the Ali-Qoli Khan (Sardar Asad II) with its own administrative three main neighborhoods of and Mohammad Vali Khan (Sep- center. Udlajan, Chale-Meydan, and Sa- ahsalar e Tonekaboni) on July13, 20 of the 22 municipal districts ngelaj, where the majority resided. The first development plan of Tehran in 1855 emphasized the traditional spatial structure. Architecture, however, found an eclectic expression to reflect the new lifestyle. The second major planning exercise in Tehran took place under the supervision of Dar ol Fonun. The 1878 plan of Tehran incl- uded new city walls, in the form of a perfect octagon with an area of 19 square kilometers, which mimicked the Renaissance cities of Europe. Late modern era: The Triumph of Tehran: Sardar Asad II and Hormozan Street, Qarb Town Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Tehran 9

are located in 's Central District, while the dis- tricts 1 and 20 are respectively located in the counties of Shemiranat and Ray. Although administratively sepa- rate, the cities of Ray and She- miran are often considered part of Greater Tehran. Northern Tehran is the wealthiest part of the city, consisting of var- ious districts such as Zaferanie, Jordan, Elahie, , Kam- ranie, Ajodanie, Farmanie, Darr- ous, Qeytarie, and Qarb Town. While the center of the city houses government ministries and headquarters, commercial ce- nters are more located towards Air polluution in Tehran further north. railway station at 1,117 m mean maximum temperature of Climate: Urban sustainability (3,665 ft) elevation above sea 1°C (34 °F). The weather of The- analysis of the metropolitan area level in the south of the city to ran can sometimes be unpre- of Tehran, using the 'Circles of Square at 1712.6 m dictably harsh. The record high Sustainability' method of the UN (5612.3 ft) elevation above sea temperature is 43 °C (109 °F) Global Compact Cities Prog- level in the north.[29] However, and the record low is −20 °C ramme. Tehran features a cold the elevation can even rise up to (−4 °F). On January 5 and 6, semi-arid climate (Köppen cli- 2,000 m (6,600 ft) at the end of 2008, a wave of heavy snow and mate classification: BSk) with in northern Tehran. low temperatures covered the continental climate character- Summer is long, hot, and dry city in a thick layer of snow and ristics and a Mediterranean cli- with little rain, but relative ice, forcing the Council of mate precipitation pattern. humidity is generally low, ma- Ministers to officially declare a Tehran's climate is largely de- king the heat tolerable. Average state of emergency and close fined by its geographic location, high temperatures are between 32 down the capital on January 6 with the towering moun- and 37 °C (90 and 99 °F), and it and 7. tains to its north and the coun- can drop to 14 °C in the Tehran has seen an increase in try's central desert to the south. mountainous north of the city at relative humidity and annual It can be generally described as night. Most of the light annual precipitation since the beginning mild in spring and autumn, hot precipitation occurs from late of the 21st century. This is most and dry in summer, and cold and autumn to mid-spring, but no one likely because of the affore- wet in winter. month is particularly wet. The station projects, which also in- Because the city is large with hottest month is July, with a clude expanding parks and lakes. significant differences in ele- mean minimum temperature of The northern parts of Tehran are vation among various districts, 26 °C (79 °F) and a mean max- still more lush than the southern the weather is often cooler in the imum temperature of 34 °C parts. hilly north than in the flat sou- (93 °F), and the coldest is Janu- Environmental issues: The city thern part of Tehran. For inst- ary, with a mean minimum tem- suffers from severe air pollution. ance, the 17.3 km (10.7 mi) perature of −5 °C (23 °F) and a 80% of the city's pollution is due runs from Tehran's to cars.[38] The remaining 20% is due to industrial pollution. Other estimates suggest that moto- rcycles alone account for 30% of air and 50% of noise pollution in Tehran. In 2010, the government announced that "for security and administrative reasons, the plan to move the capital from Tehran has been finalized." There are plans to relocate 163 state firms and several universities from Tehran to avoid damages from a potential earthquake. The officials are engaged in a battle to reduce air pollution. It has, for instance, encouraged taxis and buses to convert from Mellat Park in Autumn 10 Tehran Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

Hosseiniyeh Ershad in Tehran Adrian Temple in Tehran petrol engines to engines that run not Persian, which is lingu- tical, social, and economic on compressed natural gas. istically Southwest Iranian and consequences of the 1979 Revo- Furthermore, the government originates in Fars, but a now lution and the years that follo- has set up a "Traffic Zone" cov- extinct Northwestern Iranian wed, a number of Iranian citi- ering the city center during peak language. zens, mostly Tehrani, left Iran. traffic hours. Entering and driv- Iranian Azeris form the second- The majority of Iranian emigr- ing inside this zone is only largest ethnic group of the city, ations have left for the United allowed with a special permit. comprising about 25% to 1/3 of States, France, Germany, Swe- There have also been plans to the total population, while ethnic den, and Canada. raise people's awareness about Mazanderanis are the third lar- With the start of the Iran–Iraq the hazards of the pollution. One gest, comprising about 16%of the War (1980–1988), a second wave method that is currently being total population. Tehran's other of inhabitants fled the city, employed is the installation of ethnic communities include Ku- especially during the Iraqi air Pollution Indicator Boards all rds, Ar-menians, Georgians, Ba- offensives on the capital. With around the city to monitor the khtyaris, Talysh, Baloch, Assy- most major powers backing Iraq current level of particulate matter rians, Ar-abs, Jews, and Circa- at the time, economic isolation (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ssians. gave yet more reason for many ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), According to a 2010 census inhabitants to leave the city (and and carbon monoxide (CO). conducted by the Sociology the country). Having left all they Demographics: The city of The- Department of the University of had and having struggled to ran had a population of approx.- Tehran, in many districts of Teh- adapt to a new country and build imately 8,7 million in 2015. With ran across various socioeconomic a life, most of them never came its cosmopolitan atmosphere, Te- classes in proportion to popu- back when the war was over. hran is home to diverse ethnic lation sizes of each district and During the war, Tehran also and linguistic groups from all socio-economic class, 63% of the received a great number of migr- over the country. The present- people were born in Tehran, 98% ants from the west and the day dominant language of Tehran knew Persian, 75% identified southwest of the country bor- is the the-rani variety of the Per- themselves as ethnic Persian, and dering Iraq. sian language, and the majority 13% had some degree of pro- The unstable situation and the of people in Tehran identify ficiency in a European language. war in neighboring Afghanistan themselves as . How- Tehran saw a drastic change in and Iraq prompted a rush of ever, before, the native language its ethno-social composition in refugees into the country who of the Tehran–Ray region was the early 1980s. After the poli- arrived in their millions, with Tehran being a magnet for many seeking work, who subsequently helped the city to recover from war wounds, working for far less pay than local construction wor- kers. Many of these refugees are being repatriated with the assi- stance of the UNHCR, but there are still sizable groups of Afghan and Iraqi refugees in Tehran who are reluctant to leave, being pess- imistic about the situation in their own countries. Afghan refugees are mostly Dari-speaking Tajik and Hezare, speaking a variety of Persian, and Iraqi refugees are mainly Mes-opotamian Arabic- Tehran's Yousef Abad Synagogue Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Tehran 11

speakers who are often of Iranian heritage. Religion: The majority of The- rani are officially Shia Muslims, which has also been the state religion since the 16th-century Safavid conversion. Other reli- gious communities in the city include followers of the Sunni and Mystic branches of Islam, various Christian denominations, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and the Bahá'í Faith. There are many religious centers scattered around the city, from old to newly-built centers, inc- luding mosques, churches, syn- agogues, and Zoroastrian fire temples. The city has also a very small Hyper Star, Tehran's Subsidiary of French retailer carrefour third-generation Indian Sikh community that has a local ustries include the manufacturing A number of streets in Tehran are gurdwara that was visited by the of automobiles, electronics and named after international figures, Indian Prime Minister in 2012. electrical equipment, weaponry, including: Economy: Tehran is the eco- textiles, sugar, cement, and che-  Henri Corbin Street, central nomic center of Iran. About 30% mical products. It is also a lea- Tehran. of Iran's public-sector workforce ding center for the sale of carpets  Simon Bolivar Boulevard, nor- and 45% of its large industrial and furniture. The oil refining thwestern Tehran. firms are located in the city, and companies of Pars Oil, Speedy,  Edward Browne Street, near almost half of these workers are and Behran are based in Tehran. the University of Tehran. employed by the government. Tehran relies heavily on private  Gandhi Street, northern Tehran. Most of the remainder of workers cars, buses, motorcycles, and ta-  Mohammad Ali Jenah Expre- are factory workers, shopkeepers, xis, and is one of the most car- ssway, western Tehran. laborers, and transport workers. dependent cities in the world.  Iqbal Lahori Street, eastern Te- Few foreign companies operate The Tehran Stock Exchange, hran. in Tehran, due to the gover- which is a full member of the  Patrice Lumumba Street, wes- nment's complex international member of the Federation of Eu- tern Tehran. relations. But prior to the 1979 ro-Asian Stock Exchanges, has  Nelson Mandela Boulevard, Revolution, many foreign com- been one of the world's best per- northern Tehran. panies were active in Iran. forming stock exchanges in re-  Bobby Sands Street, western Tehran's present-day modern ind- cent years. side of the British Embassy. Shopping: Tehran has a wide range of shopping centers, and is home to over 60 modern shopping malls. The city has a number of commercial districts, including those located at Vali-e- Asr, Davudiyeh, and Zaferanie. The largest old bazaars of Tehran are the Grand Bazaar and the Bazaar of Tajrish. Most of the international branded stores and upper-class shops are located in the northern and western parts of the city. Tehran's retail business is gro- wing with several newly-built malls and shopping centers. Transport: Highways and str- eets: The metropolis of Tehran is equipped with a large network of highways and interchanges. Kordestan Expressway interch- ange with and Hakim expressways Centeal Bank of Iran Tehran's old Garden Bazar 12 Tehran Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

located about every 500 metres along the routes, effectively making these routes trolleybus- BRT (but they are not called such). The other three trolleybus routes run south and operate in mixed-traffic. Both route sections are served by limited-stop ser- vices and local (making all stops) services. A 3.2-kilometer extension from Shoosh Square to Rah Ahan Square was opened in March 2010. Tehran's bus rapid transit (BRT) was officially inaugurated in 2008. It has three lines with 60 stations in different areas of the city. As of 2011, the BRT system had a network of 100 kilometers (62 miles), transporting 1.8 mill- ion pass-engers on a daily basis. The city has also deve-loped a bicycle sharing system that incl- Golestan Palace Cars: According to the head of udes 12 hubs in one of Tehran's (31 miles) south of the city, han- Tehran Municipality's Environ- districts. dles the main international ment and Sustainable Develop- Railway and subway: Tehran flights. ment Office, Tehran was desi- has a central railway station that Parks and green spaces: There gned to have a capacity of about connects services round the clock are over 2,100 parks within the 300,000 cars, but currently more to various cities in the country, metropolis of Tehran, with one of than five million cars are on the along with a Tehran–Europe train the oldest being Jamshidiye Park, roads. line also running. which was first established as a The automation industry has rec- The feasibility study and con- private garden for Qajar prince ently developed, but international ceptual planning of the con- Davallu, and was then sanctions influence the produ- struction of Tehran's subway sys- dedicated to the last empress of ction processes periodically. tem were started in the 1970s. Iran, . The total According to local media, Tehran The first two of the eight pro- green space within Tehran str- has more than 200,000 taxis ply- jected metro lines were opened in etches over 12,600 hectares, cov- ing the roads daily with several 2001. ering over 20 percent of the city's types of taxi available in the city. Airport: Tehran is served by the area.The Parks and Green Spaces Airport taxis have a higher cost international airports of Meh- Organization of Tehran was es- per kilometer as opposed to regu- rabad and Khomeini. Mehrabad tablished in 1960, and is res- lar green and yellow taxis in the Airport, an old airport in western ponsible for the protection of the city. Tehran that doubles as a military urban nature present in the city. Buses have served the city since base, is mainly used for domestic Tehran's Birds Garden is the the 1920s. Tehran's transport sys- and charter flights. Khomeini largest bird park of Iran. There is tem includes conventional buses, Airport, located 50 kilometers also a zoo located on the Tehran– trolleybuses, and bus rapid transit (BRT). The city's four major bus stations include the South Term- inal, the East Terminal, the West Terminal, and the northcentral Beyhaghi Terminal. The trolleybus system was open- ed in 1992, using a fleet of 65 articulated trolleybuses built by Czechia's Škoda. This was the first trolleybus system in Iran In 2005, trolleybuses were oper- ating on five routes, all starting at Imam Hossein Square.[60] Two routes running northeastwards operate almost entirely in a segregated busway located in the middle of the wide carriageway along Damavand Street, stopping only at purpose-built stops Parked Airliners at the Mehrabad Airport Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Tehran 13

viving architectural monuments of Tehran are from the Qajar and Pahlavi eras. Although, cons- idering the area of Greater The- ran, monuments dating back to the Seljuk era remain as well; notably the Toqrol Tower in Ray. There are also remains of Ras- hkan Castle, dating back to the ancient , of wh- ich some artifacts are housed at the National Museum;[66] and the fire temple, which re- mains since the Sassanian Em- pire. Tehran only had a small popu- lation until the late 18th century, but began to take a more con- Tehran's Railway Station siderable role in Iranian society Expressway, housing over dern high schools in the Middle after it was chosen as the capital 290 species within an area of East. Among major educational city. Despite the regular occu- about five hectares. institutions located in Tehran, rrence of earthquakes during the There are four parks in Tehran Sharif University of Technology, Qajar period and after, some his- established exclusively for wo- University of Tehran, and Tehran toric buildings have remained men, totaling about 80 hectares University of Medical Sciences from that era. Tehran is Iran's in area, in which the female man- are the most prestigious. Other primate city, and is considered to datory dress codes are not major universities located in Te- have the most modernized infras- required. hran include Allameh Tabatabaei tructure in the country. Education: Tehran is the largest University, Amirkabir University However, the gentrification of and the most important edu- of Technology (Tehran Polyte- old neighborhoods and the dem- cational center of Iran. There are chnic), K.N.Toosi University of olition of buildings of cultural a total of nearly 50 major coll- Technology, Shahid Beheshti significance has caused concerns. eges and universities in Greater University (Melli University), Previously a low-rise city due to Tehran. Since the establishment Kharazmi University, Iran Uni- seismic activity in the region, of Dar ol Fonun by the order of versity of Science and Tech- modern high rise developments Amir Kabir in the mid-19th nology, Iran University of Med- in Tehran have been built in century, Tehran has amassed a ical Sciences, Islamic Azad Uni- recent decades in order to service large number of institutions of versity, International Institute of its growing population. There higher education. Some of these Earthquake Engineering and Sei- have been no major quakes in institutions have played crucial smology, Iran's Polymer and Pet- Tehran since 1830. roles in the unfolding of Iranian rochemical Institute, Shahed Uni- Tehran's International Tower is political events. Samuel M.Jor- versity, and Tarbiat Modarres the tallest residential building in dan, whom Jordan Avenue in University. Iran. It is a 54-story building Tehran was named after, was one Tehran is also home to Iran's located in the northern district of of the founding pioneers of the largest military academy, and . American College of Tehran, several religious schools. The Azadi Tower, a memorial which was one of the first mo- Architecture: The oldest sur- built under the reign of the

Kordestan Expressway interchange with Resalat and Hakim Expressway 14 Tehran Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

Golestan Palace Pahlavi dynasty, has long been itect Ali Sardar Afkhami, cons- are the city's most popular sports, the most famous symbol of tructed within five years. while , , and Tehran. Originally constructed in The annual events of Fajr The- are also major parts of the commemoration of the 2,500th ater Festival and Tehran Puppet city's sporting culture. year of the foundation of the Theater Festival take place in 12 resorts operate in Iran, the Imperial State of Iran, it com- Tehran. most famous being Tochal, bines elements of the architecture Cinema: The first movie theater , and , all within of the Achaemenid and Sassanid of Tehran was established by one to three hours from the city eras with post-classical Iranian Mirza Ebrahim Khan in 1904. of Tehran. architecture. The Milad Tower, Until the early 1930s, there were Tochal's resort is the world's fifth which is the sixth tallest tower 15 theaters in Tehran Province highest at over 3,730 and the 24th-tallest freestanding and 11 in other provinces. meters (12,240 feet) above sea structure in the world, is the In present-day Tehran, most of level at its highest point. It is also city's other famous landmark the movie theaters are located the World's nearest ski resort to a tower. , the largest downtown. The complexes of capital city. The resort was pedestrian overpass in Tehran, Mellat Gallery and Cineplex, Az- opened in 1976, shortly before was completed in 2014 and is adi Cinema, and Cinema Farhang the 1979 Revolution. It is equ- also considered a landmark. are among the most popular ipped with a 8-kilometre-long Theater: Under the reign of the cinema complexes in Tehran. (5 mi) gondola lift that covers a Qajars, Tehran was home to the Several film festivals are held in huge vertical distance. There are royal theater of Tekye Dowlat Tehran, including Fajr Film Fe- two parallel chair ski lifts in located to the southeast of the stival, Children and Youth Film Tochal that reach 3,900 meters Golestan Palace, in which trad- Festival, House of Cinema Fes- (12,800 feet) high near Tochal's itional and religious perform- tival, Mobile Film and Photo peak (at 4,000 m/13,000 ft), ris- ances were observed. It was eve- Festival, Nahal Festival, Roshd ing higher than the gondola's 7th ntually destroyed and replaced Film Festival, Tehran Animation station, which is higher than any with a bank building in 1947, Festival, Tehran Short Film Fes- of the European ski resorts. From Following the reforms under the tival, and Urban Film Festival. the Tochal peak, one has a reign of Reza Shah Before the Sports: Football and spectacular view of the Alborz 1979 Revolution, the Iranian range, including the 5,610-metre- national stage had become the most famous perfo-rming scene for known inter-national artists and troupes in the Middle East,[72] with the Roudaki Hall of Tehran constructed to function as the national stage for opera and ballet. The hall was inaugurated in October 1967, named after prominent Persian poet Roudaki. It is home to the Tehran Symph- ony Orchestra, the Tehran Opera Orchestra, and the Iranian Nat- ional Ballet Com-pany.The City Theater of Tehran, one of Iran's biggest theater complexes which contains several performance halls, was opened in 1972. It was built at the initiative and pre- sidency of Empress Farah Pah- lavi, and was designed by arch- Abgineh Museum Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Tehran 15

A Restaurant in Darabnd League courses have also been hosted in Tehran. Football clubs: The first football club of Tehran, named Iran Club, was founded in 1920 and diss- olved within two years in 1923. Today, Tehran's oldest existing Tabiat Bridge football club is Rah Ahan, which was founded in 1937. high (18,406 ft) Mount Dama- tries/NOCs, which was at the and Esteghlal, which are the vand, a dormant volcano. time the highest number of city's biggest clubs and two of Tehran is the site of the national participants since the inception of the biggest clubs in Asia, com- stadium of Azadi, the biggest the Games.[76] That followed pete in the Tehran derby. Tehran stadium by capacity in West hosting the 6th AFC Asian Cup is also home to the football club Asia, where many of the top in June 1976, and then the first of Ararat, a popular Armenian matches of Iran's Premier League West Asian Games in November football team based at the Ararat are held. The stadium is a part of 1997. The success of the games Stadium. the Azadi Sport Complex, which led to the creation of the West Food: There are many was originally built to host the Asian Games Federation (WA- restaurants and cafes in Tehran, 7th Asian Games in September GF), and the intention of hosting both modern and classic, serving 1974. This was the first time the the games every two years. The both Iranian and cosmopolitan Asian Games were hosted in city had also hosted the final of cuisine. Pizzerias, sandwich bars, West Asia. Tehran played host to the 1968 AFC Asian Cup. and kebab shops make up the 3,010 athletes from 25 coun- Several FIVB Volleyball World majority of food shop. Tehran's five major football clubs. Club Sport Founded League

Rah Ahan F.C. 1937 Azadegan League (AZL)

Ararat F.C. Association football 1944 Tehran Province League

Esteghlal F.C. Association football 1945 Iran Pro League (IPL)

Naft F.C. Association football 1950 Iran Pro League (IPL)

Persepolis F.C. Association football 1963 Iran Pro League (IPL)

Paykan F.C. Association football 1967 Iran Pro League (IPL) 16 Ferdowsi Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

Ferdowsi Hakim Abolghasem Ferdowsi Tusi

Statue of Ferdowsi in Ferdowsi Square in Tehran

Hakim Abol - Qasem Ferdowsi Tusi (c. 940–1020), is author of Shahnameh ("Book of Kings"), which is the world's longest epic poem created by a single poet, and the national epic of . Ferdowsi is celebrated as the most influential figure in and one of the greatest in the of literature. He was called "the Lord of the Word" and "the Savior of the Ferdowsi's poems: "Think for your lord's gratification – be intellectual and truthful", written on the wall of a school in Iran. Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Ferdowsi 17

As readable in Free Wikipedia, Except for his kunya (Abol-Qa- sem) and his Nickname (Fer- dowsī, meaning 'paradisiac'), nothing is known with any certainty about his full name. From an early period on, he has been referred to by different additional names and titles, the most common one being, Ḥakīm ("philosopher"). Based on this, his full name is given in Farsi حکیم ابوالقاسم فردوسی توسی sources as / Ḥakīm Abol-Qāsem Ferdowsī Țusī. Due to the non-stan- dardized translate-ration from Persian into English, different spellings of his name are used in English works, including Fer- dawsi, Firdusi, Firdosi, Fir- dausi, etc. The Encyclopædia Iranica, which uses a modified version of the same method (with a town in North Eastern Iran, in in for all those years. It was a stronger emphasis on Persian the province of Khorasan. long and angry poem, more like intonations), gives the spelling As a boy Ferdowsi loved to play a curse, and ended with the Ferdowsī. beside the river. But the bridge words: Life: was always being washed away "heaven's vengeance will not Ferdowsi was born into a family by floods. No one could build a forget. Shrink tyrant from my of Iranian landowners (dehqans) bridge strong enough to with- words of fire, and tremble at a in 940 in the village of Paj, near stand the floods. Ferdowsi poets ire." the city of Tus, in the Khorasan dreamt that one day he might The King ordered that Ferdowsi region of the , earn enough money to build a be found and trampled to death bridge that would stand up to by elephants. So Ferdowsi beg- which is located in the present- ed for forgiveness. The King day Kho-rasan -e- Razavi Prov- the floods. ince, in the northeastern of Iran. Ferdowsi became a renowned accepted but said he never poet and was given the job by wanted to see or hear from The poet had a wife, who was the King to write down the Ferdowsi again. probably literate and came from history of Persia. The King put Many, many people complained the same dehqans class. He had Ferdowsi in a special room in to the King. In the end, the King a son, who died at the age of 37, his palace, which had paintings felt remorseful and sent a camel and was mourned by the poet in covering the walls, to inspire train to Tus carrying 60,000 an elegy which he inserted into Ferdowsi's poetry. The King gold pieces along with cloth of the Shahname. told Ferdowsi that he would pay silk, brocade and velvet, perf- This is the story of Ferdowsi's him 1000 gold pieces for each umes and spices. life. And it is the story that is 1000 couplets that he managed But the King's gifts arrived too still told about Ferdowsi today. to write. late. It is said that Ferdowsi died It is impossible to say whether At the end of 30 years of hard before the camel train arrived. the story is true or not. But work, Ferdowsi had written As the King's caravan arrived in maybe whether it really happe- 60,000 couplets - the Shahname. one gate of the city, Ferdowsi's ned or not doesn't matter, as the He gave the poem to the King coffin and funeral procession story reveals something about and asked for his 60,000 gold left another gate of the city. Ferdowsi's character and what pieces. But during the 30 years Background: people thought of him. of writing Ferdowsi had argued Ferdowsi belonged to the class The story shows Ferdowsi's det- with the King. Ferdowsi felt the of dehqans. These were ermination to write the perfect King did not praise his work or landowning Iranian aristocrats poem, his belief that he had value him enough. The King who had flourished under the achieved this aim, and his thought Ferdowsi was much too Sassanid dynasty (the last pre- courage to stand up for his art. proud and only gave him 60,000 Islamic dynasty to rule Iran) and The story also seems to follow silver pieces. whose power, though dimi- the pattern of many of the Ferdowsi was furious. He left nished, had survived into the stories about Kings who make the palace and went back home Islamic era which followed the bad judgements in the Shah- to Tus. But he left behind a Islamic conquests of the name itself. Ferdowsi (940 – poem for the King, stuck to the 7th century. The dehqans were 1020Ad) was born in Tus, a wall of the room he had worked attached to the pre-Islamic 18 Ferdowsi Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

literary heritage, as their status Mansur and completed the first was associated with it (so much version of the Shahnameh in so that dehqan is sometimes 994. When the Turkic Ghaz- used as a synonym for "Iranian" navids overthrew the Samanids in the Shahnameh). Thus they in the late 990s, Ferdowsi saw it as their task to preserve continued to work on the poem, the pre-Islamic cultural tradi- rewriting sections to praise the tions, including tales of legen- Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud. dary kings. Mahmud's attitude to Ferdowsi The Islamic conquests of the 7th and how well he rewarded the century brought gradual lingu- poet are matters which have istic and cultural changes to the long been subject to dispute and Iranian Plateau. By the late 9th have formed the basis of leg- century, as the power of the ends about the poet and his caliphate had weakened, several patron (see below). The Turkic local dynasties emerged in Gre- Mahmud may have been less ater Iran. Ferdowsi grew up in interested in tales from Iranian Tus, a city under the control of history than the Samanids. The one of these dynasties, the later sections of the Shahnameh Samanid, who claimed descent have passages which reveal from the Sassanid general Bah- patrons of such important Ferdowsi's fluctuating moods: in ram Chobin(whose story Fer- Persian poets as Rudaki and some he complains about old dowsi recounts in one of the , and Ferdowsi followed age, poverty, illness and the later sections of the Shahname). in the footsteps of these writers. death of his son; in others, he The Samanid bureaucracy used Details about Ferdowsi's appears happier. Ferdowsi the New Persian language, education are lacking. Judging finally completed his epic on 8 which had been used to bring by the Shahnameh, there is no March 1010. Virtually nothing Islam to the Eastern regions of evidence he knew either Arabic is known with any certainty the Iranian world and supp- or Pahlavi. about the last decade of his life. lanted local languages, and Life as a poet: Ferdowsi was buried in his own commissioned translations of It is possible that Ferdowsi garden, burial in the cemetery of Pahlavi (Middle Persian) texts wrote some early poems which Tus having been forbidden by a into New Persian. Abu Mansur have not survived. He began local cleric. A Ghaznavid Mohammad, a dehqan and work on the Shahnameh around governor of Khorasan const- governor of Tus, had ordered his 977, intending it as a ructed a mausoleum over the minister Abu Mansur Mamari to continuation of the work of his grave and it became a revered invite several local scholars to fellow poet Daqiqi, who had site. The tomb, which had fallen compile a prose Shahnameh been assassinated by a slave. into decay, was rebuilt between ("Book of Kings"), which was 1928 and 1934 by the Society [6] Like Daqiqi, Ferdowsi emp- completed in 1010. Although loyed the prose Shahnameh of for the National Heritage of Iran it no longer survives, Ferdowsi ʿAbd-ol-Razzāq as a source. He on the orders of Rezā Shāh, and used it as one of the sources of received generous patronage has now become the equivalent his epic. Samanid rulers were from the Samanid prince of a national shrine. Legend: According to legend, Sultan Mahmoud of Ghazni offered Ferdowsi a gold piece for every couplet of the Shahnameh he wrote. The poet agreed to receive the money as a lump sum when he had completed the epic. He planned to use it to rebuild the dykes in his native Tus. After thirty years of work, Ferdowsi finished his mas- terpiece. The sultan prepared to give him 60,000 gold pieces, one for every couplet, as agreed. However, the courtier whom Mahmud had entrusted with the money despised Ferdowsi, reg- arding him as a heretic, and he replaced the gold coins with silver. Ferdowsi was in the bath The , a mythical bird from the Shahnameh, relief from Ferdowsi's mausoleum house when he received the reward. Finding it was silver Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Ferdowsi 19

and not gold, he gave the money indisputably genuine. He may Persian literary figures in his away to the bath keeper, a have written poems earlier in his impact on Persian culture and refreshment seller, and the slave life but they no longer exist. A language. Most of modern who had carried the coins. narrative poem, Yūsof o Zolaykā Iranians see him as the father of When the courtier told the (Joseph and Zuleika), was once the modern Persian language. sultan about Ferdowsi's beha- attributed to him, but scholarly Ferdowsi in fact was a viour, he was furious and consensus now rejects the idea it motivation behind many future threatened to execute him. Fer- is his.[3] There has also been Persian figures. One such not- dowsi fled Khorasan, having speculation about the satire able figure was Rezā Shah Pah- first written a satire on Mah- Ferdowsi allegedly wrote about lavi, who established an Acad- mud, and spent most of the Mahmoud of Ghaznavi after the emy of Persian Language and remainder of his life in exile. sultan failed to reward him Literature, in order to attempt to Mahmud eventually learned the sufficiently. Nezami Aruzi, remove Arabic and French truth about the courtier's dece- Ferdowsi's early biographer, words from the Persian lan- ption and had him either claimed that all but six lines had guage, replacing them with banished or executed. By this been destroyed by a well-wisher suitable Persian alternatives. In time, the aged Ferdowsi had who had paid Ferdowsi a 1934, Rezā Shāh set up a returned to Tus. The sultan sent thousand dirhams for the poem. ceremony in , Kho- him a new gift of 60,000 gold Introductions to some rasan, celebrating a thousand pieces, but just as the caravan manuscripts of the Shahnameh years of Persian literature since bearing the money entered the include verses purporting to be the time of Ferdowsi, titled gates of Tus, a funeral the satire. Some scholars have "Ferdowsi Millennial Cele- procession exited the gates on viewed them as fabricated; bration", inviting notable Eur- the opposite side: the poet had others are more inclined to opean as well as Iranian died from a heart attack. believe in their authenticity. scholars. Ferdowsi University of Works: Influence: Mashhad is a university esta- Ferdowsi's Shahname is the Ferdowsi is one of the blished in 1949 that also takes most popular and influential undisputed giants of Persian its name from Ferdowsi. national epic in Iran and other literature. After Ferdowsi's Sha- Ferdowsi's influence in the Persian-speaking nations. The hnameh, a number of other Persian culture is explained by Shahnameh is the only surviving works similar in nature surfaced the Encyclopedia Britannica: work by Ferdowsi regarded as over the centuries within the The Persians regard Ferdowsi as cultural sphere of the Persian the greatest of their poets. For language. Without exception, all nearly a thousand years they such works were based in style have continued to read and to and method on Ferdowsi's listen to recitations from his Shahname, but none of them masterwork, the Shah-name, in could quite achieve the same which the Persian national epic degree of fame and popularity found its final and enduring as Ferdowsi's masterpiece. form. Though written about Ferdowsi has a unique place in 1,000 years ago, this work is as Persian history because of the intelligible to the average, mo- strides he made in reviving and dern Iranian as the King James regenerating the Persian Version of the Bible is to a language and cultural traditions. modern English-speaker. The His works are cited as a crucial language, based as the poem is component in the persistence of on a Dari original, is pure the Persian language, as those Persian with only the slightest works allowed much of the admixture of Arabic. tongue to remain codified and intact. In this respect, Ferdowsi surpasses Nezami, Khayyám, Source: From Free Wikipedia & Other and other seminal Internet resources - Mehrafarin 20 UK uncooperative with Iran over JCPOA Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

Larijani: UK uncooperative with Iran over JCPOA

According to the report of “MNA” oppression? You claim to be the “At present, the ties between Iran Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali upholders of human rights, yet you and the UK are not strong enough Larijani held talks with the UK support those who violate Bahraini and we have engaged in much less foreign minister where he said people’s rights,” he asserted. business cooperation compared to “unlike certain other European Underlining the fact that world France and Germany,” Johnson countries, the UK did not take powers provide the violators of acknowledged. Explaining his appropriate measures to promote Bahraini people with weaponry mission to increase political, economic cooperation with Iran and facilities, Larijani added “we economic and parliamentary after JCPOA.” engaged in fight against terrorism cooperation with Iran and Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali in Iraq and Syria at the formal removing the obstacles for the Larijani held talks with UK request of their governments. We expansion of ties, the UK FM said Foreign Minister Boris Johnson believe that political negotiations “we are after increasing political and the delegation he headed and dialogue are the keys to the interaction and we are willing to where he expressed his gratitude regional problems. Why is it that receive more Iranian tourists in the towards the UK government and some countries opposed JCPOA UK.” people for the condolences they while it was considered the right Boris Johnson acknowledged that offered on the recent disastrous decision?” certain inappropriate measures earthquake in Iran and said “we “After JCPOA agreement was adopted by the UK have resulted are after promoting economic reached, unlike certain other in the dissolution of regional relations with the European Union. European countries that did their regimes and said “Iran, Saudi Iran, UK ties have a long history best to engage in economic tensions are not beneficial to any with lots of ups and downs along cooperation with Iran, the UK did countries and will only result in the way.” not take appropriate measures to unstable conditions. The problems “We disagree with military promote economic cooperation between the two countries need to campaigns against other countries; with Iran. You did not even solve be solved and we intend to help since 2000 when the US and the the banking obstacles of Iranian Iran’s attempts to establish stab- UK armies invaded Afghanistan embassy in London,” Larijani said. ility in the region.” and then Iraq, the region was Asserting that the US decision to Calling the activities of terrorist plunged into ever worsening move its embassy to al-Quds was groups in the region regrettable, chaos. These invasions were the one of the biggest mistakes the US Johnson asserted “Iranian Parli- major reason in the spread of government ever made, Larijani ament and the House of Lords of terrorism. Instead of voicing anti- said “the future will tell just how the UK have both been the targets Iran sentiments, it would be more big this mistake has been.” For his of terrorist attacks. We are inter- rewarding to pay attention to the part, the UK FM Boris Johnson ested in cooperating with Iran over reality of what is going on in offered his condolences to Iranians fighting terrorism and we will gain regional countries,” Larijani for the recent earthquake and, from your experience in this added.“All Bahraini people want referring to JCPOA agreements, regard.” is democracy. They want equal he added “we support JCPOA as voting rights. Why do you aid their an international agreement.” Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Outcomes of Boris Johnson’s trip to Tehran 21

Outcomes of Boris Johnson's trip to Tehran

(MNA)–The visit of British personality. In analyzing the to distinguish between "changing Foreign Secretary, "Boris John- British Foreign Secretary's visit the JCPOA" and its "cance- son", to Tehran has been called a to Tehran, one shouldn't overlook llation". In his controversial special trip by many analysts of these political and personal remarks, he emphasized that the foreign policy and international motives. US Congress is only calling for a affairs, and subjects such as "the -The British Foreign Secretary reform in the content of the case of security convicts", "the has recently held talks with JCPOA, and not for its cance- Joint Comprehensive Plan of members of the US Congress, llation. The British government Action (JCPOA)" and "regional and in particular some prominent has promised to Washington to issues" are considered among his Republican and Democratic do its best to change the JCPOA goals of this visit. There are presidential candidates. Johnson, to the benefit of the United some important points about on his trip to Tehran, also em- States. This includes removing Johnson's trip to Tehran: phasized that his country clauses related to time limits Boris Johnson has been accused supported the nuclear deal. How- (Sunset clauses), limiting Iran's by many British politicians of ever, it should be noted that missile program, and inspecting failing to perform his duties London has been accused of Iran's military sites. London is during the past months, espe- violating the nuclear deal over fully in favor of these changes, cially weeks before his recent the past two years. Nuclear and any statements made by the trip to Iran. Following Johnson's analysts emphasize that after the English authorities in concluding remarks about Nazanin Zaghari's United States, Britain has been a deal are merely tactical case, and emphasizing that she the most important obstacle on statements (in order to persuade was in Iran for running a the way of the JCPOA and made public opinion). journalism course, we were every effort to prevent its The third point is about London's witnessing new protests against realization. In March, the British regional policy. Undoubtedly, the British Foreign Secretary. Foreign Office called Iran a Boris Johnson as the British For- They have reached a point where challenging place for trade, eign Secretary is deeply conc- some British officials, including calling on investors and bus- erned about the rising costs of the Labor Party's leader" Jeremy inessmen in the United Kingdom London's defeat in the West Corbin", demanded Johnson's to be cautious about investing in Asian region. Over the past year, resignation from his post. Bey- Iran and to make the necessary Britain has had lots of failures in ond that, some members of the consultations in this regard. Also, the region and has incurred a lot conservative party also expressed the UK made lots of barriers of costs: in Yemen, the direct their opposition to supporting during the purchase of 950 tons support of the British gover- Johnson being the British Prime of uranium and yellow cake by nment from the Saudi regime for Minister after Teresa May's poss- Iran, which eventually prevented the massacre of men and women ible resignation. Under such the deal from happening. More and children had no benefits for circumstances, one of Johnson's importantly, after Trump's recent this country, even the conti- main goals of his trip to Tehran and controversial speech on the nuation of the Yemen war has led has been to revive his legal JCPOA, Boris Johnson has tried to an increase in Britain's failure 22 Outcomes of Boris Johnson’s trip to Tehran Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

and incapacity in the campaign. mobilization in Iraq and Syria) "The British authorities have In Bahrain, over the past five and the strength of the Resistance been trying to prevent the years, the British government has Front have confused London in concentration of public opinion worked hard to support the Al its calculations in the region. on their Achilles' heels and Khalifa regime. Even Britain has Thus, Boris Johnson came to weaknesses in the field of foreign supported actions such as the Tehran in a period when the cost policy by changing the game and siege of Bahrain's Shiite leader, of Britain's defeats in West Asia leading it towards the field of "Sheikh Isa Qassim" in the Al- is far greater than before. In such hidden diplomacy. Therefore, the Daraz area. Training Bahrain's a situation, the British authorities diplomatic and foreign policy police to suppress people, has are trying to preserve their being system of our country should in been another step by British rightful as ever-gest in the first no way allow the British government and security autho- place. Basically, Boris Johnson authorities to implement this rities to support the hated regime and other British officials should policy. Boris Johnson and other in Manama. However, the ero- be responsible for their anti- English officials know well that sion of Bahrain's developments security measures in Iran as well if the game is drawn to public and the shattering of the foun- as their anti-Iranian acts during diplomacy, they can't defend dations of the Al-Khalifa gove- the post-JCPIA period. What is themselves against the Islamic rnment made Britain frightened certain is that today, Johnson and Republic of Iran. Ultimately, over Manama's future. other British officials should Johnson has no choice but to In the two countries of Syria and merely stand in the position of admit to his country's defeat in Iraq, Britain has suffered much "answering" to the Iranian people the region and to admit to the tougher failings. In 2013, Britain, and they are in no position to mistakes his government has along with the United States, "demand" anything from us.The made with respect to Iran. tried to use ISIS as an instrument experience of years and decades Obviously, any pressure from for managing the region's cha- has shown that one of the British the British authorities to maintain nges. However, the defeat of tricks in face of crisis in its the status quo and put pressure ISIS in Syria and Iraq and the foreign policy, is to lead the on Iran to threaten our country presence of popular mobilized game from formal and public will double the cost of London's forces (especially the popular diplomacy to "hidden diplomacy. defeat against Tehran.

Iran’s foreign trade balance hits -$6bn in 11-month period

22, 2018) increased 11.29 percent as compared to the same period last year, IRICA reported. It is worth mentioning that cus- toms formalities for exporting 151,892,000 tons of goods has been conducted through a smart and integrated system integrated in all customs offices throughout the country. The report added that products, valued at $47.657 billion, were imported into the country, show- ing a considerable 23.61 percent growth as compared to the same According to the latest report billion, showing a significant period last year. released by Iran Customs Adm- 4.96 percent growth as compared Iran's major export products inistration, imports enjoyed a sig- to the same period last year. In during this period include gas nificant 23 percent growth in the total, $39.719 billion worth of condensates valued at $6.33 same period. products were exported from the billion, liquefied natural gas val- Accordingly, Iran’s non-oil expo- country in the same period. ued at $2.509 billion, liquefied rts stood at a considerable five Meanwhile, Iranian export of propane valued at $1.338 billion, percent growth as compared to non-oil products to China since methanol valued at $1.077 billion the last year’s corresponding 11- the beginning of the current Ira- and light oils and byproducts exc- month period. IRICA put the total nian fiscal year up to the end of ept gasoline valued at $1.067 non-oil exports value at $41.69 Iranian month of Bahman (Feb. billion, IRICA concluded. Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Ardebil tourist attractions 23

Ardebil tourist attractions

(MNA) – province is Kalkhoran are symbols of Isla- situated in a mountainous region Shorabil Lake boasts healing mic-. whose altitude averages 3,000 minerals and a picturesque Sheikh Safieddin Mausoleum is meters above sea level. It is very landscape. It is a sightseeing site located near Ardabil’s Aali-Qapu cold in winter and mild in and the main habitat for Square. It also includes a mos- summer. The city of Ardabil is migratory birds. que, library and school. usually recorded as one of the Heights The mausoleum has an Islamic coldest cities of the country in Sabalan, with an altitude of 4,811 architecture. winter. meters, is the third highest peak Sheikh Kalkhoran Mausoleum attracts a large in Iran. It is an inactive volcano. belongs to Aminoddin Jebreil, number of tourists due to its There is a small lake on top of the father of Sheikh Safieddin favorable cool weather. the summit. Sablan is also home Es’haq, the ancestor of Safavid The northwestern province has to Ski Resort. kings. It is located in Kalkhoran natural wonders, historical mon- Sarein Village in Ardabil. uments, many tourist attractions Sarein is located 25kms from the Souvenirs as well as scores of mineral water provincial capital of Ardabil on Ardabil is well known for its springs. the slopes of Sabalan Heights. It carpets, honey, sweets, roasted Fandoqlou Forest is considered one of the top ten sunflower seeds, felt products, Fandoqlou Forest is located tourism hubs of Iran. Most of the woodworks and earthenware. Its 10kms southeast of the city of tourists to Ardabil Province traditional food is 'Aash-e Namin. It is the largest hazelnut stopover in Sarein. Doogh'-a sour yoghurt soup with hub of the country and annually Ardebil Village chickpeas and vegetables. hosts tens of thousands of Andebil Village is located near Ardabil climate visitors. the city of Khalkhal. Andebil Ski Ardabil province is situated in a Resort is located to the northeast mountainous region whose The slopes of Baghru Heights, Khalkhal. Several winter sports altitude averages 3,000 meters which is 35kms to the southeast festivals have been held there in above sea level. It is very cold in of Ardabil, have a beautiful lake recent years. winter and mild in summer. The named Neor. Neor Lake, which Ardabil mausoleums city of Ardabil is usually is located 2,500 meters above sea The mausoleums of Sheikh recorded as one of the coldest level, has a unique biodiversity. Safieddin Ardabili and Sheikh cities of the country in winter. 24 province land of natural wonders Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

Kerman province land of natural wonders

(MNA)–After a lapse of 5,000 ancient ploughs and enclosed years since the departure of lands were discovered there. dwarfs from the city, a large Another was named Jewelers swathe of this prehistoric District following the excavation region lies buried and the of precious beads. migration of Shahdad’s dw- Archeologists have unearthed arfs remains clouded in many valuable architectural rem- mystery. nants and relics from 3rd mill- is a land of ennium BC after completing a natural wonders and apart total of 10 excavation phases. from being a historical asset, Shahdad’s ancient region is it is a symbol of Iran's spread over 60 kilometers in the biodiversity. heart of Lut Desert. The city Unique ecosystem includes workshops, residential Keshit Valley, which is districts and cemeteries. located near Keshit Village, has a roads, only experts with high- Archeological studies in the unique ecosystem. tech facilities and locals familiar residential district known as City of The dryness of Shahdad’s desert with desert routes visit the place. Dwarfs revealed the presence of makes one assume that it could Shahdad, the ancient name of sub-districts in which jewelers, be a miserable place, but Keshit which is Khabis, is located 100 craftsmen and farmers lived. Valley in Lut Desert is actually a km east of Kerman on the wes- Inhabitants of the City of Dwarfs paradise in hell. tern side of Lut Desert.Nobody abandoned the area 5,000 years ago Keshit Valley is located on the thought an ancient civilization due to drought conditions and southern bank of Lut Desert. If could exist in this desert until never returned. tourists seek to access this region 1946. However, following stu- Over 800 ancient graves have been by road, they should come from dies conducted by the Geography excavated there during the ex- Shahdad. Faculty of Tehran University in cavation phases. Keshit Village has an old fabric. 1946, potteries discovered in Strange architecture It has a castle by the same name Shahdad proved that a civi- An interesting aspect about the City belonging to the Seljuk era. lization flourished in Lut Desert. of Dwarfs in Shahdad is the strange Keshit is the only breathing place Excavation phases architecture of its houses, alleys in the heart of the desert. Given the importance of the and equipment discovered. There is a waterfall ― with a issue, a group of archeologists Its walls, ceilings, furnaces, shelves height of 12 meters ― at the end visited the area and conducted and the equipments used could of the valley where a pond full of studies that lent credence to only be used by dwarfs. limpid water is spread over 600 prehistoric settlement (end of 4th After news about the City of sq.m. Special ferns surround the millennium BC and beginning of Dwarfs spread, rumors circulated pond. 3rd millennium BC). about the discovery of a dwarf’s Hottest spot Scientific and archeological remains. The case involved a dwarf Gandom-e Beryan area in the excavations were conducted in this with a height of 25 cm, desert of Shahdad is known to region during 1948-56. which the smugglers attempted to have recorded the highest Cemeteries belonging to 2nd and sell for 80 billion rials in Germany. temperature on the earth’s sur- 3rd millennium BC and copper However, two smugglers were face: 67 degrees centigrade in furnaces were discovered in the arrested in this regard and the summer.It is named after a hill eight excavation phases. mummy was confiscated. with an area of 480 square Relics discovered in Shahdad’s After a lapse of 5,000 years since kilometers, which is covered cemeteries included numerous the departure of dwarfs from the with blackened volcanic lava. potteries and brassware. city, a large swathe of this pre- The hill has been identified by Seventeen years after the victory of historic region lies buried and the Iranian expert, Professor Parviz Islamic Revolution in 1979, arch- migration of Shahdad’s dwarfs Kordavani, as the world’s hottest eological explorations were resu- remains clouded in mystery. place.Though this declaration has med in Shahdad, Iran Daily wrote. Many would like to know why the been disputed, most scientists ag- The four subsequent excavation dwarfs covered the doors of their ree that the desert safely ranks as phases, which uncovered houses homes with mud and never one of the hottest spots in the and workshops, clarified many returned. This requires allocation of world. Gandom-e Beryan or Rige ambiguities regarding the archi- funds for conducting further ar- Soukhteh is located 80 km north tecture and settlement of Shahdad’s cheological studies in the City of of Shahdad city in Lut Desert. people. One of the areas was Dwarfs. Because of a lack of access named Farmers District, after By: Mohammad Ghaderi Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 News 25

Short Economic News

France’s long history of playing with Iran

Acc.to the (MNA) In the foll- towards the nuclear deal with owing report provided by MNA Iran and wants to relate the staff members, a summary of JCPOA with Iran’s missile France’s playing with Iran at program. different stages is discussed with The continuation of making the hope that our Foreign anti-Iran accusations and un- Ministry takes a tougher stance calculated remarks against the European country. In the past months, French senior French foreign minister has officials including President Em- finally arrived in Tehran manuel Macron and Foreign The French Foreign Minister terrorist cell was discovered and Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in dismantled in Boroujerd, Lore- uttered baseless claims and Tehran early on Sunday March 5, stan province, saying they were accusations against the Islamic 2018 and so far, he has met with involved in sabotaging actions Republic of Iran. They have Iran’s SNSC Secretary Ali during recent protests. Prior to explicitly named Iran as a threat Shamkhani and his Iranian coun- that on July 2, 2017, Iran’s to the region and the world and terpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. foreign minister had warned these claims have been of course Jean-Yves Le Drian had against activities of the MKO in condemned by statements issued postponed his trip to Tehran, France, saying “giving permi- by the Iranian foreign ministry. which had been planned for ssion to carry out activities to a However, the effectiveness of January 5, 2018. group which is loathed by the these claims, considering their The decision for postponing the Iranian people, has a dark history frequent expression, can be sized trip came as Iranian President of assassinations, had sided with up. Hassan Rouhani held a phone Saddam regime, and has been Speaking to the Council on For- conversation with his French making attempts to carry out eign Relations in New York, Le counterpart Emmanuel Macron attacks on the Iranian soil leaves Drian criticized Iran for on January 3, 2018, calling on a black stain on the countries that destabilizing measures in Syria, France to “take its legal res- cooperate with such groups.” Iraq, and Yemen.“The other con- ponsibility to combat terrorism Zarif added that the MKO had dition for building trust is kee- and violence,” criticizing that a become an instruments in the ping one’s word. The terrorist group, called Mujahedin- hands of Iran’s enemies. destabilizing actions carried out e Khalq Organization (MKO), Now with all these in mind, the by Iran in Syria, in Iraq, in has a base in Paris, operating Iranian policy makers are exp- Lebanon, in Yemen, or in the against the Iranian people and ected to transfer Iranian people Gulf region—whether directly or provoking and persuading people and government’s worries about through the groups it supports— to take violent actions in Iran. the terrorist MKO’s activities in these initiatives cannot be tole- France’s support for terrorist France. rated. And I’m stated this very MKO France’s playing with the bluntly. Likewise, for ballistic Mohahedin-e Khalq (MKO) is a JCPOA activities carried out by Iran, terrorist organization in exile The level of hostility of the cu- which are incompatible with the that has carried out a lot of brutal rrent US government towards the resolutions of the Security Cou- attacks against civilian and nuclear deal with Iran is clear to ncil. This attitude runs contrary to government officials in Iran everyone, but Europeans’ pos- our interests, and runs contrary to killing a large number of them. ition toward the pact is different. the U.S.’s interests. This attitude The terrorist MKO has been Some of them verbally continue is a threat to the security of supported by the Western gove- to support the implementation countries in the region. We rnments since its founding. process and want to keep things certainly share the objective to The terrorist organization ope- going. In this regard, Tehran has curb this policy, because he rates freely in France and holds repeatedly stated that oral support cannot accept interfering and the regular conferences in French is not enough and the Europeans desire for hegemony that they capital Paris every year in order have to take action against US’s testify to.” to recruit many more terrorists. moves in violation of the JCPOA. While visiting UAE and Saudi They were involved in the recent Foad Izadi, professor of Ame- Arabia, French President Macron riots in the Iran. On January 5, rican studies at the University of repeated in Dubai that he wanted 2018, Iran’s intelligence ministry Tehran believes that France has to keep the landmark 2015 said on Friday that a MKO taken a hypocritical stance nuclear deal, which Trump has 26 News Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

challenged.But he said he was HIV-Infected Bloods Case ble-standard, bias, an unilateral “very concerned” by Iran’s ball- The case of “HIV-Infected Bl- policy. istic missile program, mentioning oods” dates back to approxmately In this regard, Naqavi Hosseini a missile fired from Yemen and three decades ago and came to Spokesman for Parliament Nat- intercepted by Saudi Arabia on being in the course of Iran-Iraq ional Security Commission said, Saturday, and raised the prospect war (1980-1988). However, the “it has already been reiterated of possible sanctions with regard case is one of the other un- that Iran’s defensive power is not to those activities.“There are pleasant and unforgettable mea- negotiable and in my opinion, extremely strong concerns about sures taken by the French Iranian Ministry of Foreign Iran. There are negotiations we authorities against Iranians. Affairs should take urgent action need to start on Iran’s ballistic Mérieux Institute, which curr- against the issue seriously.” missiles,” he said.“Like what was ently is at the ownership of “In general, the respected gover- done in 2015 for the nuclear French Sanofi-Aventis Company, nment of the Islamic Republic of activities, it’s necessary to put a exported HIV-contaminated coa- Iran should revise its relations framework in place for Iran’s gulation factors, for being used with French authorities catego- ballistic activities and open a by patients suffering from rically,” he maintained.For his process, with sanctions if needed, hemophilia, to some countries part, Ali-Akbar Velayati Senior of negotiation that would enable including West Germany, Italy, Advisor to the Leader of the Isla- (that).”It is worth to mention that Argentine, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and mic Revolution in International in the past months, Mr. Macron Iran. Affairs pointed to baseless rem- shared the same views against In the same direction, exporting arks raised by French officials Iran in his meetings with US HIV-infected bloods claimed with regard to renegotiating with President Trump and Israeli PM lives of many patients suffering Iran’s missile power and said, Netanyahu.The French Foreign from hemophilia. “defensive preparedness is of the Minister Le Drian has also made The necessity of Iran’s Foreign initial and inalienable rights of threats against Iran saying that if Ministry taking legal action ag- any nation and no country is Iran does not take care about the ainst France’s baseless accu- allowed to interfere in internal concerns over its missile pro- sations affairs of other countries.” gram, new sanctions may be With all the above consi- Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spoke- levied on Iran. derations, the widespread accu- sman Bahram Ghasemi also Of course, it is to be borne in sations made by Paris authorities showed harsh reaction in this mind that the negative report card against Tehran indicate that the respect and said, “the government of the French in dealing with the approach taken by French author- of the Islamic Republic of Iran Iranian nation is not limited to ities after the implementation of will never allow others to under- these remarks in regards with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of mine its missile power since it is JCPOA, Iran’s missile program, Action (JCPOA) is based on dou- for peaceful purposes.” and defense capabilities.

Moscow to stage Iranian play ‘Macbeth Zar’ on World Theater Day

Acc.to the (MNA) – The Iranian the ritual called Babazar, in order musical comedy ‘Macbeth Zar’, a to become the king of those mix of Shakespeare's tragedy possessed by the evil spirits, with a local Iranian rite, will go called Ahl-e Hava. on stage in Moscow concurrent ‘Macbeth Zar’ was the winner of with the World Theater Day, the New Experience Section at March 27. the 28th Tehran International ‘Macbeth Zar’ is a production of Theater Festival in 2009. It also Titowak Theater Group and went on to grab the award for the Baran-Zagros, and directed by best theater ensemble and best Ebrahim Poshtekouhi. It is a performance in Moscow Nights musical comedy that blends the Theater Festival in 2012. Zar ritual of Iran’s southern Hor- France’s Avignon Festival and mozgan Province with William from the possessed individual, Armenia’s HighFest Theater Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Mac- which comprises food and mu- Festival also hosted the play. beth’. Zar is the term for an evil sical performances culminating in Poshtekouhi has been invited by spirit that in southern parts of ecstatic dancing. In Poshte- the Moscow Tchaikovsky Cons- Iran is believed to possess indi- kouhi’s production, Macbeth ervatory to stage ‘Macbeth Zar’ viduals. A Zar ritual is the lives on Hormoz Island, and kills on March 27, concurrent with the practice of exorcising such spirits Duncan, the chief organizer of World Theater Day. Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61 Members 27

IBCCIM’s New Members

Member Companies:

Parsian Harir Alborz Co.: Machinery and Spare Hacoupian Clothing Industries: Clothing Parts, M.D.: Mehran Madah, Address: Postal Industry, M.D.: Sombat Haghoupians Code: 1558844313, Flat No. 1, No. 30, Tazehkand, Address: Postal Code: Toopchi St., North Sohrevrdi St., Tehran, Tel: 1589615841, No. 24, in the corner of Vafa +98 (21) 88516799, Fax: +98 (21) 88525872, Alley, Fajr St., Motahari St., Tehran, Tel: +98 Email: [email protected] (21) 88323622, Fax: +98 (21) 88811789, Zarbaf Amin Textile Industrial Co.: Textile, Email: [email protected] M.D.: Amin Moghaddam, Address: Postal Varesh Iranian Co.: Oil and Energy, Code: 1911914574, Flat No. 3, No. 93, M.D.: Zahra Soltani Sobh, Address: Postal Mirdamad Bulevard, Tehran, Tel: +98 (21) Code: 1435915617, Flat No. 20, Sixth Floor, 22226410, Fax: +98 (21) 22274236, Email: No. 242, Molasadra St., Square, Tehran, [email protected] Tel: +98 (21) 89378000, Fax: +98 (21) Kadbanoo Co.: Foodstuff, M.D.: Mohammad 88611760, Email: [email protected] Ourang, Address: third floor, No. 24, seventh Compak Ramps Company: Producing Ramp Fath, Fath Highway, Tehran, Tel: +98 (21) Wheelchairs, M.D.: Eleheh Sharifi, Address: 61939000, Fax: +98 (21) 66808770, Email: Unit 18, Schooner Court, Crossways, Business [email protected] Park, Dartfood Kent, DA2 6NW, Kam Poust Co.: Leather, M.D.: Saeed Lond+X235on-England, Tehran, Tel: +98 Shadkam, Address: Postal Code: 1944754411, (163) 4816191, Email: No. 10, Chizari St., Agha Miri St., Ghant [email protected] intersection, Dolat St., Pasdaran, Tehran, Tel: Datis Khodro Iranian Co. ltd.: Automative, +98 (21) 22541875, Fax: +98 (21) 22549875, M.D.: Milad Alinaghi, Address: Flat No. 501, Email: [email protected] No. 2, vard, Saatat Abad St., Tehran, Tel: +98 Aria Ziggurat Tourism Development Co.: (21) 75306, Fax: +98 (21) 43851555, Email: Tourism, M.D.: Khosro Asgarian, Address: [email protected] Postal Code: 19911793371, West Second Chekad Mehrnian Azar Co.: Heath Products, Floor, No. 50, Mahtab Alley, Seoul St., upper M.D.: Seyedeh Leila Hashemi, Address: Postal than Sheikh Bahaei, Tehran, Tel: +98 (21) Code: 1931653380, Flat No. 62, Ffloor No. 6, 88043539, Fax: +98 (21) 88067409, Email: Almas Bulding, No. 10, in the corner of Dad [email protected] Alley, upper than Sadr Bridge, Shariaty St., Arg Petrochemical Co.: Petrochemical, M.D.: Tehran, Tel: +98 (21) 40221972, Fax: +98 (21) Karim Masnadi Shirazi Nejad, Address: Postal 43858242, Email: [email protected] Code: 1466966591, No. 104 & 106, Tohid1, Tgehran Navgan Tarabar Beinolmelal Co.: Ramesheh St., Darya Bulevard, Shahrak-e- M.D.: Arash Danesh, Address: Postal Code: Gharb, Tehran, Tel: +98 (21) 88582811-6, Fax: 1968736843, No. 25, West Farzan St., Africa +98 (21) 88582811-6, Email: St., Tehran, Tel: +98 (21) 82444, Fax: +98 (21) [email protected] 88658115 .

Individual Member:

Ebrahim Tavakolian: Foodstuff, Address: Flat Majid Harasi: Electronic, Address: No. 3, No. 8&9, Third Floor, No. 81, Jalal Al Ahmad Eleventh St., Saadat Abad St., Tehran, Tel: +98 St., Tehran, Tel: +98 (21) 88277355, Fax: +98 (21) 22079316, Fax: +98 (21) 22079134, (21) 88270899, Email:[email protected] Email: [email protected] 28 Report Irano-British Quarterly Magazine No. 61

Source: CBI