IRAN
October 2016 Issue No.2 FOCUS
A LOOK AT REAL IRAN IN WEEKLY NEWS
CULTURAL CONSULATE OF EMBASSY OF I.R. IRAN – PRETORIA
2 Introduction:
Iran: A concise History
“Certain regions of the world are distinguishable as being associated with a particular human culture pattern, which is at once distinctive in character and also sufficiently strong to have survived as a readily identifiable entity over many centuries… Of these regions, Iran is certainly one”. Cambridge History of Iran Known as Persia until 1935, Iran is a country with a history of over 10000 years and home to one of the oldest known civilizations. Persia, or Iran, as the country is more appropriately called, presents a lexicon of human history matched only by a handful of other countries in the world. The name Persia is derived from the Persis, a province in southern Iran from which a southern Iranian tribe, known as the “Persians” created a world empire in the sixth century B.C. The name Iran, pronounced “Eran”, however, comes from the term “Aryan” meaning “the land of nobles”, a name first used about the first millennium B.C. ‘Iran’ as a territory has multiple meanings. Broadly and devoid of any sort of political or territorial claims, one can see it as three regions. First, there is modern Iran, within its international borders. Then there is ‘Greater Iran or / ‘Iran exterieur comprising the additional areas that once formed part of the Iranian world at various times in history. Lastly, there are the areas, sometimes very remote from the center, including parts of Europe and India that exhibit Iranian influence. In the seventh century A.D. the new faith, Islam, which was based on Monotheism, offered the Iranian population an excellent opportunity whence for several centuries Iranian arts and acumen crystallized and became paramount in the Islamic world. The following centuries witnessed the development of distinctive traditions in pottery and ceramics, tile work, stucco, brickwork, metalwork, glassware, carpets, textiles, jewelry, music and poetry. In antiquity, and again during the Islamic period, Iran’s position between the West and China helped to transform this land into “a crossroad of civilizations” and one of the great sources of art and thought. Iran’s originality is such that it continuously invented new forms while maintaining its distinct character, as its influence extended over immense regions.
3 Content
ART & CULTURE
“Inadaptable” to compete in Vietnamese film festival
Iranian docs on music to go on screen in Sweden
Iranian films win awards at Beirut festival
Iranian photojournalist honored with Bayeux-Calvados Award
Dialogue with religions, cultures Iran top agenda: culture minister
Iran’s stand at Frankfurt Book Fair to host discussions by intl. literati
Nigerian festival awards Iranian films
Iranian films won awards at Armenian festival
London Sophia Gallery seeks to allay Iranophobia in Europe: manager
“Salam Mumbai” producer invites Bollywood stars to Tehran premiere
LACMA to showcase works by Iranian artist Ali-Akbar Sadeqi
“Hura” wins NETPAC Award at All Lights festival
“Tell Nothing”, “From Deceitful Age” honored at House of Music Celebration
SOCIETY
Nazri distribution, a centuries-old tradition in Iranian village
Iran allots loans of up to $3,000 to bicycles, electric motorcycles
Environment course to be taught at universities
Iran ranks 6th in nanotechnology worldwide: official
Iran-Germany environmental cooperation to pick up steam
First aerial transfer of organ for a transplant in Iran
Iranians welcome 1st online national census
Over 5,000 South Koreans visit Iran yearly: official
Iran’s first permanent handicrafts marketplace opens 4 Iran plans to halve plastic bags usage in 3 years
Post-JCPOA tourist arrivals in Iran doubles global average
Isfahan on track to become a city of bicycles
Tehran to host high-profile hotel builders, investors
Under visitors’ eyes: Blue Mosque in Tabriz
ECONOMY
Iran’s oil production rises 21,400 bpd in Sept.: OPEC
Sweden to open trade office in Tehran
Iranian crude to replace Saudi oil in Egypt
OICA ranks Iran as 20th leading carmaker
Permits for over 66,000 intl. flights issued in Iran in H1
Iran’s current account balance positive: IMF
Iran’s oil exports around 2 mb/d in H1
3 airlines negotiating to launch direct flights to Tehran
Tehran, Paris stress expansion of trade, industrial ties
Iran’s H1 gas condensate exports up 25% y/y
Iran plans to produce 360 tons of saffron in calendar year
POLICY
Zarif congratulates António Guterres as UN chief
Morocco appoints new ambassador to Iran
Tehran angry over Nigeria’s attacks on Ashura mourners
Foreign Ministry pursuing policies of Economy of Resistance: FM
Thailand, Turkey willing to expand scientific ties with Iran
Erdogan calls Iran one of the most important regional players
5 Art & Culture
6 “Inadaptable” to compete in Vietnamese film festival October 14, 2016
TEHRAN – Iranian director Ebrahim Ebrahimian’s “Inadaptable” will be screened at the 4th Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF), which will be held in the Vietnamese capital from November 1 to 5.
“Inadaptable”, which is about a university professor who comes under suspicion by his wife for disloyalty, will compete with films from India, Canada, Korea, Russia, Japan, France, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Iranian docs on music to go on screen in Sweden October 14, 2016
TEHRAN – Iranian documentaries “Crossed-Out Memories” by Nasser Saffarian and “Sassanid Enchanter” by Mehdi Baqeri will go on screen tonight during a program entitled “Love in Iranian Songs” in Uppsala, Sweden.
“Crossed-Out Memories” is about love and hate in Iranian songs during the 2000s while “Sassanid Enchanter” traces the harp in ancient Iran.
Ismahni, a Swedish professional harpist, is scheduled to perform at the event, which is organized by Atlas Labs, a Sweden-based Iranian film distributor. 7
Iranian films win awards at Beirut festival October 14, 2016
TEHRAN – Two Iranian films won awards at the 16th edition of the Beirut International Film Festival (BIFF), which was held in the Lebanese capital from October 5 to 13.
“Pale Mirrors” directed by Salem Salavati shared the best short film award with “Motorcycle” by Mohammad Alholayyil from Saudi Arabia.
“Pale Mirrors” tells the story of a woman who has only 24 hours to be pregnant. This might be her last chance to be a mother but her vague future has her confused.
Iranian directors Farnaz and Mohammadreza Jurabchian received the best director award for the documentary “Overruled” while the best documentary film award went to “Robert” by Lebanese director Ghina Abboud.
“Overruled” is about the lives of some young Afghan refugees in Iran. They work as ball boys in tennis clubs in Tehran, so they have learned how to play tennis. But the problem is they are not accepted in this society anyway and will always remain outsiders.
8
Iranian photojournalist honored with Bayeux-Calvados Award October 14, 2016
TEHRAN – Iranian photojournalist Hassan Qaedi has been honored with a prize at the 23rd edition of the Bayeux-Calvados Award for war correspondents.
Qaedi who works for Sipa Press, an international photo agency, won the second prize for his collection entitled “War in Iraq: Al-Bashir Operation” in the official section of the competition, which is awarded by Nikon, the organizers announced last week.
“I’m happy that my photos of war in Syria and Iraq had a good image and I could show part of the efforts that Muslim Iraqi soldiers are making in the war,” Qaedi said in a post published on his Instagram on Friday.
The first prize in this category went to Yannis Behrakis of Reuters for his series “Aegean Sea” showing a group of Syrian refugees sailing on the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece. The collection also won the first prize in the Public’s Choice Award sponsored by the French Development Agency (AFD).
Abd Doumany of AFP won the third prize for his collection “Makeshift Hospital in Douma” in Syria.
Fifty war correspondents have gathered in Bayeux, France on October 7 and 8 to debate and award trophies in various categories. 9 Photos in the official section judged by an international jury, which was directed by Jean-Claude Guillebaud.
“The Bayeux-Calvados Award for war correspondents offers a panoramic view of our profession and this is what makes this award so unique and precious,” Guillebaud said in a statement last week.
Photo: A photo from Iranian photojournalist Hassan Qaedi’s series “War in Iraq”, which won the International Jury’s second prize at the 23rd edition of the Bayeux-Calvados Award
Dialogue with religions, cultures Iran top agenda: culture minister October 14, 2016
TEHRAN – Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati has said dialogue with religions and cultures is Iran’s top agenda to help peace in the world.
Speaking at the World Culture Forum, which was held in Bali, Indonesia from October 10 to 14, he said, “Due to its wealth of background in civilization and culture, my country always emphasizes the element of dialogue.” 10 Organizing bilateral meetings and festivals, as well as promoting translation movements, and making the educational systems of the countries more efficient can help dialogue among the nations, he added.
He also said, “Culture is behind all individual and social behavior… and all our behavior, including political actions, is oriented by our culture.”
The World Culture Forum (WCF) is an initiative organized by the Ministry of Education and Culture, Republic of Indonesia.
The first edition of the meeting, also held in Bali during November 2013, was organized under the patronage of UNESCO to highlight the power of culture as the fourth dimension of sustainable development.
Jannati also held a meeting with Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture Muhajir Effendi on the sidelines of his visit to Indonesia.
Ways to expand cultural relations between the two countries were discussed at the meeting.
Photo: Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati speaks in an undated photo.
Iran’s stand at Frankfurt Book Fair to host discussions by intl. literati October 9, 2016
TEHRAN – Iran’s pavilion at the Frankfurt Book Fair will host discussions by a number of foreign literati during the world’s largest trade fair for books that will be held from October 19 to 23. 11 Anshela Werner, a well-known Ukrainian poet, is scheduled to deliver a speech about Persian poetry on the first day of the book fair while Ursula Holpp, the director of the Africa, Southeast Asia, Korea and Iran section of the book fair, will talk about the cooperation between Iranian and German publications.
A discussion will also be held by Iris Radisch, the German journalist who is also the author of “Camus: The Ideal of Simplicity”, which has been translated into Persian by Mahshid Mirmoezi.
Ursula Visser, the German translator of “The Legend of the King and the Mathematician”, will also review the play penned by Iranian writers Mehdi Behzad and Naghmen Samini.
Katharina Müller, an expert on Iranian studies at Tubingen University, and German film director Mo Asumang will also deliver speeches.
Nigerian festival awards Iranian films October 9, 2016
TEHRAN – Two Iranian films won awards at the 13th Abuja International Film Festival, which was held in the Nigerian city from October 4 to 7.
Sadeq Daqiqi was named best director for “Until Ahmad Returns” while Majid Derakhshani won the award for best composer for his collaboration in Ahmad 12 Ramezanzedeh’s movie “The Tale of Love”, Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organization announced on Sunday.
Iranian films won awards at Armenian festival
October 8, 2016
TEHRAN – Two Iranian short films were honored at the Sose International Film Festival, which was held in Yerevan, Armenia from September 23 to 30.
Esmaeil Monsef’s “Ardak” won the best film award in the Independence Special Competition while Kamal Parnak’s “Hasti” won the award for best film in the Student Competition.
13 London Sophia Gallery seeks to allay Iranophobia in Europe: manager October 8, 2016
TEHRAN – The manager of the Sophia Contemporary Gallery in London, Lili Jassemi, an Iranian who grew up in Munich, has said that the gallery wants to dispel Iranophobia in Europe through introducing Persian art.
She made the remarks in an interview with the Persian service of Honaronline, a Persian art news website, published on Saturday.
She also emphasized that the gallery plans to introduce the art of Iran to Europe in an international standard.
“We are three partners who run the gallery; French-Russian Vassili Tsarenkov and Georgian-Russian Lali Marganiya are both from families of famous collectors. We three speak six different languages and this helps us to better reach new markets. I believe we can also make a professional gallery where we can make Iranian art popular in Europe,” Jassemi said.
She added that the Sophia Gallery displays a variety of contemporary art from every part of the world, but the focus is on the art of Iran.
“We set the exhibits in a way to attract more collectors. We also try to hold different exhibits in other locations such as Germany or St. Petersburg if the artists can afford it.
“Our first exhibit belonged to works by Reza Derakhshani and it was a successful one, the second belonged to Mehrdad Khatai and the third to Puya Aryanpur,” she said. 14 She later emphasized that the market of Iran must first be strong to attract the world’s attention. “For example, the Tehran Auction has played a very effective role,” she added.
“Our artist must also be in contact with the international galleries. The artist must also become famous in the international arena, that is, good exhibits in different parts of the world can help,” she explained.
“Our evaluation shows that three things are very important in Europe for an artwork. A good artwork is actually a creative work, it is original and is offered at reasonable price,” she added.
In the heart of Mayfair, Sophia Contemporary Gallery held its summer show from July 27 to September 22 featuring eight different European and Iranian artists including Shahriar Ahmadi, Bahram Hanafi, Arash Lahiji, Ramin Shirdel, Mehrdad Shoghi and Mohammadreza Yazdi.
Photo: Works by Iranian artists on display at Sophia Contemporary Gallery’s Summer Show, which was held from July 27 to September 22, 2016. (SCG)
“Salam Mumbai” producer invites Bollywood stars to Tehran premiere October 3, 2016
TEHRAN – Producer of “Salam Mumbai” has invited a number of the Bollywood stars of the Iranian-Indian production to attend the Tehran premiere set for December 1. 15 “The actors have been invited to the movie premiere and we hope everything will go smoothly on its way so we will have them here at the right time,” Javad Noruzbeigi told the Persian service of Honaronline on Monday.
He added that the screening programs have been changed several times and the invitation has consequently changed different times, “However, we have promised the Indian company and the agreement must be followed carefully,” he added.
Noruzbeigi added that Indian actor Dharmendra, mostly famous for his notable role in “Sholay” (1975), has also been invited to the premiere.
“Dharmendra is so interested in Iran. It seems that he has traveled to Iran many years ago before the [Islamic] Revolution and has also expressed his interest in visiting Iran again, and that is why we thought it would be good to invite him to the program,” he added.
Directed by Iranian filmmaker Qorban Mohammadpur, the melodrama tells the story of an Iranian boy and Indian girl, both of whom study medicine at a university.
Bollywood actress Dia Mirza, Iranian superstar Mohammadreza Golzar and pop star Benyamin Bahadori, as well as the Indian actor Gulshan Grover, who is known as the bad man of Bollywood cinema, are among the main stars of the film.
“Salam Mumbai” will also have public screenings in several other countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, United States, Australia, Germany and Sweden.
LACMA to showcase works by Iranian artist Ali-Akbar Sadeqi October 3, 2016
TEHRAN -- Works by the 79-year-old painter, book illustrator, animator and sculptor, Ali-Akbar Sadeqi will be put on display in an exhibition, which is scheduled to open to the public at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) on October 23. 16 Despite his long career spanning over sixty years, Sadeqi remains little known outside of Iran, the LACMA, which is the largest art museum in the western United States, has said in an announcement.
The exhibition has been organized in collaboration with Shirin Gallery in Tehran to commemorate his career.
The organizers expect that the exhibition will help introduce his work to the American audience.
Sadeqi is scheduled to attend a film screening and discussion set for the opening ceremony.
He will also autograph copies of his recently-published book series “Life”, “Love” and “Loss” during the ceremony.
The book series was unveiled at Shirin Gallery in April of this year.
“Hura” wins NETPAC Award at All Lights festival
1. Culture
October 2, 2016
TEHRAN – “Hura” by Gholamreza Sagharchian from Iran has won the NETPAC Award for the Best Asian Cinema at the 2nd All Lights India International Film Festival (ALIIFF) that ran from September 24 to 27. 17 The film features the efforts made by the young rural boy Hadi in the small garden he has inherited from his mother to help alleviate drought.
The Best Feature Film Award was given to “Nise – The Heart of Madness” by Roberto Berliner from Brazil, and “The Great Transmission” by Pema Gellek from the United States won the Best Documentary Film Award.
“Road to Perdition” directed by Yaser Talebi and “Rice Cake” by Mahdi Hosseinvand were other Iranian films screened at the official section of the festival.
NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) award aims at strengthening the competitive spirit fueling the creative urges of young filmmakers.
“Tell Nothing”, “From Deceitful Age” honored at House of Music Celebration
1. Culture
October 2, 2016
TEHRAN – “Tell Nothing” and “From Deceitful Age”, two albums of Iranian traditional music, have shared the award for best album at the 17th House of Music Celebration.
“Tell Nothing” (“Hich Magu”) composed by Ehsan Zabihifar contains songs by young vocalist Mojtaba Asgari. The album was recorded at Mahur, a major label in Tehran. 18 “From Deceitful Age” produced by the Sepid-o-Siah Ensemble features Vahid Taj on vocals. The album has been composed by Kurosh Danai, Surena Safai and Maryam Rezanejadian.
The celebration attended by a large number of elite Iranian musicians began with performances by Iranian folk groups and the Iranian Artists Forum Orchestra at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on Saturday night.
As the keynote speaker, House of Music Managing Director Hamidreza Nurbakhsh made critical remarks about unemployment among young musicians and the local legal prohibition on public performances by female musicians.
He also lament about the chain of cancellations of concerts under pressure from certain people and asked Iranian officials to find solutions for these obstacles.
Six veteran musicians and experts were honored with awards for their lifetime achievements.
Composer and santur virtuoso Milad Kiai, instrument maker Farman Moradi and music scholar Seyyed Abbas Sajjadi, who was the anchor of Dastan, a popular TV program on music, were among the honorees.
In addition, flutist Azin Movahhed, violinist Siavash Zahireddini and composer Loris Tjeknavorian received lifetime achievement awards.
The award for best writer was shared by Sasan Fatemi for “Musical Celebrations in Tehran’s Urban Cultures” and Sina Sadeqi for “A Stained Glass Window”.
Hossein Yasini received the award for best translator for his work on “The Improvisation of Musical Dialogue: A Phenomenology of Music” by Bruce Ellis Benson of Wheaton College in Illinois.
19 Society
20 Nazri distribution, a centuries-old tradition in Iranian village October 15, 2016
TEHRAN — According to a 300-year old tradition people of Bagh-Malek village, Isfahan province, play host to Arazi villagers who come to Bagh-Malek to perform mourning rituals.
Every year on the tenth day of the mourning month of Muharram, Ashura, people from Arazi village come to their neighboring village and after performing mourning rituals and saying noon prayer will be given Nazri (charity food) cooked by all families in the Bagh-Malek village.
Each family prepare some food and put the beautifully decorated food in big round trays and take them to the village mosque for the mourners to eat.
It’s an ancient Persian tradition that the people cook food and give it to others, including the poor, friends and family, in their religious ceremonies. This charity food or free food, is called Nazri.
21 Iran allots loans of up to $3,000 to bicycles, electric motorcycles October 14, 2016
TEHRAN — Iran has allotted loans of up to 100 million rials (nearly $3,000) to bicycles and electric motorcycles, an official with the Department of Environment has said.
“People can take out loans of 30 million rials (nearly $1,000) to 100 million rials to buy bicycles and electric motorcycles,” YJC quoted Mohammad Darvish as saying.
Mentioning car-free Tuesdays campaign Darvish explained that in line with the policies to mitigate air pollution in the country, phase out single passenger commutes to work, and reduce noise pollution such loans are arranged for the citizens.
The 44-week old public-led ‘car-free Tuesdays’ campaign encourages the citizens to use bicycle instead of car on Tuesdays. The campaign which is gaining momentum across Iran, was actually mounted last November in Arak, Markazi province.
The campaign was kicked off by Mohammad Bakhtiari, 25, who has majored in architecture and is a member of a local NGO with 1,000 members known as “the guardians of the environment of Arak city.” 22 Some cities such as Isfahan and Neishabur are taking the campaign more seriously as they have set up bike lanes and cycling infrastructure that suits cyclists’ need to take long-distance and safe rides along the way.
Additionally in Neishabur buses are equipped with bicycle racks and cyclists can put their bikes onto them and travel with the bus and in Isfahan, Chahar-bagh Street is close to the cars on car-free Tuesdays.
Environment course to be taught at universities October 9, 2016
TEHRAN — Curriculum planning supreme council has formally approved an environment appreciation course to be taught at universities, IRNA news agency reported.
Following an agreement signed between Department of Environment (DOE) and Ministry of Science, Research and Technology the environmental course is approved to be taught at universities, an official with DOE said.
The course would be optional for all undergraduate students for all university majors nationwide, Sadreddin Alipour said.
All the material aimed to be taught at the course are developed and designed by the DOE teaching division, Alipour added.
23 Iran ranks 6th in nanotechnology worldwide: official October 8, 2016
TEHRAN — Iran ranks sixth in the world in nanotechnology by submitting some 20 articles a day, said the secretary for the national nanotechnology development headquarters on Thursday.
The Islamic Republic of Iran accounts for 52 percent of the articles exploring and examining nanotechnologies in Asia, Saeed Sarkar said.
He further stated that by submitting some 20 articles a day Iran holds the sixth place in nanotechnology worldwide.
Sarkar made the remarks on the sidelines of the ninth nanotechnologies exposition in Tehran, IRNA news agency reported.
“While Iran was at the 57th place in 2011 by submitting 10 articles a day, in 2014 we succeeded in achieving the seventh place by doing 6,700 articles and then sixth place since then,” he highlighted.
“Being ranked below China, the U.S., India, South Korea, and Germany we are now maintaining a higher position than Japan and France,” he said.
There are more than 30,000 graduates in the field of nanosciences holding master’s degrees in the country, he said, adding, “Currently some 65 universities offer master’s degree programs and some 20 of them offers PHD programs.” 24 He went on to say that “we are also planning on initiating the first nanotechnologies Olympiads in Iran and so far six countries have expressed readiness to take part in the competition.”
Right now Iran’s nanotechnology products are being exported to 15 countries worldwide, he pointed.
330 various products manufactured using nanotechnologies are available at the market with 112 companies active in this section in Iran, he noted.
Sarkar additionally said that more than 140 high-tech nano-equipment are also being produced in Iran.
“Nanotechnology can help us to overcome some of the shortcomings we are facing in water, health, energy and environment sector,” he added.
The ninth nanotechnologies exposition was held in Tehran on October 5 to 8.
Iran-Germany environmental cooperation to pick up steam October 7, 2016
TEHRAN — Iran and Germany gave a fresh impetus to their cooperation on environmental issues ranging from protecting natural resources and biodiversity to reducing greenhouse gas emission.
The chief of Iran’s Department of Environment (DoE) Masoumeh Ebtekar who travelled to Germany on Tuesday signed a joint statement within the framework of environmental cooperation with Germany’s Federal Minister for the 25 Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety Barbara Hendricks on Wednesday.
The statement set the scene for the two countries to work together towards the same ends of natural resources and biodiversity management, national parks and protected areas conservation, fighting climate change, marine environment and coastal areas protection, water and soil pollution management, combatting desertification, using innovative and sustainable technologies, waste and hazardous materials management, raising environmental awareness, reducing greenhouse gas emission, etc., according to the DoE website.
To execute the newly inked statement a joint committee must be set up. The statement is legally binding and must come into force within 15 months.
Surmounting obstacles key to further cooperation
Ebtekar additionally met with Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier where the two officials emphasized on the importance of removing obstacle in the path of cooperation.
Collaborations must pave the way for Iran to enjoy clean and eco-friendly technologies which are helpful to overcome environmental challenges such as climate change and dust storms, Ebtekar said.
She went on to say that regional conflicts had add insult to the injury and made Iran’s environmental status even worse.
Mentioning banking and financial obstacles Iran is facing Steinmeier pledged to resolve the issue for the German companies’ active presence in Iran.
Germany’s possible supports for Lake Hamoun restoration
Moreover, Steinmeier explained Germany may consider cooperation on reviving Hamoun Biosphere Reserve, a lake shared between Iran and Afghanistan.
German green companies to consider investment in Iran
Over a meeting with German companies active in environmental fields the two sides discussed ways of expanding ties to transfer technologies to Iran.
German parliament supports the joint statement
In a meeting with Vice President of the Bundestag (German parliament), Claudia Roth voiced her support for the newly signed joint statement stating “if needed, I would garner support from the parliament too.”
She also noted that she would back stronger mutual environmental cooperation between Iran and Germany. 26 Germany keen to help Iran with air pollution
Roth additionally displayed tendency for cooperating on the matter of air pollution in the metropolises and developing public transportation to mitigate the consistent problem.
Trilateral cooperation to restore Lake Hamoun
Over the same meeting Ebtekar also suggested that Iran, Afghanistan and Germany form trilateral cooperation to exchange views and talk over possible measures to revive Hamoun.
“As Germany is in close cooperation with Afghanistan and provide them with expertise and financial supports, we can enter a trilateral cooperation to help Hamoun biosphere reserve,” Ebtekar said.
Roth, for her part, welcomed the idea and promised to consider the matter.
First aerial transfer of organ for a transplant in Iran October 5, 2016
TEHRAN — In a first such effort in organ transplantation in Iran, an air ambulance was used to transport a heart harvested from a brain dead patient for a recipient hundreds of kilometers away.
Mohammad-Javad, 14, from the southwestern city of Bushehr, was announced brain dead after sustaining injuries to the head caused by an accident.
His heart was a perfect match for Adel, father of three, who was hospitalized some 750 kilometers away in Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Hospital, suffering from an 27 advanced heart failure. He wouldn’t survive without a transplant, YJC reported on Monday.
A medical team comprising three doctors boarded on a private jet at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport at 4 a.m. and arrived at 5 a.m. in Bushehr.
The medical team in Tehran and Bushehr are contacting minute by minute to check up on the recipient status and make sure everything is going as planned as coordination is of an essence here.
After moving the organ from the donor’s body they only have four hours to take the heart to Tehran and transplant it into the recipient’s body.
They get on the private jet at 7 a.m. and land in Tehran at 8 a.m. and somehow manage to be at the hospital nine minutes later.
And finally in less than a three-hour procedures doctors manage to transplant the heart successfully and the heart starts to beat.
This was the first aerial transfer of an organ for a transplant in Iran 47 years after the first transplant surgery carried out in Shiraz Namazi Hospital, Fars province, in 1969.
Iranians welcome 1st online national census October 4, 2016
TEHRAN — According to the figures revealed by the Statistical Center of Iran, Iranians have welcomed the first web-based national census which started on September 24, ISNA news agency reported. 28 Omid-Ali Parsa, the director of the Statistical Center of Iran, has announced that some one million Iranian families have filled out online questionnaires until Monday morning.
“Some 1,077,000 families constituting 3,606,000 individuals have so far filled out the online forms, indicating a 15 percent increase compared to Sunday,” the director noted.
Provinces of Bushehr and Semnan had the highest participation rate, with more than 75 percent participation, and some other provinces such as Lorestan had the lowest rate, with as little as 25 percent participation, he added.
In case the current trend continues, over 50 percent of the population would opt for the online services to take part in the census, he said, stating, “But we hope for optimal 100 percent participation.”
Those who choose to use the online services would also have the chances for 10 million-rial (nearly $285) award in a prize drawing contest being held every three days for 100 lucky winners, he highlighted.
Besides the online participants can enjoy free of charge 2 to 10 megabytes of download from internet service providers by filling out the online forms, he noted, people can also use their smartphones to enter their personal information online.
He went on to say that some on average 17 to 18 thousands are filling out the online questionnaire daily.
The web-based general census will last until mid-October. This is the first phase of the national census over which data would be collected online by referring to www.sarshomari95.ir. Over the second phase which falls on October 16 to November 15 surveyors will visit the rest of the households to fill out forms for those who did not use the website.
(Photo: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif using the online service to fill out the census forms.)
29
Over 5,000 South Koreans visit Iran yearly: official
October 4, 2016
TEHRAN – Official figures compiled by South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MSCT) put the number of incoming tourists to Iran at over 5,000 annually, the visiting MSCT vice minister, Chung Kwan-Joo, said here on Monday.
The official made the comments during his meeting with the deputy director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, Morteza Rahmani-Movahhed, ISNA reported on Monday.
The two sides explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating cultural and tourism relations.
In comments made prior to his journey to Iran, Kwan-Joo had said “I am eager to see with my own eyes the cradle of human culture and meet the Iranian people who deserve to be praised for their contribution to the humanity achievements, be it literature, philosophy, art, architecture, and many others. And I am also delighted to introduce many aspects of Korean culture to Iranian friends during my stay in Tehran.” 30 In mid-July, Tehran and Seoul signed a memorandum of understanding to further broaden their mutual cooperation in trade and economic fields.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of National Agricultural Cooperative Federation of South Korea conference in Seoul.
As the picture above shows, Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization Deputy Director Morteza Rahmani-Movahhed (L) and South Korean Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chung Kwan-Joo pose for a photo during their meeting in Tehran on October 3, 2016.
Iran’s first permanent handicrafts marketplace opens October 2, 2016
TEHRAN – Iran’s first permanent handicrafts marketplace was inaugurated on Saturday in Oud Lajan historic neighborhood in downtown Tehran, aiming to liven up the once thriving locale that was home to merchants and affluent individuals.
Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) Director Masoud Soltanifar along with several high-ranking officials with Tehran Municipality, Transport and Urban Development Ministry, and Tehran City Council attended the inauguration ceremony. 31 The successfully-implemented handicrafts market epitomizes the convergence of cultural heritage, tourism, and handicrafts in the country, Soltanifar asserted during a brief speech.
He also attached importance to the bazaar establishment as to it embodies a three- dimensional arrangement involving the CHTHO, Tehran Municipality, and the public.
The market is composed of some 50 shops whose renovation started in 2012.
Over the past couple of years, dozens of Iranian handicrafts have gained the UNESCO Seal of Excellence. For instance, in 2010, a total of 65 handicrafts on various themes including enamel, tile, metalwork, leatherwork, wood carving received the privilege.
Statistics compiled by the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran indicate that 2.8 million tons of handicrafts and handwoven carpets, worth $92 million, were exported during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, 2016.
Iran plans to halve plastic bags usage in 3 years
October 2, 2016
TEHRAN — By regulating a three-year national plan Iran is determined to make cutbacks in the plastic bags usage by 50 percent, an official with the Department of Environment (DOE) has said. 32 The national plastic bags reduction plan [which is already approved but not executed yet] will result in less plastic bags litter by March 2019, Sa’eed Motesaddi said, Mehr news agency reported.
According to the new regulations all units which are producing plastic bags are legally bound to reduce their plastic productions by 10 percent annually and replace them with eco-friendly productions, Motesaddi noted.
Additionally, he added, all governmental organizations are banned from buying plastic bags and disposable dishes made from polluting chemical substances and are required to buy eco-friendly productions.
He went on to say that all chain stores are also obligated to decrease their plastic bags usage by 50 percent in two years after the implementation of the law and, moreover, giving away free of charge plastic bags would be prohibited in one year in chain stores and in three years in the standalones after the new regulations go into effect.
The Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade must also report on the annual reduction and gradual phasing out of the plastic bags to the DOE, he added.
The aforesaid ministry is also obliged to raise awareness among the public by encouraging them to replace the plastic bags with more eco-friendly options using the mass media, educational bodies and NGOs, he highlighted.
Motesaddi further regretted the fact that some 21 tons of plastic bags are being used in grocery stores is Iran and even worse than that is the fact that 96 percent of the plastic bags end up in garbage and only four percent would be reused.
Each plastic bag is useful for some 12 minutes on average while they stay in the nature for centuries before they degrade, he noted.
Lightweight, single-use plastic bags are a unique threat to the environment.
To eliminate the problems caused by plastic bags bans or fees are in place in many countries.
33
Post-JCPOA tourist arrivals in Iran doubles global average October 2, 2016
TEHRAN – Foreign tourist arrivals in Iran has been more than double that of the global average since the implementation of the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, Iran’s tourism chief announced here on Sunday.
The fact that attracting overseas investors [in tourism sector] is both an opportunity and a necessity for Iran, it lays the foundation for eager businesses to invest in the country, Masoud Soltanifar said.
He made the remarks in an address to the opening ceremony of International Tourism Investment Conference, which brought together a panel of top Iranian officials and businesses executives along with representatives of hotel builders, investors, and hoteliers from 17 countries, IRNA reported.
Soltanifar, who is the director of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO), also noted that the income generated from foreign travels and tourism in 2015 accounts for 7.6 percent of Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) based on figures collected by the World Travel & Tourism Council.
He expressed hope that the figure would jump to 9 percent for the current Iranian calendar year (March 2016-March 2017). 34 “[The promotion of] tourism industry is the best choice to realize the goal of resistance economy and to get rid of the one-product economy,” he said.
Resistance economy, as outlined by the Supreme Leader, calls on the government to secure the utilization of the country’s resources, struggle to promote a knowledge-based economy, take efforts to increase energy consumption efficiency and boost domestic production.
In this line, the CHTHO is planning to construct a total of 300 four- and five-star hotels over the course of five years, he noted.
Soltanifar added that the private sector has already started building 170 of the mentioned hotels.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the official said that more than 1,750 tourism projects are currently underway in the country, requiring some $5 billion to be completed.
Vinci Construction from France, Daelim Hotel form South Korea, and Steigenberger Hotel Group from Germany are among the attendees to the two-day event that revolves around the motto of “100 Hotels, 100 Businesses,” ISNA reported on Friday.
Other corporations and holding companies are coming from the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Spain, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan.
Iran and the 5+1 group - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany - finalized the text of the JCPOA in Vienna in July 2015. The nuclear deal went into effect in January 2016.
In September, Morteza Rahmani-Movahhed, the deputy director of the CHTHO, said over 16 million foreign tourists have visited Iran over the past three and a half years, in that regard some $24 billion came into the country.
35 Isfahan on track to become a city of bicycles October 1, 2016
TEHRAN — Isfahan Municipality is arranging for the city to become a city of bicycles, an official with the Department of Environment has said.
“Isfahan Municipality has initiated talks with the Dutch to develop the necessary technical infrastructure to turn the city into a city of bicycles,” Mohammad Darvish said, ISNA reported on Saturday.
Isfahan and Neishabur municipalities did best in creating bike lanes and cycling infrastructure, Darvish noted.
In Neishabur buses are equipped with bicycle racks and cyclists can put their bikes onto them and travel with the bus, he said, adding, additionally in Isfahan, Chahar-bagh street is close to the cars on car-free Tuesdays (a public-led campaign encouraging the citizens to use bicycle instead of car on Tuesdays) and create a 100-kilometers road for the cyclists to ride safely.
“Isfahan Municipality has pledged to double the path in the near future,” he added.
In cities of Yazd, Mashhad, Tabriz and Sirjan have also taken some measures to encourage using bicycles as well, he said.
He went on to say that unfortunately Tehran Municipality has not taken the issue seriously yet and despite the fact that there are some bike lanes in some of the districts they are not practical. 36 However, Darvish said, the municipality have recently announced that they would finish contracting some bike lanes in district 12 and would close the path to the motorcycles by October 21.
Bike lanes must be practical is a way that they enable the users to take them for long distances and ride safely along them, he suggested.
Tehran to host high-profile hotel builders, investors
October 1, 2016
TEHRAN – Representatives of top hotel builders, investors, and hoteliers from 17 countries across the globe along with their fellow Iranian businesses are attending a two-day conference, which opens tomorrow at the Iran International Conference Center in Tehran.
Vinci Construction from France, Daelim Hotel form South Korea, and Steigenberger Hotel Group from Germany are among the attendees to the meeting that revolves around the motto of “100 Hotels, 100 Businesses”, ISNA reported on Friday.
Other corporations and holding companies are coming from the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Spain, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri, Transport and Urban Development Minister Abbas Akhoundi, Labor and Social Welfare Minister Ali 37 Rabiei, and Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization Director Masoud Soltanifar are on the panel of high-ranking Iranian officials who will join the conference.
Subjects involving connections between domestic companies, foreign companies, and investors; capacity of leading brands in global tourism; and investment opportunities in the tourism sector will be discussed during the event.
Since the signing of the landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and the six major world powers last year, a number of top international hotel chains have either started making moves or have expressed an interest in entering the Iranian market.
Some $24 billion came into Iran over the past three and a half years because of foreign tourists, the deputy director of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization, Morteza Rahmani-Movahhed, announces last week.
In 2014, the country hosted over five million tourists, bringing in some $7.5 billion in revenue. Moreover, last year, official figures put the number of incoming tourists at more than 5.2 million, generating over $8 billion.
The picture above depicts a view of the 190-room, five-star Dariush Grand Hotel on Kish Island
Under visitors’ eyes: Blue Mosque in Tabriz
October 1, 2016
TEHRAN – Blue Mosque, known as Masjed-e Kabud in Farsi, is one of the notable historic buildings scattered across the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz.
The mosque has long been distinguished for the grandeur of its intricate blue tilework and calligraphy for which it is nicknamed. The ornament took artists about a quarter century to cover every surface. 38 Completed in c. 1465 it is remarkable for its simplicity, brickwork, and great size as well. The mosque survived a devastating earthquake in 1727. However, many parts of it caved in due to a quake struck later in the same century. Many parts of the structure was rebuilt in 1973.
In the southern part of the mosque lies a time-honored mausoleum, itself a source of splendor. It is entirely covered with massive marble slabs on which verses from the holy Quran have been engraved with a background of fine arabesques.
Mahmud Ghazan, who was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire’s Ilkhanate, made Tabriz his capital in the late 13th century.
In 1392, the city was taken by a Turkic conqueror named Timur (Tamerlane) and some decades later the Kara Koyunlu Turkmen choses it as their capital. The Blue Mosque was built under their rule.
Tabriz retained its administrative status under the Safavid dynasty until 1548, when Shah Tahmasb I who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the dynasty, moved his capital westward to Qazvin.
During the next two centuries Tabriz changed hands several times between Iran and the Ottoman Empire.
Here is a select of comments that visitors to the mosque have posted to TripAdvisor, one of the most popular travel websites in the world:
“Masterpiece of Iranian decorative tilework”
The blue mosque has been restored with great craftsmanship. Only small parts of the original decoration remain, but the quality of the work, the finesse of the designs and the range of colors used is exceptional. (Wim Antwerp from Belgium, visited September 2016)
“Beautiful with nice nearby park”
From the outside it looked first a bit disappointing but the interior is beautiful and worth the entrance price. The park next to the mosque is also a nice place. (Ellisveen from the Netherlands, visited April 2016)
“Very nice and old mosque”
Oldest mosque in Tabriz, very nice architecture and courtyard. Price for foreigners: 6x locals. (Ana L. from Sweden, visited March 2016)
“Impressive reconstruction”
This mosque was all but destroyed in an earthquake in 1779, but has been well reconstructed (and work continues). The original tile work is very impressive, in 39 particular the shine of the glaze which the reproductions struggle to replicate. (PeterC489 from London, visited September 2015)
“Colorful Mosque”
Very nice building, with a very nice front facade, although not very well conserved! When I visited it we were the only persons there! (Rui Cardoso from Portugal, visited May 2015)
The picture above gives details of the intricate tilework that embellishes interior of the Blue Mosque in Tabriz.
40 Economy
41 Iran’s oil production rises 21,400 bpd in Sept.: OPEC
October 15, 2016
TEHRAN – Based on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s Monthly Oil Market Report for October 2016, Iran’s September oil production rose 21,400 barrels per day (bpd) compared to the previous month to reach 3.665 million bpd.
According to the report, the total production volume of 14 OPEC members rose by 220,100 bpd in September and stood at 33.394 million bpd.
Meanwhile, Iran’s heavy crude price fell 78 cents or 1.8 percent from Augusts’ $42.17 to stay at $41.39 in September.
The first nine months average price for Iran’s heavy crude in 2016 was reported $37.14, down $15.16 compared to the same period last year.
Also, Iran's August crude oil exports jumped 15 percent from July to more than 2 million bpd, according to a source with knowledge of its tanker loading schedule, closing in on Tehran's pre-sanctions shipment levels of five years ago.
Since a landmark nuclear deal was reached with major powers in 2015 leading to the lifting of sanctions, Iran has been planning to boost crude production and exports to the pre-sanction levels. 42 Earlier in August, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told parliament that Iran wants to raise output to 4.6 million bpd within five years, well above pre-sanction levels of 3.8-4 million bpd.
Sweden to open trade office in Tehran October 15, 2016
TEHRAN - The Swedish Minister for Finance Eva Magdalena Andersson, in a meeting with her Iranian counterpart Ali Tayyebnia, announced that Sweden is going to open its trade office in Tehran to bolster economic ties with the Islamic Republic, Shana news agency reported.
The meeting between the two ministers came in Washington on October 11 on the sidelines of the World Bank Group (WBG)’s autumn meeting and International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s annual meeting.
Underlining that Iran used to be one of the major economic partners of Sweden in the past, the Swedish minister voiced her country’s willingness to broaden economic ties with the country in future.
“Swedish banking officials have made some trips to Tehran to expand bilateral banking relations and they are now negotiating the issue with European and American counterparts to get a bright view over our banking ties with Iran and removing obstacles to facilitate achieving the target,” she said.
43 Andersson, in addition, admitted that the Swedish government backs Iran’s membership in World Trade Organization (WTO).
Tayyebnia, for his part, expressed Iran’s eagerness for expansion of all-out ties with Sweden.
Iranian crude to replace Saudi oil in Egypt October 15, 2016
Egypt has been offered refined oil products for October from Iran after Saudi’s oil giant Aramco terminated the delivery of 700,000 tons expected for this month, the petroleum ministry announced yesterday.
The surprise move is seen as de-escalation in relations between Saudi and Egypt after Cairo voting in favor of a Russian-drafted resolution in Syria, which Saudi Arabia strongly opposed. Saudi had supported a French draft bill that demanded an end to airstrikes on opposition-held areas of Aleppo. “The Saudi Aramco company verbally informed the General Petroleum Corporation earlier this month that it would halt its supplies for October, without offering any reasons,” ministry spokesman Hamdy Abdel Aziz said to AFP. Abdel Aziz insisted that Aramco’s decision was unrelated to the Security Council vote and confirmed that the decision was reached before the vote. “Aramco told us about the issue before the Security Council meeting. This is a commercial issue and not political. It is normal for some shipments to be late,” he added. Aramco ships around 40 percent of the refined oil products Egypt imports. Russia 44 and Venezuela are also among the foreign suppliers that are looking to replace Saudi.
(Source: Middle East Monitor)
OICA ranks Iran as 20th leading carmaker October 14, 2016
TEHRAN - Iran took the 20th place among the world’s leading automobile manufacturers in the second quarter of 2016, according to a recent report released by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, commonly abbreviated OICA).
The OICA’s report said the country manufactured 562,374 vehicles during the second quarter of this year, showing 1.2 percent growth compared to 555,954 cars manufactured in the second quarter of 2015.
By manufacturing 12.892 million, 6.255 million, and 4.494 million cars, China, the U.S. and Japan were the first to third largest carmakers in the world during the second quarter of 2016.
The report also put Iran in the 15th and 21st places in terms of passenger cars and commercial vehicles output, respectively, during the mentioned time span. 45 In terms of output growth compared to the second quarter of last year, Iran was ranked the 16th. Sweden, Canada, and United Kingdom took the first to third places by registering 36.3 percent, 13.1 percent and 12.2 percent growth, respectively.
Iranian car makers manufactured 579,776 vehicles in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-Septemebr 21), showing 15.6 percent rise compared to the same period of time in the preceding year.
Iran is scheduled to manufacture 1.35 million of cars by the end of the current calendar year (March 20, 2017).
Permits for over 66,000 intl. flights issued in Iran in H1
October 9, 2016
TEHRAN- Iran Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) issued 66,110 permits for international flights during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-Septemebr 21), the official website of CAO published on Sunday quoting Reza Jafarzadeh, head of the organization’s Public Relations Department.
Of the mentioned figure, 38,774 permits have been issued for the Iranian airlines and 27,336 permits have been issued for the foreign ones, the official added. 46
Iran’s current account balance positive: IMF
October 9, 2016
TEHRAN- Iran is among a few countries in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan region with the positive current account balance, according to the World Economic Outlook October 2016 of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to the IMF’s report, Iran’s account balance is forecasted to be 4.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016. The figure was 2.1 percent in 2015 and is anticipated to be 3.3 percent of GDP in 2017. The report also put the country’s real GDP growth at 0.4 percent in 2015 which is anticipated to be 4.5 percent in 2016 and 4.1 percent in 2017. The IMF released a statement on October 3 saying that economic conditions are improving substantially in Iran in 2016/2017 and real GDP rebounded strongly over the first half of the year as sanctions eased after the implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The concluding statement described the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official visit (mission) to Iran.
47
Iran’s oil exports around 2 mb/d in H1
October 3, 2016
TEHRAN – Iran has exported averagely two million barrels of crude oil per day during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21), IRNA quoted Mohsen Qamsari, the director for international affairs of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), as saying on Sunday.
“The country has also exported 500,000 barrels of gas condensate per day on average during the mentioned time,” Qamsari said. He noted that for the time being 2.2 million barrels of Iranian crude are being sent to the market on a daily basis and NIOC plans to increase this figure to 2.35 million in the upcoming months. “Presently, Iran is exporting some 600,000-650,000 barrels of crude per day to European market,” the official added.
48 3 airlines negotiating to launch direct flights to Tehran October 3, 2016
TEHRAN- A member of board of directors of Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport City Company announced that his company is holding talks with Indian, South Korean and Canadian national airlines to inaugurate their direct fights to Tehran, Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
Kourosh Fattahi said that from the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 20), foreign national airlines including British Airways, Air France and Thai Airways have launched direct flights to Tehran and Imam Khomeini Airport is conducting negotiations with Air India, Korean Air, and Air Canada about commencing direct flights to the Iranian capital. The lifting of sanctions against Iran in January has turned Tehran into a new economic frontier and an emerging tourism market, thus catching the attention of international airlines.
49 Tehran, Paris stress expansion of trade, industrial ties October 3, 2016
TEHRAN- Iranian Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Mohammadreza Nematzadeh and French Minister of Finance Michel Sapin in a meeting on Saturday emphasized expansion of trade and industrial relations between the two countries, Shata news reported.
In the meeting, which was held in the French capital following Iranian minister’s visit to Paris Motor Show 2016, the two sides also put emphasis on the necessity of benefiting from both counties’ potentials and capabilities for development of bilateral ties.
They also discussed the ways for promotion of bilateral cooperation in the trade and industrial sectors.
During Nematzadeh’s stay in Paris, Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) and French multinational automobile manufacturer Renault signed a deal on making joint venture in Iran.
The deal was on the establishment of an engineering and sales office in Iran to support Iranian auto part manufacturers and also setting up a manufacturing plant in the country with the initial capacity of 150,000 cars per annum. The plant is scheduled to start production in 2018.
50 Iran’s H1 gas condensate exports up 25% y/y October 2, 2016
TEHRAN – Half-yearly gas condensate exports from Iran’s South Pars gas field rose by 25 percent compared to the same period last year, Shana quoted a gas official as saying on Saturday.
According to Masoud Hassani, the managing director of South Pars Gas Complex (SPGC), during the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21) the company has exported 76 million barrels of gas condensate to the world markets.
The official noted that during the mentioned period, SPGC has sent 1.35 million tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to other countries as well.
According to Iran’s custom administration, during the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year gas condensate was reported to be the main non-oil export product with a total value of $3.496 billion.
South Pars field, which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, is estimated to contain a significant amount of natural gas and condensate, accounting for about eight percent of the world’s reserves.
The huge offshore field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers are situated in Qatar’s territorial waters. 51
Iran plans to produce 360 tons of saffron in calendar year
October 2, 2016
TEHRAN- The annual production of saffron in Iran has planned to reach 360 tons by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2017), the country’s deputy agriculture minister, Mohammad-Ali Tahmasbi, told IRNA on Saturday.
The official put the country’s saffron output at 351 tons in the previous calendar year and said that 113.5 tons of the produced saffron valued at $165 million was exported in the past year.
Iran’s worth of saffron exports during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-August 21) rose 5.7 percent compared to the same period of time in the previous year, Gholamreza Miri, the vice chairman of National Iranian Saffron Council, said on September 26.
The country exported $73 million worth of saffron during the mentioned time, according to Miri.
52
Policy
53
Zarif congratulates António Guterres as UN chief October 14, 2016
TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif issued a message on Thursday congratulating António Guterres for his appointment as the new UN secretary general.
Zarif described Guterres as the “most qualified” for the post.
He also called on the UN to fight extremism and play effective role in finding peaceful ways to settle crises in Yemen and Syria.
Zarif said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name for the nuclear deal between Iran and great powers, has raised hope in the region and called for its full implementation.
Guterres, the former prime minister of Portugal, was elected by the UN General Assembly on Thursday to succeed Ban Ki-moon when he steps down on 31 December. 54 According to the UN News Center, Guterres, was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. He will become the world’s top diplomat on 1 January 2017, and hold that post for the next five years.
Adopting a consensus resolution put forward by its President, Peter Thomson, the Assembly acted on the recommendation on the UN Security Council, which on 6 October forwarded Guterres' name to the 193-member body as its nominee for UN Secretary-General for a five-year period, ending 31 December 2021.
Morocco appoints new ambassador to Iran October 14, 2016
TEHRAN - King Mohammed VI appointed on Thursday Hassan Hami as new ambassador of Morocco to Iran.
King Mohammed VI named several new ambassadors of Morocco to the other countries at the Royal Palace in Casablanca, Morocco World News reported.
On March 6, 2009, the king severed diplomatic ties with Iran.
On February 2014, the two countries said they were re-establishing diplomatic ties. 55 Iran-Morocco relations have often been tarred by disputes. On several occasions Iran and Morocco have mostly or completely severed diplomatic relations.
Tehran angry over Nigeria’s attacks on Ashura mourners October 14, 2016
Iran has condemned an attack by Nigerian forces against mourners commemorating Ashura, the event marking martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Shia imam and grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
At least 11 people were killed and several others injured when Nigerian forces opened fire at Shia mourners in the cities of Kaduna and Funtua on Wednesday.
According to the Press TV correspondent, troops fired tear gas and live bullets at the mourners in the two cities.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said the perpetrators of the crime should be brought to justice.
56 Foreign Ministry pursuing policies of Economy of Resistance: FM
October 3, 2016
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that the most part of the Ministry's activities is now focused on the economic issues aiming at pursuing economic policies based on the guidelines of the Supreme Leader.
Zarif made the remarks while addressing Majlis (Parliament) open session where he attended this morning to answer few questions raised by a number of MPs about Foreign Ministry's activities.
He said that the major duty of the Foreign Ministry at present time is to coordinate the body's economic activities.
Briefing the lawmakers on the political and economic activities of the Iranian embassies in foreign countries, he said that the Foreign Ministry accompanies the state and private sectors' economic delegations during their travels to other countries trying to meet their needs in their meetings with their counterparts in the country of destination.
Zarif also added that presently, the talks of the Foreign Ministry officials in other countries are mostly focused on the economic issues. He said that the 'Foreign 57 Ministry is now trying to purposefully follow up objectives of the Economy of Resistance.'
The Economy of Resistance is a term originally introduced by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in 2010 referring to policies which would lead to the country's economic growth and self-sufficiency based on domestic capacities.
Zarif stressed that the Iranian ambassadors in other countries 'have been told that they should not feel concern about their activities abroad as far as they are made in line with the country's interests, serve the country's progress and meet the demands of the public and private sectors in the field of economic activities.'
'The main duty of the deputy foreign minister is now to coordinate economic efforts of the Foreign Ministry,' Zarif stressed.
He added that Iran's Foreign Policy is now focused on serving the country's progress, Economy of Resistance, domestic entrepreneurs and economic organizations to attract necessary investment and technology for the country on the one hand, and trying to help exports of technical services and non-oil products on the other hand.
'We believe that the Foreign Policy will serve the national interests when all bodies in the countries cooperate with each other,' the Foreign Minister said in conclusion.
Thailand, Turkey willing to expand scientific ties with Iran October 3, 2016
TEHRAN – Thai and Turkish science ministers met with their Iranian counterpart Mohammad Farhadi on Sunday, announcing their willingness to expand scientific ties with Iran.
On the sidelines of the 13th International Conference Science and Technology in the city of Kyoto, Japan, the Thai and Turkish ministers announced that scientific centers of their countries are ready to carry out joint projects with Iran. 58 Farhadi, for his part, underlined Iran’s eagerness for expansion of scientific ties with Turkey and Thailand.
Erdogan calls Iran one of the most important regional players October 3, 2016
TEHRAN – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Iran is one of the most important players in the region, Tasnim reported.
Erdogan made the remarks during a ceremony marking the opening of the new judicial year in Turkey.
He further said that Ankara’s relations with Tehran and Moscow are recovering.
Erdogan noted that Turkey and Iran have difference of opinion on regional issues, yet the two sides have been holding direct talks on the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
Cultural Consulate of Embassy of I.R. Iran – Pretoria 350 Cameron Street Brooklyn , Pretoria 0181 [email protected] Tel : 012 346 3877