IRRAANN October 2020 Issue No.31 FFOOCCUUSS A LOOK AT REAL IRAN IN MONTHLY NEWWS Cultural Consulate of the Embassy of I.R. of Iran: 350 Cameron Street, Brooklyn, Pretoria, South Africa Email: [email protected] - Tel: 012 346 3180 CULTURAL CONSULATE OF THE EMBASSY OF I.R. IRAN – PRETORIA 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 exterior 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. 2 Contents Policy During the Sacred Defense, Iran single-handedly defeated the US, the USSR and the West .................................................................................................................................... 5 Leader attends Arbaeen mourning ceremony ..................................................................... 6 Rouhani dismisses U.S. sanctions as internal ‘political propaganda’ ................................. 7 Zarif holds ‘fruitful talks’ with Chinese counterpart .......................................................... 9 News of Lana Marks assassination plot bizzarre: Pandor ................................................. 10 Iran rejects assassination plot claims ................................................................................ 11 Iran announces termination of UN arms embargo ............................................................ 12 ELEVENTH ROSE GARDEN BOOK LAUNCH IN SOUTH AFRICA ........................ 16 Resistance festival to review films on Commander Soleimani ......................................... 17 Book on resistance of women in Khorramshahr published in Lebanon ........................... 19 Designs by Iranian architects win at WA Awards ............................................................ 20 Doc depicts charisma of Imam Khomeini among Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein ..... 21 “This Side, Other Side” wins UNICEF Award at Bratislava animation biennial ............. 23 Iran’s tourism achieves growth despite sanctions: minister .............................................. 25 Armed forces support health sector in battling COVID-19 .............................................. 26 South Africa lifts visa for Iranian travelers ....................................................................... 28 Iran has good news about Covid-19 vaccine: minister ..................................................... 31 Iranian biotechnology ranks 12th in world, first in West Asia ......................................... 32 Free influenza vaccines for 80,000 underprivileged people ............................................. 34 Iran beat Uzbekistan in friendly ........................................................................................ 37 Iran chosen to host FIVB Boys’ U19 World C’ship ......................................................... 39 Persepolis move up at Soccer Clubs Ranking ................................................................... 40 Friendlies: Iran futsal team defeat Uzbekistan .................................................................. 41 Steel exports exceed 2.3m tons in 6 months ..................................................................... 43 Coronavirus didn’t halt Iran’s oil production, not even one day: Zanganeh .................... 44 Some 70% of Iran’s non-oil exports destined for neighbors ............................................ 45 EGFI ranks 1st among region’s Islamic funds for 2nd time ............................................. 47 3 PPoolicy 4 During the Sacred Defense, Iran single- handedly defeated the US, the USSR and the West Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the start of the Sacred Defense (Saddam's imposed war on Iran), the speech of Imam Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a video conference with the participants of a ceremony honoring the veterans of the Holy Defense, was broadcast live on national TV channels. In his speech, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution reiterated, “Despite the whole-hearted support that many countries in the world offered to the Ba’athist regime of Iraq, Iran was able to be victorious in the war.” In a videoconference held this Monday with the purpose of paying homage to the veterans of the Sacred Defense Era, coinciding with the anniversary of Saddam’s attack on Iran, His Eminence stated, “The US and other powers started a war with the purpose of overthrowing the Islamic Republic, but they were defeated. Iran’s victory in this war is as clear as the existence of the sun. The whole world did whatever it could, but they failed to achieve their goal in the end. Is there any victory better than this?” He went on to state that in the past one or two centuries Iran always suffered defeat in the wars that it was involved in and lost part of its territories. He said, “However, in the war that Saddam waged against Iran (1980-1988), he failed to separate even one inch of Iran’s land even though the US, the Soviet Union and NATO were supporting him.” 5 Imam Khamenei stressed, “Since the beginning, our late Imam knew that the war between Iraq and Iran was not an ordinary war between two neighboring countries. He knew who the main enemy in the war was and realized that Saddam was a mere instrument. He always said that the US was worse than the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union worse than the US, and England worse than both of them. In other words, he had understood that these powers were the main elements working behind the scenes of the war.” The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution emphasized that the Sacred Defense enriched Iran’s human resources and added, “Countless people who were involved in the Sacred Defense continued to render services in different areas of the country in those days, are continuing to do so at the present time, and will continue to do so in the future with God’s grace. Martyr Soleimani was one example. No one has yet understood the extent of his activities. Perhaps in the future, we will gradually come to know what he did.” Leader attends Arbaeen mourning ceremony TEHRAN — Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday attended the Arbaeen mourning ceremony, which arrives 40 days after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS). According to Fars, this year, the Arbaeen ceremony was held without public participation in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The ceremony was broadcast live on national television and social media networks. The martyrdom of Imam Hossein (AS) remains an inspirational example of sacrifice to Shia Muslims, who make up a majority of the Muslim population in Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Bahrain. Imam Hossein is the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad (S), who was martyred in the Battle of Karbala nearly 14 centuries ago. 6 Rouhani dismisses U.S. sanctions as internal ‘political propaganda’ October 9, 2020 TEHRAN – In his first response to the new sanctions the U.S. imposed on Iran on Thursday, President Hassan Rouhani said these sanctions were imposed to serve political goals in the United States. “The measures of the U.S. administration are taken within the purview of propaganda and political efforts which are meant to serve their internal goals,” the president was quoted by the presidential website as saying on Friday, adding that the Americans cannot break the resistance of the Iranian people through making troubles in the path of medicines and food supply. Rouhani made the remarks in a conversation with