Afrasiab Geravand, head of the Ahranjan Hill Stratigraphy Program, pointed out on May 28, 2022 that Ahranjan Hill is one of the most significant historical sites in northwestern Iran in the Neolithic period, and asserted: “After the archeological excavations of the area, 4 tombs have been identified in various depths dating back to Chalcolithic Age.”
He added: “The bodies are buried inside the village under the houses in squats or embryonic forms on the side, left or right in different directions and usually in a north-south or east-west directions.”
Details of burial in Ahranjan historical site
The bodies were buried individually and in one case in a mass grave (with three bodies) in oval or rectangular tombs.
According to the head of the group, the bodies that have been found are mostly without objects, and only in one case an earthenware cup and an obsidian blade were found next to the buried body.
The head of the archeological program in northwestern Iran said: “One of the burials has been covered with a layer of red ocher, and the traces of red ocher can be seen in the grave, as well as on the bones.”
The historic Hill of Ahranjan in northwestern Iran
Ahranjan Hill is one of the oldest settlements in the northwestern basin of Lake Urmia, which is located in the northwest of Salmas city in Farhangian alley. It was registered in 1998 as one of the national monuments of Iran.
The hill is one of the oldest settlements for human beings in the Middle East, dating back to 7000 BC.
The original size of the hill was much larger than the current remaining area until 40 to 50 years ago. A large part of it has been permanently destroyed due to poor maintenance. Due to the presence of ash in the layers of the hill, local people used the soil as a fertilizer for their gardens.
In expert examinations of the surface of the hill, a variety of stone tools, pottery and obsidian stones have been discovered.
He was speaking at a press conference alongside his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov following a meeting of the foreign ministers of the (P)GCC members.
The Saudi foreign minister said they want to invite Iran to peace, cooperation and adherence to principles of international legitimacy and good neighborliness.
Farhan also spoke about talks meant to revive the Iran nuclear deal, JCPOA. He said the revival of the agreement will be a good event.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Iran and Saudi Arabia are two big and influential countries in the region and that Tehran has not completely severed ties with Riyadh.
Amirabdollahain also referred to progress in talks between the two sides and welcomed normalization of relations.
Khatibzadeh said in a tweet that the Israeli regime, as the number one enemy of the Iran nuclear deal, JCPOA, refuses to join the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, NPT, and is the only holder of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.
Khatibzadeh added that we know this, so does the whole world.
He then criticized the Western governments over their double standards toward the issue, saying it’s high time the European troika and the US stop turning a blind eye to the Israeli regime’s nuclear arsenal.
Khatibzadeh dismissed threats of issuing an anti-Iran resolution at the IAEA’s Board of Governors over Tehran’s nuclear program.
He said the West can choose the option of diplomacy or move in the opposite direction, but Iran is ready for both of these options.
The US and the European troika have presented a draft resolution to the IAEA’s board.
They claim Iran has failed to answer longstanding questions over its nuclear program.
Tehran also says the pressures are part of a psychological warfare to force it into accepting a deal in Vienna that would violate the country’s red lines.
They stay for some time to get rest, to feed, to breed chickens and pass the winter in colonies of Bilu Plain and the village of Darreh Tefi near Zaribar Lake of the City of Marivan, in Iran’s Kurdistan Province.
The nomadic tribes of Iran’s Qara Dagh (Arasbaran) region in East Azerbaijan Province, start their migration in early June each year.
But this year, they did so around mid-June due to a change in weather conditions and an excessive increase in temperatures and a decrease in downpours.
This has caused some hardships for this hard-working people.
Spokesman for the administration Seyed Rouhollah Latifi says 12 tankers were sent back to Iran from Afghanistan, but he added, they contained light hydrocarbons.
Latifi also said that two tankers were initially returned to the Milak customs administration in Iran’s southeastern Province of Sistan and Balouchestan, but they were sent back to Afghanistan based on a request by the Afghan businessman, who bought the fuel.
Latifi further stressed that documents in Iran show the shipments contained light hydrocarbons and Iran is not liable for any claim by the Afghan importer that the shipments contained gasoline.
The official noted that there is footage, released by the Taliban, that clearly shows Afghan businessmen trying to buy low-priced products instead of gasoline.
You will never know how incredibly delicious a simple combination of rice, meat and green beans is unless you give Loobia Polo a shot.
Iranian dishes excel at making people who have never tried them fall in love at the first bite. The unique combination of spices and flavorings with a wide range of vegetables, herbs, fruit, grains, nuts, meat and most importantly rice only needs the wand of Iranian cuisine to perform magic and leave an explosion of unforgettable tastes in the mouth. The delectable smell, delicious look and perfectly pleasant taste make it almost impossible to resist them. To share the gastronomic delights of Iran, IFP has decided to file a series of mouth-watering recipes for Iranian dishes.
Loobia Polo is a truly delicious Iranian rice dish served as a main course. Its simple combination of rice, meat, green beans and spices might make one think of it as a very ordinary meal, you will be pretty amazed at how these ingredients come together to please your palate.
Ingredients For Loobia Polo:
(Serves 4)
1. Four cups rice (400 grams)
2. 350 grams minced beef
3. 350 grams fresh green beans –Top and tail the green beans and cut them into one-inch pieces.
4. Two to three large onions – The onions should be peeled and thinly sliced.
5. Three to four tablespoons tomato paste
6. Four large tomatoes –which should bepuréed.
7. Three level teaspoons saffron –You will need a pestle and mortar to grind it into powder; the powder should not be prepared much in advance, because it will lose part of its aromatic smell. You had better brew it with a little hot water to have better color and aroma.
8. Two level teaspoons cinnamon
9. Salt, ground black pepper and turmeric to taste
10. Two potatoes –Peel and cut them into round slices.
11. Oil
12. Water
Ingredients For Loobia Polo (lubia polo)
Cooking Steps For Loobia Polo
1. Fry the onions in a pan with salt, ground black pepper, and turmeric until they turn golden brown. Put the green bean pieces in the pan and fry them for about 10 minutes.
Add in the minced beef and fry it until it turns brown. Spoon in the tomato paste and mix it well with other ingredients in the pan. It should be fried with the mixture until it turns deep red; stir it frequently to prevent it from burning. Add the puréed tomatoes to the mix and fry it for a few minutes.
Then you can add some water to the mixture to let the meat and green beans cook. The final sauce should be thick, otherwise your mixed rice will turn mushy by the time the meal is ready.
2. Rinse the rice with lukewarm water a few times, then soak it for a few hours in water to which four tablespoons of salt has been added. Bring some water to a boil in a pot and then add some salt to it. Drain the salt water from the rice and add the rice to the boiling water. Leave the rice in the boiling water until it is al dente.
The rice should be neither too hard nor too soft; it should be firm and slightly chewy. Avoid overcooking the rice. Strain the rice in a colander and then rinse it with water to let it cool off.
3. In a bowl, mix half a cup of brewed saffron with a small ladle of oil. The amount of oil is subject to change; you can adjust it to your liking.
4. Drizzle some oil into a pot over a medium heat, so that a thin layer of oil covers the bottom surface of it. When the oil gets hot, turn down the flame and place the round slices of potatoes at the bottom of the pot.
5. Add a few spatulas of the rice into the pot over the potato slices and cover it with a layer of sauce. Put a pinch of cinnamon over it and pour a few spoons of saffron and oil on top of them.
Repeat layering until no rice and sauce are left. You don’t need to mix the rice with the sauce thoroughly while layering.
Wrap the lid in a piece of cloth and put it on the pot. The cloth won’t let the steam find its way out of the pot. It also absorbs drops of water formed as a result of condensation.
To help the steam form, turn up the heat for a few minutes and then turn the flame down.
Be careful not to burn the potato slices. By the time the food is ready, they should be crispy and golden. The mixed rice usually takes about an hour over a low heat to cook.
Loobia Polo (lubia polo)
6. At the end, if the rice is not well mixed with the sauce, before serving the dish, blend them gently together with a spatula. Place it on your serving dish and garnish it with the crispy golden potato slices.
Bon Appétit!
Loobia Polo is usually served with Shirazi salad (wikipedia) which consists of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, mint powder, salt, ground black pepper and fresh lime juice.
Loobia Polo (loobia polow) is usually served with Shirazi salad.
Additional tips for cooking Loobia Polo
1-Take one cup out of the desired amount of rice and replace it with one cup of smoked rice. This will improve the flavor of your Loobia Polo and make it much more delicious.
2- You can use diced chicken for Loobia Polo if you like. After frying the onions, add the chicken to the onions and fry. But this Persian dish is more delicious with red meat.
3- Instead of chopped meat, you can also prepare this dish with minced meat. To do this, after frying the onions, add minced meat and after frying, follow the rest of the mentioned steps.
4-When your rice is almost ready you can melt some butter or clarified butter and pour it on the rice to make it fragrant.
5- You can add special spice to your Loobia Polo but dried Damask rose powder or cinnamon powder is enough to make this dish fragrant.
Do not add cinnamon powder to your beans and meat mixture as it darkens it and therefore darkens the whole dish. Make sure you use cinnamon sticks.
6- Before draining the rice, you can put some bread or potatoes on the bottom of the pot to have a unique Tahdig.
Local judiciary chief Mojtaba Ghahramani says they were arrested in a sting operation by Hormozgan marine guards after three months of intelligence gathering.
Ghahramani says seven other smuggler leaders have also been identified and are on the judiciary’s wanted list.
He said the smugglers used a network of international organized crime to smuggle over two million liters of fuel out of the country on a daily basis.
The official added that dozens of lounges and luxury cars as well as seven residential houses belonging to the group have been confiscated.
He said the judiciary has also blocked 71 bank accounts used by the group and has seized millions of dollars of their assets.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has reacted to the identical statements of the spokespersons of the French and German foreign ministries about the Greek ships confiscated by Iran in the Persian Gulf.
He said, “We strongly dismiss such one-sided and unjustified statements that have apparently become an ingrained habit of those who issue them.”
Khatibzadeh added, “We recommend these countries to support judicial processes that are based on international rules and regulations aimed at guaranteeing freedom of navigation and maritime security instead of escaping forward and giving pointless support to violations committed by the Greek vessels.”
Khatibzadeh underlined that unfortunately these countries object to legal moves in Iran at a time when they kept silent toward the illegal seizure of a ship with the Iranian flag by Greek authorities and the unloading of its cargo to enforce the extra-territorial rules and domestic rulings of a third country.
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman underlined in the end said that such inappropriate interferences with the independent judicial proceedings of Iran will not help resolve issues at all.
Khatibzadeh said, “Just as we have told the Greek officials, it is appropriate that due action be taken through legal and judicial channels with competent Iranian authorities to resolve disputes instead of making political and media moves.”
The tally also showed that 234 people tested positive for the disease countrywide from Tuesday to Wednesday. The infections include 43 hospitalizations.
Iran has been experiencing a downward trend in Covid deaths and infections in the past three weeks.
A nationwide vaccination campaign as well as people’s observance of health protocols have been credited for the downward trend. Nearly 150 million doses of vaccine have so far been administered to people in Iran since the inoculation process began over a year and a half ago.
More than 27,500,000 people are triple-vaxxed. Iran says its handling of the Coronavirus pandemic has been good given that it’s been under harsh sanctions by the US and some other Western governments.
