Tuesday, December 23, 2025
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Iran Makes PCR Covid Tests Obligatory for All Inbound Travelers

“Vaccinated travellers must have a negative PCR test for entering Iran. Having a health certificate upon arrival in Iran is obligatory for all passengers,” said Mohammad Reza Seif, caretaker of the General Department for Safety and Quality Assurance of Imam Khomeini Airport City.

He was answering the question whether vaccinated travelers from Europe, Canada, etc, are also required to have negative test results on them.

“The outbreak of the Delta variant of the coronavirus has led us to make it obligatory, even for vaccinated people, to test and offer definite proof on not being infected with Covid-19,” Seif said.

“The new Delta variant is still unknown and, based on the decisions made by the National Taskforce on coronavirus and the letter by the representative of the minister of roads and urban development as well as the correspondence by the Health Ministry, all travelers entering Iran must have negative test [results] on them upon arrival.”

“The regulations have been announced to all airline companies and relevant announcements have been placed on their websites and passengers, who are going to travel to Iran, have been notified since last week.”

Seif stressed that travelers are told of the regulations when they move to buy tickets to prevent possible confusion upon their arrival in Iran.

 

IRGC’s Noura COVID-19 Vaccine Completes 1st Phase of Clinical Trials

“This vaccine was successful in the first phase of clinical trials and we have entered the second phase of the trials,” said Major General Hossein Salami, on the sidelines of a visit to a hospital in the southern city of Kerman, where Covid patients are receiving care.

“The Health Ministry is closely overseeing the production process of the vaccines by experts at [IRGC’s] Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences. The production of the vaccine is going through its normal process and, God willing, the vaccine will reach its final phase in the next few months.”

The IRGC unveiled its coronavirus vaccine dubbed Noora in late June and the clinical trials began immediately afterward. Noura is one of the eight Covid-19 vaccines being developed inside Iran.

All Iran-Afghanistan Border Crossings Open: Customs Administration

The administration announced that all trade crossings with Afghanistan, including the Milak checkpoint, are up and running.

The announcement came after trade through border customs with Afghanistan halted for some time due to the unrest in the neighbouring country.

Then trade resumed gradually, but the Milak crossing was closed once again.

Still, the Iranian Customs Administration announced on August 11, 2021that the Milak border crossing had opened, with trade activities going on.

However, some recent news reports suggested trade activities had been disrupted at Milak while the administration did not confirm the news. 

Nevertheless, the administration says all Iran-Afghanistan customs checkpoints are open at the moment.

Trade is reportedly conducted with Afghanistan on all days except on Fridays.

No Iranian Military Advisor Killed in Yemen: Spokesman

In a statement on Saturday, Khatibzadeh said there is no Iranian military advisor in Yemen to be killed by the invaders’ bombardments.

“Such baseless remarks will not change the reality on the ground in Yemen about the cowardly attacks of the self-proclaimed coalition against the oppressed people of Yemen and their determination to face the aggression,” he noted.

The spokesman expressed regret that those individuals who consider themselves Yemenis are now encouraging and backing the aggressors in their oppression caused by the blockade and war against the people of their own country.

The spokesman’s remarks came after Muammar al-Iryani, Yemeni information minister in the administration of Hadi, claimed on Twitter that an Iranian military expert and nine other people were killed in a Saudi-led airstrike in central Yemen on Saturday, Anadolu news agency reported.

The war-torn country has been beset by violence and chaos since 2015, when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a devastating military campaign to reinstall the Saudi-friendly regime of Hadi in Sana’a.

The protracted war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and created the worst humanitarian catastrophe in modern history.

Diamond Mansion; A Royal Structure in Tehran’s Golestan Palace

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golestan Palace represents a unique architecture and decorative art which was common during the Qajar era mostly under Nasser al-Din Shah. 

There is a mansion inside this palace called Almas or the Diamond. “Diamond Mansion” is definitely an appropriate name for this beautiful structure in Golestan Palace; a mansion that was founded during the reign of Fat’h Ali Shah, but Nasser al-Din Shah changed its appearance and decorations.

The building has been named so given its interior mirrors. Another amazing beauty of this mansion is the interior architecture of the building, including three porches of mirror work and narrow and elongated arches, which are covered on the northern side of the hall with large sash and beautiful coloured glass.

Interestingly, in the Nasserite era, most of the arches and truncated arches of this hall were turned into Roman arches, and the walls of the hall were decorated with various types of foreign wallpapers.

Here are the photos of this mansion retrieved from tehranpicture.ir:

Why Is Iran’s State TV Presenting Fake, Embellished Image of Taliban?

Masih Mohajeri, who is the editor-in-chief of Jomhouri-e Eslami daily, has in a piece said that the state TV asks analysts to present an embellished picture of the Taliban on TV.

He reminded the TV officials of the Reza Shah era in which he used to go to the mourning ceremony of Imam Hussein (AS) to deceive the people and even rubbed mud on his head to mourn for Imam, but when he came to power, he closed the mosques and turned the Hussainiyas into warehouses.

“The Taliban terrorist group is trying to deceive the Shiites by sending its agents to mosques and Hussainiyas in different cities of Afghanistan and pretending to agree with the Shiites’ beliefs, as if it wants to strengthen its rule by beautiful promises to its opponents and Afghan women,” added Mohajeri, himself a cleric. 

He went on to say that undoubtedly, after gaining power, this terrorist group will break all its promises and seek to achieve its medieval goals.

“The Taliban have come to power in the context of a precise American conspiracy, of which the corrupt president and Afghan army chiefs were a part, and all that has happened in recent weeks has been a plot to carry out this plan.”

These days, videos are being circulated in cyberspace showing the Taliban leaders returning to Afghanistan on American planes, terrorists blowing up the statue of Martyr Mazari, and its leaders ordering their agents to wait for the capture of Panjshir and then start executing dissidents, stressed Mohajeri. 

“This is the true face of the Taliban, and what our national media portrays of this group these days is unrealistic. The gesture that Americans are making these days to distance themselves from the Taliban, and what some Western media outlets are saying and writing in the same context, are part of the same conspiracy to deceive public opinion.”

The Taliban cannot change because of their Salafi ideology, said Mohajeri, reiterating that the group believes the Afghan government must belong to Pashtuns due to its ethnic affiliation, and if it does not practice extremism in the early stages, that’s a tactic because it will monopolize power in later stages.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman who has now become their minister of culture and guidance, said in his first interview that “We will have our Islamic principles and Sharia law, and this is our right. Women will have the right to work within the framework of Islamic law and Sharia.”

According to Mohajeri, these statements clearly show that the Taliban will not give up on their beliefs, because Islam and Sharia, according to this group, are exactly what they did in the beginning.

For this reason, those who are hoping to attract this group must reconsider their approach. These people must know that when the joint conspiracy of the United States and the Taliban against the people of Afghanistan and Iran are revealed, they will regret it.

Iranian MPs Begin Reviewing Proposed Ministers’ Credentials

Addressing the legislators, the president underlined that his administration is following a multipronged approach in order to improve the country.

The reform program pursued by the administration forms the centerpiece of the proposed ministers’ agenda,” said Raeisi in a speech on parliament floor before the MPs began reviewing the credentials of his nominated ministers.

“The program is based on five pivotal points. First, a statement on the second step of the Islamic Revolution; second, improving Islamic and Iranian culture; third, pursuing economic resilience; fourth, improving the livelihoods of people, especially low-income families; fifth, promoting international relations based on national interests,” he noted.

Raisi added justice and progress are the central plank of all the programs offered by the nominated ministers.

“We should be justice-oriented both in distributing resources and opportunities and in spotting, cultivating and building on talents,” he underscored.

“Moreover, we should be justice-oriented when it comes to meritocracy and shattering the cliques of power and wealth,” Raisi said.

He noted justice should prevail in order to ensure the rights of all people.

The president said his administration aims to present solutions and strategies to tackle the existing challenges.

He added his top priority is to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and spur the economy.

“Expediting public vaccination and implementing health protocols and improving medical treatment are the priorities that the administration urgently pursues when it comes to COVID-19,” he said.

Raeisi underlined the executive branch is planning to pursue its programs in cooperation with the legislative and judicial powers.

He said his administration plans to give a bigger role to people in society.

Raisi won Iran’s presidential election by a landslide and was sworn into office before introducing his proposed ministers to Parliament.

Iran Starts Vaccinating Pregnant Women against Coronavirus

According to the instructions of the Ministry of Health, the inoculation of pregnant women eligible for vaccination kicked off in Tehran and the capital’s University of Medical Sciences is responsible to do the task.

Alireza Delavari, Vice Chancellor for Health at Tehran University of Medical Sciences said on Friday that these women do not get infected more than others, but if they do, it will be more severe than non-pregnant women of the same age.

“Vaccination of pregnant women will be performed in the health centers that offer comprehensive health services, and the 12-week pregnant women and the more will be introduced to the selected vaccination centers by issuing a vaccination certificate after being consulted by a midwife in the health center,” he underlined.

Delavari noted that due to the risks of Covid-19 disease in the third trimester of pregnancy, vaccination of mothers with a gestational age of 28 weeks and older will be a priority.

“All pregnant women of 35 years of age and older, mothers working in health care, pregnant women with spouses working in COVID-19 wards or corona management health centers, and mothers working in occupational groups are prioritized for vaccination in accordance with national vaccination guidelines.”

He went on to say that pregnant women with a body mass index of 35 or higher, mothers with twin and multiple pregnancies, the pregnant women with IVF, moms with underlying diseases including diabetes, gestational diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and those who take immunosuppressive medicines that weaken the immune system as well as those with chronic kidney disease, tuberculosis anemia, organ transplantation, liver cirrhosis and asthma are eligible for the vaccination.

Delavari added that after being vaccinated, pregnant women should contact health centers or 4030 hotline to get the necessary instructions or even to determine the location of the check-up in case of possible showing of symptoms of the corona disease.

Iran’s New School Year to Start in Late September: Raisi

Ebrahim Raisi made the comments during a meeting of the taskforce to fight against Coronavirus on Friday adding that due to the approaching school reopening season, all the necessary health conditions and infrastructure must be provided to hold the classes in person.

“Providing the desired standards of health services, enabling minimum density in classrooms, ventilation, vaccination of teachers and administrative staff, vaccination of parents and the students with underlying diseases are among the preconditions to be met.”

After presenting a report on the observance of health protocols during the recent holidays, the President thanked the people for following the instructions approved by the National Anti-Corona Taskforce, and appreciated the efforts of unions, law enforcement, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Roads.

“I hope that by increasing the level of observance of health regulations by the general public, we will be able to control the spread of corona as soon as possible,” he noted.

At this meeting the Ministry of Health presented a report on the latest situation of the Corona pandemic and measures taken in the field of treatment and control of the disease, including supply of medicine, serum, oxygen and increasing the number of treatment boards with the cooperation of different departments and accelerating the import of vaccines.

The president also appreciated the quality of observance of health protocols in the mourning ceremonies of Muharram and thanked for the good cooperation of the people.

“Reports indicate successful and effective implementation of bans and restrictions approved by the taskforce and I need to thank the people for their cooperation and the efforts of health care staff, as well as guilds, merchants and religious groups to observe the protocols.”

At this meeting, it was decided that the Ministry of Health would review and submit instructions on how guilds operate in malls and indoor markets, and expedite the issuance of licenses for the production of various domestically produced vaccines, taking into account technical and specialized aspects.

The members also stressed the need to develop e-businesses for the supply of goods, sales and transportation.

The need to continue the implementation of traffic restrictions until August 27 was emphasized and it was decided to decide on the manner and form of implementation of these restrictions after this date based on the evaluation of the results.

Iran Condemns Terrorist Attack against Shiite Mourners in Pakistan

In a statement on Thursday, Khatibzadeh offered his deep sympathy to the families of the victims of the act of terrorism.

He further underlined the necessity of countering all kinds of such inhumane acts of terrorism, and called for cooperation among all regional countries for consistent fight against the perpetrators, organisers, supporters, and sponsors of such acts.
At least three people were killed and 50 others wounded when a bomb explosion ripped through a Shiite Muslim procession in central Pakistan on Thursday, officials said.

Security was high as the religious minority marked Ashura during the holy month of Muharram, a flashpoint for sectarian violence in previous years.

“We have confirmation of three dead and 50 injured from the blast at the procession site,” said a senior government official in the city of Bahawalnagar, in Punjab province.

Social media videos showed bleeding victims lying on a road being assisted by members of the public.
A local police officer, Kashif Hussain, also confirmed the death count to AFP.

“The nature of the explosion is not yet clear as a team is still collecting evidence from the scene,” he said.

Authorities have suspended mobile phone services in major cities as a security measure during Ashura processions. Residents in many urban centres were experiencing signal jams on Thursday. The streets leading to procession routes were also blocked.