Iran to Hold Third Technology Investment Meeting
Investment companies from the eight developing countries of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation will attend the third Technology Investment Meeting.
According to the international affairs manager of INIF, Sohrab Assa, the TIM 2021 event is where the best technology-based ideas and startups are introduced to international and professional investors.
Startups from Iran will share their experiences and ideas with the representatives of other countries with the aim of expanding mutual interactions and providing solutions to technology issues in the D-8 member states, he noted.
Assa pointed out that different companies, including foreign investors and entrepreneurs have expressed their preparedness to attend the meeting.
“Iran National Innovation Fund hosts this event with the aim of exploring international innovation potentialities,” he said, adding that 12 Iranian startups in different fields will present their works at this event.
“Due to healthcare considerations, the event will be held virtually,” Assa added.
According to Assa, the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation was established in order to improve the position of developing countries in the global economy, diversify and create new opportunities in business relations, increase participation in decision-making at an international level, and provide a better standard of living among the eight countries of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Nigeria, Pakistan, Malaysia and Iran.
The event will be held on February 17, 2021, in cooperation with the INIF’s ecosystem development management, Pardis Technology Park, D-8 technology and exchange network, and KarenCrowd agency.
According to Mostafa Baghdadi, the INIF’s ecosystem development manager, the event will be held from 11 am to 2:30 pm (GMT) or 2:30 pm to 6:00 pm (Tehran local time). Those interested in attending the event can visit https://online.inif.ir/ch/demoday and also find out more information on https://tim.d8tten.org/.
In Photos: Ganjnameh Waterfall of Hamadan Freezes
With a height of 12 metres, the waterfall is situated in the route to ascend Alvand mountain elevations and beside Ganjnameh inscriptions.
The waterfall has permanent water and is running in winters too if it is not frozen. Its average discharge is 200 litres per second which passes through the beautiful valley of Abbas Abad and Ganjnameh.
What follows are Mehr News Agency’s photos of the frozen waterfall:
Iran Says Helping Afghanistan Contain Huge Blaze on Common Border
Saeed Khatibzadeh on Saturday said that following an explosion at a gas tanker at the Islam Qala customs post on February 13, 2021 and the ensuing massive blaze there, the governor of Afghanistan’s Herat province contacted the governor of the northeastern Iranian province of Khorasan Razavi province and asked for help to contain the spread of the fire and prevent further harm to the installations as well as people at the border crossing.
“Preliminary arrangements ware made immediately to offer more facilities to the individuals and vehicles engulfed by the blaze in area, and the Iranian consul general in Herat made contacts with authorities in the province, including the provincial governor, to review the dimensions of the incident,” said the spokesman.
“Moreover, in coordination with the [Iranian] Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Border Guard Unit and other relevant institution, the Islam Qala-Dogharoun border post was opened to trucks, vehicles and people fleeing from the blaze to the Iranian border,” he added.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has also adopted measures to help those possibly hurt or wounded, and contacts are underway between relevant officials of both countries in that regard,” Khatibzadeh explained.
“So far, there have been no reports on individuals possibly hurt in the incident, and we have received no word, either, on possible harm to Iranian nationals,” the spokesman noted.
“We hope the blaze will be contained soon with the help of both countries’ officials,” he said.
Nine Iranian Cities Declared as ‘Red’ in Terms of Coronavirus Outbreak
In a press briefing on Saturday, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima-Sadat Lari reported 7,120 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total number of cases to 1,510,873.
So far, Lari added, 1,291,726 patients have recovered from the disease or been discharged from the hospital.
Lari said 3,720 patients are also in critical conditions caused by more severe infection.
The spokeswoman noted that 9,993,224 COVID-19 tests have been taken across the country so far.
She said currently nine cities are in the “red” zone, 39 cities are in the “orange” zone, 228 are in the “yellow” zone, and 172 are in the “blue” zone in terms of coronavirus outbreak.
The “red” cities are all in Khuzestan province in southwest of Iran, and include Abadan, Ahvaz, Mahshahr, Dezful, Dasht-e Azadegan, Shadgan, Shushtar, Karoun, and Hoveyzeh.
Iran President Calls for Stricter Border Controls to Tackle New COVID-19 Strain
President Hassan Rouhani noted stricter regulations should be enforced particularly along borders with countries hit by the new strain of the virus.
“Regulations should be announced by the state radio and TV as well as by newspapers,” said the president in a meeting of the National Coronavirus Headquarters on Saturday.
“The Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) should announce and communicate the laws and regulations, whether on tests or the quarantine,” said the president.
He said negligence in that regard cannot be forgiven because the lives of millions are at stake.
President Rouhani further stressed that action should be taken to identify individuals infected with the mutated strain of coronavirus.
“More care should be taken with regards to people entering a province or city,” he said.
He also pointed to the Health Ministry’s announcement that Khuzestan province has turned “red” in terms of coronavirus cases and fatalities, and warned about a new surge of the outbreak.
Window of Opportunity for US Getting Closed: Zarif
Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Trump administration bet on the myth that Iran is a nation which can be coerced into choosing between collapse and submission.
“All of us saw what the result of that bet was,” the top diplomat said in a message marking the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“The reality is that Trump was not the first, but the seventh consecutive US president who made that bet and lost,” he added.
“Now with a new government in office in Washington, there is a chance to try a new approach, but the current window is getting closed fast,” said Zarif.
He said the Iranian government will soon have to adopt fresh “remedial measures” if the United States and Europe fail to fulfil their obligations.
The foreign minister underlined the new measures will, as instructed by the Iranian Parliament, include Iran scaling down its cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors.
“This could be avoided only if the US decides to learn a lesson from Trump’s failure,” he said.
Iran in Talks with China, India to Buy More COVID-19 Vaccines: Official
Chief of Staff of the President’s Office Mahmoud Vaezi said the move will complete Iran’s repertoire of COVID-19 vaccines.
“I think with these measures, our basket of vaccines will be complete and we will have all of them before the Persian New Year,” he said.
Vaezi added Iran is currently scheduled to import one million doses of coronavirus vaccines from Russia.
“In the next phase, more vaccines will be imported from Russia,” he added.
Iran has purchased 2 million doses of the Russian-made Sputnik-V vaccine, the first batch of which arrived on February 4 and the second batch on February 13.
The country has also purchased 4.2 million doses of vaccine from COVAX, which will be delivered to the country in the coming weeks.
Zarif Hits Back at E3’s Statement on Iran’s Uranium Metal Production
“Have our E3 partners ever read paragraph 36 of JCPOA and Iran’s many letters on that basis?” Zarif tweeted on Friday evening.
“By what logic is the onus on IRAN to stop its remedial measures undertaken a full year after the US withdrew from — and continues to violate — the JCPOA?”
“What have E3 done to fulfill their duties?” the Iranian foreign minister asked.
His comments came in reaction to a statement by France, Germany and Britain in which they condemned Iran’s decision to produce uranium metal, which they said was in breach of commitments made by Tehran to the international community.
“We strongly urge Iran to halt these activities without delay and not to take any new non-compliant steps on its nuclear programme. In escalating its non-compliance, Iran is undermining the opportunity for renewed diplomacy to fully realise the objectives of the JCPoA,” said the three European states, which are also referred to as the E3.
Tehran has stopped implementing its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, also known by the acronym JCPOA, after the United States withdrew from the deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.
Iran’s COVID-19 Cases Hit 1.5 Million: Health Ministry
In a press briefing on Friday, Sima-Sadat Lari said the virus has killed 58 patients since Thursday noon, raising the overall death toll to 58,809.
So far, Lari added, 1,285,014 patients have recovered from the disease or been discharged from the hospital.
Lari said 3,729 patients are also in critical conditions caused by more severe infection.
The spokeswoman noted that 9,938,625 COVID-19 tests have been taken across the country so far.
