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Iran’s COVID-19 Cases Exceed 360,000: Ministry

Iran's COVID-19 Death Toll Hits 24,000: Ministry

In a press briefing on Monday, Sima-Sadat Lari said the virus has killed 133 patients since Sunday noon, increasing the overall death toll to 20,776.

So far, she added, 311,365 patients have recovered from the disease or been discharged from the hospital.

Lari said 3,848 patients are also in critical conditions caused by more severe infection.
The spokeswoman noted that 3,062,422 COVID-19 tests have been taken across the country so far.

She said the high-risk “red” zones include Tehran, Qom, Mazandaran, Alborz, East Azarbaijan, Isfahan, Ardabil, Yazd, Markazi, Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, Semnan, Gilan, Golestan, and Kerman provinces.

The “orange” zones also include Lorestan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Fars, Hamadan, Bushehr, West Azarbaijan, Qazvin, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, and Zanjan provinces, she added.

Iran’s Gas Pipeline Network Unmatched in World: Rouhani

US Launched Economic War on Iran Based on Miscalculations: Rouhani

In remarks at a videoconference, held on Monday to inaugurate three major energy projects in Iran, President Rouhani said his administration’s great achievements in the oil and gas sector would serve the Iranian nation and the next administrations.

“This administration has done great jobs in the oil and gas industries and in the joint fields,” he noted, adding that all but one of the phases in the South Pars gas field have come on stream and Iran has become self-sufficient in producing gasoline and diesel.

The president also said his administration has increased gas extraction from the joint gas fields by 2.5 times, while the crude output from the common oilfields has risen by around 6 times.

The oil output at the joint oilfields has increased from 70,000 to 400,000 barrels per day, President Rouhani stated, adding that the daily gas production has also reached one billion cubic meters.

The administration has connected 17,000 villages to the national gas network and runs at least 89 power plants with gas, he added.

Natural gas has great significance in the country, the president stressed ,saying Iran consumes around 800 million cubic meters of gas in the wintertime, which is equivalent to 5 million barrels of oil.

The president finally pointed to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s emphasis on preventing the sale of raw materials, saying the administration has taken proper measures in constructing petrochemical plants.

Three Energy Megaprojects Come on Stream in Iran

Three Energy Megaprojects Come on Stream in Iran

Marking the Administration’s Week, President Rouhani inaugurated the three megaprojects at a videoconference on Monday morning.

Implemented with a total investment of €4.7 billion, the projects include the development and improvement of the gas dispatching site and a series of gas pipelines in the national network, the first phase of Bushehr petrochemical plant, as well as a 500-MW combined cycle power plant in West Karun and its adjoining power transfer equipment and station.

The 1,200-km pipelines from the sixth section of the national gas network have the capacity to transfer 110 million cubic meters of gas from the South Pars gas field to the western provinces every day.

Another pipeline in the ninth section of the countrywide network stretches for 125 kilometers from the western areas of Behbahan into the Bazargan border crossing and north of Maku in northwestern Iran to supply 60 million cubic meters of gas per day.

The new pipeline would ensure sustainable gas supplies in the country’s cold regions and would also allow for the exports and energy exchanges with the regional countries.

The first phase of Bushehr petrochemical plant includes gas sweetening section and shops producing ethane, methanol, oxygen, and 9.6 million cubic meters of input per day for the South Pars refineries.

The 500-MW West Karun combined cycle power plant is also the other major project that would generate power for the oil and gas fields west of Karun River, including the North and South Azadegan as well as North and South Yaran oilfields.

The project also includes electricity transition equipment and gas pressure reduction station at the power plant.

Zarif: Iran Not to Allow US, Israel to Mock IAEA’s Goals

US Claim That Iran Sanctions Reinstated 'Baseless': FM Zarif

The Islamic Republic of Iran will not allow the parties that disagree with the International Atomic Energy Agency and threaten world security with their nukes, namely the US and the Zionist regime, to mock the IAEA’s goals, Zarif told reporters on Monday.

Highlighting Tehran’s transparent cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, Zarif emphasized that Iran’s beliefs and strategic considerations ban any plan to achieve nuclear weapons, which are deemed to be detrimental to the country.

The foreign minister finally noted that the visit that IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi is going to make to Iran on Monday has nothing to do with the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism, which he described as a wrong expression popularized by Americans.

Rafael Mariano Grossi will travel to Tehran on Monday for the first time after taking office last December.

During his discussions in Tehran, Grossi is expected to address the cooperation of Iran with the IAEA, and in particular Iran’s provision of access to the Agency’s inspectors to requested locations.

Iran Unveils New System for Real-Time Diagnosis of Coronavirus Infection

Iran Unveils New System for Real-Time Diagnosis of Coronavirus Infection
Saeid Sakar (right), the secretary of Iran's Nanotechnology Innovation Council elaborating on the new system for real-time diagnosis of coronavirus, developed by Mohammad Abdolahad (centre) in a press conference held in Tehran on Aug. 24, 2020

The new system, which was unveiled in a Monday press conference in Tehran, uses a simple electrochemical sensor to selectively detect the intensity of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the sputum sample (with a volume of less than 500 µl).

Saeid Sarkar, the secretary of Iran’s Nanotechnology Innovation Council, told reporters that if the patient’s sputum sample contains a high level of ROS, the patient is most likely suffering from a respiratory disease, including COVID-19, Asthma, or tuberculosis, but now that the country is facing the Coronavirus pandemic, in 99 percent of cases, a high level of ROS means infection with the novel coronavirus.Iran Unveils New System for Real-Time Diagnosis of Coronavirus Infection 2

Sarkar noted that the mass production of the system has already started, and it has been pre-purchased by several bodies.

He said the system can be particularly useful in such places as airports and the Parliament as it can tests a large number of people in a short period of time.

Mohammad Abdolahad, one of the researchers who have devised the system, says the new device is not to replace the common PCR test, and is mainly used to warn the patient about a possible infection with a respiratory problem.

The results of the research study have been published in the Biosensors & Bioelectronics journal.Iran Unveils New System for Real-Time Diagnosis of Coronavirus Infection 1

Blast at Iran’s Natanz Nuclear Site An Act of Sabotage: Official

Iran Says Made 'Promising' Progress in Nuclear Field

In an interview with Al-Alam on Sunday, AEOI spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said security investigations have confirmed that the July 2 accident in Natanz nuclear site was an act of sabotage.

“What is definite is that an explosion has occurred in Natanz (nuclear site), but the security officials will announce at an appropriate time how and with what materials the blast has taken place and what the details are,” he explained.

On the latest status of Iran’s nuclear industry, Kamalvandi said the stockpile of heavy water produced inside the country has surpassed 3 tonnes, noting that part of the product would be exported to the other countries, including a number of European states.

The spokesman, however, refused to name those purchasers, citing the US pressure on the target countries.

Commenting on IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi’s forthcoming visit to Tehran, the spokesperson expressed hope that the trip would help allay the concerns of both sides.

Kamalvandi also noted that the two sites in Iran that the UN nuclear watchdog has requested inspection are located near Shahreza in Isfahan Province and near Tehran.

Iran was not initially opposed to inspection of the nuclear sites, but maintains that the IAEA’s questions must be based upon serious evidence and documents, he added.

“The questions based on the claims revolving around espionage and similar cases have not been and would not be acceptable by any means,” the spokesman stressed, saying the IAEA will be given conditional access to the sites provided that the questions and doubts are over once and for all.

When the IAEA intends to ask a question, it is a member state’s right to demand relevant reasons and documents regarding that question, he noted.

Kamalvandi finally noted that Grossi is going to visit Tehran only for talks on the issues relating to the Safeguards, protocols and the JCPOA, stressing that Iran has no confidential data to hide from the IAEA.

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23

Iran Newspaper Headlines

Abrar Newspaper:

1- Trump: Iran Waiting for Nov. Elections to Sign Deal with US

2- IAEA Chief to Visit Tehran Monday

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23


 

Aftab-e Yazd Newspaper:

1- Iran-IAEA Road: Complicated and Hart to Pass!

2- Turkey Celebrates Even with 1% of Iran’s Natural Resources

* Erdogan’s Exaggeration in Declaring His Country’s Biggest Gas Discovery

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23


 

Arman-e Melli Newspaper:

1- Conditions Prepared for Iran’s Victory If IAEA Supports: Analyst

2- Rouhani: Vaccine for Coronavirus Has Yielded No Definite Result

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23


 

Ebtekar Newspaper:

1- 13 UNSC Members Oppose US Bid to Reinstate Iran Bans

2- Trump Repeats His Claim, Says Iran Waiting for US Elections

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23


 

Etemad Newspaper:

1- Huge Discovery or ‘Gas Game’: A Report on Turkey’s Good News

2- Trump Uses His Meeting with Al-Kadhimi for Election Purposes

3- Iran to Show Harsh, Violent Response to Extension of Arms Bans

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23


 

Iran Newspaper:

1- Agriculture Minister: Iranian Vaccine for Corona in Clinical Test Phase

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23


 

Javan Newspaper:

1- Health Minister: Basij Forces Did Not Leave Us Alone in Fight against COVID-19

2- US Left Behind Doors of Security Council

3- Iraq Parliament to Question Al-Kadhimi over US Visit

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23


 

Kayhan Newspaper:

1- Shiites Observe Order, Social Distancing in Muharram Mourning Rituals

2- 13 Members of UNSC Oppose Activation of Snapback Mechanism

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23


 

Mardom Salari Newspaper:

1- Big No to Washington

2- Deep Political Gap in Tel Aviv

3- Iran Close to Developing COVID-19 Vaccine

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23


 

Shahrvand Newspaper:

1- Rouhani: It’s Time to Counter Corruption

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23


 

Shargh Newspaper:

1- Iranian People Taking Their Forex Reserves to Turkey

2- Does US Have Right to Use Snapback Mechanism?

A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on August 23

Iran’s Economy Shrinks by Only 3% after COVID-19: President

Iran's Economy Shrinks by Only 3% after COVID-19: President

In remarks at a Sunday session of the cabinet, attended by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei via videoconferencing, Rouhani highlighted his administration’s success in making the economy withstand pressures and carry out the Resistance Economy policies.

The president said the positive results of such a policy in confrontation with the external shocks have been obvious in recent years, as his administration has managed to deal with the plummeting oil prices and the “unprecedented and cruel sanctions” imposed by the US.

The successful experience of countering those two problems helped the administration handle the coronavirus pandemic, Rouhani said, adding that while many large economies have shrunk by up to 20 percent after the pandemic, the coronavirus-related problems have damaged Iran’s economy only by 3 percent.

Rouhani has repeatedly said that his administration is engaged in a battle on two fronts at the same time, dealing with the cruel foreign sanctions and addressing the coronavirus and its economic consequences.

The president said in June that the main priority in the administration’s economic plans is to control prices and supply the basic means of life.

Iran Leader Calls US Model of Governance ‘Utter Failure’

Iran Leader Calls US Model of Governance 'Utter Failure'

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks during a video-conference with the Iranian administration on Sunday, at the beginning of the Administration Week in Iran.

“Human values like health, justice, and security are trampled upon the most in America,” he noted.

“The social gap there is horrible, the number of the hungry and the homeless and their ratio [to the overall population] are higher than the conventional [rates of] world countries,” the Leader said.

“According to rivals speaking explicitly in election campaigns, one in five American children suffers from hunger. And additionally, insecurity and crime rate are very high in America,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Leader said that, apart from those internal and managerial problems, the United States also engaged in such “common practices” as “murder, the waging of wars, and the causing of insecurity” in foreign lands, such as Syria, Palestine, Yemen, and formerly in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Hiroshima (Japan).

He contrasted such administrative models with the independent Islamic model for order and social development that is predicated on the three-fold basis of “faith, knowledge, and justice.”

Iran’s Economy Shouldn’t Be Tied to Foreign Developments

The Leader further warned that Iran’s economic future should not be tied to developments in other countries, including the November presidential elections in the United States.

“The economic planning for the country should not wait for removal of sanctions or the result of elections in another country,” said Ayatollah Khamenei, as reported by Press TV.

The Leader said that the government should assume that the sanctions would remain in place at least for the next 10 years, although he did not rule out the possibility that Iran might decide to take advantage of “good decisions” adopted by foreign governments in future.

Ayatollah Khemenei further recommended the government to adopt policies that would ensure the country’s smooth access to hard currency resources, including forcing businesses to returns proceeds earned from exports and preventing the import of luxury goods.

COVID-19 Vaccine Made in Iran Ready for Clinical Trial: Minister

COVID-19 Vaccine Made in Iran Ready for Clinical Trial: Minister

In comments during a Saturday visit to the Islamic Republic News Agency, Khavazi said the Agriculture Ministry’s experts have launched extensive programs under the Health Ministry’s direct supervision to achieve a vaccine for the coronavirus pandemic.

The vaccine made by Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute –affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture- has successfully passed all tests in the animals and is now prepared for the initial phase of clinical trials, he added.

The minister said the results and documentation of research on the vaccine have been submitted to the Health Ministry, noting that the team of scientists at Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute is the first Iranian group to begin the clinical trials.

“I hope this phase would pass soon and we would achieve the coronavirus vaccine in the country,” Khavazi added.

In late July, Health Minister Saeed Namaki said he had good news about an Iranian vaccine for the coronavirus disease, adding that Iran is catching up with advanced countries in vaccine production.