Iranian Knowledge-Based Firms Seeking More Creative Presence in Int’l Arena

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April 1, 2020

Iran’s Vice Presidency for Science and Technology has released a report of its activities in the past Iranian solar year and the prospects for its future plans in the New Year.

The report was released on Tuesday by Rouhollah Estiri, the Director of the Office of International Business Development at the Vice Presidency, who expressed hope for more creative presence of Iranian knowledge-based companies in the international arena in the New Year.

Here is the full text of this report:

The past Iranian year was full of ups and downs for the country’s export industry and knowledge-based companies. Despite the problems caused by the sanctions and lack of banking relations, Iranian entrepreneurs were able to effectively lift sanctions by focusing on regional markets and taking steady steps towards exports.

Business meetings held for knowledge-based companies in other countries arouse new hopes for export for Iranian knowledge-based companies. It showed that despite all the economic and political problems, innovation and creativity in the creation of a product can lead it to find its place in the international arena.

Opening of a business base for Iran’s Science and Technology Vice Presidency in Baku in the autumn paved the way for export for more than 20 Iranian companies to Azerbaijan Republic. Software products, polymer based goods, nano-technological colours and flavours, domestic animal medicines and human probiotics were the most noticeable products in the market.

By the efforts of this business base, the total volume of knowledge-based export contracts to Azerbaijan is expected to reach more than $ 6 million.

Business meetings with Chinese and Turkish companies, which were held in the winter the past year with the participation of almost 100 Iranian companies, led to the conclusion of very positive export contracts, especially in the field of information technology for Iranian knowledge-based companies.

More than five export brokers in the cities of Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir have the ability to provide export services to knowledge-based companies by offering products at permanent exhibitions and providing marketing and product sales services.

Under sanctions, Turkey has been a good launching pad for Iranian knowledge-based companies to gain access to global markets.

The huge Chinese market has also provided good access for Iranian companies in the field of polymeric materials and cell therapies. It is hoped that they can be followed up after the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology did not forget Africa’s emerging markets during the past year.

Reconstruction and renovation of the old building of the Iranian Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and its conversion into a centre for Trade and Technology Cooperation was a major step taken in the past year. This centre will be operational in the fall of the current Iranian year.

By providing communal work spaces, offices, permanent exhibitions, residences and consulting services to local businessmen, this business centre can be a good platform for reducing the cost of business trips and export activities of knowledge-based companies.

Marketing consulting and activities of this export base in Kenya have also provided the opportunity for delivery of services of Iranian knowledge-based companies in the fields of information technology, solar energy, water services, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment.

The East African market is fully prepared to host the Iranian companies in this developing region.

Although knowledge-based exports were decreasing in the first half of the past year, with the thoughtfulness and creativity of knowledge-based companies in the second half of the year, the country’s export figures increased and got very close to the targets set for non-oil exports.

It is heart-warming that the country’s non-oil export basket in the field of knowledge-based products is developing. There is also hope to see the knowledge-based exports increase in the current new Iranian year with the support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.

Iran Says Social Distancing Plan Enforced in Iran with No Delay

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 31, 2020

Iran Says New US Sanctions Show Trump’s Desperation

Chief of Staff of the Iranian president Mahmoud Vaezi rejected certain allegations that the government delayed the enforcement of the social distancing plan.

“The first phase of this plan went into force right when the disease entered the country by closing schools and universities, canceling religious, cultural and sports gatherings, and urging people to stay in their homes plus commencing the national campaign against the coronavirus,” said Vaezi.

He also touched upon the issues brought up at a meeting of the National Coronavirus Fight Headquarters.

“Today, at the meeting of the Headquarters, promising reports and figures were presented with regards to the trend of managing the coronavirus epidemic,” he said.

“The country’s health and treatment system has had very good performance in fighting the coronavirus in cooperation with other government and state sectors as well as people’s very good cooperation,” he said.

“This achievement has been the result of not only round-the-clock efforts and sacrifice of medical staff and other institutions contributing to the management of the crisis, but also the government’s investment in the health sector over the past years,” he said.

The president’s chief of staff underlined that the coronavirus outbreak is a global issue and “we’d better base our judgement about our country’s performance in countering its spread on comparison with other countries’ track record.”

“What can be understood from statistics offered by the World Health Organization about the trend of the coronavirus outbreak in different countries is that unlike Italy, Spain and the United States where the coronavirus is fast spreading, in our country the trend of contracting the disease and its spread has become relatively stable, which indicates the efficiency of Iran’s decisions and policies in fighting the coronavirus,” Vaezi noted.

He said prompt detection of the disease upon its outbreak in the country is one of the reasons behind the success of Iran’s health and treatment in countering the coronavirus.

“Iran was the second country to detect the existence of the disease, and, fortunately, we enforced the national campaign against the coronavirus without delay, and since the very outset, enforced control and treatment measures as phase one of the social distancing plan” by closing educational centres and canceling social gatherings and congregations.

“Although school and university students as well as the youth deal with the COVID-19 more easily, they are among the most important carriers of the virus, and that is why the closure of schools and universities considerably stemmed the spread of the disease,” the president’s chief of staff said.

He underscored that the government fully complies with viewpoints of expert as well as directives of the National Coronavirus Task Force in adopting control and management measures.

“The success in controlling the disease in comparison with other countries has been the result of these very measures and policies, and we hope with the continuation of this trend, we will fully overcome this disease,” he said.

“We hope groups that are not of any help at this juncture and only seek to find faults and criticize and oppose [the government’s measures] will procrastinate efforts to settle political scores for the sake of people’s health at least for the time being when the country is grappling with this wicked virus,” he said.

Milad Tower Turns Green in Praise of Medical Staff

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Photo of the Day

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March 31, 2020

Milad Tower Turns Green in Praise of Medical Staff

98-Year-Old Iranian Woman Recovers from Coronavirus

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 31, 2020

Iran Reports Highest Daily COVID-19 Fatalities in Two Weeks

She was admitted in early March to Imam Reza hospital and was hospitalised at the ICU.
Her daughter, Saeedeh Hasanzadeh says her mother had symptoms of corona disease including severe fever and chills, chest pain, and headache.

“She was hospitalised after she tested positive for Covid-19. My mother had a kidney disease, but fortunately she could recover from coronavirus.”

She also thanked the medical staff for their great efforts in helping her mother to recover, Fars News Agency quoted her as saying.

Addressing the public, she asked people to listen to the recommendations and stay home so that the medical staff would not be worried about increasing of the number of these patients.

Iran Confirms 3,111 New Cases of Coronavirus Infection

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 31, 2020

Iran’s COVID-19 Cases Hit 650,000: Health Ministry

The new figures increase the total number of infections to 44,606 and the death toll to 2,898, Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Tuesday.
“14,656 infected patients have also recovered and been discharged from the hospital,” he added.

According to Jahanpour, 3,703 patients are in severe conditions.
The Iranian official said that up to now over 65 million Iranians have been screened for COVID-19 as part of the national mobilization plan.

Iran’s IRGC Strongly Warns Enemies against Making Any Mistake

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 31, 2020

Anti-Islamism Expediting Fall of US, Zionism: Iran's IRGC

The statement was issued to mark the historical referendum in 1979 during which the Iranian nation unanimously voted for the Islamic Republic establishment during a nationwide plebiscite.

The IRGC warned in this statement that the smallest mistake by the vicious and adventurous enemies at any point against the Islamic Republic of Iran will be their latest mistake.

“The decisive responses of the Islamic Revolution Front will be unbelievable and will not even give the enemies the opportunity to express regret.”

In part of this statement the IRGC has said that 41 years after the victory of the revolution in spite of the evil schemes of arrogance to contain, restrain and dismantle this revolution, the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation have continued their evolution towards the new Islamic civilisation during the past four decades.

“The spirit, thought and discourse of this great miracle (the Islamic Republic) have transformed the lines of contact and influence of Iran, even beyond the strategic West Asia region, and turned it into the nightmare of American leaders, the Zionist regime, and their wicked allies,” reads the statement.

In another part of the statement, the IRGC has stressed that the discourse of the Islamic Republic of Iran has influenced the geography of humanity and has marginalised the arrogant front, especially the dictatorial, terrorist regime of the United States in the world’s strategic developments.

Farvardin 12 known as the Islamic Republic Day is registered as the anniversary of the 1979 establishment of the Islamic Republic. Two months after victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the new government held the Iranian Islamic Republic referendum proposing to change the Pahlavi dynasty into an Islamic Republic. On Farvardin 12, the referendum results were announced, with 98.2 percent of the Iranians voting for an Islamic Republic.

US Remarks on Iran’s Fight against COVID-19 ‘Demagoguery’

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 31, 2020

Iran Condemns US Oil Deal with Syrian Kurdish Group

In a Tuesday statement, Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said the US government is not legally in a position to comment on Iran’s actions because of its conscious threatening to endanger the health of the Iranian people through economic and medical terrorism and committing crimes against humanity as well as its poor performance in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak inside the United States.

He said while the United States has the largest number of people infected with the Coronavirus, and the slogan of America First has just been achieved during this misery, and the American people are living in extremely dire conditions, US State Department officials are commenting on Iran’s actions to counter the virus based on false information by deceitful people and anti-Iranian lobbyists.

“The US government has acknowledged that in recent years it has spent at least $ 9 trillion to interfere in the internal affairs of the Middle Eastern countries to create insecurity and instability there. It included spending on creating and reinforcing terrorist groups such as ISIS and the disgraceful deal of the century that was born dead. Of that stunning amount, just $ 3 trillion was spent during Donald Trump’s first three years in office.”

He went on to say that if these extraordinarily heavy costs were spent for tens of millions of poor, vulnerable, and homeless people of the United States – not elsewhere in the world -, we wouldn’t have witnessed American nurses crying about the lack of treatment facilities. We wouldn’t have seen the medical staff wearing garbage bags, and we wouldn’t have witnessed the patients crying in a country that claims to be [hotbed] of prosperity, welfare, and human rights.

“Such blatant remarks cannot hide the Trump administration’s weak performance in dealing with the coronavirus, bad economic and stock market conditions in the country, and domestic pressure in the months leading up to the US presidential election or the crisis outside the US from public view,” added Mousavi.

In the end, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said all elements of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the support of the Iranian people, would deal with the coronavirus in face of unilateral, cruel and illegal US sanctions, and emerge victorious out of this tough test.

Iran in Better Condition than Other Countries in Dealing with Corona: Rouhani

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 31, 2020

Iran's President Calls for Strict Abidance by Health Protocols to Fight COVID-19

Hassan Rouhani said this has been achieved through the cooperation of people. He added that if the nation as well as some other organisations did not help, we could not achieve this.

Rouhani, who was speaking at the routine meeting of the National Headquarters to Fight against Corona on Tuesday, further appreciated the collaboration of the people saying “I would like to extend my special thanks to the dear and honorable people of the country who have been cooperating with the National Headquarters since the beginning of this disease.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani stressed if a person is infected with the virus, he must quarantine himself, underlining that if the infected person fails to do so, we will take legal action against him.

Further he said “Hospitals should inform the family and workplace of the infected person.”
Rouhani also went on to say that if Corona patients do not have insurance, the government will provide them insurance at the hospital.

Regarding the restrictions placed, he said the restrictions have been extended till April 8 and then we will decide to extend it more if needed.

Rouhani also urged people to stay home on April 1 which is the Nature’s Day. The Nature’s Day is an Iranian festival held annually on the thirteenth day of Farvardin during which people spend time picnicking outdoors.

Sistan & Baluchestan; A Dream Land for Nature-Lovers

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 31, 2020

Thanks to its unique flora and fauna, Sistan and Baluchestan has turned into a dream land for nature-lovers in southern Iran.

The province has a high diversity of topography – from plains to mountains – and is home to one of the four highest peaks of Iran “Taftan” which is 5,020 metres.

The province comprises two sections, Sistan in the north and Baluchestan in the south. The combined Sistan and Baluchestan province today accounts for one of the driest regions of Iran with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west, and an obvious rise in humidity in the coastal regions.

Here you can see photos of the pristine areas of Sistan and Baluchestan in Darak, Lut Desert and the Martian Mountains.

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Ecbatana; First Persian Capital with 3,000 Years of History

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IFP Editorial Staff

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March 31, 2020

This hill, which is referred to as the most extensive ancient hill in Iran, is over 30 hectares. However, the area would exceed 40 hectares if one takes into account the areas that were formerly part of the ancient hill but have now turned into residential buildings due to modern construction.

It is an ancient place where archaeologists discovered palaces, mansions and other historical monuments related to Median and Achaemenid periods.

In Ecbatana historical hill, one can see the remains of monuments that belong to the pre-Christendom kings. At that time, architects constructed labyrinthine castles and massive structures with a variety of materials.

Archaeologists have discovered traces of the people living then in the area. Architects have used gold, silver, tiles, and decorative materials to build the palace of the kings there.

What follows are ILNA’s photos of the ancient site:

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