Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif and South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor had a telephone conversation on Tuesday evening.
In the conversation, the South African minister expressed solidarity with Iran, and voiced her country’s readiness for cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the battle with COVID-19.
In turn, Foreign Minister Zarif appreciated South Africa’s concern, and emphasized the need to stand against and defy the illegal, unilateral and cruel sanctions that the US has imposed on the Iranian people.
The pardon was granted at the request of the country’s Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi on the occasion of Eid al-Mab’ath -the anniversary of the day Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was chosen as God’s messenger- the Muslim festive days of Rajab, and the Nowruz festival.
In his request, the top judge had asked Ayatollah Khamenei to approve of the clemency considering the need to reduce the population of prisons, help the inmates to reintegrate into the society, and mitigate the adverse effects of imprisonment on the families of the inmates.
The status of conviction of the eligible prisoners to whom the Leader’s clemency applies must be finalized until March 18, 2020.
Article 110 of the Constitution grants the Leader the right to pardon or reduce the sentences of convicts upon a recommendation from the head of the Judiciary.
The new clemency would apply to a large population of inmates, including those who have been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and have remained behind bars for at least half the sentence period.
Men above the age of 70 and women above the age of 60 will be also released from prison, provided that they have served at least one-fifths of their sentences.
The clemency, however, does not apply to certain types of convicts, including those who have been sentenced for their role in the armed smuggling of narcotics, arms trafficking, kidnapping, acid attacks, rape, armed robbery, bribery, embezzlement, counterfeit money forgery, money laundering, disruption of economy, and smuggling of alcoholic drinks.
While Tehran municipality has taken extensive measures to combat the Coronavirus, Nowruz has changed the mood of Tehran and many other cities in the country.
According to Hamshahri, even Corona can’t make us forget Nowruz. Although people will not travel this year and citizens will celebrate Nowruz in their homes in hopes of brighter days, the city is changing. Flowering has begun in the streets of the city. The gardens will be covered with flowers, and the city wall paintings will change its face.
These days, the coronavirus may have hurt many citizens. Some may mourn the loss of their loved ones. Many others are also worried about their loved ones who are infected with the deadly disease. Nonetheless, Nowruz is always a time for rejuvenation. It means to rise again and be born again.
Therefore, the municipality is preparing gardens and public spaces for Nowruz along with planting a thousand sycamore on Vali-e-Asr Street.
The municipality’s program to welcome spring used to start every year by the mid-March, but this year all of them have been affected by the spread of the virus. However, the routine work of different sections of the municipality is going on. A number of programs to welcome the New Year are being implemented in Tehran as before. For example, painters are currently working at 150 locations around the city, and are drawing designs on city walls. In general, individual activities that do not include group gathering, such as the installation of coloured eggs, are being held. They are being run in 22 locations and parts of Vali-e-Asr Street in northern Tehran. This year, lightings are also being installed at squares, bridges and other parts of the city. The following images from IRNA News Agency show the colourful egg festival before Nowruz. The festival is being held on Vali-e-Asr with the participation of artists and in cooperation with the Tehran Municipality.
Painted eggs are actually dating back to a time when people celebrated the spring equinox with offerings and mementos symbolizing rebirth and the beginning of spring. Eggs have since remained a reminder of new life. Many cultures have embraced this tradition and celebrate the coming of spring in ways that are as varied as the colourful eggs that mark the occasion.
One of the oldest egg painting traditions began in Persia over 4,000 years ago. On Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, people prepare a Haft-Seen table which includes seven symbolic items marking the occasion. Although painted eggs are not one of the traditional seven items (which include wheat sprouts, sweet pudding, olive fruit, garlic, apples, sumac, an vinegar), families often include clay animals, fish, and painted eggs to emphasise the importance of new life.
People of Iran may rest assured that the Defence Ministry will spare no effort to cope with the domestic demand for disinfectants and masks, Brigadier General Hatami said during a Tuesday visit to a military factory producing detergents, health products, and ethyl alcohol.
Unveiling plans for a rise in the output of the medical products, the minister said the Defence Ministry’s factories will continue to run with maximum capacity to meet the Iranian medical society’s needs.
He also noted that the experts of the Defence Industries Organization have been distributing 150,000 liters of disinfectants among the hospitals and medical centers across the country on a daily basis.
The minister stated that the extraordinary activity of the factories will continue unabated during the new year’s holidays, assuring people that the Defence Ministry will prevent any shortage of disinfectants and standard masks.
In the telephone conversation, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde talked about bilateral ties between Tehran and Stockholm, the coronavirus global pandemic, and the regional issues.
In the conversation, Foreign Minister Zarif reminded the Swedish diplomat about the necessity of countering and disregarding the illegal, unilateral and cruel sanctions that the US has imposed on the Iranian people.
The Iranian knowledge-based company affiliated with the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology has synthesized a pharmaceutical composition that can cure pulmonary dysfunction in the patients infected with COVID-19.
Following successful tests in the virology laboratories, the pharmaceutical composition has now yielded successful results in healing the patients in the clinical trials.
Mostafa Qanei, Secretary of Biotechnology Development Headquarters of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, announced at a press conference on Tuesday evening that the homegrown pharmaceutical composition is not meant to cure the coronavirus, but the pulmonary and respiratory diseases caused by the virus.
He said the Iranian drug can reduce the hospitalization period in the coronavirus patients by up to four days, noting that the pulmonary dysfunction in the coronavirus-positive cases is the main reason for the ICU admissions and the main factor in deaths.
The Iranian pharmaceutical composition has been verified by the Health Minister and by the secretary-general of the Coronavirus Battle National Headquarters, and has been confirmed as a new treatment for the pulmonary dysfunction associated with COVID-19.
In addition to the pharmaceutical composition utilized in the new treatment procedure developed in Iran, three other medications have been also prescribed, namely Azithromycin, Prednisolone and Naproxen.
Before, Qanei had said that the herbal medicines developed by Iranian researchers to treat the COVID-19 were being tested and the results would be publically announced in two weeks
Hungary’s ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Zoltan Varga-Haszonits, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
In a meeting with the ambassador, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi notified the envoy of the Iranian government’s protest against the unconventional behaviour by the Police forces and the medical staff of Szent Laszlo Hospital in the city of Budapest towards the Iranian university students who have tested positive for coronavirus.
Araqchi also slammed as unacceptable the Hungarian government’s decision to expel 15 Iranian university students that were suspected cases of coronavirus, and asked the ambassador to inform the Hungarian authorities about the Islamic Republic of Iran’s call for reconsidering the decision.
It was also emphasized that the government of Hungary is responsible for providing the Iranian students in the European country with appropriate accommodation and health and medical services.
For his part, the Hungarian ambassador gave a report of the latest status of spread of coronavirus in Hungary and the government’s measures to handle the crisis, and promised to convey the Iranian government’s request to his country as soon as possible.
The Hungarian ambassador to Tehran has been invited by the Director General of Europe at the Iranian Foreign Ministry twice over the past two weeks in connection with the recent incidents.
Currently, around 2,500 Iranian students are studying in the universities of Hungary.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Embassy in Budapest is in close contact with the Iranian students and also with the Hungarian officials to make sure that the university students are in good health and the situation of their living accommodations and education is all right.
Supervisor of the Hadath al-Hussain religious circle has told Fars News Agency that around 2,300 young volunteers from the circle pour into the streets of Tehran every night to disinfect the public places amid the outbreak of coronavirus.
Mojtaba Qaragozlou said the laborious task has exhausted the forces and requires more volunteers.
He said the religious circles and the forces from the Basij bases across Tehran have been working tirelessly over the past couple of weeks to fight against the infectious disease.
At first, the activities of the young men from Hadath al-Hussain religious circle was restricted to Shemiranat region, north of Tehran, but they gradually expanded the scope of their activities and began the nocturnal missions in all 22 urban areas of Tehran, he added.
The necessary disinfectants for sanitizing the public places of the metropolis are provided by the Iranian Defense Ministry.
Qaragozlou said the initiative in Tehran has encouraged the Basij forces and members of the religious circles in the other provinces and cities to carry out disinfection missions at nighttime as well.
The major public places with a high risk of coronavirus infection include the automated teller machines, parks, and bus stations, he noted, saying the nightly disinfection removes virus and helps contain the epidemic.
According to Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour, the country has confirmed 1,178 new cases of coronavirus infections, including 135 new deaths, in the past 24 hours.
The new deaths increase the total number of victims to 988, Jahanpour said in his Monday briefing.
The 16,169 cases include 4,047 in Tehran, 1,433 in Mazandaran, 1,376 in Isfahan, 1,052 in Qom, 903 in Gilan, 830 in Alborz, 759 in Markazi, 631 in Khorasan Razavi, 517 in Semnan, 473 in Qazvin, 487 in East Azarbaijan, 426 in Yazd, 331 in Golestan, 331 in Khuzestan, 326 in Fars, 324 in Lorestan, 258 in West Azarbaijan, 241 in Zanjan, 203 in Ardabil, 167 in Kurdistan, 145 in Kermanshah, 142 in Hamadan, 119 in South Khorasan, 116 in Kerman, 112 in Hormozgan, 110 in Ilam, 100 in North Khorasan, 82 in Sistan and Baluchestan, 54 in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, 42 in Bushehr, and 32 in Kohgiliyeh and Buyer-Ahmad.
