Iran Says Not Satisfied with Europe’s Progress on INSTEX

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June 10, 2019

Seyyed Abbas Mousavi told reporters on Monday that the “first step” the European signatories of the Iran 2015 nuclear deal took in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to abandon it in May 2018 was a little too late.

“That was a late step even though we said back then that it still left room for a tiny glimmer of hope,” he said, adding that Tehran also viewed Europe’s interactions after the Trump decision as a sign it could not address Tehran’s interests.

“There is no will to resist the illegal demands that go against all international norms,” he said.

“We haven’t put much hope into INSTEX,” he noted. “If INSTEX was going to help it would have helped us,” Mousavi added.

Late in January, the three European parties to the 2015 deal — Germany, the UK and France — announced the launch of a long-awaited direct non-dollar payment mechanism aimed at safeguarding their trade ties with Tehran in the face of the sanctions.

Over a year after Trump’s decision to abandon the nuclear deal, however, the payment system has yet to be implemented.

Mousavi’s remarks came on the 31st day of Tehran’s 60-day ultimatum to the Europeans to either address Iran’s demands or it will consider a range of responses including leaving the agreement.

Strange Iranian Dishes One Must Try before Death

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Fatemeh Askarieh

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June 10, 2019

Some ingredients have long been of high nutritional value, but nobody could afford to buy or eat them. This led Iranian women to invent new flavours to use raw materials like meat thriftily.

On the other hand, due to the wars and unrest that Iran has faced throughout history, Iranian people have become familiar with the culture, lifestyle, and even the culinary of other countries.

Following, you can get acquainted with some of these food ingredients that, despite their strangeness, are very popular in parts of Iran and even to foreign tourists.

Sholeh: This meal is prepared in Khorasan province, especially in Mashhad. This dish is known in Mashhad as “Sholeh Mashhadi” and is a form of soup. Its main ingredients are meat, legumes and spices. They garnish this dish with split peas. It is said that due to lack of time and food during the Mongol invasion of Iran, people were using any kind of available stuff to cook meals. They poured them into large boilers to cook. This food is usually not cooked at homes and is always prepared on special occasions (especially Muharram) by special chefs. The direction to cook Sholeh has been recorded in Iran’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Melon Seeds Eshkeneh: Due to the cultivation of nice melons, there is a food in Khorasan known as Melon Seeds Eshkeneh. Eshkeneh is a traditional Iranian soup originally from Khorasan province. People in this region use melon seeds to prepare the dish. This type of Eshkeneh is cooked with a mixture of melon seeds, onions, whey, turmeric, butter and salt. To cook it, the melon seeds should be heated lightly first. Then, they mash and boil it in three cups of water. Then, it is sifted. They sauté onions in butter and then add melon juice to it. At this time, the whey and a little salt is added. Some serve it along with fried eggplants.

Kalleh Pacheh & Rice: Kalleh Pacheh or sheep’s head and hooves is a traditional dish in Iran. In the southern city of Shiraz, they have a dish called “Pacheh Pilau”. To prepare it, they cook Kalleh Pacheh and serve rice next to it. They also sauté some plums, apricots and garlic in butter. Then Breckland thyme, Persian hogweed and black whey are mixed with a cup of Kalleh Pacheh extract. At this stage, they pour the rice in a pot and add some water. Some dried plums and apricots are spread on half of the Pilau, and some black whey essence is poured on it. Then they put Kalleh Pacheh on top of the pilau and brew it. Pacheh Pilau or Kalleh Pacheh Pilau is one of the local dishes of Fars province and Shiraz with high fat and calories. This meal is cooked in Sistan and Baluchistan Province as well.

Goush-e Fil & Doogh: Goush-e fil is an Iranian doughnut made by shaping dough into the shape of an elephant’s ear. Doogh is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage that is mixed with salt. This meal is common in Isfahan and many tourists prefer to try it. Goush-e fil is a sweet with a lot of sap. On the other hand, Doogh is a drink that has a salty taste. This combination was also served at the time of Shah Abbas, and it seems that Avicenna and Sheikh Baha’i also wrote about it. The sweet and salty taste of these two regulates blood pressure and acts as a sugar solution.

Whey & Beet Roots: “Kashk-e Laboo” or whey and beetroots is a local dish of Khansar in Isfahan province. It is made up of a combination of steamed beetroots, whey, mint, turmeric and oil. It is rich in calcium and is cooked and served in the fall and winter. Reducing blood pressure, cleaning the liver, preventing cancer, treating constipation, and strengthening muscles in cardiac patients are some of the properties of beetroots. It is also recommended to use beetroot to lose weight.

Fried Eggs with Date Sap: In some of Iran’s desert areas like Mesr Desert, fried eggs are prepared with dates or grapes sap. The method of cooking this meal varies from region to region, and some make it like Akuri. This food is made up of a mixture of oil, eggs and dates’ sap. Garpes sap Akuri is also prepared with flour, salt, egg, rose water and saffron.

Tripe Dolma: Tripe Dolma or stuffed tripe is common in Khorramabad, Lorestan Province. Local people call it “Soghedou”. They believe this meal strengthens the stomach. In its other form, it is made with rice, plum, dill and animal oil which is yellow.

Iran Says Not Requested to Buy S-400 from Russia

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IFP Media Wire

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June 10, 2019

Iran Says What IAEA Wants to Access “Not A Site”

“We have made no request to purchase S-400 air defense systems from Russia, and we do not have a need for it, either. Our own engineers have already built a similar system which is just as good as its Russian version,” Mousavi said during a press conference on Monday in Tehran.

In late May, US-led Bloomberg reported, citing its sources, that Russia had refused to sell Iran its S-400 air defense systems, claiming that Russia explained its decision by saying that such a move would escalate tensions in the region.

Reacting to the report, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said Iran has made no such request. “Let them continue spreading [fake news],” he told Sputnik on Friday.

Iran’s Parliament Approves Establishing Free Trade Zone with Eurasia

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 10, 2019

According to this bill, the interim agreement on the establishment of a Free Trade Zone between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states is approved and the government is allowed to exchange the related documents.

One of the conditions is that Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade is required to submit an annual report on this agreement with the aim of developing export markets and preventing the loss of domestic producers.

Russia’s Duma ratified an agreement on setting up a free trade zone between Islamic Republic of Iran and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in November last year.

Iran and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) signed a temporary agreement for setting up free trade zone in Kazakh’s capital Astana on May 17, 2018.

Zarif, German FM Meet in Tehran

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 10, 2019

Maas is on a one-day visit to the Iranian capital which is believed to revolve around the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as well as the recent tensions between Iran and the United States.

He is due to attend a joint press conference with Zarif after their meeting.

Maas will also meet President Hassan Rouhani before concluding his visit.

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Researchers Offer New Methods to Diagnose Rare Diseases

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IFP Editorial Staff

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June 10, 2019

In an interview with ISNA, Motallebi said there are about 400 types of genetic diseases which can be diagnosed before birth.

“One of these diseases is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) which is a specific disease that causes the death of neuros controlling voluntary muscles. Any baby born with the disease needs about $700,000 during the first year of their birth. But the number of such babies are relatively low in our country. Our private sector is seeking new ways to diagnose the disease before the babies’ birth,” he said.

Another priority of the Iranian scientists at the NIGEB, he said, is to find new ways to diagnose cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

According to Motallebi, producing enzyme is another achievement of the Iranian scientists ar the NIGEB including the enzymes needed in poultry industry.

For a brief review of Iran’s achievements in various fields of science and technology, check the book “Science and Technology in Iran: A Brief Review – 2019”

The head of the NIGEB then referred to use of crispre technology as one of the main modern technologies in genetic area as another achievement of the NIGEB and said the technology provides the scientists with a capability to offer new treatments for genetic diseases with a high rate of accuracy and in a short span of time.

“Most genetic diseases can be treated with the technology and there are many similar projects underway in the world,” he said.

Motallebi also referred to the breeding of mice with hemophilia A and said the factor 8 is inactive in such mice.

Researchers Offer New Methods to Diagnose Rare Diseases — SMA: A Progressive Genetic-Muscular Disease

“The scientists have used crispre technology to breed mice with hemophilia A in which factor 8 is inactive,” he said.

According to Motallebi, five out of ten men in the world suffer from Hemophilia A which requires highly expensive treatments.

Iran’s Beauties in Photos: Morning Fog on Kish Island

By

IFP Editorial Staff

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June 10, 2019

The morning fog is a common phenomenon in the island throughout the year. Photographers, tourists and the residents of the calm, coral island can enjoy watching and photographing its wonderful foggy atmosphere.

Last year there was a dense morning fog in Kish in a similar time of the year, too, with a humidity of 98 to 99 percent.

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German FM Arrives in Iran to Save Nuclear Deal

By

IFP Editorial Staff

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June 9, 2019

Mohammad Javad Zarif said his opposite number Heiko Maas’s trip is aimed at following up on the “survival” of the Iran nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the role of the three European countries in the deal.

“Germany would like the JCPOA to continue to survive,” said the top diplomat.

“Of course, Iran has, so far, acted in accordance with the JCPOA, and Iran’s recent moves (scaling down its commitments under the deal) are in line with the JCPOA,” he said.

“In fact, as the JCPOA requires the Western countries, we should see the effects of normalization, not that we only hear talk of normalization,” the foreign minister underlined.

“The German foreign minister does not seem to be travelling to Tehran in order to convey a special message. Germany is following up on the role of the three European countries, so we will talk to him in this domain,” Zarif said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the foreign minister touched upon his meeting with members of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.

“In the presence of the representatives of the National Security [and Foreign Policy] Commission, we discussed the latest developments of the country, the US pressure, my recent trips, the upcoming trips to Iran by the German foreign minister and Japanese prime minister, as well as President [Hassan Rouhani]’s trip to the region to attend two international conferences,” said Zarif.

“We also discussed the ‘Deal of the Century’ project in the commission’s meeting,” he added.

“This project emanates from the United States’ failed policy. The US policy remains the ‘maximum pressure’ policy, and the US government’s pretending to be ready for talks is aimed at influencing the public opinion,” he noted.

“The US needn’t do anything; it only shouldn’t interfere with, and create obstacles to Iran’s relations with the rest of the world,” he said.

Zarif said Iran does not need the US, nor does it seek to have relations with it.

The top diplomat underlined the “economic war” the US President Donald Trump says has launched against Iran is regarded by Tehran as “economic terrorism” and has to be stopped .

“People and the public opinion at the international level assess US propaganda campaigns based on Washington’s actions; with regards to these issues, we exchanged views with MPs at the Parliaments National Security [and Foreign Policy] Commission.

The lawmakers also mentioned noteworthy points about neighbouring countries,” he said.

“In the foreign policy domain, Iran’s focus is on its neighbours, and my recent trips as well as the president’s upcoming visits have been planned on the same basis,” the foreign minister said.

Tehran Hosting Innovation & Technology Exhibition (INOTEX)

By

IFP Editorial Staff

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June 9, 2019

The four-day event is being held by Iran’s Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology at the Tehran International Fairground.

The fair, with the motto of “Innovation Ecosystem, Under One Roof,” seeks to facilitate technology exchange between private firms while also promoting joint investment as well as joint research and development work.

High-tech companies, startups, accelerators and incubators, mentors and consultants, inventors, technology parks, venture capital funds and investors are partaking in the exhibition and showcasing their latest works in over 400 booths.

The event also features 30 side-events such as B2B meetings and investor-company sessions, among others.

Tehran Hosting Innovation & Technology Exhibition (INOTEX) — Tehran to Host 7th Int’l Innovation, Technology Exhibition

The first INOTEX was held as “Advanced Russian Technologies Exhibition” on February 20 to 22, with the participation of 52 Russian companies in Tehran’s Hijab Hall.

The second run was held between February 25 and 27, 2013, with 72 participants from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in the same venue.

The exhibition became international due to growing popularity and other countries’ interest in using it as an opportunity to present their technology to Iranian companies.

During the past seven years, the INOTEX has hosted “over 1,000 companies (participants) from 25 countries,” according to its website.

The organizers announced that for the first time, this year’s event will host representatives from the Asia Pacific Innovation Conference (APIC) and guests from 62 countries.

For a brief review of Iran’s achievements in various fields of science and technology, check the book “Science and Technology in Iran: A Brief Review – 2019”