“Saudis Collected 3.5 Million Gold Coins from Iran Market”

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July 11, 2018

The claim was made by Javad Karimi Qoddosui, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.

“Over the past two months, three million and five hundred gold coins were collected from the country and transferred to Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah,” said the MP, as reported by Fararu news website.

He further claimed that the Saudis have set up a base in Sulaymaniyah to launch an economic war against Iran.
“The Saudis commissioned 13 individuals to buy whatever gold coins and dollars available on the Tehran market,” said the legislator.

He claimed they were on a mission to buy all the gold coins and the greenback on the market, even at 20% higher than the going rate.

“The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) arrested three of them,” he added.

“People demand officials try and punish these individuals,” he said.

“Execute these individuals!” he said, addressing authorities.

Karimi Qoddusi, a conservative MP and critical of the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, is known for his fiery speeches against the Iran nuclear deal. Following Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA, he is now more critical of the Rouhani administration’s foreign policy.

Fuel Tanker’s Collision with Passenger Bus Leaves 13 Dead

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 11, 2018

The fuel tanker crashed with the Tehran-bound passenger bus, creating a huge explosion near the bus terminal of Sanandaj in western province of Kurdistan.

When the bus pulled over to take in more passengers, the fuel tanker carrying naphta fuel struck it from behind, causing a huge explosion that burnt not only the bus and the truck, but also three other vehicles in the vicinity.

An official with the fire department of Sanandaj said 13 people have been killed in the crash, including 12 bus passengers and the truck driver.

He said 18,000 litres of fuel burnt in the incident, Tasnim reported.

The governor of Kurdistan Province has declared three days of public mourning, urging an immediate and detailed report on the cause of the incident.

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Iran Leader’s Aide to Visit Moscow, Beijing to Convey Important Messages

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 10, 2018

According to Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi, Velayati will visit Moscow on Wednesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and hand over the messages.

Speaking in a Tuesday interview with IRIB News Agency, Qassemi said after the US’ withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, which was a strategic mistake made by the US president, the Islamic Republic of Iran decided to send special envoys to convey the message of top Iranian leaders to other countries.

“In these messages, our country’s views and stances regarding the US’ selfish and illegal behaviour are explained to other countries,” he noted.

The visit of Mr Velayati to Moscow will also be made within this policy, Qassemi said, adding that the Leader’s aide will later travel to Beijing as well.

During his Wednesday visit to Moscow, he will head a delegation of foreign ministry officials, Qassemi noted.

“Mr Velayati will deliver messages from the Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei and President Rouhani to the Russian president in a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Kremlin,” he added.

Qassemi referred to the special ties between Iran and Russia, and described Velayati’s visit to Moscow as very important.

“The visit is very important because Russia, as a member of the UN Security Council, made great efforts along with other countries in the course of Tehran’s nuclear talks with the world,” Qassemi noted.

“Moscow and Tehran, as two neighbours, have a lot of commonalities and common interests at the regional and international levels, so Mr Velayati’s meeting with Putin in Kremlin and conveying the messages of top Iranian officials [to Russia] can be of great significance,” he went on to say.

“In addition to these meetings, Mr Velayati will also hold other meetings with Russian officials on bilateral political and economic issues, among others,” he said, adding that the latest regional and global developments will be discussed during the talks.

“The issue of JCPOA and the US’ withdrawal from the international agreement will be the main focus of Velayati and his entourage’s talks in Moscow,” he said.

President Rouhani had earlier sent special envoys to a number of Latin American countries (Chile, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Brazil), South-East Asia (Malaysia), and Northern Africa (Tunisia) to convey his message to those countries’ leaders, but this visit seems to be particularly important as Velayati is conveying a message from Ayatollah Khamenei as well.

Iran’s Beauties in Photos: Sarash Village

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 10, 2018

About 17 kilometres away from Lahijan, Sarash lies at a great height above the sea level and enjoys fresh climate due to its location in the hillsides of the surrounding mountains.

The beautiful village boasts virgin natural sceneries and is home to warm, hospitable people whose main occupations are farming and animal breeding.

What follows are Mizan News Agency’s photos of the village:

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“Tehran Doing Its Utmost to Free Iranians Jailed Abroad over US Sanctions”

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 10, 2018

The Iranian top diplomat made the remarks in a Tuesday meeting with the families of a group of Iranian nationals illegally jailed in various countries at the request of the US government and under the pretext of violating the US’ oppressive and illegitimate sanctions.

During the talks, the families were briefed on the latest conditions of the Iranian nationals in foreign jails and the latest follow-ups made by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on their fate.

Zarif thanked the families for remaining patient while the fate of their beloved ones is being pursued. He also elaborated on the legal and diplomatic attempts made so far by the Iranian Foreign Ministry to follow up each case.

He also underlined the urgency of following up the cases of the Iranian prisoners until their freedom and said the imprisonment of the Iranian nationals is illegitimate and politically-motivated.

He called for unconditional extradition of the Iranians jailed abroad and said the Iranian Foreign Ministry will do its utmost and tap into all of its legal and diplomatic capacities to follow up each case separately until the final freedom of all Iranian inmates illegally held in foreign countries.

According to Zarif, the imprisonments are totally “illegitimate and oppressive” and amount to a hostage taking to gain further advantages.

Iran, Turkey Discuss Bilateral Cooperation in All Areas

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 10, 2018

During the phone conversation, Mohammad Javad Zarif congratulated Mevlut Cavusoglu on his re-election as Turkish Foreign Minister and wished him success.

The two sides also touched upon the good and constructive relations between Tehran and Ankara, and stressed the need to continue and further promote mutual cooperation in all bilateral, regional and international areas in order to secure the interests of both nations and maintain and boost stability and security in the Middle East and across the world.

Erdogan on Monday named the ministers in new Turkish Cabinet, first to be functioning under the presidential form of government.

The post of prime minister in the new cabinet has been abolished following the transition to the presidential system.

According to Erdogan, Fuat Oktay, the former head of Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), will be Turkey’s only Vice President.

Cavusoglu retains post of foreign minister in new Turkish government, while former Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces Gen. Hulusi Akar will serve as the country’s Defence Minister.

Erdogan also appointed his son-in-law Berat Albayrak as Treasury and Finance Minister.

Iran to Send Skilled Workforce to Germany

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 10, 2018

Soleiman Pakdasht, the head of the Iranian Technical and Vocational Training Organization, says Iran plans to send between 3,000 and 5,000 skilled workers to Germany, adding the two countries are to finalize a memorandum of understanding in that regard in September.

He said the arrangements have been made to send skilled Iranian workforce to Germany.

“In a recent trip to Germany, the issue of sending skilled workforce [to Germany] was on the agenda of the talks held with the public sector as well as the institutions of the private sector, which are the main employers demanding workforce,” he said as quoted by Mehr News Agency.

He said job opportunities in Germany are growing.

“That is why Germany is among the countries demanding potential workforce, but this country has its own structure and standards to recruit foreign workforce defined and monitored within the framework of a modern skills-based training system; accordingly, foreign workers who would like to work in Germany have to take courses on the required skills before entering the job market,” said Pakdasht, who is also Iran’s deputy minister of labour.

“Not only should the qualification of the workforce be examined, applicants should meet the conditions and requirements set by Germany, including having a good command of the German language and receiving civil and residents training in order to adapt themselves to the conditions in the country,” he said.

He said the talks with German officials focused on how to link the activities of the Iranian Technical and Vocational Training Organization with the vocational training courses in Germany.

As agreed, he noted, applicants who would like to work in Germany must have a perfect command of the German language, which is verified by the Iranian Educational Testing Service, and a certificate which confirms they have received training about the skill required.

If applicants meet these requirements, said Pakdasht, they can enroll in short-term training courses in Germany in cooperation with the German University of Applied Sciences.

He said the terms and conditions of applying for jobs in Germany will be announced as soon as the MoU between the two countries is finalized.

Based on statistics, he said, there will be some 25 million job opportunities in Germany in the coming decades, of which only 5 million can be filled domestically.

“So, some 20 million jobs in Germany should be done by foreign workforce, and under the current circumstances, we believe we can plan and make arrangements for the dispatch of between 3,000 to 5,000 skilled workers to this country,” he added.

Pakdasht said he will travel to Germany in August to draw up and arrange the conditions and process of sending workforce to the country before an agreement in finalized in September.

Child Worker Meets His Football Hero Alireza Jahanbakhsh

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IFP Media Wire

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July 10, 2018

Last month, 24-year-old Jahanbakhsh, who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for professional Dutch club AZ Alkmaar and the Iran men’s national football team – nicknamed Team Melli, published the picture on his Instagram page, asking people to let him know if they are aware of the boy’s whereabouts.

Jahanbakhsh’s fan was finally identified and tracked down to Khavar Shahr village, which is located on the southern outskirts of the Iranian capital city of Tehran.

The Eredivisie top goal scorer then went to Khavar Shahr, where he met his fervent young supporter, who goes by the first name Matin, and a number of his friends.

Jahanbakhsh presented them all with balls and shirts, and also autographed his own shirt, which read “Dear Matin, I wish you the best of luck in your future,” and gave it to the child.

The Iranian football star then played with the children, before saying his farewell to them and leaving the village.

Child Worker Meets His Football Hero Alireza Jahanbakhsh

Iran Exporting Nanotechnology Products to 45 Countries: Official

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 10, 2018

Iran Exports 20% of Domestically-Produced Nano-Products

According to Sarkar, currently some 420 certified nanotechnology products are being produced by 170 firms inside Iran.

“So we are now focused on the export of our nano-products. We intend to increase our share from global markets, and fortunately we are currently exporting them to over 45 countries now,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Iran Front Page.

Iran is now exporting its nano-products to such developed states as South Korea, China, Australia, the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Russia, he noted.

He also expressed the hope that the country would be able to increase the quantity of its exports in coming years even though it has had considerable progress in the development of its markets.

“As of 2013, we have witnessed a 100% growth in the development of our markets each year. By March 2017, we managed to export IRR 7,000 billion worth of nanotechnology products,” he added.

Sarkar says the country aims to increase the value of its nano exports to IRR 30,000 billion by March 2020.

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”

In the first part of his interview with the Iran Front Page, Sarkar was quoted as saying that after the establishment of the INIC in 2003, a 10-year strategic document was developed for the emerging technology.

“In that 10-year document, the focus was mostly on the promotion and training of human resources in the field of nanotechnology,” he said.

However, he says, once the first 10-year document was over in 2015, a second 10-year document was developed, in which the focus was on further industrialization of nanotechnology as well as the development of market and export.

“Today, if a nanotechnology meeting is to be held between the world’s top ten countries, Iran is definitely a major part of that meeting,” he noted.

How Iran Turned into Exporter of Nanotechnology

Sarkar says the Islamic Republic’s achievements in the field of nanotechnology are globally unique. “Wherever we talk about them, people are surprised to find how Iran managed to reach such a level of progress.”

He referred to the anti-Iran sanctions as one of the main barriers that could hinder the development of nanotechnology in Iran.

“We needed advanced laboratory equipment for our research and training, but whenever we tried to buy them, they said they couldn’t sell them to Iran because of sanctions,” he added.

Therefore, he said, Iran had no choice but to repair and renovate the old equipment it had and to design and build the equipment inside the country.

“We first found and collected all the equipment existing in our universities and research centres across the country. The broken ones were all repaired in cooperation with the INIC. We trained technicians for it and created a network to support all the labs that were members of the INIC,” he said.

“So we renovated the equipment and made them available to all nanotechnology experts across the country.”

“As the next step, we also managed to design and build 150 of these advanced pieces of equipment,” he said.

“These days, universities and research centres in Iran are using home-grown equipment, and even many of them are being exported to other countries as they are totally competitive in terms of price and quality,” he added.

“Iranian companies have turned into the rivals of foreign firms, which had boycotted Iran during the time of sanctions. This was a great step,” Sarkar noted.

Nanotechnology Exhibition to Bring World’s Leading Firms to Tehran

He further divided nanotechnology into three phases.

“The first phase is that we can synthesize and produce nano-material. Fortunately, we can say we have the knowhow of designing and making 90% of the nano-material currently available.”

“The country is currently mass producing those materials which have industrial uses,” he added.

“The second phase is that nanotechnology can be used to improve the efficiency and quality of existing products. We are trying to prepare the grounds for industrialists to use this capacity.”

“If they don’t pay attention to this issue and use nanotechnology in their industries today, their products will lose their competitiveness and markets in the near future,” he warned.

“Fortunately today we have managed to introduce nanotechnology to over ten industrial fields including pharmacy, health, textile production, construction, oil and petro-chemistry, agriculture, and auto manufacturing,” he added.

“The third phase is smart nanotechnology. In this phase, smart textiles, smart materials, and smart pharmaceuticals are released in the market with a very huge added value.”

“Therefore, we should not focus on the first two phases very much and forget the third phase. We have now focused on the third phase, and have already gained very good accomplishments which will soon be declared to the public,” he went on to say.

Tehran Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs in Capital

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IFP Editorial Staff

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July 10, 2018

The park was established in 2014 on a 30,000-square-metre area in western Tehran with 28 movable dinosaurs and some other Jurassic animals in actual size. It is an educational and recreational park which provides the interested visitors with a chance to get familiar with how the dinosaurs used to live and eat.

The dinosaurs’ scientific names are shown in front of them so that the visitors could be able to get more familiar with their history.

An interesting point about them is their natural design, which lets the visitors see the dinosaurs blinking and moving their hands and feet. Also there is a baby dinosaur coming out of its egg and going into it again in one corner of the park.

The moves of the dinosaurs in actual size of the park come with sound and special effects. There is also a big dinosaur’s egg in a corner of the park which the visitors can watch to learn how the dinosaurs were born.

The children and teenagers visiting the park can get familiar with the worlds of pre-history animals.

Meanwhile, there are some workshops, studios (for special shooting with dinosaurs), a 3-D cinema and shops which attract the visitors further with the interesting world of this animal.

The term “Jurassic park” was first used by American doctor and writer Michael Crichton as the title of his novel in 1990. Steven Spielberg made a blockbusting film based on it in 1993. After the film, dinosaurs’ park museums called “Jurassic Park” were built around the world in important cities like Warsaw, Havana, Los Angeles and Kiev.

What follows are photos of Tehran’s Jurassic Park retrieved from various sources:

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