Home Blog Page 3558

Iran Welcomes Recent Détente on Korean Peninsula

April 28, 2018

In a Saturday statement, Qassemi underlined that Tehran has always favoured the easing of tensions in that region.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always wanted détente on the Korean peninsula, and welcomes efforts and actions by leaders of North Korea and South Korea to ensure détente and normalise relations between the two countries,” he noted.

“The Islamic Republic regards their latest meeting as a responsible and appropriate step which can contribute heavily to the establishment of lasting peace and security in the region and across the world,” the spokesman noted.

“Iran’s fundamental and permanent policy is to oppose the production, possession, maintenance and use of weapons of mass destruction, and [Iran] has supported any attempt that would lead to a world free from such arms,” the spokesman said.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran believes the new and historic chapter in détente on the Korean peninsula should remain open prudently, bilaterally and without the interference and provocation of trans-regional countries,” he noted.

Qassemi then touched upon the approach and policies adopted by the US President in recent years and Washington’s non-compliance with its international commitments.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s 40 years of experience, especially its recent experience on the JCPOA issue, show the US government is not a reliable player and is not bound by its international obligations, and, as a result, is not qualified to have a role in determining the equations and arrangements between countries.”

Qassemi said Washington has become even more unreliable in recent years during the Trump administration.

“So, we deeply believe that détente on the Korean peninsula should continue on the path that the leaders of the two Koreas have set foot in, without being linked to the United States’ possible interference and provocations,” the spokesman said.

Real Madrid, Barcelona Football Clubs Wearing Shirts Made of Iranian Cotton

IFP Editorial Staff

April 27, 2018

Ramezan Hesari, an Iranian manufacturer of sportswear, says the world’s top football teams, including the Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, wear sports clothing produced with Iranian cotton.

Hesari, who says has been supplying sports kits for Iranian national teams in various sports for over 20 years, stressed that the Iranian cotton, manufactured using nanotechnology, has turned into high-quality shirts in Turkey, the Persian-language Honar Online reported.

He says the cotton produced in Iran is purchased by the factories producing kits for the world’s top football teams.

Hesari was addressing an Iranian TV programme discussing the recent controversy erupted a few weeks ago after a photo purported to show the design of the Team Melli’s kits in FIFA World Cup 2018 went viral on social media.

Many football fans complained the design is too simple and lacks the logo of Asiatic Cheetah, an endangered animal, which was printed on the shirts of Iranian football players in the 2014 World Cup.

Displaying the picture of cheetahs in the 2014 world event was meant to draw global attention to the status of the rare cat and raise awareness about conservation of the species.

Hedayatollah Mombeini, the director of Iran’s Football Federation marketing committee, confirmed the design earlier this month.

Speaking to state radio, Mombeini said the lack of the logo on the shirts was due to the fact that the German firm Adidas, the leading sportswear manufacturer that is supplying Iranian footballers’ apparel in the World Cup, has refused to include it in the design.

However, the head of the federation, Mahdi Taj, has said the design is not yet final and the Iranian kits will be unveiled later in a ceremony in the build-up to the 2018 tournament.

Need to Support Domestic Sportswear Industry

Hesari lamented that the IFF has signed a contract with the German firm to produce the shirts, saying the federation could have chosen local producers of athletic apparel to help support the domestic sportswear industry and boost domestic production.

Support for domestic production are among principles of Resistance Economy, a strategy aimed at weaning the Iranian government from heavy dependence on oil revenues and boosting productivity and export.

Supporting knowledge-based firms is also a principle of Resistance Economy, as knowledge-based activities can make a significant contribution to Iran’s economic development by increasing added value among other things.

Experts believe knowledge-based activities could worth a lot to the Iranian economy, particularly in the field of nanotechnology, as Iran currently ranks seventh globally in this field.

The government plans to boost export of nanotechnology-related products and equipment to $1 billion by 2019.

The Ministry of Sports has instructed Iranian sports teams to use domestic products unless there is an absolute need for foreign counterparts.

UWW Allows Iran to Host Wrestling World Cup 2018

IFP Editorial Staff

April 27, 2018

The decision came following a recent meeting between the Iranian federation’s president Rasoul Khadem and UWW president Nenad Lalovic.

The annual tournament is considered the second-biggest event outside of the World Championships, which will be held in Hungary in October.

According to a Farsi report by ISNA, Iran will hold the games after the World Championships in October and before the end of 2018.

The games were supposed to be held this April in Iran’s southwestern city of Ahvaz.

The venue for the games could change form Ahvaz to other Iranian cities, the statement said.

Iran’s federation announced last month the UWW had informed it that the Islamic Republic could not host the tournament “due to recent developments and current state of Iran’s federation”.

Iran, a traditionally strong team in the sport, pulled out from the 2018 World Cup of freestyle wrestling held early April without citing a reason, in what was seen as a reaction to the UWW decision.

Many tied the withdrawal tied to issues related to the country’s state policy of refusing to compete against Israeli competition, which led to the resignation of Khadem.

Khadem quit in protest after UWW ruled that the Iranian wrestler Alireza Karimi threw a match at the Under-23 World Championships in November to avoid having to face an Israeli opponent, banning the wrestler for six months and his coach Hamidreza Jamshidi for two years.

The Islamic Republic does not recognize the Israeli regime and forbids its sportsmen from competing against Israelis.

Television footage showed Karimi leading in the match until his coach started shouting “Alireza, lose” from the sidelines.

After speaking with his coach, he repeatedly rolled over to give his opponent a dozen points and victory.

UWW released a statement after the freestyle world cup this month that appeared to address Iran’s absence, while not mentioning it by name.

“Like many federations we face problems with countries allowing their politics to interfere in competition,” said Lalovic.

“For wrestling, this problem has been visible among our stakeholders. No longer can we allow political problems to enter the field of play. We must fight against any opponent of our sport community with all the means we have.”

Sailors Missing in Persian Gulf after Heavy Storm Hits Iran’s Bushehr

IFP Editorial Staff

April 27, 2018

At least 20 boats had been stranded in the sea after the heavy storm, but the YJC quoted officials as saying that all of them, except for one, have returned to the coast with minimum damages thanks to the rescue efforts by Bushehr’s Ports and Maritime Organisation.

The storm had a wind speed of over 60 kilometres per hour, according to media reports.

Hossein Derakhshan, the spokesperson of the Iranian Red Crescent’s Relief and Rescue Organisation, said the storm cut electricity in parts of the province and damaged sea ports, but no casualties have been reported so far.

The search and rescue operation is continuing non-stop in parts of the Persian Gulf near Bushehr.

A strong storm swept over the Bushehr province in southern Iran on Thursday night, preventing dozens of fishing boats from returning to the province.

The storm had a wind speed of over 60 kilometres per hour, according to media reports.

The search and rescue operation is continuing non-stop in parts of the Persian Gulf near Bushehr.

Tehran Celebrates World Tai Chi, Qigong Day

IFP Editorial Staff

April 27, 2018

Dozens of tai chi practitioners, including 100 women, attended the Friday event, which included demonstrations of traditional Chinese arts such as Kung Fu and a Qigong lesson.

Moreover, a number of artists and foreign diplomats from China, Austria and other countries, among others, attended the event, which was organized by the International Red Dragon Organization in cooperation with the Municipality of Tehran.

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day is an annual event held the last Saturday of April each year to promote the related disciplines of the sports in nearly eighty countries since 1999.

The annual event aims to inform people of health benefits of exercise and call on them to embrace wisdom.

What follows are IFP‘s exclusive photos of the event held in Tehran:

1 of 53

Iran FM to Attend Trilateral Meeting on Syria in Moscow

IFP Editorial Staff

April 27, 2018

In the one-day trip, Zarif will attend a meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts aimed at discussing the latest developments in Syria, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Friday.

The three countries are working together to try to reduce the violence in Syria despite supporting opposing sides in the war.

Russia and Iran are the Syrian government’s backers, while Turkey supports militants fighting to bring down the government.

On April 4, the three countries held a tripartite summit on Syria in Turkey’s capital Ankara, with the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

New Type of Boxer Mantis Discovered in Iran

IFP Editorial Staff

April 27, 2018

The insect, named “small acromantis”, is the first type of mantis found in Iran. Kolnegari has called it “The Little Boxer Mantis”.

What follows are IRNA’s photos of the Iranian entomologist and the mantis it has discovered:

1 of 23

Tehran Hosting Exhibition of Andy Warhol’s Paintings

Fatemeh Askarieh

April 27, 2018

Andy Warhol was an American artist, director and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art.

His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertising that flourished by the 1960s, and span a variety of media, including painting, silk-screening, photography, film, and sculpture.

Some of his best known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental film Chelsea Girls (1966), and the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67).

The exhibition underway in Tehran also features works by over 20 celebrated Iranian artists, including Abbas Kiarostami, a report by the Persian-language Mehr News Agency said.

Abbas Kiarostami was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer and film producer. His photographic work includes Untitled Photographs, a collection of over thirty photographs, mostly of snow landscapes, taken in his hometown Tehran, between 1978 and 2003.

The artworks have also been selected from a collection owned by Iranian private collector Fereydun Ave including paintings, sculptures and photographs that are all black and white.

Fereydoun Ave (born in 1945 in Tehran) is not only one of the most important artists in the contemporary art world of Iran but also one its most influential. Following his art studies in the USA, Ave returns to his homeland in the early 1970s, where he finds cultural life blossoming. Initially he engages in this by working in the world of theatre and film and also as a curator. In 1984, he establishes the now legendary 13 Vanak Street Gallery, an alternative exhibition space in Tehran, and plays an active role in promoting artistic discourse. As a result, he becomes the mentor to an entire generation of Iranian artists.

His artworks have been featured at numerous individual exhibitions and more than a hundred group exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world.

Ave’s works have not only been collected by various museums and institutes, they also been purchased by the British Museum (London), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Los Angeles Art Museum, the Georges Pompidou Center (Paris), and Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Arts.

The exhibition will run until May 4 at the gallery located in the Elahieh neighbourhood.

What follows are photos of the exhibition retrieved from Mehr News Agency and Honar Online:

1 of 39

Renowned Italian Pianist Creates Memorable Nights for Iranians

IFP Editorial Staff

April 27, 2018

Einaudi performed three shows at the Grand Hall of the Interior Ministry in Tehran from Tuesday to Thursday.

He was accompanied by a five-man orchestra, as well as a sound, light and back-liner technician.

“Elements”, “Experience”, “Night” and “Fly” were some of the compositions performed during the concerts.

Speaking in a press conference on the eve of his concerts in Tehran on Tuesday, Einaudi had noted that he is happy to have a chance to perform in Iran and see his rather large fan base in the country.

“Music is a language that sees no boundaries,” he said.

The Bafta-nominated Italian pianist said he has researched a lot about his Iranian fans’ taste in music, vowing to perform “surprising” and “memorable” tracks for the Iranian audience during his shows.

The composer said the trip is a special opportunity to get a closer understanding of the lifestyle and culture of the Iranian people.

Born in 1955, the renowned pianist began his career performing classical music in the 1980s.

Einaudi’s music is ambient, meditative and often introspective, drawing on minimalism and contemporary pop.

He is known for his film scores for “This is England”, “I’m Still Here”, and “‘Doctor Zhivago”.

But many know him by his “Elegy for the Arctic,” a 2016 concert on polar ice caps to protest the melting of glaciers in the Arctic.

What follows are Honar Online’s photos of his performances in Tehran:

1 of 28