Iran to Launch Satellite This Year
“We will have at least one satellite launch this year based on current plans,” he said.
Bahrami also said that projects on indigenous telecommunications and remote-sensing satellites are underway.
Iran has taken many strides in recent years to develop its space industry and to build different types of satellites and explorers.
Last February, Iran’s domestically-made National Fajr (Dawn) Satellite was launched into orbit and started transmitting data to stations on earth.
The satellite made its first contact with its ground stations hours after it was put into the orbit.
Equipped with GPS navigation systems, Fajr, weighing 52kg, was the fourth Iranian-made satellite put into orbit.
Indonesia Signs LPG Import Deal with Iran
According to the contract, which was signed on Monday May 30 in the presence of Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh and visiting Indonesian Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said, Iran will export two LPG cargoes to Indonesia this year.
Based on the deal, Tehran will increase its LPG exports to Indonesia and it will export 500,000 metric tons of LPG to Jakarta in the next Iranian calendar year (started March 21).
During a meeting with Sudirman on Monday, Zangeneh said that Iran has opened all the doors to cooperation with Indonesia, adding, “Iran and Indonesia share similar stances in OPEC and global oil markets.”
He noted that “The relations between the two countries facilitate major changes in enhancing mutual ties in oil, gas and petrochemical industries.”
“Iran has opened all doors for cooperation with Indonesian state and private companies, who can join energy projects in areas such as natural gas, petroleum products, and petrochemicals, as well as joint investments in refining and oilfield development.”
Evin Prison to Become A Public Park: Mayor of Tehran
“We have held talks with the head of the Prisons Organization, and an executive session is going to be held in this regard [to turn the prison into a park],” Qalibaf said, according to a report by ISNA, as translated by IFP.
“I hope that Evin Prison is turned to a public park for Tehran’s citizens under the presidency of Ayatollah [Sadeq] Amoli Larijani in the Judiciary,” he went on to say.
“The rezoning of Evin Prison to a public park is one of the decisions that will have blessings for the Municipality, the Judiciary, and the people,” Qalibaf added.
He also noted that Ayatollah Amoli Larijani had earlier agreed with the decision, and that procedural works are being carried out.
IFP: Evin Prison was constructed in 1972 in Evin, northwestern Tehran, under the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the overthrown Shah of Iran. It was originally operated by the Shah’s security and intelligence service, SAVAK.
Although criminals facing different charges and guilty of various crimes have been kept in this prison since the 1979 Revolution, the fact that the prison has long been used to incarcerate political prisoners and those convicted for security-related charges has given the detention house a special place in Iran’s political literature.
Bearing this history in mind, the move to change the prison to a public park will likely prove to be a memorable and popular measure from the mayor of Tehran.
In 2012, Qasr Prison, one of the oldest prisons in Iran, was reopened as a museum complex surrounded by a public park, having been closed in 2004.
Iraqi Forces Enter ISIS-Held City of Fallujah
A spokesman for the Iraqi elite counter-terrorism force said the offensive on Fallujah came from three directions, The Guardian reported, as covered by Tabnak.
“Iraqi forces entered Fallujah under air cover from the international coalition, the Iraqi air force and army aviation, and supported by artillery and tanks,” Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, the commander of the offensive, told AFP.
The offensive against the ISIS militants, also known as ISIL or Daesh, began at 4 a.m., local time, according to The Guardian.
The city is one of the last major ISIS strongholds in Iraq, along with the country’s second-largest city, Mosul. It was also the first city to fall to the militants when they swept across northern and western Iraq in early 2014.
Iraqi forces launched a broad operation one week ago to retake the city of Fallujah, one of the ISIS terrorist group’s most emblematic bastions, in the western province of Anbar, creating a window for some civilians to flee the city’s outlying areas.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told the residents of Fallujah to leave the city or stay indoors. An estimated 50,000 civilians remain there.
Iran Exports 10bn kWh of Power to Regional Countries
Houshang Falahatian made the announcement on Monday May 30 at the 11th International Energy Conference that started work on Sunday for two days.
During the past decade, Iran has installed facilities with a capacity of 37,000MW in power plants, Falahatian said, adding that the country ranks 14th in world in that field.
Also, the capacity of 74,000MW in Iran will reach 100,000MW by 2020, he said.
Iran is a country with the largest capacity installed in power plants in the Middle East, said the official.
At present, Iran exchanges electricity with neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Iraq and Turkey, he added.
World No Tobacco Day Ceremony Held in Tehran
The ceremony has the theme of turning a hookah [water pipe] into a vase. Experts believe that every time a person uses hookah, it means he/she has smoked the equivalent of five to ten packets of cigarettes.
World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on May 31. It is intended to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption around the globe.
The day is further intended to draw attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to nearly 6 million deaths each year worldwide, 600,000 of which are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
The member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day in 1987.
See Tasnim’s cartoon on the occasion here.
Rouhani: Iran a Land of Brotherhood and Unity among Ethnic Groups
Speaking to the people of West Azerbaijan Province during his 28th provincial visit on Monday May 30, Rouhani noted that his government’s priority is economic growth and youth employment. He underlined that efforts have been made to pave the way for prosperity and development for the youth.
The President stressed the need for unity and consistency among the people with any religion, race, language, or sect.
Rouhani said that security and stability are well-established across the country, while the surrounding region is engulfed in insecurity, division, extremism, nepotism and sectarianism.
“Iran is the land of brotherhood and unity among all ethnic groups,” Rouhani stressed.
He described Iran’s Azerbaijan provinces, especially West Azerbaijan province, as symbols of peaceful coexistence between Muslims and non-Muslims, Shias and Sunnis and Turks and Kurds.
West Azerbaijan province has a 967km border with neighbouring countries, including Turkey, Iraq, and Azerbaijan Republic, and is the main terminal for Iranian exports to the countries in the region, he added.
Rouhani underlined that his government regards economic prosperity highly. “Here we will do what is necessary to encourage agricultural exports; the National Development Fund will allocate $33m with 10% interest for the province’s exports.”
The region enjoys 1m hectares of arable land with lots of rainfall, Rouhani underlined, and has great potential for exporting agricultural crops to regional countries.
“Agricultural projects will create 12,000 direct jobs and thousands more in indirect employment,” Rouhani said, adding the projects will account for a 200,000-ton increase in crops.
“I promised during the presidential election campaign that my government will start working to save Lake Urmia on the first day,” Rouhani addressed the people.
“I’ve been faithful to my promise; now Urmia Lake has seen a 10cm increase in water level, thanks to the projects which have been implemented and [government] efforts, as well as with people’s help.”
Officials have said if the current restoration efforts had not been effective, the lake would have turned into a swamp within four years.
Drought in Eastern Iran
The drought in Eastern Iran has had very negative impacts in recent years, so much so that it has destroyed a considerable part of the food-producing farms and gardens in the states of Khorasan and Sistan and Baluchestan.
Although animal husbandry is no longer a thriving occupation there, many villagers, choosing to remain in their birthplace, are still struggling with the drought.
Velayati: Iraqi People and Government to Defeat Terrorists
He made the remarks while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with a group of Indian Sunni Ulema [religious authorities] and thinkers on Monday May 30.
Asked to comment on the situation in Fallujah, Iraq, he said a very sensitive and strategic measure was underway there, which will lead to the Iraqi people and government triumphing over terrorists. He said that this would be a great victory for Iraq.
Velayati said the operation will open the way for the liberation of Mosul, parts of which are dominated by terrorists.
He further commented on remarks by the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states which have accused Iran of politicizing the issue of Hajj.
He said that the Hajj is both a religious and a political issue but that the Saudis are incapable of fulfilling their duties in protecting the pilgrims and administering the event. Saudi officials last year proved that they lack efficiency in running Hajj affairs, he said.
