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11th International Energy Conference Starts in Tehran

By
Fatemeh Askarieh
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11th international energy conference iran

The 11th International Energy conference (IEC), organized by the Iranian National Energy Committee, the member of World Energy Council (WEC), is underway at Niroo Research Institute (NRI) in Tehran and runs until May 31.

Held under the main theme of “Energy Dynamics in the Changing World”, the IEC includes various items including paper presentations, workshops, key speaker addresses and professional round tables.

Among the key speakers at the conference are Dr. Urban Rusnák, Secretary General, Energy Charter Treaty (ECT); Dr. Alessandro Clerici, the Executive Chair of the World Energy Council’s RES Systems Integration study, Italy; Dr. Carole Nakhle, Director of Crystol Energy, UK; Christopher Cook, Director of Petro Scotland limited, Dr. Ken Koyama, Chief Economist and Managing Director, Institute of Energy Economics, Japan; and Prof. W. D. Walls, Department of Economics, University of Calgary, Canada, as well as a number of other prominent experts in energy sector.

At this two-day conference, experts from more than 20 countries, including the US, Germany, Belgium, India, Finland, and Greece will share their ideas related to current energy challenges, in the form of four specialized panels.

The IEC aims to create a forum where energy experts can confer on specialized national and international deliberations, accomplishments and contemporary research activities in the energy sector.

London Branch of Melli Bank Reopens

By
Fatemeh Askarieh
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Iranian bank-London

“Melli Bank is linked to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT), and we are currently trying to expand our correspondent ties with other lenders,” the BMI website quoted him as saying.

Bank Melli, Plc. came under sanctions in August 2008, and its activities in Britain were halted. The bank has a long history in London and had been active in the world’s top financial district since 1967, before being restricted eight years ago.

Bank Melli Iran is in the process of expanding its international operations. Its officials have called for enhanced coordination between the bank’s overseas branches to improve performance in the post-sanctions era.

Abdolnasser Hemmati, former head of BMI, said earlier that the Bank Melli branch in Hamburg had been granted authorization and a licence to restart its activities in Germany. “With the issuance of this licence, all of our blocked funds in our Hamburg branch in Germany were released,” the website quoted him as saying.

“It’s been a while since we made the arrangements to restart our international activities, and it was just recently that Bundesbank (Central Bank of Germany) issued a new licence authorizing the BMI branch in Hamburg to restart work.”

He added that limitations on money transfers for BMI branches in the UAE have also been lifted.
“BMI’s subsidiary in Russia, Mir Business Bank – Moscow), faces no obstacles in its activities and will restart normal business in the near future.”

BMI is the largest commercial bank in Iran and the Middle East with over 3,300 domestic branches and 43,000 employees. It has 18 overseas branches.

Since 1933, BMI has grown into a large retail bank with several domestic and international branches. BMI opened its first foreign branch in Hamburg in 1965. Bank Melli Iran has 18 international branches and services in 11 countries.

Too Soon to See JCPOA Results in National Economy

By
Fatemeh Askarieh
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Seyyed Abbas Araghchi

Araghchi told Mehr on Sunday evening, May 29, that sanctions had been removed; however, “It would be naïve to assume that its effects should be translated into concrete changes and improvements in our economy easily; the damage wrought upon the country by the Iraqi-imposed war [1980-88] wasn’t fixed in four months either,” he emphasized.

“For example, Iran’s oil production cannot immediately regain its pre-sanctions status, and it will be a matter of time, since we were deprived of markets and customers during the time when sanctions bit our economy with full force. The situation is the same for other items, so trade in Persian carpets will have to reattain the level it had before sanctions,” he detailed. “In our absence, Indian, Pakistani, and Chinese carpets have filled the vacuum created by Iran’s exit from the markets. You can apply the situation from oil down to trade and banking, and a host of other fields.”

Araghchi believes that for an economy to repair and recreate itself requires time and patience. “We should allocate a reasonable time to recover from the shock of sanctions and rebuild our economy. On top of these difficulties, add sabotage by other governments hostile or reluctant to renewed Iranian presence in global markets and trade, which has contributed to the failure of sanctions removal in revealing its effects during four months. However, we have been making efforts to face these difficulties to regain our place.”

World Islamic Forum Urges Increased Unity among Muslim States

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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World-Islamic-Forum-3

Nearly 100 guests from 35 countries attended the two-day international event, which kicked off on May 24, and was supported by the Iranian Foreign Ministry. The theme of the Forum was “Strategic Communications: Reference Values, Institutions and Individuals.” The Forum is supported by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The important goals of the Forum included bringing global Islamic think-tanks closer together and discussing the issue of a world free from violence and extremism.

The Iranian President’s Advisor on Ethnic Groups and Minorities’ Affairs Ali Younesi, as well as a number of thinkers from different countries, attended the closing ceremony of the Forum, held on Wednesday, May 25.

The Forum wrapped up its two-day summit by releasing a 22-article statement read aloud at the closing ceremony. The statement underlined the need for promotion and reinforcement of solidarity and unity among member states.

It also called on Muslim states to be internationally responsible and fight the root causes of immigration, displacement, and the refugee crisis, as well as their social repercussions.

The statement further expressed concern over the spread of Islamophobia and the exacerbation of actions against Muslims in the West, and strongly condemned the attacks on Muslims and Islamic centres, as well as social restrictions placed upon the followers of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s religion.

It thus urged the countries that host Muslim minorities to take necessary action against such Islamophobia.

The member states also hailed the resolutions passed by the United Nations General Assembly on the Dialogue of Civilizations and the World against Violence and Extremism [WAVE], both of which were proposed by Iranian presidents.

The ratification of such resolutions not only prepares the grounds for increased understanding, enhanced unity, fewer causes for conflict and disputes, and finally a decrease in violence, extremism, and terrorism, but it would also encourage the international community to pursue the implementation of such plans more seriously.

The Forum voiced its concern over the support provided for violent and extremist thought being propagated via public media in the name of freedom of speech, and also denounced any politically-motivated discrimination, limitation, and censorship against independent media.

The statement also underlined the necessity for a stronger role to be played by academics, religious authorities, and scientific institutions in the expansion of strategic communications, and called for further dialogue among religions, cultures, and more respect for human rights, as well as measures to remove the root causes of extremist and violent ideologies.

The Forum stressed that the emergence of Takfiri terrorist groups and the increase of their actions in different parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, are the result of plots by common enemies to cause rifts among Muslims and war between Islamic states.

Therefore, it added, the elites of the Muslim world should join hands and show resistance to these plots hatched by common enemies and their implicit and explicit support for extremist and terrorist phenomena.

The Forum referred to the issue of the occupying Israeli regime and its uncontrolled crimes against Muslims, particularly the people of Palestine and Lebanon, as the biggest problem of Muslim world, and urged all member states to spare no effort in countering the challenge and finding solutions to the issue.

It finally urged the international community including all countries, think-tanks, researchers, and religious authorities to fight the ISIS terrorist group, emphasizing that it is “unconstructive” and “wrong” to divide terrorists into “bad” and “good” groups.

Iranian and Polish FMs Sign Political Cooperation MoU

By
Emad Askarieh
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Zarif-and-Witold-Waszczykowski

The Iranian Foreign Minister arrived in Poland on Sunday as part of his European tour, which will later take him to Finland, Sweden, and Latvia.

In the meeting on Sunday evening, May 29, Zarif and Waszczykowski discussed Tehran-Warsaw relations before signing the memorandum of understanding in a ceremony.

Thereafter, the two ministers, accompanied by delegations, attended a formal dinner and held talks on different grounds for economic cooperation, as in energy and banking ties, as well as other international issues, such as the West Asia conflicts and the migration crisis.

“I’m convinced that our (Warsaw) ambassador’s wish for our annual bilateral turnover to reach $1bn will come true,” Zarif told a joint press conference with Waszczykowski, a former ambassador to Tehran.

The Polish diplomat, for his part, said, “We’ve always felt that Iran was part of the solution, not part of the problem.”

“After years of marginalization and even ostracism, Iran is coming back to the international stage as an important partner – an important player that will influence positive global solutions,” he added.

Travelling with a mostly private sector Iranian business delegation, Foreign Minister Zarif is due to attend a Polish-Iranian business forum in Warsaw on Monday, before leaving for Helsinki.

Police: Government Website Hackers Traced to Arab States

By
Emad Askarieh
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General-Kamal-Hadianfar

The country’s cyber police unit has carried out a series of investigations, learning that hackers from three Arab states, mainly Saudis, were behind a cyber-attack launched on the Statistics Centre of Iran on May 24, General Hadianfar said on Sunday May 29.

He also said Iran has submitted a report regarding the IPs and exact locations of the hackers to Saudi Arabia via the international police organization Interpol to take the necessary steps on this issue and arrest the cyber criminals.

The Statistics Centre of Iran was reported as being subject to a cyber-attack by online hackers on Wednesday May 25.

Elsewhere in his remarks, General Hadianfar referred to a cyber-attack allegedly launched by Iranian hackers on a number of Saudi government websites, stressing that no “organized” attack has been carried out from Iran on Saudi websites.

He added that those who launched the attack may have done it as an “emotional” response.

General Hadianfar also noted that Iran has not yet received any reports with respect to the attack from the Saudi side.

On Saturday, Head of Iran’s Civil Defence Organization Brigadier General Gholam-Reza Jalali said the country plans to stage specialized cyber wargames in coming months to increase its cyber defence capabilities.

Brigadier General Jalali pointed to cyber threats against Iran, saying that many hostile countries have established cyber armies and the Islamic Republic is one of their possible targets.

“Holding specialized cyber wargames is one of the priorities (of the Civil Defence Organization) this year,” the official said, adding that the exercises are aimed at monitoring and eliminating any problems and weaknesses in the country’s cyber defence network.

Kooh Gol Lake

By
Fatemeh Askarieh
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Kooh Gol Lake is located in the north of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, close to the hills of Kooh Gol, which means “Flower Mountain”. The region is covered with different types of lilies and wild flowers. Various migrant birds who visit the shores of the lake make it a wonderful picturesque location.

Mental Health Emergency Centres Operational in 190 Cities

By
Golrokh Askarieh
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He said that according to studies, 50% of mental disorders start before the age of 14 and 75% start under the age of 24.

Masoudi-Farid added that at least 10% of funds allocated to the health sector should be earmarked for mental health.

He also called for establishing social assistance units in schools to prevent the spread of mental disorders. Schools are the best places for tracking mental disorder in individuals, he said, adding that life skills and social communication should be taught in schools.

The State Welfare Organization has established social emergency centres to provide social services, while mental crisis management centres are also operating nationwide. Many specialists and social workers are employed by social emergency centres.

Those who want to report cases of social disorders, including spousal and child abuse, violence, runaway girls, women and street children, can dial 123. Experts at social emergency centres also offer phone consultations and can attend scenes of violence or abuse.

Bam Citadel to Reopen to Public after 13 Years

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Built around 500BC, the citadel of Bam was hit by an earthquake which totally devastated the city of Bam, in the desert province of Kerman. The quake demolished 90% of this invaluable architectural monument, but revival attempts, which started almost immediately after the quake, have accomplished the rebuilding of the citadel through a combination of traditional and modern methods of reconstruction. The initial efforts sought to restore the castle’s strength and save its historical identity and colour as well.

In the reconstruction process, different academics and experts participated in a multinational workshop to erect the citadel anew; now, after many years, the citadel is ready to reclaim its past glory. The testimony to this is the flow of large tourist groups who come to Bam daily just to behold this gem of the orient. Estimates show that 99% of the historical citadel has been restored to its former structure, with efforts still underway in other parts.

Afshin Ebrahimi, head of Bam International Heritage, an NGO which registered the citadel in the UNESCO World Heritage List, told Mehr that the restoration work would give the public access to the office and the Governor’s Seat (hakim neshin), as well as the first porch of the Citadel. He was satisfied with the reconstruction process. “The reconstruction has turned the Citadel into one of the largest architectural workshops ever in restoring a historical monument and the embodiment of a national solidarity and collaboration to restore a monument of a long-gone civilization. We predict swarms of tourists making their way to the citadel by next New Year’s Eve (21 March 2017); however, to make that a reality, we need much-required resources to reinvigorate the construction process, instilling hope to the body of the ancient giant building.”

“The Governor’s Seat is the highest point in the Citadel, with breathtaking views of the landscape and the city itself. Almost 99% of the rubble has been cleared, with strengthening and bolstering of the building to follow. In the course of the restoration, research and technical work has been regularly carried out, since the rubble was the most valuable part of the Citadel, giving researchers rare historical information as to the origin of the rocks and the adobe used in the building,” he explained.

Reza Ashk, the city Governor, reminds us of Bam just after the earthquake remains a painful memory for many inhabitants, with the death of loved ones and the public mourning of the Citadel. “In 2003, the Citadel was demolished by the quake; this struck the people with grief and despair, since the Citadel was a source of inspiration and symbolized life in the middle of the desert. Now, however, these efforts are coming to fruition, and local people are feeling excited about seeing the newly restored building. The international welcome has been satisfactory, and the city’s airport has contributed to this influx of tourists, bringing in more foreign tourists than ever.”

“The news of the opening of the Citadel stole the headlines during the New Year holidays, when for almost two weeks, the Citadel saw thousands of tourists coming and paying homage to this monument. The Citadel still awaits world recognition on the UNESCO World Heritage List,” Ashk concluded.

Expats Launch Online Portal on STD Education

By
Golrokh Askarieh
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“When I first entered university in the US a few years ago, I received some brochures on STD prevention and control. Surprisingly, I realized that even as an educated Iranian, I didn’t know anything about most of the diseases listed in the brochure, expect for AIDS,” the Persian language newspaper Sharq quoted Yasi Ashki, the founder of the website, as saying.
Ashki, who is currently studying for an MBA in the US, said, “At the time, I asked myself why Iranian women were not aware of STDs. A little later I realized that Iranian men were in no better position than women in protecting themselves against such diseases.”
“Our youth should be aware that HIV/AIDS is not the only sexually transmitted infection (STI). For example, human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common STI, which can spread by skin-to-skin contact. The virus can increase risk of cervical cancer in women years after they get infected, she said, adding, “The vaccine can be administered from the age of 9 up to 26.” While the vaccine (Gardasil) is available in Iran, many young people are not aware of its usefulness. It protects against four types of HPV.
As the reproductive health of every young adult should be protected, “We decided to launch an educational website and conduct health education and awareness programs; our primary focus is on STI in reproductive health.”
So far, nine educational workshops have been held by the group in different cities in the country including Tehran, Islamshahr, Mashhad and Babol through their representatives and volunteers.
“Unfortunately, there is no reliable information on Persian language websites on this subject. When I Googled STDs, I found incorrect information on various websites. It seems that one source had released erroneous information and other websites had copy-pasted it.”

 

Spreading Awareness
In order to create a reliable Persian-language source to raise Iranian awareness about these diseases, “We launched a website with more than 800 translated articles. We firmly believe that knowledge must be spread.”
After its launch, “We felt it was necessary to allow people to ask personal questions in private from physicians; so we created a character named ‘Dr Crown’. The real people behind the character are our physicians who answer all questions within 24 hours.”
So far, thousands of people have sent their queries, and around 12,000 people suspect that they might have HPV, which is the most common STI. This is an alarming warning sign, and therefore knowledge is crucial for its prevention.
Claiming that people have welcomed the project, she explained, “One of our physicians, Amin Sanei, answers people’s questions for 10 hours a day.”
“We are looking for motivated and driven people to join our network of doctors, and social enthusiasts who are pioneers in addressing the sensitive issues of sexual health, often a taboo subject in society.”
The project is funded completely through philanthropic contributions.

 

HIV Prevalence
According to figures released by the Health Ministry, the annual growth rate of HIV infection transmission In Iran is 10%. Earlier, Health Minister Hassan Hashemi stressed that stigmatization and lack of information and awareness are among the main causes of the spread of the disease.
At present, nearly 30,000 people with HIV have been identified (15% are women), while it is estimated that there are 70,000 more HIV-infected people who are unaware of their condition.
Iran is committed to fast-track ending of the HIV/AIDS by 2030 along with the rest of the world, as per a strategy introduced by UNAIDS, and the Health Ministry is implementing programs within the framework of its fourth strategic plan on HIV prevention and control (2015-2019).

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