Mohammad Ali Soleimani, a teacher and superintendent of a primary school in a rural area, has a long daily commute of 20 km. He walks half of the distance and covers the remaining 10-km by car.
To him the gravest problem on the way to school are wild animals such as bears, tigers and boars he has encountered a few times already.
Images of the teacher put online by mashreghnews.ir:
The Associated Press has filed a report on Zohreh Etezadossaltaneh who was born without arms, but that hasn’t stopped her from excelling in many activities, ranging from painting to table tennis.
Now 52 years old, the retired Iranian teacher has dedicated herself to helping others with similar disabilities live full and satisfying lives.
Her story is one of personal triumph and indomitable spirit.
“Each body might have some limitations and deficiencies. But if you have a pure, elevated soul I think the body won’t matter,” she said.
After receiving her primary education at a special school for disabled children, Etezadossaltaneh moved into the mainstream Iranian education system and eventually earned a degree in psychology.
Now she works with young people with similar disabilities. Among her students is 9-year-old Roohollah Jafar, who lost his hands in an accident and is now learning from Etezadossaltaneh to paint and do calligraphy using his feet.
At the start of their lesson, Etezadossaltaneh skillfully massages the boy’s feet with her own feet and guides him on how to hold and control a pen between his toes.
Etezadossaltaneh’s feet have become dexterous enough to hold a ping pong paddle or a paint brush. She has staged multiple exhibitions and supplements her retirement pension by selling some of her artwork.
“She works so easily that I’ve totally forgotten she paints with her feet,” said her painting instructor, Parisa Samavatian.
Etezadossaltaneh’s skill at table tennis has led to her being featured in public exhibition matches. But she insists that she wants to be more than just a symbolic figure of inspiration.
“I want to play seriously and get a name,” she said. “I want to represent my country in competitions overseas.”
The following is a photo gallery of her posted online by fararu.com:
Each year in May tulips in 32 different colors are put on display in Garmab Village along Chaloos Road [that connects Tehran to the Caspian province of Mazandaran].
A large number of visitors are mesmerized by the beauty of local and imported tulips at the annual Tulip Festival.
Javad Gholami, who has been in the business of breeding and importing tulip bulbs from Central Asian countries for 30 years, is the organizer of the annual event.
“The first Tulip Festival was held by my father 17 years ago. He asked me to keep the festival going. He also urged me not to charge visitors,” Gholami was quoted by the Iranian Students’ News Agency as saying.
He went on to say that by holding the festival, he aims to expand green spaces and revive the friendship between people and Mother Nature.
He said that tulip bulbs are originally from Iran and have been taken to Europe through Turkey.
Highlighting that a majority of tulips in the garden are local, he said, “Only tulips with rare colors are imported so that we can work on their bulbs and produce their seeds.”
The Tulip Festival opened on April 28 this year and will run through May 10.
The event drew as many as 400,000 people to Garmab last year.
The warning by Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi that Iranian military facilities are off-limits to inspectors dominated the front pages of Iranian newspapers on Monday. Comments by the US secretary of state on the inspections regime and developments of the Saudi-led war against Yemen also appeared on the covers of dailies.
Abrar: A motion signed by 24 MPs to impeach the minister of roads has been handed to the Presiding Board of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.
Afkar: Meetings to draft a final deal will run through the end of the week.
Aftab-e Yazd: Presence of government officials in a ceremony hosted by supporters of former President Ahmadinejad!
A deputy governor general of Mazandaran Province said that the event was public so the governor of Babol attended it.
The governor of Babol said his presence at the event was coordinated in advance with the provincial governor’s office and the Interior Ministry.
Aftab-e Yazd: Threats have been issued against Ali Motahari [who was attacked in Shiraz where he was to deliver a speech in a university].
Call off your Mashhad visit, the threat says.
Aftab-e Yazd: Women are ahead 1-0.
The doors of a stadium in Qom opened to female spectators.
Ebtekar: Another threat [against Tehran MP Ali Motahari].
This time it is made by a student association based in Mashhad [ahead of a visit to the city by the principlist deputy].
Emtiaz: Iranian wrestler Saeed Abdevali has received a diploma from the International Committee for Fair Play.
Emtiaz: Iranian films are making their presence felt in the Muslim world.
Ettela’at: The residence of [IRGC commander] Major General Ghasem Soleimani in Kerman has turned into a Sacred Defense museum.
Ettela’at: “P5+1 will never get the green-light to enter Iran’s defense and security sites,” said the chief of staff of the armed forces.
Hemayat: US Secretary of State John Kerry says inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities will continue “forever”.
Javan: Iranian fruit is shipped to Turkey overnight.
Each night as many as 100 semitrailer-loads of Iranian fruit set out for Turkey.
Kaenat: IS has threatened to blow up Shiite mosques around the world.
Kayhan: For the information of those who are overjoyed!
John Kerry: “We will have inspectors in there every single day… That’s forever.”
Sayeh: “President Rouhani’s comments on the duties of law enforcement as far as implementation of laws is concerned have been misinterpreted,” said Majid Ansari, the president’s deputy.
Shahrvand: Energy consumption has grown dangerously in the country.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran and P5+1 are working on the draft of a final deal over Tehran’s nuclear work.
In a tweet on Monday, Zarif said that the process of drafting is “moving forward” as the two sides are “determined to end this manufactured crisis & open new horizons.”
The Iranian top diplomat, however, stressed that “many brackets” still remain which need to resolved by hard work.
Experts from Iran and the six global powers are currently in New York to try to reach a draft agreement over Tehran’s nuclear program.
An earlier tweet by senior Iranian negotiator Abbas Araghchi described the drafting process as “difficult,” noting that there are many bracketed points of disagreement in the text.
Araghchi has expressed hope that the first draft would come out within the next few days.
On Sunday, Hamid Baeedinejad, another member of Iran’s negotiating team, said that the two sides are taking all technical and legal aspects into regard during the drafting process and thus spend hours on every word, phrase and sentence of the proposed text.
“The issues that are not agreed upon following extensive discussions will be enclosed in brackets for further elaboration,” he added.
Reports said that the negotiations would continue over the next days in New York.
Iran and P5+1– the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China, and Germany – reached a mutual understanding on Tehran’s nuclear program in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2.
Iran and the six-party group have agreed to finalize a comprehensive deal by the end of June.
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi on Sunday advised the Iranian nuclear negotiators to ensure revocation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions concerning Chapter Seven of the UN Charter.
He said that the context of the comprehensive agreement with the Security Council members must include clauses that make all the resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council about the Iranian nuclear program null and void.
He made it clear that the reference to Chapter Seven of the United Nations in the resolutions to single out the security concerns of the permanent members of the Security Council must be revoked by a new resolution of the United Nations Security Council.
Firouzabadi said that the negotiators must acknowledge the sovereign rights of the government enshrined by the Charter of the United Nations that no military site will be open to foreign inspection.
Once sanctions are lifted, the French automaker, Peugeot, is poised to sign another joint venture agreement with Iran Khodro Co, its previous partner and Iran’s biggest carmaker, according to Peugeot spokeswoman Antonia Krpina quoted by Qatar-based English language daily Gulf Times.
Gulf Times wrote that Iran Khodro declined to comment on the issue, citing the sensitivity of the nuclear negotiations.
Gulf Times wrote that Renault is also in talks with Iran Khodro, according to a person close to the French company, who asked not to be named.
If sanctions are lifted, Renault would consider introducing its Clio hatchback and Captur compact SUV, as well as entry-level vehicles such as the Logan sedan and Duster SUV, the person said.
Cars like these may turn the Chinese boom into a short-lived phenomenon once sanctions are lifted, as Chinese vehicles still suffer from a reputation for low quality in Iran, according to IHS. Chery declined to comment, and calls to Lifan’s general line were not answered. Jianghuai didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.
“Of course everyone wants the best they can afford,” said Tehran consultant Kolahi. “Ideally, I’d like to buy a BMW.”
As Western automakers prepare to re-enter the Middle East’s highest-volume car market, they’ll find a landscape changed by new competitors from China. Led by Chery Automobiles Co, Lifan Industry Group Co and Jianghuai, the Chinese have benefited from the vacuum left by the likes of PSA Peugeot Citroen, which once counted Iran as its biggest market outside France. The Chinese will probably boost their share of the Iranian market from about 1% in 2011 to about 9% of 1.17mn units in 2016, according to researcher IHS Automotive.
European manufacturers aim to return to the country if sanctions are eased under a proposed nuclear pact. Iran and the US have agreed to a framework for a deal limiting Iran’s ability to enrich uranium, and the two sides are working to finalize an accord by June 30. There’s no guarantee they’ll be successful. US lawmakers are demanding a say on the final accord, while Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has said that without an end to sanctions, there won’t be a deal.
Chery, Lifan and Jianghuai all have local partners that build cars in Iran from kits shipped from China. Chinese companies’ share of this segment also more than quadrupled to 8% between 2011 and last year, IHS estimates.
The Chinese “are aggressive,” IHS analyst Stephanie Vigier said. “Yes, they’ve benefited from the sanctions. Yes, they’ve been multiplying joint ventures and partnerships with local manufacturers. And yes, they’ve replaced other foreign carmakers,” including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Mazda Motor Corp, she said.
The Europeans face growing competition from the Chinese. Cars like the MVM 110, a made-in-Iran version of Chery’s QQ hatchback, are a common sight in Tehran’s traffic alongside the ubiquitous Kia Motors Corp Pride and Peugeot’s 206 and 306.
Chinese carmakers are moving up-market, too. At a glass-walled Tehran dealership for China’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, the Emgrand X7 SUV starts at 1.13bn rials, about a third less than a similar SUV from Toyota Motor Corp. The X7 is the dealership’s third-best-selling vehicle as sanctions have limited the availability of European and Japanese models, according to an employee who asked not to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to speak with the media.
The French sold more kits than any of their European competitors in Iran before being forced to halt exports. In 2012, Peugeot said it sold a record 473,000 units in Iran. The Paris-based company still had 29% of the market last year, IHS estimates, because local carmakers had some kits left over and suppliers outside France may have continued shipping parts to Iran.
If sanctions remain in place and Peugeot discontinues the old models currently available in Iran, IHS estimates that Peugeot’s market share will probably drop to 11% next year.
Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei warned against a US-engineered plot that entails the disintegration of Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
“They (Americans) want Iraq to be divided into three countries, Syria into two countries and Yemen into northern and southern states,” Rezaei said Sunday at a press conference in Tehran.
Making a reference to the remarks made by US officials about partition of Iraq, Rezaei said Washington wants to do the dividing of the Arab country by itself but has left Yemen and Syria to the Saudi rulers.
Should the US plan get implemented, the Iranian official warned, insecurity will plague the region for at least 20 to 30 years.
Although there are disagreements within the Saudi royal family over that plan, Riyadh is assigned to perform part of the partition project in Syria and Yemen anyway, he added.
“The US seeks to break up Iraq directly, without the help of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, but has left Yemen to the Saudis,” Rezaei stated.
Back in 2007, US Vice President Joe Biden advocated a proposal for a three-way partition of Iraq.
Iraq has been the scene of clashes between military forces and the ISIL terrorists since the foreign-backed militants attacked the Arab country from Syria in summer of 2014.
Syria has been also gripped by civil war since March 2011. According to the United Nations, more than 220,000 people have been killed and one million wounded during the conflicts.
Yemen has been under deadly airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition since March 26. According to the spokesman of the Yemeni Army, attacks on the Arab country have killed more than 2,000 people, most of them civilians.
Sometimes a flower makes your day. Now imagine you have it around your neck and feel it every second, with its pure green color constantly before your eyes and its subtle fragrance and sheer beauty staying with you. Small-flower, thumbnail necklaces – which are a family product of the Abedis – make this dream come true.
Soheil, Bahareh and Parisa Abedi have produced these tiny pots to build bridges. The small flowers they have made bear big responsibilities. As the ambassadors of health, they are worn by women around their necks and carry a message of health to all women across the country.
A report by Iranbanou, a supplement of Iran newspaper, tells the story of a family that does handwork to help women with cancer learn about their disease. The following is a partial translation of the report:
My brother was the brains behind this project. He was doing research on cancers that afflict women on personal grounds. Apart from scientific reasons and the growing number of women who suffer from such [incurable] diseases, many women develop the disease due to lack of knowledge. This was a trigger for us to look for a way to raise women’s awareness. At first it seemed to be an easy job, but it turned out to be tough.
After serious, detailed studies, we decided to do an artistic work which can arouse a special feeling and provide – down the road – its target audience with cultural and educational feed. We wanted to make it [the artistic work] serve as an intermediary between us and the target group.
The birth of Daughter of Sun
We wanted to work for women’s health. My brother was thinking about designing a real fresh plant so that women can take it around. His idea ended up in a necklace – comprising of a tiny flowerpot and a flower – which would grow to help create a good feeling. The road ahead was bumpy because hardly can a plant grow in a limited space. We asked a botanical center in the University of Tehran to do research on it and they did it in a few months.
A thumbnail flowerpot
We then started to look for the artists who could make tiny flowerpots. After trying wooden and glass pots, we finally picked pottery flowerpots which represent Iran’s culture and art. The first pot was created eight months after my brother first came up with the idea. We chose Tida, an Avestan name which means the daughter of Sun, for stop-sleepiness-meds.com. This daughter is expected to link us to the women who know not much about cancer.
Family work
It is a family project. We pay for all the costs from our own pockets. The handwork project has not been profitable for us due to high production costs. We sell our works in some bookshops. It is an emotional, not-for-profit job. We want to form a social group; we want to see Tida turn into a name women – in remote towns and villages – who have no access to health information can relate to. Flowers and nature in general can help establish such a contact since they are closer to women’s nature.
Fragile flowers
The lifetime of the flowerpots depends on how well you take care of them. Wearing these necklaces, you shouldn’t move or walk too much. Give them two drops of water each day; they also need three hours of exposure to direct sunlight. This way they can survive at least three months.
[…]
The idea is all Iranian. We want to file a patent for it. We have given Tida as gifts to our friends in other countries. Tida is likely to be copied on the Internet. I hope Iranian officials – for instance, Environment chief Ms. Ebtekar and the Health Minister – will help us.
Tida [which is a women-exclusive item] is also picked by men who want to give it as a gift to their wives or daughters. […] We are happy that Tida has turned into a way to express love for humans.
Now that we’ve left behind tough times, we want to find more ways to contact Iranian women. At first we inked a deal with a charitable organization to dedicate part of our proceeds to the treatment of women who suffer from cancer. […]
Now we seek to do it again to be in contact with women with cancer.
An Iranian woman has turned her home into a safe refuge for injured animals (PHOTOS)
Azadeh Mahjoub, an Iranian woman living in the northern city of Rasht, has nursed back to health over 160 injured domestic animals in part of her own house in five years.
Images of injured animals in her care that Tasnim News Agency has released online:
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