The Research Institute of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) has launched a business clinic in cooperation with Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and John Hopkins University to offer consultation services to entrepreneurs.
According to the Public Relations Department of ICCIMA, the clinic which brings together 17 committees, was launched on September 10 at a ceremony attended by ICCIMA Secretary General Hossein Noghrehkar Shirazi.
At the ceremony, Hossein Mir-Mohammad Sadeghi, who leads the ICCIMA’s Research Institute, said, “In light of the fact that promotion of productivity cannot happen overnight, the experience the Japanese have gained in the wake of the Second World War can be very useful in this regard.”
He further said the clinic can dish out economic consultations to entrepreneurs and act in tandem with universities as far as education goes. “The project is designed to help identify target markets, pinpoint the weaknesses of the market, promote productivity, help develop new concepts in management and a better understanding of business rules, promote energy productivity management, offer financial and ISO-related counseling, and identify advertisement best practices.”
Iran Chamber of Commerce, JICA, John Hopkins launch business clinic
Iran defeat Serbia to advance to round 3 of Volleyball World Championships
Iran’s national volleyball team defeated Serbia 3-1 (27-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-18) at the FIVB Men’s World Championships in Poland on Sunday.
The victory in the final match of round two meant Iran were through to round three of the games on 15 points.
Argentina’s triumph over the US (3-2) set the seal on Iran’s advance to the final six teams of the event.
Iran’s Greco-Roman wrestling team crowned world champions for 1st time
The Iranian national Greco-Roman wrestling team were crowned world champions in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Sunday.
Hamid Sourian won the Iranian squad’s only gold medal in the 59-kg weight category. Omid Nowruzi bagged a silver medal in the 66-kg category. Afshin Biabangard and Ghasem Rezai secured two bronzes in the 71-kg and 98-kg categories respectively.
Iran finished first in the overall standings on 42 points. Russia came in second. It was the first time the Iranian Greco-Roman wrestling team became world champions.
Immediately after Iran were crowned champions, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei released a message to congratulate the Iranian athletes on their unprecedented championship in the world event.
A look at Iranian newspaper front pages Sept. 14
Many Iranian newspapers on Sunday (September 14) led on a second bedside visit President Hassan Rouhani paid to the Supreme Leader upon arriving home from a Central Asian tour which took him to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, where he attended a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The comments Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani made at a meeting with industrialists and economists drew a lot of front-page attention, too. Of course, different newspapers, depending on their political leanings, chose a different part of his remarks to headline their stories.
Abrar: “The government has filed a complaint against some officials of the previous government,” said President Rouhani’s chief advisor Akbar Torkan. The headline highlights allegations by the 11th government that some officials who served under Ahmadinejad have failed to hand back government-issue cars and other items.
Abrar: “It’s too early to talk about another extension of nuclear talks,” said Iran’s deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi.
Abrar-e Eghtesadi: “Iran’s overseas trade moves one level up.”
Afarinesh highlights a comment by Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahman Fazli under the heading “Preservation of civic rights is one of the most fundamental policies of the government.”
Afkar: “The meeting in Paris is a theatrical gesture,” said Mohammad Saleh Jokar, a member of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, in reaction to exclusion of Iran from a meeting in Paris to forge an anti-terrorism coalition to take on IS.
Aftab-e Yazd cited Chairman of the Expediency Council Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as saying, “Some members of the previous government are putting a spoke in the wheel of President Rouhani’s government.”
Aftab-e Yazd: “Arbitrary measures shouldn’t go unpunished,” said Mohammad Reza Aref, a former vice-president and a veteran reformist politician.
Arman-e Emrooz says that a bill which will eventually see the number of MPs rise by 20 to 310 will be discussed on parliament floor. The daily says the bill has been languishing in parliament for seven years thanks to the previous government’s failure to cooperate with the Islamic Consultative Assembly.
Arman-e Emrooz: “Khatami can lead neo-reformists,” said a member of Iran’s Islamic Participation Front Elaheh Koulaei.
Asia quoted Iran’s deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs as saying, “A final deal can be struck whether or not Presidents Rouhani and Obama meet.”
Asr-e Eghtesad led on the story which pins the blame of delays in the implementation of development initiatives on cash subsidies handed out by the governmentto the public.
Asr-e Rasaneh: Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says Pakistan is not structurally prepared to import Iran’s natural gas despite its express willingness to do so.
Asrar put a remark by Hashemi Rafsanjani about foreign policy on its front page. “We can establish ties with all countries across the world.”
Asrar alsoquoted Deputy Interior Minister Hosseinali Amiri as saying that no permit has been issued for Ansar Hezbollah members to promote virtue and prevent vice.
Ebtekar: “We are concerned about the misbehaviors of those who want to promote virtue,” said Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.
Ebtekar: “I do not know a supporter of the Supreme Leader who is stauncher than Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,” said former MP Hassan Ghafouri-Fard.
Etemad: Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, President Rouhani’s advisor for supervision and strategic affairs, has called on the private sector to help the government with piecing together the Sixth Development Plan.
Farhikhtegan dedicates its main story to misinformation [fueled by supporters of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] that the number of Ph. D. seats at Islamic Azad University has increased 8-fold, whereas the actual increase has been no more than 70 percent.
Hambastegi: “Granting licenses to news websites is a top government priority,” the secretary of the Media Supervisory Board says.
Hamshahri splashes photos of officials and statesmen visiting the Supreme Leader at the hospital following his successful prostate surgery.
Hemayat: “The presidential powers will be discussed by an arbitration panel which addresses disputes between the three branches of government,” said Deputy Parliament Speaker Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi.
Jomhouri Islami quoted Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani as saying, “America should not violate the sovereignty of countries under the pretext of the war against terrorism.”
Kar va Kargar also quoted Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani as saying, “A US-led attack on Syria will fan the flames of war in the region.”
Kayhan covered a story about the latest developments in Yemen and said that the country is entering a new phase in its history. “Despite bloody crackdowns, millions of people took part in a funeral for martyrs in Sana’a.”
Kayhan: “Will radicals re-invade universities?” is the headline the daily has used to take a swipe at reinstatement of former “trouble-making” officials at the University Jihad in Mashhad.
Kayhan: The recent change of heart by the statesmen of President Rouhani’s government of Prudence and Hope which has been manifested by conclusion of deals with Russia and China has taken the West by surprise.
Sharq: Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, has slammed a recent UN report on human rights in Iran.
“A Few Cubic Meters of Love”, a joint Iran-Afghan film becomes a candidate for Oscars
Jamshid Mahmoudi, the Iranian director of “A Few Cubic Meters of Love” says his film is to be presented as an Afghan production at the 87th Academy Awards in 2015.
A September 13th issue of Arman-e Emrooz daily ran a brief report in which the director explains why such a decision has been made about the joint Iranian-Afghan production. The following is the translation of the report:
Director Mahmoudi said “A Few Cubic Meters of Love” is a joint production and officials in both countries have given it the go-ahead to be shot and screened.
“We have already secured the permission of appropriate authorities to screen ‘A Few Cubic Meters of Love’ in theaters across Iran in the second half of the current year [started March 21, 2014]. In light of the fact that Oscars candidates have an end-of-September deadline to hit the screen in their country of origin before becoming eligible for Oscars, we decided to have it screened in Afghanistan before the deadline and introduce it as an Afghan production in the event,” the director said.
On the horns of dilemma
Following a recent summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tajikistan, there has been a spike in debates on whether Iran should become a full member of the regional grouping. Dr. Sabah Zanganeh, a veteran diplomat and a foreign policy expert, wrote a piece in Arman-e Emrooz daily on Saturday (September 13) on the issue, advising Iranian officials to think twice before taking steps toward becoming a full member of SCO. The following is the translation of the piece:
A closer look at how the Shanghai Cooperation Organization came into being reveals that China and Russia pioneered the treaty as part of efforts to meet their policy needs and move in tandem with international developments. On the one hand, Russia was bent on bringing together the newly-independent republics of the former Soviet Union following the collapse of USSR. On the other hand, China sought to find new economic markets for its products.
In fact, Iran had no place in the initial composition of the organization and when Tehran was given the green-light to become a member, it attended the meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization only as an observer. As time passed the economic nature of the organization was replaced with a political, security and even military status.
Iran is now at a crossroads. First, it has to decide whether to boost its cooperation with this organization. Second, it has to pick an organization or a treaty whose members are interested in having Tehran in their ranks.
After the Islamic Revolution, “Neither Eastern, Nor Western,” became the pillar of Iran’s foreign policy. In light of the fact that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is turning into an eastern alliance, Iran will have to be careful in its decisions about any future steps. Eastern is a concept which is defined in relation to Western and membership of the group may amount to taking sides with the East against the West.
Before becoming a full member of the organization, Iran has to weigh what serves its national interests and make full use of the information that is available. Iran’s post-revolution experience shows that the West has always been somewhat neglectful of Iran, and the East has been careless in its dealings with Iran.
To choose a future path, [officials] need to answer the following questions: Does Iran’s national might need other powers to make its presence felt on the world stage? Won’t maintaining neutrality and simply tapping the existing potential serve our national interests better? Will joining one camp in tandem with efforts to maintain national independence serve our interests?
If joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a political tactic, the stage should be set in a way that makes flexibility possible down the line.
ISIL’s new video shows beheading of David Haines
On Saturday, the Takfiri group posted the footage consistent with the earlier ones showing the execution of two American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
A masked militant appeared in the video, entitled, “A Message to the Allies of America,” saying the execution was in response to UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s engagement in a US-led coalition against the militants.
“This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters),” against the ISIL, said the man dressed in black with a British accent.
The British prime minister had earlier talked of efforts “to help make sure the Kurds have the arms they need to fight off” the terrorist group.
In the footage, Haines also accused British premiers for not having the “courage to say no to the Americans.”
“Unfortunately, it is we, the British public that will, in the end, pay the price for our Parliament’s selfish decisions,” Haines said, referring to Britain’s engagement in war on the ISIL.
The British victim, who is a 44-year-old father of two from Perth in Scotland, was reportedly captured in Iraq last year.
Another hostage, identified as Alan Henning, was shown at the end of the video, with the masked terrorist saying he would be killed if Cameron continued fighting the ISIL.
The video was shot in a desert setting similar to the two previous ones with the victim wearing an orange jumpsuit.
Cameron reacted to the video, saying, “This is a despicable and appalling murder of an innocent aid worker. It is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to the family of David Haines who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude throughout this ordeal.”US President Barack Obama also said that Washington would stand “shoulder to shoulder,” with the UK following “the barbaric murder” of Haines.
“We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice,” Obama said.
Iraq has been fighting the ISIL terrorists since they took control of Mosul on June 10. The takeover was followed by the fall of the city of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital Baghdad. The control of Tikrit was later retaken by the Iraqi army.
The Takfiri terrorists currently control parts of eastern Syria and Iraq’s northern and western regions. They have threatened all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians, Izadi Kurds and others, as they continue their atrocities in Iraq.
[…]
Iran volleyball team lose to hosts Poland but remain hopeful to advance
In the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships Iran lined up against hosts Poland Saturday and came back from two sets down only to lose the thrilling five-setter 3-2. (17-25, 16-25, 26-24, 25-19, 14-16).
The one point Iran bagged from the nail-biter means Iran are still in contention for a place in the next round of the games.
Iran will take on Serbia in their final game of the second round later on Sunday.
Azerbaijan no base for anti-Iran moves: Azeri defense min.
In a meeting with Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Brigadier General Qasem Taqizadeh in Baku on Saturday, the Azeri minister said his country will by no means allow its soil and airspace to be used against the Islamic Republic.
He said Tehran and Baku enjoy longstanding friendship, adding that Azerbaijan attaches great significance to good ties with Iran.
The Azeri official also called for the development of defense cooperation between the two neighboring countries.
The Iranian official, for his part, said the Islamic Republic is ready to further develop defense ties with Azerbaijan.
Last month, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said its forces had intercepted and shot down an Israeli spy drone with a surface-to-air missile. The Israeli-made Hermes drone was heading to Natanz nuclear facility in the central Iranian province of Isfahan.
Some media reports claimed that the drone was launched from Azerbaijan’s territory. Azeri officials have denied the reports.
A look at Iranian newspaper headlines across the country on September 13
Most Iranian newspapers on Saturday (September 13) gave front-page coverage to the comments of President Rouhani at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Dushanbe. The meeting between Presidents Rouhani and Putin on the sidelines of the event and its potential importance in forging closer ties with Russia also drew a lot of front-page attention. News about the recovery of the Supreme Leader following his prostate surgery on Monday was also given prominence in the newspapers.
Afarinesh: The Portuguese head coach of the Iranian national football team Carlos Queiroz is due back in Tehran later in September to sign an extension to his deal.
Ebtekar: “[Former President Mohammad] Khatami sends a letter to the Leader of the Revolution, wishing Ayatollah Khamenei recovery.” It came after bedside visits to the leader by prominent reformist figures such as Seyyed Hadi Khamenei and Mohammad Reza Aref.
Ebtekar: “Efforts to enhance Internet content control is a waste of money,” says Nemat Ahmadi, an Iranian lawyer. “One cannot ban the import of technology just like slapping a ban on imports of cars.”
Ebtekar: “Those who seek to hit the streets [to promote virtue and prevent vice] need to have proper permits, otherwise they will be seriously dealt with by police,” warned the spokesman of the Interior Ministry. “There are many people or groups who are critical of the way things are run in society. And sometimes they are right. But critics cannot take the law into their own hands.” The warning by Hosseinali Amiri came after Ansar Hezbollah said they’d launch motorbike patrols to counter those who flout morality laws.
Ettela’at: “Talks to export Iranian natural gas to Europe will get under way shortly.”
Ettela’at: “Veteran stars of stage and screen get together at the capital’s Vahdat Hall to celebrate the second anniversary of the foundation of the Veteran Actors Institute.”
Ettela’at: The director of the Environment Protection Organization has expressed concern over unbridled development activities in the forests of the north [near the Caspian Sea].
Ettela’at: “People should be free to speak their mind within the framework of the Constitution,” the president tells a group of Iranian expats based in Tajikistan.
Farhikhtegan: “President Rouhani has restored calm to the country. A government whose words do not inflame tensions has come to office in the country,” said Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, who heads the Supreme Leader’s Inspection Office.
Farhikhtegan: “Monopoly in expression of ideas in universities sounds the death knell for institutes of higher education,” the head of the Supreme Leader’s Office in Universities said.
Hambastegi: “Organized planning is the only way to counter extremism and terrorism,” President Rouhani said in Dushanbe.
Hemayat: “Differences remain between Iran and world powers,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister says at the close of talks with three European countries.
Iran Daily: “Paris wants Tehran to help crush terrorists in Iraq.”
Jamejam: The Iranian volleyball squad take on Poland in a crucial encounter in the FIVB World Championships late Saturday.
Kar va Kargar: “In the absence of contribution by regional nations and governments, the fight against terrorism won’t be successful,” President Rouhani tells a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Kar va Kargar: “The gap between employment figures in well-to-do and impoverished provinces is as much as 13 percent.”
Nasl-e Farda: Will Russian-made Tupolev, which is known in Iran as the Death Bird, make a comeback to the skies over Iran?
Rah-e Mardom: “Over 50 percent of the country’s hospitals are too old and need renovation,” says the Iranian health minister.
Roozan: The brother of former President Mohammad Khatami says he has no idea why he’s been banned from leaving the country. “A while ago I went to the airport to leave the country, but authorities there confiscated my passport without offering any reason for the move,” Mohammad Reza Khatami said.
Vatan-e Emrooz: “Bombing won’t eliminate the scourge of terrorism,” the president says in a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
