TEHRAN – German Energy Company Athos Solar has invested near €42.5 million in Iran’s renewable energy sector constructing 35 megawatts (MW) capacity of solar farms in Hamedan Province, west central Iran. As reported by IRNA, the company has built four 7-megawatt solar farms so far and yet another farm with the same capacity is under construction. Construction of the solar […]
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TEHRAN- The bill on establishment of eight new free trade-industrial zones and 12 new free economic zones will be discussed by Iranian parliament (Majlis)’s economic committee within the next two weeks, Morteza Bank, the secretary of Free Zones High Council, announced. It is while about one and half year has passed since the government has submitted this bill to Majlis, […]
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The law on implementation of the general policies of the Article 44 of Iran’s Constitution on privatizing state-owned companies was declared in 2006 in a bid to downsize the government and promote the private sector’s role in the national economy. The government envisioned a large privatization program in the Fifth Five-Year National Development Plan (2010-2015), aiming to privatize about 20 […]
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TEHRAN- Thanks to decrease in domestic demand, Iranian rebar exports will increase in 2018, Platts quoted Iranian industry sources. The country’s domestic production capacity is far outstripping its consumption while domestic rebar demand has decreased. The overcapacity has led into competition between steel mills i.e. Iranian rebar offers have been competitive. Accordingly, export volumes could surge in the 2018 calendar […]
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TEHRAN – China’s Sinopec Engineering (Group) Co., signed a deal with National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Company (NIOEC) to contribute to engineering, procurement and construction of phase II of Abadan refinery upgrading project in Iran. “The group will pursue approximately 6.86 billion yuan ($1.05 billion) of the total contract value”, Nikkei Asian Review cited the company as stating on […]
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TEHRAN- Iranian First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri inaugurated major industrial projects in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi on Thursday, Shata news agency reported. The senior official opened Sangan Pelletizing Plant in Khaf region, with the capacity of producing five million tons of conglomerates per annum. Some 12 trillion rilas (about $285.5 million) of investments was made to implement this project, […]
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In late June, the Iranian government shut down the online auto import registration system saying that the import regulations are being revised. Although the officials in the Industry Ministry mentioned managing auto import market and preventing from exit of foreign currency from the country as some reasons for stopping this system, taking this action in a non-expert and highly challenging […]
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TEHRAN- The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced that the inflation rate for the 12-month period ended on the last day of the ninth Iranian calendar month Azar (December 21) compared to the same period in the previous year hit 10 percent, IRIB news reported on Tuesday. It is while the Statistical Center of Iran had previously put the inflation […]
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Tehran (ISNA) - Thousands of people attended an anti-corruption protest in Tel Aviv for a sixth consecutive week Saturday, with demonstrators calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down over graft allegations.
Braving the cold and damp, protesters held up signs against government corruption and calling Netanyahu the “crime minister.”
Police said a number of streets were closed off around the city’s Rothschild Boulevard as a result of the demonstration, Times of Israel reported.
A few hundred protesters were also reported to have attended similar rallies in the northern cities of Haifa and Afula.
The recent Tel Aviv protests began after nearly a year of anti-corruption demonstrations held in Petah Tikva every Saturday evening near Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s home, with organizers accusing Israel’s top prosecutor of slow-walking the probes involving the prime minister.
On Friday, Hadashot TV news reported police have revised their plan to submit recommendations in the two corruption cases against Netanyahu in the first weeks of the year, with the investigation now expected to wrap up by Passover, at the end of March.
Netanyahu himself appears to expect police to recommend charges against him, and has sought to downplay the importance of any such recommendation, recently telling a rally of Likud party members it was meaningless. (It is for state prosecutors, not police, to make a final decision on indictments.)
Netanyahu in the same speech attacked law enforcement, alluding to unfair treatment at the hands of police.
The premier is a suspect in two corruption investigations, known as cases 1000 and 2000. In the first, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are suspected of receiving illicit gifts from billionaire benefactors, most notably hundreds of thousands of shekels’ worth of cigars and champagne from the Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.
Case 2000 involves a suspected illicit quid pro quo deal between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper publisher Arnon Mozes that would have seen the prime minister weaken a rival daily, the Sheldon Adelson-backed Israel Hayom, in return for more favorable coverage from Yedioth.
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Tehran (ISNA) - Pakistani Prime Minister's national security advisor will hold talks with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Sunday.
Visiting Iran, Pakistani Prime Minister’s national security advisor retired Lt Gen Nasser Khan Janjua will meet with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani on Sunday.
General Nasser Khan Janjua has traveled to Iran to participate in the Tehran Security Conference.
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Tehran (ISNA) - Turkey's prime minister announced that his country attached great importance to the stability of Iran.
Speaking at a provincial congress of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in the central province of Nevsehir, Binali Yildirim warned against those who had “malevolent” designs in the region, adding that Tehran “needs to be vigilant”.
“Turkey never tolerates foreign intervention in the peace in Iran,” he said.
According to the Turkish news agency Anadolu, Yildirim added, “Iran’s stability is important for us. We are against foreign interventions in Iran. We are waiting for the return of stability and peace to our neighboring country as soon as possible”.
Without mentioning any country by name, he accused some countries of meddling in Iran’s internal affairs and said, “Some countries are keen on interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and are now trying to hit Iran and create new problems in the region”.
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Tehran (ISNA) - A tanker carrying Iranian oil and operated by the country’s top oil shipping operator was ablaze and spewing its cargo into the East China Sea on Sunday after colliding with a Chinese bulk ship, the Chinese government said on Sunday.
The Sanchi tanker, registered in Panama, collided with the CF Crystal some 160 nautical miles off the coast near Shanghai on Saturday evening, Chinese ministry of transportation said in statement on Sunday.
The tanker’s 32 crew members were missing on Sunday, Reuters reported.
It was sailing from Iran to South Korea, carrying 136,000 tonnes of condensate, an ultra light crude. That’s equivalent to just under 1 million barrels worth around $60 million based on current global crude oil prices.
“Sanchi is floating and burning as of now. There is an oil slick and we are pushing forward with rescue efforts,” the ministry said, adding it had dispatched four rescue ships and three cleaning boats to site as of 9 a.m. (0100 GMT).
South Korea has also sent a ship and helicopter to help.
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Tehran (ISNA) – Iranian intelligence minister emphasized that the country’s security forces will soon give a firm response to the terrorist and anti-revolution groups in the region.
“Iran’s security forces will not allow enemies to disrupt our country’s security,” Iranian intelligence minister Mahmoud Alavi said.
“Our security forces don’t fear martyrdom. They will thwart enemies' vicious plots through their acts of bravery,” he added.
"The terrorist groups must be sure that they can’t weaken the will of Iranian people," Alavi went on to say.
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Tehran (ISNA) - Iran exported $950 million worth of dried fruit over the course of eight months since March 2017, the head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran says.
Pistachio nuts were the most important export item which brings the country $1 billion-$1.2 billion in hard currency revenues a year, Mojtaba Khosrotaj said on Saturday.
Exports of the split-shelled nibble, however, dropped 22% in the first six months of the current Persian year, failing to match the figures during the same period a year ago when most of the produce was exported, Press TV reported.
“Given that exports of other dried fruit items have grown, it is anticipated that the deficit will be offset by the end of the year,” Khosrotaj said.
Head of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce Asadollah Asgaroladi said 250,000 tonnes of pistachio nuts are produced a year, of which 150,000-160,000 tonnes are exported.
Iran is the world’s biggest pistachio exporter, a position it has maintained thanks to the premium quality of its crop in the face of stiff rivalry from the US.
Asgaroladi put dried fruit exports at 2 million tonnes a year, citing dates another important export crop. He said Iran produces 2 million tonnes of the crop a year, of which 200,000 tonnes is exported.
Overall, Iran produces 117 million tonnes of agricultural products a year, with horticultural crops accounting for 30 million tonnes of the figure.
Because of its unique ecology and rich soil, Iran is one of the largest fruit producers in the Middle East and North Africa, where the diversity of climatic zones makes it possible to cultivate an assorted group of crops.
The Iranian plateau is believed to be the homeland to a number of fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants such as Persian walnuts, pomegranates, peaches, spinach and tulips.
According to Iranian officials, as many as 240 million people across the region savor Iran’s horticultural products, primarily pomegranates, pistachios, saffron, figs, raisins and dates.
The country is the world’s seventh largest producer of citrus fruits, including a variety of oranges, tangerines, limes and lemons.
Agricultural exports exceed $6 billion a year, where horticultural products account for half of the earnings, with livestock and poultry coming next with a share of about 25% and crops with the other 25%.
Agriculture accounts for 13% of Iran’s GDP and over 20% of its employment. The sector has traditionally been the key source of food and livelihood security over millennia despite losing much of its significance since the country struck oil.
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Tehran (ISNA) - The governments of Rwanda and Uganda are denying any deal with Israel to host thousands of African migrants told to leave that country in the next three months or face incarceration.
Israel's Population and Immigration Authority this week called on migrants from Sudan and Eritrea to leave "to their country or to a third country," meaning Rwanda or Uganda. Those who leave before April will receive $3,500, airfare and other incentives, AP reported.
Tens of thousands of Africans entered Israel before it erected a fence along its border with Egypt. Many of the migrants say they fled conflict and persecution and seek refugee status. Israel calls them "infiltrators" and mostly economic migrants whose numbers threaten its Jewish character.
The Israel-based Hotline for Migrant Workers, an advocacy group, has condemned the move, saying expulsions "put the refugees' lives in danger."
The U.N. refugee agency late last year said it was "seriously concerned" by Israeli proposals to call on Eritreans and Sudanese to accept relocation to African countries or face imprisonment. It noted a "forced relocation policy" beginning in December 2013 that already had sent about 4,000 of the migrants to two African countries "named in media reports as Rwanda and Uganda." It called the policy secretive, not transparent and difficult to monitor.
A Rwanda deputy foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, told The Associated Press his country has never reached any agreement with Israel on hosting asylum seekers. "There were negotiations like three or four years ago between the two countries but we never concluded on the matter," he said.
Rwanda is only engaged in negotiations to host some of the thousands of African migrants who face abuse in Libya, he said.
Uganda's state minister for international relations, Henry Okello Oryem, also told the AP there is no such agreement with Israel to accept African migrants from there.
"That's fake news. We don't know where that story is coming from. We don't know why it keeps coming up," he said Friday.
The U.N. refugee agency in November said about 27,500 Eritreans and 7,800 Sudanese were in Israel and that only eight Eritreans and two Sudanese had been recognized as refugees by authorities.
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Tehran (ISNA) - Crude oil production from the giant Azadegan Oilfield near the Iraqi border has seen a dramatic rise since Chinese companies were booted out of the field in 2014 after repeated delays in fulfilling contractual obligations, an official at the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC) in charge of the field's development said.
"Azadegan's output, standing at180,000 barrels per day, could have experienced a much bigger surge, if Iranian contractors were tasked with the development venture earlier," Touraj Dehqani said.
Dehqani noted that when China National Petroleum Corporation, the previous contractor of the field, abandoned the project in 2014, only 25 wells had been drilled at the site, while PEDEC has completed drilling operations for more than 100 wells since then.
Pointing to South Azadegan field production, the official added that the output has reached 100,000 bpd and operations to boost production level have gained momentum.
Located 100 km west of the provincial city of Ahvaz, South Azadegan is estimated to hold 33 billion barrels of oil in place. It is part of the West Karoun oil block in Khuzestan, which holds 67 billion barrels of crude oil, Financial Tribune reported.
"The field's development started three years ago and 30 domestic companies have contributed to the project's first phase," he said.
The field's second phase will be developed via a tender within the framework of Iran Petroleum Contract, the country's new model of contracts for oil and gas projects.
According to oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, multinationals, including Italian oil and gas firm Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, France's Total, Japan's Inpex and Malaysia's Petronas, have submitted their master development plans to expand Azadegan Oilfield.
West Karoun, Iran's top priority for raising crude production to restore the market share it lost to international sanctions, includes Mansouri, Yaran, Yadavaran as well as North and South Azadegan joint fields. The block holds an estimated 67 billion barrels of oil in place.
Asked about North Azadegan Oilfield, Dehqani said currently 80,000 barrels of crude are extracted from the field and further production rise depends on attracting foreign investment and getting access to cutting-edge know-how.
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Tehran (ISNA) - During weekdays ending up to January 4, while 443,673 MT of commodities worth over 291.6 million USD were traded in Iran Mercantile Exchange, trading volume and value experienced a growth of 8% and 19%, respectively.
According to the report from IME International Affairs and PR, last week, on the domestic and export metal and mineral trading floor of IME, 133,082 MT of various products worth close to 125 million USD were traded.
On this trading floor, 125,060 MT of steel products, 5,550 MT of copper, 160 MT of molybdenum concentrates, 12 MT of precious metal concentrates as well as 2,300 MT of aluminum were traded.
The report declares that on domestic and export oil and petrochemical trading floors of IME, 215,861 MT of different commodities with the total value of 139.9 million USD were traded.
On this trading floor, more than 37,274 MT of bitumen, 63,623 MT of polymer products, 74,375 MT of VB feed stock as well as 18,500 MT of lube-cut oil, 17,348 MT of chemical products, 4,200 MT of sulfur, 360 MT of insulation, 161 MT of heavy paraffin wax and 20 MT of argon gas were traded.
Moreover, on the agricultural trading floor of IME, 94,071 MT of various commodities worth over 26 million USD were traded. On this trading floor, 74,800 MT of wheat, 16,326 MT of maize, 2,700 MT of crude vegetable oil, 75 MT of sugar as well as 170,000 day old chicks were traded by customers.
It is worth noting that during this week, the side market of IME witnessed trading of 100 MT of palm oil, 559 MT of polyester threads.
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Tehran (ISNA) – The Football Tribe website has chosen the best coaches of Asia in 2017, upon which Iran national team head coach Carlos Queiroz sits in first place.
Carlos Queiroz was announced by the website as the best head coach of Asia in 2017.
“Carlos Queiroz is the only reason that Iran can be considered as a phenomenon in Russia’s 2018 World Cup. The presence of the head coach caused that Iranian national team has had significant progress over the past four years. Last year was an excellent year for Carlos Queiroz. Iranian national team had no defeats in 11 official matches in 2017 and conceded no goals in 12 consecutive matches and managed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Iran played against China, Russia and Venezuela in 2017. We must take off our hat to the former coach of Manchester United,” the website wrote.
In the list of the top five coaches of Asia in 2017, there is also another coach of an Iranian team, Branko Ivankovic.
According to the list, Branko Ivankovic sits in the fifth place.
End Item
TEHRAN, January 7- The UN Security Council’s meeting held over the recent riots in Iran, under pressure from the United States, did not go as planned and instead turned into the scene of objections to Washington's policies by three veto-holding permanent members of the Council, namely Russia, China and France. Press TV has spoken to Scott Rickard, a political analyst, and Adam Garrie, the managing editor of theduran.com, about Washington's stance on the latest events in Iran.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The UN Security Council’s meeting held over the recent riots in Iran, under pressure from the United States, did not go as planned and instead turned into the scene of objections to Washington's policies by three veto-holding permanent members of the Council, namely Russia, China and France. Press TV has spoken to Scott Rickard, a political analyst, and Adam Garrie, the managing editor of theduran.com, about Washington's stance on the latest events in Iran.
Scott Rickard maintains that the US is exaggerating about the developments in Iran “to benefit its own agenda,” adding that the protests in Iran are not even comparable in terms of scale and numbers to those held in the US in recent years, including the Occupy Wall Street protests.
“If you look back into the late 60s, they did the same thing when the USS Liberty was attacked by Israel and then subsequently [USS] Pueblo was attacked by North Korea. Obviously, the USS Liberty was covered up and Pueblo was made international news," Rickard said.
“At the same time," he continued, "when you are looking at protests in other countries in which the US has an agenda to basically overthrow [the government], it is very common for them to exaggerate statistics and to exaggerate the means in which the protests are being conducted.
Meanwhile, Adam Garrie, the other panelist on the show, opined that the protests in Iran were actually conducted based on a plot by Israeli officials and senior members of Donald Trump’s administration in revenge for the defeats Iran has imposed on the Israeli-backed terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.
It is no coincidence that the protests happened right after Zionist media, most notably the Jerusalem Post, published an article outlining some of the vague points of a new dossier on Iran that Washington and Tel Aviv have agreed on, Garrie said.
“The subject of that dossier was how to constrain, contain, and confront the Islamic Republic of Iran, a country that has done nothing to deserve a single piece of violence being thrown [on] its way. But because Iran played a substantial part in defeating proxy terrorist groups aligned with the Zionist regime and the Washington regime, they must pay, in the mind of the lunatics who run those regimes,” he added.
Source:Press TV
TEHRAN, January 7- IRGC’s Commander-in-Chief said the missiles fired to Saudi Arabia were Yemen-made ones reconstructed and their range increased.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Jafari in an interview with YJC said “the Americans and their puppet rulers in the region have already told many lies about Islamic Republic of Iran and accused Iran of numerous charges”.
The commander expressed his surprise of US and Saudi officials’ meddling claims about Iran’s sending weapons to Yemen and said how one could sent missiles to a fully blockaded country to which sending food and drug is impossible.
“It is absolutely impossible for Islamic Republic of Iran to send missile to Yemen and the US officials does know that the missiles fired are Yemen-made reconstructed ones the range of which increased” the stressed.
Speaking at a press conference at a military base in Washington, Haley had presented what she claimed to be "undeniable" evidence, including the allegedly recovered pieces of the missile, saying it proved that Iran was violating international law by giving missiles to the Houthis.
"It was made in Iran then sent to Houthi militants in Yemen," she added.
However, a panel appointed by the United Nations Security Council said that it had seen no evidence to support Saudi Arabia’s claims that missiles had been transferred to Yemen’s Houthi fighters by external sources.
TEHRAN, January 7- The main plotters of recent scattered riots in some Iranian towns and cities have been identified and arrested, a police spokesman says.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The main plotters of recent scattered riots in some Iranian towns and cities have been identified and arrested, a police spokesman says.
General Saeed Montazer-al-Mahdi said on Sunday that a few "deceived elements" and "rioters" who breached the country's security and damaged private and public property had been taken care of and the agitation was over.
"The people and protesters who had rightful demands were separated in the minimum time possible from the organizers and those directing [the riots] and the violators were identified and arrested," he said.
Among the detainees, he said, are those who disrespected Iran's national flag and steered a fire engine into the crowd of people in the western city of Doroud, killing a father and his son.
A total of 20 people, including a police officer, lost their lives in the violence, he said.
Those detained were handed over to judicial authorities who have released most of them, only holding the main culprits and saboteurs.
The deaths came last week after some Iranian towns and cities were hit by scattered riots, which followed a series of peaceful demonstrations over economic issues.
Law enforcement forces intervened after some vandals and armed elements launched attacks on public property, mosques and police stations.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the enemies were using various means to harm the Iranian nation and the Islamic establishment.
The US and Israel cheered the riots from the very beginning, sparking anger among many Iranians who have taken to the streets over the past few days to reiterate support for the Islamic establishment and repudiate the unrest.
A US bid to take the issue to the UN backfired on Friday as council members dismissed it "a domestic issue that did not fall under the mandate of the Security Council."
The Security Council "rebuffed the US' naked attempt to hijack its mandate," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter Saturday.
Source:Press TV
TEHRAN, January 7- Thirty-two people, mostly Iranians, were missing Sunday after an oil tanker collided with a cargo ship off the coast of east China, the transport ministry said.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The tanker, carrying 136,000 tonnes of oil condensate, caught fire following the collision Saturday night and its crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis were missing, the ministry said in a statement.
The other vessel had been damaged but "without jeopardising the safety of the ship" and all its 21 Chinese crew had been rescued, it added.
The tanker was still ablaze Sunday, with images broadcast by state television channel CCTV showing the ship in the grip of an intense fire, enveloped in clouds of black smoke.
The Panamanian-flagged 274-metre (899-foot) tanker "Sanchi" was operated by Iran's Glory Shipping and was heading to South Korea with its cargo, the ministry said.
The accident occurred in waters about 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai.
The second vessel involved was a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship carrying 64,000 tonnes of grain.
Chinese maritime authorities have dispatched eight ships for the search and rescue operation and South Korea has sent a plane and coastguard ship to help, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Source: AFP
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