- Shanbe magazine talks to Tabassom Latifi who has employed housewives and launched Maman Paz, a startup that delivers home foods to people (in Tehran, Iran) who are not at home most of the time or don't want to cook. 01/5/17
- Migrant Siberian geese have arrived in Fereydounkenar, Iran's Mazandaran province to seek refuge during winter. The geese are protected and are fed by the forest rangers and local people. -Amir Ali Razzaghi 01/5/17
- About a year ago, a group of diaspora Muslim intellectuals were sitting around a blazing fire by a muddy river in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, debating strategies of modernizing traditional Islam. The worldwide Islamic reform movement, undaunted by the lurid cruelty of Islamic extremism, forges ahead. Its anxious debates may sound Byzantine to Western ears, but since they may very well presage the arrival of Islam's own brand of reformation, they deserve a hearing. -Mahmoud Sadri 01/5/17
- Persepolis coach Branko Ivankovic and Iran national team coach Carlos Queiroz have renewed hostilities once again. Branko criticized Queiroz for holding a useless five-day camp in the UAE because he will have not his six players in mid-season training and former Real Madrid coach has expelled the Persepolis players from the camp just one day in Dubai in response to the Croat's allegations. 01/5/17
- Iranian-Austrian dual citizen Kamran Ghaderi is entering the second year of his 10-year prison sentence in solitary confinement in Tehran after being coerced into confessing to espionage in 2016, an informed source told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 01/5/17
- The world's largest independent oil trader Vitol has signed a deal to provide Iran with a major loan worth $1 billion - a landmark move that can help expedite the country's crucial plans to boost its production of crude oil. 01/5/17
- Japan's largest oil and gas exploration and production company is reportedly trying to win a contract over the development of a major oil project in Iran that it abandoned in 2010. Kyodo news agency quoted an Iranian official as saying that Inpex had started intense talks with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to develop the Azadegan oil field in Iran's southwestern oil-rich province of Khouzestan. 01/5/17
- Nahid Hosseini, 49, is a carpet weaving instructor who exports hand-woven carpets made by her trainees to European countries. Hosseini learned carpet weaving in her childhood from her father, Seifoddin Hosseini, who himself was an exemplary carpet producer and a top carpet weaving instructor. -Mojtaba Heidari 01/4/17
- Arash Sadeghi, a political prisoner who was on hunger strike for 72 days, has ended his strike after his demands were met and his wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee was granted a temporary leave of absence from prison. 01/4/17
- After the #SaveArash successful twitter campaign in support of Arash Sadeghi, Iranians are now showing solidarity with Ali Shariati, a reformist political prisoner who is serving a five-year sentence for taking part in a protest apposing serial acid attacks against women in Isfahan, Iran. 01/4/17
Maternal mortality rate in Iran far below UN SDG target - The maternal mortality rate in Iran is far below the target set by the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Safieh Shahriari-Afshar, a founding member of the Family Health Association of Iran (FHA Iran), told a press conference on December 27. 01/4/17
Imprisoned Iranian Civil Rights Activist Released After 65-Day Hunger Strike, With a Catch - Azeri rights advocate Morteza Moradpour has been hospitalized in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, while he recovers from the 65-day hunger strike that led to his conditional release from prison. However, his legal battle is far from over because his release order requires him to report back to prison every night. 01/4/17
Concave roofs collect rainwater for arid areas in proposal by BMDesign Studios - Bowl-shaped vessels would collect rainwater on the roofs of buildings located in hot and dry climates in a proposal by Iranian practice BMDesign Studios. Tehran-based BMDesign Studios - one of many offices contributing to Iran's booming architecture scene - drew up the concept when planning a primary school in Iran's Kerman province -Jessica Mairs, Dezeen 01/4/17
Iranian Americans and the Color of Success - Speech matters. It is no surprise that after one of the most vicious presidential campaigns in history, where bigoted speech against Middle Easterners and Muslims was increasingly normalized, hate crimes against Americans perceived to be Muslims surged 67 percent. Iranian Americans are not specifically mentioned or identified in these statistics, but ... -Mahsa Payesteh, NIAC 01/4/17
The Woman Building Iran's Civic Tech Sector - Firuzeh Mahmoudi founded the first civic tech startup focused on Iran. She and her team are building apps like a Yelp for rating public officials and women's health trackers-in heritage languages that are currently banned from official use. She is using entrepreneurship and technology to help create a more free society. -Leah Hunter, Forbes 01/4/17
37 Top U.S. Scientists Urge Trump To Preserve Iran Nuclear Deal - Dozens of top U.S. scientists have called on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to uphold the nuclear deal reached with Iran, calling it "a strong bulwark against an Iranian nuclear-weapons program." The letter was organized by physicist Richard L. Garwin, known for helping design the world's first hydrogen bomb. The 37 signatories of the letter include a Nobel laureate, former White House science advisers, and prominent academics. 01/3/17
Iranian MPs vote to end "Mehr" housing project - Iran's media on Tuesday cheered as the Parliament voted to end a hefty housing project that President Hassan Rouhani had previously blamed for shooting up inflation to above 40 percent over the past years. The Parliamentarians in their debates over Iran's Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2020-2025) voted to have Maskan Bank allocate the required funds for completing the remaining phases of 'Mehr' (kindness in Persian) housing project which was a main brainchild of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013). 01/3/17
How much we know about cetaceans of Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman? - Unlike whales which are currently extremely rare cetaceans were abundant in the Persian Gulf. Some anecdotal reports of stranded whales have been received, usually without an identification of the species. It seems cetacean populations have declined significantly in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. This is probably because of three factors: a reduction of fish stocks due to commercial exploitation, water contamination primarily due to discharge of petroleum products into the Persian Gulf, and a global decline in numbers. -Farnaz Heidari 01/3/17
Iran Approves European, Asian Companies For Oil, Gas Projects - Iran has issued a list of 29 companies from Europe and Asia that have the government's approval to bid for oil- and gas-development projects in the energy-rich country. The Iranian Oil Ministry said on January 3 that the National Iranian Oil Company will soon hold tenders for energy exploration and production, something made possible due to Tehran's signing of a nuclear deal with six world powers in 2015. 01/3/17
World Bank reports major drop in Iran's debts - A report by the World Bank titled "International Debt Statistics 2017" showed that Iran's debts for 2015 stood at $6.32 billion. The figure was slightly higher than 2014 but was nonetheless around 64 percent lower than the debts in 2011 ($17.34 billion). 01/3/17
British woman jailed in Iran released from solitary confinement - A British-Iranian woman being held in an Iranian prison has been released from solitary confinement, her husband has said. Ratcliffe told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his wife was released from solitary confinement for the first time over the Christmas period and was now being held with about 30 other women. -Guardian 01/3/17
A Witness to Iran's Intensifying Struggle with Climate Change - Ako Salemi took the first photographs of his career when he was a teen-ager, growing up in northern Iran. His earliest subject, a river near his family's home, is now mostly dirt. In Salemi's native country, as in much of the water-scarce Middle East, climate change has led to desiccation. -Carolyn Kormann, New Yorker 01/3/17
Protest Outside Tehran Prison In Support Of Hunger Striking Activist Arash Sadeghi - Dozens of Iranians have taken part in a rare demonstration outside Tehran's Evin prison to express their support for a jailed activist on hunger strike, Arash Sadeghi. Sadeghi, a philosophy student who is serving a 15-year prison sentence on security charges, has reportedly been refusing to eat for more than two months to protest the October 24 arrest of his wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi. 01/2/17
Photos: Sculptor Qodratollah Aqeli's new exhibit criticizes social behavior - "The Peculiarity of Creatures", an exhibition of sculptures by Qodratollah Aqeli, has criticized the daily social behavior of people. The exhibit, which opened in Tehran's Sareban Gallery on Friday, showcases a collection of about twenty busts and sculptures. 01/2/17
Turkmen Cutoff Of Iran Leaves Dwindling Gas Options For Ashgabat - It looks like Turkmenistan might be left with just one customer for its natural gas. The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) said in a statement on January 1 that Turkmen state company Turkmengaz "suddenly and...in an illogical manner, contrary to the agreement, halted gas deliveries to Iran this morning..." -Bruce Pannier, RFE 01/2/17
PHOTOS: New Year Celebration at Saint Sarkis Cathedral in Tehran, Iran - Iran's Armenian Christian community held a ceremony at Saint Sarkis Cathedral in Tehran on Saturday evening to celebrate the New Year 2017. During the ceremony, special prayers were said and candles were lit. This was also a chance for some to pose with Santa! -photos by Majid Haghdoust 01/2/17
Rohani Reassures Iranians Amid Currency's Drop - President Hassan Rohani says that the exchange rates of the rial against foreign currencies "will not remain at current levels." President Hassan Rohani has told Iranians the government will work to protect the country's market stability amid a downfall in the Iranian currency to record lows. 01/2/17
Hefty Fine, Insurance Policy Reduces Persian Leopard Casualties In Iran - Increasing the fine for killing leopards by 16 times to 800 million rials (nearly $20,000) and insuring the animals against any possible threat has resulted in fewer casualties in Iran. From 2005 to 2014 some 156 leopards were killed in Iran, 20 leopards a year on average, which decreased to 14 over the last Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2015 to March 19, 2016), according to the Department of Environment. 01/2/17
China Finances 5 Iranian Petrochemical Projects - Marzieh Shah-Daei, Director of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) of Iran, announced that five ongoing petrochemical projects, which are being implemented in Mahshahr, Asaluyeh and other regions, have received Chinese financing. 01/2/17
New project will study development of Iran's economy - Stanford's Iranian Studies Program launched the Stanford Iran 2040 Project about eight months ago to conduct interdisciplinary research on economic and technical matters related to the country's long-term, sustainable development and evaluate their possible implications in a global context. The project is called Iran 2040 because of its forward-looking nature and focus on long-term analysis. 01/2/17
PHOTOS: Mehrastan Castle in Sistan and Baluchistan, Iran - Mehrastan Historic Castle located in Sistan and Baluchistan province dates back to more than 400 years ago. The castle is on the verge of destruction and needs special attention of officials to allocate budget for repair. 01/1/17
Iran's car output rises over 39% - The number of automobiles manufactured in Iran during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (ending December 20) registered a 39.1 percent increase compared to the same period last year, Tasnim news agency reported. 01/1/17
Asalouyeh featuring Iran's petrochemical progress - Iranian port of Asalouyeh demonstrated some of its new changes to a group of reporters and journalists who visited the area during a two-day media tour organized by the National Petrochemical Company (NPC). 01/1/17
ATR to deliver 5 aircraft to Iran within months - Deputy roads minister said an airplane purchase contract will be inked with ATR aircraft manufacturer in a few days and Iran will receive five passenger planes in three months. The official underlined that the deal with ATR would be worth 400 million dollars and covers purchasing of twenty ATR 72 aircraft which has 70-passenger configuration. 01/1/17
PHOTOS: New Year 2017 shopping in Tehran - These photos by Majid Haghdoust show the Iranian Christians shopping for the New Year 2017 in the capital city Tehran. While Iran is officially designated the "Islamic Republic," among its more than 70 million people is a small but important Christian minority. Most of Iran's Christians are Armenians and Assyrians, who remain relatively free to follow their faith. 12/31/16
Iranian Lawmaker Warns About Hunger Striker's Condition - An Iranian lawmaker has warned the government that a prominent jailed dissident is in serious condition on a hunger strike and should be released. Reformist parliamentarian Elias Hazrati wrote to Judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani that Arash Sadeghi is in critical condition after going 70 days without food and that his death could result in "serious" political consequences for Ira 12/31/16
Hardline Tehran Prosecutor Advocates Harsher Penalty for Mixed-Gender Parties - Tehran's hardline prosecutor general has announced that people caught at mixed-gender parties, especially celebrity artists and athletes, along with those caught consuming alcohol, or participating in other "indecent" activities should face stiffer penalties. 12/31/16
More Americans Visiting Iran - ran has seen an 11.5% increase in American visitors year-on-year, as of September 2016, according to the US National Travel and Tourism Office's latest data. Figures for 2016 are not available currently, but 2015 saw more than 5.2 million foreign tourists entering the country, according to data from Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization. 12/31/16
Iran and the US: A Roadmap to Peace: The path to a possible U.S.-Iran detente - U.S.-Iran relations have been affected by a series of tragic historical incidents and a long-running geopolitical competition over power and influence in the Middle East. Iran views the U.S. presence in the region not only as a security threat, but as a deterring force against its ambitions. The United States also views Iran's actions as destabilizing and seeks to contain its rise by employing a variety of diplomatic and economic tools -Sina Azodi, The Diplomat 12/31/16
The Case for Sending Secretary Kerry to Tehran - Although it is unclear what will happen to the Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA) once President-elect Donald Trump assumes office, President Barack Obama still has a few weeks left to try to reinforce his signature foreign policy achievement by sending Secretary of State John Kerry to the capital of one of the signatory members-Tehran. -Navid Hassibi 12/30/16
Train from Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan to Mashhad, Iran launched - Iran has launched a direct passenger train service between its northeastern city of Mashhad and Azerbaijan's isolated enclave of Nakhchivan - a move which is expected to provide the landlocked region with a wide access to Iran's national rail network. 12/30/16
Iran, US likely to start re-negotiations on nuclear deal: Olli Hainonen - A former IAEA fellow and its deputy director-general has told Mehr News that it should not be surprising if Iran and the US were to start some pre/re-negotiations on JCPOA once Trump takes over as president. In an interview conducted by Mehr News International Service, Olli Hainonen talked about the possible scenarios for Iran's nuclear deal once Donald Trump takes over as President of the United States. 12/30/16
PHOTOS: Father of Turquoise Mine - Seyyed Hassan Afkhami is a lovely old man who has been working in Neishabour Turquoise Mine since he was 12 years old. Majority of local people here have been engaged in extracting the precious stone from the world's largest turquoise mine located near Neishabour in Khorasan Razavi province (map) that has a long history dating back to 3,000 b.c. 12/30/16
Iranian Reformists slam exiled dissidents over letter to Trump - According to Kalame, the official news site of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi (who has been under house arrest since 2011), more than 300 social and civil activists have released a statement describing the letter of the 30 dissidents as "anti-national and shameful." -Rohollah Faghihi, Al Monitor 12/30/16
Has Obama "Betrayed" Israel at the UN? - Has America's president betrayed Israel, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government bitterly accused after President Obama failed to veto a UN Security Council resolution that condemned Israel for its settlements in the West Bank? -Henry Siegman, LobeLog 12/30/16
South Korea's Daewoo wins deal to build shipyard for Iran - South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Company (DSME) - the world's second biggest shipbuilding companies - has announced a major deal to develop an construction yard in Iran. The joint venture company will engineer and build the types of ships needed by Iran, the DSME said. 12/30/16
Why Iran's 'green gold' is set to rebound - While Iran may be known for its massive oil and natural gas reserves to many people around the world, it is also known to some for its top-quality pistachios. Production of the nut in Iran dates to the fifth century B.C. -Maysam Bizaer, Al Monitor 12/30/16
Iran's President Rouhani links 'grave-sleeping' to corruption - President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday linked social ills in the Iranian society to corruption, reacting to a letter on Tuesday by Oscar-winner director Asghar Farhadi who had said he felt "filled with shame" once he learnt about the homeless spending their nights in dug graves in a city near Tehran. 12/29/16
Revolutionary Court Sentences More Than 70 Iranians to Prison for Celebrating "Cyrus Day" - More than 70 people who were arrested in October 2016 at a peaceful gathering celebrating Cyrus the Great were tried in mid-December without legal council and sentenced to long prison terms by the Revolutionary Court in the city of Shiraz. "The exact number of those arrested is not known because the court has not publicized their cases and their relatives have been ordered not to speak about them," an informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 12/29/16
Sweden's Prime Minister to lead trade delegation to Iran - Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, leading a trade delegation, is due to visit Tehran in February 2017, Sweden's ambassador in Iran, Helena Sangeland, said on Tuesday. In a meeting in Tehran with the chairman of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), Gholam-Hossein Shafeie, the Swedish envoy expressed her country's willingness to expand mutual cooperation with Iran, saying, "Sweden puts great importance on ties between the two countries." 12/29/16
Oman, Iran's Closest Gulf Ally, Signals Change By Joining Saudi Alliance - Oman, Iran's closest ally in the Persian Gulf region, has signaled that it may be changing course by joining a Saudi-led coalition of Muslim countries fighting terrorism. Arab news outlets said on December 28 that Oman's defense minister sent a letter to Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announcing the decision to join the Islamic Military Alliance Against Terrorism. 12/29/16
Putin Says Syria Cease-Fire Deal Signed, Russia And Turkey 'Guarantors' - Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Syrian government and its opponents have signed an agreement on a nationwide cease-fire and a declaration expressing the willingness to begin peace talks. Putin said on December 29 that a document outlining measures to implement the cease-fire was also signed. 12/29/16
South Korea's Daelim wins major Iran refinery deal - South Korea's construction giant Daelim Industrial Company says it has won a major deal from Iran to expand a central oil refinery. Daelim announced in a statement as quoted by the media in Seoul that the project involves improving and optimizing facilities at Isfahan Oil Refinery. It added that the value of the deal is $1.9 billion. 12/29/16
How Donald Trump Should Transform America's Middle East Policy - THE OBAMA administration's intended "pivot" to Asia was a valid statement not only about the importance of developments in that region but about the disproportionate attention and resources the United States has expended elsewhere, and especially in the Middle East. An immense share of the blood and treasure the United States has lost overseas in the past couple of decades has been in the Middle East...-Paul R. Pillar, National Interest 12/29/16
Holiday Greetings, New Year Wishes - With fearful-tearful eyes and intimate sympathy with all those suffering from our inhuman violence, cruelty & killings throughout the world. Particularly in this chronological felicitous time of Christ's Birthday. Followed a few days after the Birth of the ancient Iranian God-Goddess of Love Mehr-Mithra -Roya Monajem 12/28/16
Donya Fannizadeh, "mother" of Iran's most popular puppet Kola-Qermezi, dies at 49 - Puppeteer Donya Fannizadeh who was mostly known for manipulating Kola-Qermezi, Iran's most popular puppet character that features a playful boy, died on Wednesday at 49 after about ten years battling sarcoma. Donya was the daughter of actor Parviz Fannizadeh. 12/28/16
Expatriate designer Sadegh Roushani remaking Iran's image - Australia-based Iranian designer Sadegh Roushani plans to use fashion to remake Iran's image in the world. In 2014, he launched his fashion label Roushani Design in the Gold Coast to produce apparel with decorative Iranian motifs and images of the historical sites in his homeland. 12/28/16
Iran's 'Grave Sleepers' Prompt Calls For Action - The images are morbid -- homeless men, women, and children so desperate for shelter that they would resort to living in open graves. Yet that is what some 50 Iranians have reportedly been doing for years, holing themselves up in concrete dugouts at a graveyard outside Tehran. -Frud Bezhan 12/28/16
Dreaming Of Blue Skies: Tehran's Battle For Clean Air - Tehran's wet streets provide temporary relief to millions who have been tolerating unbearable levels of pollution. In today's Tehran, precipitation is associated with romanticism and blessings, washing away polluted skies briefly before reality sets in again. Pollution has plagued Iran's capital for years, manifesting in various health problems amongst locals, closing of schools, and transforming daily activities into questions of life and death. -Shirin Hakim and Kaveh Madani 12/28/16
Iran 'main bidder' for stake in Russia's Makhachkala port - Iran has emerged as the main bidder for a stake in the Caspian port of Makhachkala, aiming to expand shipping and trade links with Russia and other countries, a report says. The port in the Russian republic of Dagestan has been put out for bidding by international investors, with China, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Vietnam vying for a share. 12/28/16
Asia imports of Iranian oil more than doubled - India and South Korea have raised oil imports from Iran more than four times in a month which saw four major Asian buyers more than double their purchases from a year ago. China, India, South Korea and Japan imported 1.94 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, up 117 percent on a year earlier, government and ship-tracking data cited by Reuters showed. 12/28/16
Siamand Rahman: World's strongest Paralympian raises bar higher - In the build up to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Iranian powerlifter Siamand Rahman had tantalised the world with one of the most exciting stories of 'will he or will he not' ever seen in the Paralympic Movement. On breaking the men's over 107kg world record no less than nine times in two years before Rio 2016, the question on everyone's lips was clear: can he reach the mystical 300kg mark? -IPC 12/27/16
PHOTOS: Homeless Iranians seek shelter in empty graves - A series of dramatic photographs showing homeless people sheltering from the winter cold in a graveyard near Tehran is stirring emotions in Iran. According to one local newspaper, over 50 people are living among empty graves in a cemetery located in Shahriar suburb, near the capital. 12/27/16
Iranian Currency's Sharp Fall Sparks Concerns, Criticism - Iran's currency fell to an unofficial record low against the U.S. dollar on December 26, extending a dramatic drop in the rial's value in recent months that has prompted concerns about the country's economy. The street value of the rial reportedly hit 41,500 to the dollar on December 26, compared to 35,570 in September and beating the previous low of around 40,000 recorded in 2012. 12/27/16
Yasmin Khan's "The Saffron Tales: Recipes From the Persian Kitchen" - Armed with little more than a notebook and a bottle of pomegranate molasses, British-Iranian cook Yasmin Khan traversed Iran in search of the country's most delicious recipes. Her quest took her from the snowy mountains of Tabriz and the paddyfields of Gilan to the cosmopolitan cafes of Tehran and the pomegranate orchards of Isfahan, where she was welcomed into the homes of artists, farmers, electricians and teachers. Through her travels, she gained a unique insight into the culinary secrets of the Persian kitchen and the lives of ordinary Iranians today. 12/27/16
PHOTOS: Tehran 6th Artwork Auction Fetches 3 Million Dollars - The 6th Tehran Auction of artwork, held on December 24th, hosted 120 works of 112 illustrators and painters. The highest sold works belonged to Reza Derakhshani, Hossein Zendehroudi, Kourosh Shishegaran, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Farideh Lashai, Bahman Mohasses, Manouchehr Yektaei, and Farhad Moshiri, along with other works of diverse names. 12/27/16
Iran Opposition Leader Quits Party After Long House Arrest - Mehdi Karrubi, a top Iranian opposition leader who has been under house arrest for nearly six years, has resigned as secretary-general of his party. Karrubi wrote in a letter to the National Trust party that his resignation is an effort to preserve unity ahead of the May presidential election. 12/27/16
High dollar rates spark criticisms in Iran - The runaway dollar has sparked serious concerns in Iran over what many believe could eventually prove costly for a country which has been planning for months to reap the benefits of the removal of the sanctions. 12/27/16
Iran's exports rise outpacing imports - The latest official figures show that Iran's exports of non-oil commodities over a period of nine months starting 21 March 2016 increased by around 10 percent - another indication which shows that the country's trade is improving after the removal of multiple years of sanctions. 12/27/16
PHOTOS: Foreign Tourists Visiting Historical Houses In Kashan, Iran - Since the signing of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers in July 2015, there has been a big jump in travel by foreign tourists to Iran. One of the favorite destinations for the tourists is Kashan in central Iran where they can visit numerous historical houses from the 18th and 19th centuries that illustrate the finest examples of architecture from the Qajar era. 12/26/16
More than 50 days on hunger strike: Iranian political prisoners are slowly dying - As the number of political prisoners on hunger strikes are increasing in Iranian prisons, three prisoners who have been on hunger strike for the past seven weeks are slowly dying: Arash Sadeghi, Morteza Moradpour and Ali Shariati. Aside from the three, Saeed Shirzad, children rights activist serving a 5 year sentence, has sewed his lips in order to refuse food. 12/26/16
Women Wrestling: UWW agrees to Iran's cover-singlet proposal - The United World Wrestling (UWW) has accepted a proposal by Iran to allow female athletes from Muslim nations to adhere to Islamic dress code while taking part in international tournaments. Most of the technical principles of cover-singlet wrestling are similar to those of women's wrestling. A singlet covers the athlete's body from head to toe, and an accompanying helmet protects her head and ears. 12/26/16
Iran Says It Will Pay Half Price For Boeing Planes - Iran has said it will only pay half of the price announced for 80 new planes from U.S. firm Boeing. Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan as saying the country will only pay half of the $16.6 billion deal because of reduced purchasing options. 12/26/16
PHOTOS: Two Persian leopards spotted at Parvar Protected Area - A leopardess and her cub were spotted on December 21st at Parvar Protected Wildlife Area in Semnan province of Iran. Persian leopard is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List; the population is estimated at fewer than 871-1,290 mature individuals and considered declining. 12/25/16
Happy Holiday Season... - As we once again approach the much hyped, hustle and bustle of the holiday season, one cannot help but pause and contemplate the diversity of faiths worldwide, still revered by individuals versus the more exploitative and intrusive politicized religiosities that have, sadly, led to accumulation of power and wealth through subjugating the masses to violence, enslavement, injustice, and greed. -Davood N. Rahni 12/24/16
Iran Tourism: Myth vs. Fact - The stigma that Iran is a dangerous place where Western tourists - and particularly Americans - are neither welcomed, nor permitted to visit the country, could not be farther from the truth. Where does this stigma come from? For one thing, when Americans picture Iran, they tend to envision scenes from the 1979 hostage crisis or the stereotypical cries of "Death to America" that they have seen in the U.S. media. However, these perceptions do not reflect the reality on the ground. -Gabriella Butler, AIC 12/23/16
US allows more Iran exports, training Iranians - The US Treasury Department has loosened exports of authorized medical devices as well as agricultural goods to Iran as well as the training of Iranian health professionals by Americans. The US Treasury Department says it has amended transactions restrictions on Iran to allow the exports of authorized medical devices and agricultural commodities to the country. 12/23/16
Iran Air Finalizes Purchase Of 100 Airbus Planes Worth $18 Billion - Airbus and Iran Air have finalized a deal for 100 planes worth $18 billion in a boost for an Iranian economy hobbled by years of sanctions. Airbus said on December 22 that deliveries will begin early next year. The contract includes single-aisle A320 and A330 jets and wide-body A350 XWB planes. 12/23/16
Photos: Zoroastrians "Towers of Silence" in Yazd - Amongst enigmatic tourist destinations in Iran are two Zoroastrian 'Towers of Silence' that are nested on top of two lonely, barren hilltops in southern outskirts of the city of Yazd, which has long been a center of Zoroastrianism in the country. In accordance with ancient Zoroastrian beliefs that accentuates on purity of the earth, dead bodies were not directly buried but left in these uncovered stone towers so that birds of prey could pick the bones clean. 12/22/16
Prehistoric Iranian toys or votive carts? - These animal figurines mounted on little carriages are part of a valuable deposit that is on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The relics were unearthed in Susa, southwestern Iran, in the early 20th. They are part of a valuable deposit found at Susa, near the temple of Inshushinak. 12/21/16
President Rohani Officially Launches Iranian Citizens' Rights Charter - Iranian President Hassan Rohani has launched a Citizens' Rights Charter that represents one of his administration's most conspicuous efforts so far to fulfill campaign pledges he made in winning the presidency three years ago. Although it is not a legally binding document, the text contains 120 articles pertaining to freedoms that critics say are routinely violated in the Islamic republic, including rights to "life," which is aimed at capital punishment, "free expression," and against an "inquisition of ideas." -Golnaz Esfandiari 12/20/16
TEDxTehran 2016: "Good Morning Tehran" - Our lives in Tehran and worldwide is in constant motion. Time is always in transition. This was a reflection of TEDxTehran theme the past three years. We began with our city, Tehran En Route, heading towards an inflection point, The Verge of a Breakthrough that gave way to A New Paradigm. So what comes right after this journey to a New Paradigm? 12/16/16
PHOTOS: Shahzadeh Garden, A Jewel In The Desert - The historical Shazdeh (Prince) Garden is located in the Kerman desert near Mahan. The Garden is a fine example of Persian gardens that take advantage of suitable natural climate. This magnificent garden known as "a corner in heaven" has been registered on UNESCO's World Heritage List as one of the masterpieces of traditional gardens. 12/13/16
Iran Sanctions Cost U.S. Economy up to $272 Billion: Report - U.S. sanctions on Iran have carried a significant cost to the U.S. economy, a new report published by the National Iranian American Council today finds. Losing More Billions - The Cost of Iran Sanctions to the U.S. Economy reveals that between 1995 and 2014, the U.S. sacrificed at least $203 billion and as much as $272 billion in potential export revenue to Iran. 12/13/16
PHOTOS: The Historic Resket Tower in Sari, Iran - The Resket Tower is located in the city of Sari (Dodangeh District) in Iran's Mazandaran province. The tower dates back to the 11th century. With its conical dome, this cylindrical brick tower is believed to have been built near the impact site of a meteorite and is the tomb of Bavandid (651-1349) royal. The tower is 18 meters high and nearly 15 meters wide at its base. The tower has Kufic and Sassanid inscriptions as well as unique moqarnas decorations below its dome. 12/12/16
Women's Leadership in Iran: a Panel Discussion - Mansoureh Shojaee a leading Iranian feminist author and activist, Masih Alinejad, journalist and writer and trouble maker for the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saghar Qyasi feminist researcher joined Naemeh Doustar, Zamaneh Media's women's section editor to talk about challenges to women's leadership in Iran. 12/12/16
PHOTOS: The Saint Stepanos Monastery In The Mountains Of Northwest Iran - The St. Stepanos Monastery or Monastery of St. Stephen the Protomartyr is an Armenian monastery about 15 km northwest of Jolfa city, East Azarbaijan Province in northwest Iran. It is situated in a deep canyon along the Arax river on the Iranian side of the border between Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and Iran. It was built in the 9th century and rebuilt in the Safavid era (1501-1736) after several earthquakes damaged it. 12/11/16
PHOTOS: "Maktab Shiraz" Art Exhibition by Shamseddin Ghazi - Artistic Principles: a) Belief in the use of the symbols and native elements and the national and religious ones and combining them with contemporary golbal artistic principles. b) Studying the form and content of traditional Iranian art, and comparing them with the contemporary art. c) Reconstructing and rebuilding the Iranian myth and the national symbols throughout all eras in Iran (before and after Islam) and updating them in the Contemporary Art. 12/10/16
Opening up, Iran has opportunity to commercialize its science and technology skills - The Islamic Republic of Iran has developed the science and technology skills necessary to be a global player in more than oil and gas, but must invest more in innovation to compete effectively in the global economy, according to an UNCTAD report. 12/7/16
Iran Nuclear Deal Opponents to Trump: Don't 'Rip it Up' - Republicans and other long-time opponents of an international nuclear agreement with Iran have walked back calls to scrap the deal and are now urging the incoming Trump administration to stiffen it rather than unravel what President-elect Donald Trump once termed as "the worst deal ever negotiated." 11/19/16
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