TEHRAN – The first phase of the national immunization campaign for polio eradication, using domestically produced vaccines, will cover a total of 1.1 million Iranian and foreign children under the age of five.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. The virus is transmitted primarily through person-to-person contact, mainly via the fecal-oral route, or, less frequently, via a common vehicle (such as contaminated water or food), and multiplies in the intestine. From there, it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

It can be prevented through immunization. The development of effective vaccines to prevent paralytic polio was one of the major medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. The Polio vaccine, given multiple times, almost always protects a child for life.

The health ministry will implement an annual immunization campaign in different provinces based on the climate conditions. In the southern parts of the country, the campaign is usually conducted during the second month of winter, and the second phase is to be implemented with a month interval, the health ministry website quoted Mohsen Zahraei, an official with the health ministry, as saying.

All children under five years of age in selected regions will receive two drops of polio vaccine during the supplementary campaign. The door-to-door vaccination will be conducted in three days in a row, he noted.

The campaign primarily focuses on southern provinces such as Sistan-Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Kerman, Bam, and Jiroft, both cities and villages. It will also be conducted in high-risk areas in Bushehr, Khozestan, and Fars provinces, Zahraei added.

The official went on to say that the campaign will kick off in the northern parts of the country in spring, covering 350,000 Iranian and foreign national children.

The vaccine is manufactured by Razi Vaccine and Serum Production Research Institute. Over the past 50 years, the Razi Institute has significantly enhanced its research and production capabilities, establishing itself as a leader in science and technical collaboration.

Polio vaccination should be given at 2, 4, 6, and 18 months of age, with booster vaccination given at 4 to 6 years of age. The supplementary immunization campaign to eradicate polio in Iran started in 1994. Thanks to the campaign, the country has been polio-free since 2000.

However, in Iran’s two neighboring countries, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan, endemic transmission of wild poliovirus is still prevalent. Due to frequent travel to these countries, as well as intensified migration of Afghans to the country because of political changes in Afghanistan in recent years, Iran is exposed to the resurgence of the disease.

Tehran Times

TEHRAN – With the public participation, more than 33,000 saplings will be planted in Sorkhe Hesar National Park, east of Tehran.

Kicked off on Saturday, the initiative is in line with the national plan to plant up to one billion trees across the country to combat desertification, Mehr news agency reported.

Co-organized by Tehran Municipality and the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization, the effort aims to enhance green spaces per capita in the city, and promote public participation in planting trees, assumed well as playing their roles in preserving the environment.

Covering an area of 9,200 hectares, Sorkhe Hesar National Park is managed and protected by the Department of Environment (DOE).

The national plan to plant one billion trees across the country to combat desertification and restore forests commenced on December 2, 2023.

The plan is going to be carried out over the course of four years. Planting some 250 million seedlings was targeted in the first year of the plan, IRIB reported.

Preventing the destruction of pastures by cultivating drought-resistant plants is one of the priorities of the Forests, Rangelands, and Watershed Management Organization (FRWMO).

“The implementation of this plan is divided into three parts. Government organizations, industries, and public institutions will be each responsible for one part of the plan,” Abbas-Ali Nobakht, the former head of the FRWMO, said.

The Organization is determined to produce and plant one billion saplings with the participation of people benefiting from capacities that exist in the country, Nobakht said.

“Considering the climatic conditions of the country, low per capita green space, and the fact that Iran is among the countries with low forestation rate, we are obliged to produce and plant one billion saplings in a four-year period.”

The expansion of the country’s green space and paying more attention to natural resources and the environment is not a new issue, he said, adding that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the President, and the Minister of Agriculture have always emphasized the need to promote the issue of tree planting and sapling planting.

‘Tree planting shows foresight for future generations’

In March 2025, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said planting trees is a beneficial act that highlights the nation’s foresight for creating wealth for future generations.

All people should participate in planting trees as a good and righteous act so that with the increase of trees, the living environment will be refreshed and clean, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.

The Leader made the remarks while planting tree saplings to mark the National Tree Planting Day, which is marked each year on March 5.

“Planting trees is not only related to young people. All people of different ages should find enthusiasm and motivation towards this important, necessary, and beautiful work.”

President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, and Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei planted trees to mark the National Tree Planting Day.

Tehran Times

Iran’s top general says the United States and Israel are waging “soft warfare” to destabilize the country in an attempt to make up for their defeat in June’s 12‑day imposed war.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi made the remarks in a meeting with police commanders and officials on Sunday amid sporadic protests in Iranian cities over economic hardships.

He said the Iranian nation will rely on its Iranian-Islamic identity and its nature of peace-seeking and resistance against enemies, and will never allow rioters and the deceived to act against the country.

“The enemies, particularly the United States and Israeli regime, are focused on fueling insecurity in Iran by making use of the tools of soft warfare to make up for their defeat in the 12-day imposed war [in June],” he added.

After the United States and the Israeli regime suffered a clear defeat and grew disillusioned with their fruitless aggression, they turned to soft warfare and economic pressure in a bid to “create insecurity and unrest in the country as a way to compensate for their failure,” the top general emphasized.

Mousavi noted that shopkeepers and merchants voiced their rightful and legitimate demands for stabilizing the exchange rate and improving business conditions.

However, he said, the US and the Israeli regime “hastily and excitedly” deployed their trained agents to exploit the protests and disrupt national security and peace through psychological operations and cognitive warfare tactics.

He praised the wise and insightful Iranian nation for quickly separating itself from the rioters and those who seek to create chaos.

Leader hails bazaaris as most loyal to Islamic Republic, says foes behind currency devaluation

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the national currency devaluation is “unnatural” and involves “the hand of the enemy.”

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday said the national currency devaluation is “unnatural” and involves “the hand of the enemy.”

Referring to the recent unrest across the country, which began at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar last week, Ayatollah Khamenei said the bazaar merchants are “among the most loyal segments of the country to the Islamic Revolution,” stressing that “one cannot clash with the Islamic system in the name of the bazaar and merchants.”

Press TV

TEHRAN – After the U.S. military strikes inside Venezuela early Saturday and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump appears convinced he can replay the same scenario in Iran.

Before the attack on the Latin American country, Trump had already sharpened his rhetoric against Tehran. On Friday, he threatened military action over Iran’s handling of protests sparked by economic hardship. Days earlier, during talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida, he warned of further strikes if Iran rebuilt its nuclear program or expanded its missile arsenal. Netanyahu, who for decades has cried wolf about Iran’s supposed nuclear ambitions, eagerly echoed the threats, even floating the idea of another attack in 2026.

In June, Trump gave Netanyahu a blank check to wage war on Iran. For twelve days, Israeli bombs fell like rain, killing over a thousand people, including women and children. The U.S. joined in, striking three nuclear facilities, certain that fire and steel would break Iran’s backbone. Yet the plan backfired. Western briefings admitted the nuclear program was only delayed “by months,” while Israeli analysts themselves called the campaign “confused.” Iran’s missiles cut through Israel’s defenses like a knife through butter, striking strategic targets and forcing Tel Aviv to cry uncle. The ceasefire, mediated by Washington and Qatar, was not a peace but a retreat — a white flag dressed up as diplomacy.

Instead of turning against their government, the Iranian people closed ranks. Their grief turned into grit, their unity into iron. As the saying goes, “pressure makes diamonds” — and the war only hardened Iran’s resolve. Across the Arab and Muslim world, Israel’s actions were condemned as unlawful, while nations of the Global South denounced the strikes as neo-imperial bullying. The diplomatic fallout was a boomerang: launched to isolate Iran, it came back to strike Washington and Tel Aviv.

History itself warns Trump and Netanyahu that their plans will fall flat. During the eight-year Iran–Iraq war in the 1980s, Iran faced a coalition supported by Western powers and regional actors, endured chemical attacks and economic isolation, yet maintained its sovereignty and cohesion. Survival under chemical bombardments, and the sheer endurance of the Iranian nation, became symbols of resilience. That war proved that when Iran is under threat, unity turns hardship into strength. If Iran could withstand eight years of total war, it will not crumble under another reckless gamble today.

Now, emboldened by the Venezuela strike, Trump may dream of repeating the scenario in Iran. Netanyahu has long pushed for confrontation with Tehran and sees in Trump a partner willing to gamble again. But they should remember a Persian proverb: “Do not play with the lion’s tail.” Iran is that lion. Any invader who dares provoke it will find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. The cost will be unbearable, the humiliation irreversible. For Trump, such a gamble would not be a show of strength but the last nail in his political coffin.

Iran’s unity is a wall of stone. Those who try to break it will only break themselves. Every street, every mountain, every desert will become a fortress of resistance. The battlefield will not be a stage for American or Israeli power, but a storm that consumes the aggressor. Trump and Netanyahu may feel emboldened, but history, geography, and the will of the Iranian people guarantee that their plans will go up in smoke.

Tehran Times