Head of Iran volleyball federation Mohammadreza Davarzani says that the country’s women’s volleyball team will participate in the Asian Games after 48 years.

Iran, for the last time, participated at the 1974 Asian Games, where the Persian women came fifth.

They had also competed in the 1966 in Thailand and won a bronze medal.

Now, Davarzani says that the Iranian volleyball team, headed by Alessandra Campedelli, will take part in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

“Our strategy is to have a special look at women’s volleyball. Fifteen years ago, we started the support of our men’s volleyball team and moved up from 27th to eighth place,” Davarzani said.

“Iran’s men’s team are among the top 10 teams in the world at the moment and it took a lot of energy, but we want to do the same in the Iranian women’s volleyball,” he added.

“To achieve our goals in women’s volleyball, we planned to use the experiences of good coaches in the world. After consulting with Julio Velasco (former Iran coach) and other friends, Campdelli was introduced to us and the Italian coach began working with the federation.

“She has experience working with different categories and ages. In addition, she had worked with the Italian boys’ team, and for this reason, we came to the conclusion that Campdelli can help the Iranian women’s volleyball team achieve their goals,” Davarzani said. /T.T/

Laureates for the 35th Khwarizmi International Award (KIA) have been honored for their remarkable achievements in science and technology during a ceremony attended by President Raeisi.

The ceremony was held in Tehran on Monday in the presence of President Ebrahim Raeisi and Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad Ali Zolfigol, and a number of Iranian and foreign researchers from China, Italy, and France.

The event aimed at recognizing outstanding scientific achievements made by researchers, inventors, and innovators from all over the world.

Laureates for the 35th Kharazmi International Award, including nine Iranian and three foreign researchers from China, Italy, and France were honored by president Raeisi.

Laureates of 35th Khwarizmi International Award honored

The President also praised the eight selected projects of the 23rd Khwarizmi Youth Festival in the field of Civil Engineering, Nanotechnology, Mechanics, Chemical Technology, and the Environment. /MNA/

The Islamic Republic of Iran set up a pavilion to showcase its defensive military achievements at the International Security and Defense Exhibition in Baghdad, Iraq.

The International Security and Defense Exhibition kicked off on Wednesday in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad with the participation of 68 weapon production companies from 13 different countries.

The exhibition, which will wrap up today (Saturday), showcases advanced equipment such as unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), rocket launchers, missiles, cannons, and different ground support equipment.

This is the fifth time the Islamic Republic of Iran is taking part in the event though it has showcased a small portion of its defense and military weapons capabilities.

In the land field, Iran has exhibited a variety of smart ammunition, UAV bombs, light and heavy weapons, as well as shoulder missiles launchers.

In the airfield, the Islamic Republic of Iran has displayed its AD-75 long-range defense systems, capable of hitting targets at a distance of 75 km and an altitude of 27 km and, capable of engaging with 6 targets simultaneously, medium-range AD-40 air defense system capable of hitting targets at a range of 40 km and altitude 18 km, AD-08 short-range air defense system with the ability to hit 4 targets within the range of 8 km and 6 km altitude, and cruise missiles capable of firing from the coast and sea and destroying targets in the range of 90 km and 35 km altitude.

Other military and defensive systems that could be seen in Iran’s pavilion include an X-ray system loaded on fixed and mobile trucks used in the border, customs and sensitive places, types of detectors, comprehensive kits for identification of chemical agents and chemical pollution removal materials.

In addition, in the Iran Pavilion, secure communication systems and networks, radars in the air, sea and land areas that can be of military and non-military use, electronic warfare systems, communication and radar disruptors, anti-UAV systems, night binoculars, day binoculars, thermal, tracking and search cameras, gun cameras, as well as navigation and guidance systems for aircraft and helicopters were on display.

Mohammad Sahib al-Daraji, head of the Iraqi War Industries Board visited the Islamic Republic of Iran’s pavilion and spent about 40 minutes talking with officials from the Iranian pavilion and Hassan Norouzpour, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s military attaché in Baghdad. The Iraqi and Iranian officials discussed bilateral military cooperation. /MNA/

Iran’s Ministry of Science and Qatar’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to expand scientific cooperation, IRNA reported on Sunday.

Respect for equality and common interests of the two countries have been declared as basic principles of the MOU with the observance of intellectual property laws, Hossein Salar-Amoli, head of the international scientific cooperation center of the Ministry of Science, said.

According to the cooperation agreement, the two countries support the creation of rules for the admission of university degrees and the exchange of certificates issued by scientific institutions.

“Supporting the exchange of scientific resources and documents related to the civilization, culture, and art of the two countries to be reflected in the educational books is one of the areas of scientific and cultural cooperation between Iran and Qatar.

Iran’s scientific diplomacy has reached up to 34 percent since 2021, the highest level in the past 20 years. Moreover, advanced educational programs, management of scientific research in the university community, teaching, and supervising student research are the priorities of the two countries for joint academic cooperation.

Exchanging faculty members and researchers, exchanging scientific and research information, holding seminars and scientific conferences, holding joint educational workshops, admitting undergraduate students in universities of both sides, and offering postgraduate study opportunities for faculty members are other important points.

Iran supports the development of Arabic in its education system and Qatar supports the development of Persian language in its education system,” he explained.

Iran’s science diplomacy at highest level in 20 years

Data from the Scopus International Citation Database show that Iran’s scientific diplomacy has reached more than 34 percent since the beginning of 2021, the highest level in the past 20 years.

Science diplomacy is the use of scientific collaborations among nations to address common problems and to build constructive international partnerships. It is a form of new diplomacy and has become an umbrella term to describe a number of formal or informal technical, research-based, academic, or engineering exchanges, within the general field of international relations.

Comparing the rate of 2020 with 2019, Iran with a growth of 12.5 percent and with a slight difference with India has gained second place in the world in terms of the growth of world science diplomacy, Mohammad Javad Dehghani, head of the Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC), said.

In 2011, the share of Iranian articles with international participation was about 16.5 percent, which increased to 19.7 percent in 2016 and gradually in the following years, so that in 2020 and 2021, reached up to 30.5 and 34.2 percent, respectively, he added.

The share of Iranian articles with international participation has had significant growth of 209 percent during an eight-year period (2013-2020), becoming the Islamic world’s leading country in science diplomacy, according to the Scopus International Citation Database. /T.T/

 

Iranian researcher, Farzaneh Momtazi, has received the internationally renowned Humboldt Research Award, ISNA reported on Sunday.

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants up to 100 Humboldt Research Awards to leading researchers of all disciplines from abroad in recognition of their academic record to date.

The award amount is €60,000. Award winners are also invited to conduct a research project of their choice at a research institution in Germany in cooperation with specialist colleagues.

Momtazi is a researcher of the National Institute of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences, who received a one-year scholarship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in the field of “The effect of climate change on the distribution of amphibians in the Persian Gulf”.

So far, young researchers as well as many experienced scientists from Iran have been able to obtain this valuable research grant, but this is the first time that a researcher in the field of zoology and marine sciences has won this award. /T.T/

Iran will play Kazakhstan in their opening match of the 2022 Asian Women’s Junior Handball Championship on Tuesday.

The Championship will be 16th edition of the championship scheduled to be held from Mar. 7 to 14 in Almaty, Kazakhstan under the aegis of Asian Handball Federation.

Kazakhstan, Iran, Uzbekistan, India and Thailand will compete in the edition.

It will be the fifth time in history that the championship will be organized by the Kazakhstan Handball Federation.

It also acts as the qualification tournament for the 2022 Women’s Junior World Handball Championship, with top two teams from the championship directly qualifying for the event to be held in Slovenia.

Previously, the championship was supposed to be held in Uzbekistan, but in December 2021, AHF decided to move the event to Kazakhstan due to unavoidable circumstances. /T.T/

Iranian director Farnush Samadi is on a jury of the Beirut International Women’s Film Festival opened on Sunday in the Lebanese capital.

Art director Claudine Kamar and her Lebanese fellow filmmaker Cynthia Sawma are in company with Samadi in the short documentary and animation jury.

“Up to the Sea, She Weaves a Dream” produced at the Documentary and Experimental Film Center is the sole movie competing in the animation category.

Directed by Maryam Khalilzadeh, the film shows that in any war, there is always a soldier who is lost and there are the women who are waiting for him to return. The dreams these women weave carry them to the farthest seas. Knowing there is no return, they weave and weave to treat the wounds of war.

Samadi is most famous for her short “Gaze”, which was acclaimed at several international events. Her debut feature “180º Rule” won the awards for best feature film and best ensemble cast at the Beirut International Women’s Film Festival this year.

She was also a member of the Meeting Point jury at the SEMINCI – Valladolid International Film Festival 2021 in Spain and the jury of the Same Boat Short Film Competition at the International Migration Film Festival in Turkey in 2020.

Two Iranian films, including the acclaimed drama “Bandar Band”, are also competing in the Beirut International Women Film Festival running until March 11.

Directed by Manijeh Hekmat, the film is about some Iranian women singers who are going to enter an unofficial competition in a coffee shop in Tehran.

Pregnant Mahla along with the other members of Bandar Band, her husband and one of their closest friends, start their journey to Tehran from a southern province just when they have lost all they had in a flood.

They still keep their hopes alive, although every road they take leads to a dead-end in a flood-stricken land. They intend to go to Tehran, but they wonder if it is just another turn around a vicious circle.

The Beirut festival is also screening “Barter” by Iranian filmmakers Ziba Karamali and Emad Arad in the short fiction films competition.

The short drama is about Parsa, a 13-year-old boy who is trying to hide a secret from his father. The film depicts a dramatic situation in a family, and how people change when their interests are at stake. /T.T/

China’s purchases of Iranian oil have risen to record levels in recent months, exceeding a 2017 peak when the trade was not subject to U.S. sanctions, tanker tracking data showed, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Chinese imports exceeded 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) for January, according to estimates of three tanker trackers, surpassing the 623,000 bpd peak recorded by Chinese customs in 2017 before former U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions in 2018 on Iranian oil exports.

One tracker estimated imports amounted to 780,000 bpd in November-December on average.

The ramping up of the purchases by the world’s top oil importer comes amid talks between Tehran and world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal that will lift U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports. The talks have intensified in recent weeks.

A return of Iranian oil will ease tight global supplies and cool crude prices that have touched $100 a barrel following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Iran is expected to have a strong comeback to the global market in case the nuclear deal is revived and the U.S. sanctions on the country are lifted, Bloomberg reported on February 25.

According to the report, considering the capacity of Iran’s offshore oil storages, the Islamic Republic will be able to inject millions of barrels of oil into the market as soon as the sanctions are lifted, without the need for boosting the current level of production.

Asian countries including South Korea are likely to be among the first in line to ship in Iranian cargoes.

Bloomberg puts the estimation of the crude oil stored at Iranian stationary tankers at 65 to 80 million barrels, citing the data intelligence firm Kpler.

About four-fifths of the stored crude is condensate, a super-light oil that’s a by-product of natural gas extraction. The overall Iranian volume is higher if crude that’s already in transit is included, the report said. /T.T/

Iran national football team will host Lebanon in Mashhad in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

The match has been scheduled for Mar. 29 and the Iranian football federation has announced that they will host the Lebanese team in Mashhad’s Imam Reza Stadium.

Iran lead Group A with 22 points. Dragan Skocic’s men have already booked their place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup as the first Asian team.

Iran earned a late 2-1 win over Lebanon in Sidon on Nov. 11. Iran will participate in the FIFA World Cup for the sixth time. /T.T/