Iran is planning to start the production line of a 100-seat passenger plane and use IrAn-140 aircraft as a cargo jet, said the head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization.

“We are expanding the aircraft manufacturing program in the country, according to which IrAn-140 plane will be used as a cargo aircraft. It will be used in military units,” Touraj Dehghani Zanganeh earlier this week.

“In addition, we are working on launching the production line of a 100-passenger passenger plane,” he added.

The IrAn-140 is a locally built variant of the Antonov An-140. It is assembled under license by Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA) in Isfahan.

Iran has in recent years made great strides in developing its civil aviation sector in defiance of the sanctions that have sought to restrict the country’s access to the sophisticated foreign technology. It has already been among the leading states in manufacturing military planes. /MNA/

Iran has traded 134 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $65.5 billion in the first 11 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020-February 18, 2021), according to the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

As reported by IRIB, during the mentioned period, 103 million tons of commodities worth $31.2 billion were exported to foreign destinations, while about 30.8 million tons of non-oil goods valued at $34.3 billion were imported, Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi said.

Iran’s top five non-oil export destinations during this period were China with $8.1 billion worth of exports, Iraq with $6.8 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over $4.1 billion, Turkey with $2.2 billion, and Afghanistan with $2.1 billion.

According to the official, the mentioned five countries accounted for 72 percent and 75 percent of Iran’s total non-oil exports in the said period, in terms of weight and value, respectively.

Meanwhile, the country’s top five sources of imports during these 11 months were China with $8.8 billion, the UAE with $8.4 billion, Turkey with $3.8 billion, India with $2 billion, and Germany with $1.7 billion worth of imports.

The mentioned countries exported a total of 15.2 million tons of commodities to the Islamic republic to account for 50 percent and 72 percent of the country’s total imports during the said period in terms of volume and value, respectively.

The imports of non-oil goods in this time span decreased by six percent and 15 percent in terms of weight and value, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Of the total imported commodities in the mentioned 11 months, some 21.4 million tons worth $11 billion were basic goods.

Like all other countries around the world, Iran’s trade with its foreign partners has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, however, the situation is getting back to normal and the country’s trade is reaching its pre-pandemic levels. /T.T/

The Hafez Studies Center in Shiraz has organized a festival of story writing with the central theme of the great Persian poet Hafez.

“The festival aims to make the younger generation more familiar with the poetry and thoughts of Hafez and the ancient, original culture of the country,” the director of center Kavus Hassanli said in a press release published on Sunday.

“The center has organized varied programs. People derive a portion of their pride from their proud ancestors. Our history is a precious book whose golden pages cause the jealousy of other nations to arise,” he said.

“Today we have to make the best use of our precious cultural assets. Our great poet Hafez is a valuable treasure who has been praised by many contemporary world scholars,” he added.

“Fiction can be one of the ways to connect the young generation of today with the thoughts and poetry of Hafez, and we are planning to invite national writers to attend the festival with the central theme of Hafez,” he said.

Interested applicants are asked to submit their works to the Hafez Studies Center before August.

The stories written in Persian must be in connection with poetry, thoughts, life and time of Hafez.

Hafez, who is buried in his hometown Shiraz, is most famous for his Divan and among the many partial English translations of this work are those by Gertrude Bell and H. Wilberforce Clarke.

The extraordinary popularity of Hafez poetry in all Persian-speaking lands stems from his simple and often colloquial, though musical, language, free from artificial virtuosity, and his unaffected use of homely images and proverbial expressions. /T.T/

Chief of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) pointed to $1,100 billion worth of market of neighboring states and said that Iran is able to hold 20 percent share of neighboring states’ market in products’ export terms.

With the studies made in this regard, Iran’s neighboring states enjoy the capacity of $1,100 billion worth of non-oil products to be imported to these countries, so that Iran can play a very constructive and important role in this lucrative market.

Speaking at the 7th Annual Conference of Resistance Economy on Wed., Hamid Zadboum pointed to the export of products to neighboring countries and reiterated that Iran’s neighboring states have the capacity of importing $1,100 billion worth of products.

At the order of Leader of the Islamic Revolution in the year named after ‘Surge in Production’, Iran should hold 20 percent share of neighboring countries’ market, so that Iran’s neighboring countries can yield up to $200 million worth of foreign currency.

He put Iran’s export of non-oil products to neighboring state in the past years at between $44 and $45 billion, so that the country enjoys high potential to increase the aforementioned rate.

MA/

Another cluster of ancient petroglyphs has recently been discovered in a barren plain in Lorestan province, western Iran.

“The petroglyphs, which bear carved symbols and figures in the two colors of black and ocher, were discovered during an architectural survey conducted in Chegeni county of Lorestan province,” the provincial tourism chief, Seyyed Amin Qasemi, announced on Monday.

“The drawings include animal, human, and plant motifs as well as scenes of hunting and horseback riding,” the official said.

The Islamic Republic is seeking an integrated UNESCO recognition for millennia-old petroglyphs scattered across the country.

Iran will put forward clusters of its millennia-old petroglyphs—located in Khomein county of Markazi province, and the ones dotted in the provinces of Isfahan and Lorestan–as a candidate for inclusion in UNESCO’S World Heritage list.

Teymareh petroglyphs, which are located in Khomein county, have been estimated to be carved in a period spanning from 40,000 to 4,000 years ago, providing insights into past eras and cultures both by tools utilized for carving and themes being carved.

Last year, a prehistorical petroglyph, which bears Pahlavi script written by ordinary people of the time, was found during an archaeological survey in the Teymareh region of central Iran.

“This is the sixth petroglyph, engraved with Pahlavi script, which has so far been found in the highlands of Teymareh. And the petroglyph is estimated to date back to 2,200 years ago,” according to Iranian archaeologist Mohammad Nasserifard.

Nasserifard had earlier proposed a bold hypothesis on a variety of petroglyphs that are scarred in the region, saying “some prehistorical residents of the Iranian plateau migrated to the Americas.” His assumption is based on evidence from similarities between the petroglyphs and cave painting symbols in central Iran and the ones found in the Americas.

“After years of exploring ancient paintings inside Iran’s caves and mountains and other parts of the globe, amazing achievements have been made in this regard,” Nasserifard said.

“Appearance similarities, artistic styles, and uniform themes of ancient petroglyphs and cave paintings of this land (Iran) reveal many missing links in human history and arts one of which is the resemblance of ancient artifacts in Iran with ones found in the American continent.”

In March 2020, a team of entomologists and archaeologists concluded that a previously-founded petroglyph showcases a six-limbed creature with the head and arms of a praying mantis. The rare 14-centimeter rock carving was first spotted in the Teymareh rock art site during surveys between 2017 and 2018, but could not be identified due to its unusual shape.

International experts Jan Brouwer and Gus van Veen have examined the Teymareh site estimating its carvings were made 40,000-4,000 years ago. Prehistoric rock art provides insights into past eras and cultures as archaeologists classify the tools for the carvings by specific eras Incising tools include flint, metal, or thigh bones of hunted prey. /T.T/

After months of closure due to coronavirus, the Carpet Museum of Iran in downtown Tehran once again opened its doors to visitors on Wednesday.

Tens of individuals, researchers, and holidaymakers sized the opportunity to tour the museum, which is chockfull of magnificent, rare, and historical rugs, carpets, kilims, and pictorial rugs.

Persian carpets are sought after internationally for their delicate designs and their good quality. Among Persian carpets, particularly those of the classic period, the medallion may represent an open lotus blossom with 16 petals as seen from above, a complex star form, or a quatrefoil with pointed lobes.

Medallion carpet is any floor covering on which the decoration is dominated by a single symmetrical centerpiece, such as a star-shaped, circular, quatrefoil, or octagonal figure.

The name, however, is sometimes also given to a carpet on which the decoration consists of several forms of this kind or even of rows of medallion figures. /T.T/

“The Cocoon and Butterfly” was crowned best at the 50th Roshd International Film Festival, receiving the gold award of the Iranian festival, which promotes films on educational topics for children.

The film tells the story of Parvaneh, a seven-year-old girl who lives with her father in a northern Iranian village, where she lost her mother in a fire several years earlier. Her leg was also injured in the fire and her father doesn’t let her go to school since it is a long distance from their home. He also doesn’t allow anyone to teach Parvaneh even basic literacy. However, Yavar, a boy in their neighborhood, decides to teach her literacy furtively.

Directed by Mohammad Salehinejad, the film also won the Golden Butterfly for best feature film at the 33rd International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Tehran last October.

“Chor: The Bicycle”, a drama film directed by Indian filmmaker Khanjan Kishore Nath and produced by Sanjive Narain, won the silver award of the Roshd festival.

The gold award for best animated film went to “The Eleventh Step” by Maryam Kashkulinia from Iran.

“The Eleventh Step” is about a little lion cub, born in a zoo. He lives in a cage that is only ten steps long. On the eleventh step, he bangs his head against the bars, but one day the zookeeper leaves the cage door open.

“Autumn Winds, Spring Winds and Two Doves” by Sadeq Javadi won the silver award in this section.

The movie produced at the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) is about a boy who sets out on an arduous journey to his friend. A dove and a horse help him reach his destination.

“The Beginning” by Indian filmmaker Sandeep Kumar Verma was selected as best short at the festival. It’s a journey of a kid, set in the mystical mountains of the Himalayas to learn where his grandfather has gone after he died and what happens after death.

Photo: A poster for “The Cocoon and Butterfly” by Mohammad Salehinejad. /T.T/