Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari said that knowledge-based companies have produced a lot of equipment for the treating coronavirus, and Iran is able to export them to other countries.

Knowledge-based companies have made great strides in the field of medical equipment and health care, said Sattari on Sunday.

Producing ICU and the CCU equipment, CT-scan machines, coronavirus diagnostic kits, disinfectants, and 6 million masks a day are among the outstanding measures taken by knowledge-based firms, he added.

Sattari noted if the Ministry of Health issues the permit to export the equipment, Iran can export medical equipment in the field of treating coronavirus to other countries.

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Statistics of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade showed that 48.2 billion human drugs were produced in the country last year [from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020], registering a 23.7 percent growth as compared to the same period of last year.

In the same period, 604,500 tons of detergents were produced in the country, showing a 5.1 percent decline as compared to a year earlier, the ministry added.

In addition, domestic factories succeeded in producing 36,600 tons of pesticides, recording a 37.2 percent growth as compared to the same period of last year.

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Head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) Hamid Zadboum said on Sun. that the first cargo of Iran’s agricultural products, fresh fruits and vegetables was exported to Kuwait during the outbreak of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

Given the spread of coronavirus in the worldwide, some neighboring countries like Persian Gulf littoral states [including Kuwait] had shut down their borders on importing products, he highlighted.

A couple of days ago, a refrigerated containerized cargo of agricultural products, as weigh as 500 tons, moved from Dayyer Port in Bushehr province towards Al Shyoukh Port in Kuwait, the deputy industry minister added.

Given the pleasant and favorable climatic condition of Iran in the current year [started March 21, 2010], production of agricultural products is satisfactory as compared to a year earlier, he said, adding, “presently, country’s agricultural products are exported to neighboring countries.”

According to the available information, Iran’s agricultural products are exported to the neighboring countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Qatar considerably and Kuwait has recently been added to the list of Iran’s target market of agricultural produce, TPOI head stressed.

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The chairman of Intifada and Quds Department of the Coordinating Council of Islamic Propagation said Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei will deliver a speech on the occasion of the International Quds Day, which falls on May 22.

Speaking on Sunday, Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif announced the possibility of canceling this year’s International Quds Day rallies in capital Tehran due to the coronavirus pandemic, noting that Ayatollah Khamenei will deliver a speech on this year’s occasion.

He said due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council has been reviewing different options to commemorate this year’s International Quds Day.

“The cyberspace and social media are among the options that could be well utilized for marking the event,” he added.

Brigadier General Sharif said the final decisions will be announced later.

The International Quds Day, which falls on the last Friday of Ramadan, is a legacy of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, who designated the day in solidarity with Palestinians. The International Quds Day has been held worldwide since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

Iranian’s, along with people across the world, hold rallies every year to mark the occasion and reiterate their call for the liberation of Palestine from the Israeli regime’s occupation and to denounce Israel’s atrocities.

However, this year, the coronavirus pandemic has created hurdles for gatherings of such, forcing the officials to search for alternative options.

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Iranian short film ‘Exam’, directed by Sonia Hadadi, won the best film award in the international section of the 42nd Créteil International Women’s Film Festival in France.

‘Exam’ narrates the story of a teenage girl who gets involved in the process of delivering a pack of illicit drugs to a buyer, and she gets stuck in a cycle of strange occurrences.

The short film was selected to take part at the 42nd edition of the Créteil International Women’s Film Festival, an annual event in Créteil, Paris, France founded by Jackie Buet in 1978 to showcase the directing talents of female filmmakers who, at the time, had difficulty getting their films adequately distributed.

The festival also offers film classes, thematic forums and debates. The competition is open to women from around the world who have made a feature-length documentary, a short length fiction and a documentary film. Their work is judged by a jury of 6 cinema professionals.

The 42nd edition of Créteil International Women’s Film Festival was held on 13-22 March, 2020.

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Some 942,000 tons of Direct Reduction Iron (DRI) was exported from the country last year [from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020], showing a 77 percent growth year on year.

According to the statistical tables of the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA), 533,000 tons of Direct Reduction Iron (DRI, also called sponge iron) was exported from the country from March 21, 2018, to March 20, 2019.

ISPA put the volume of Direct Reduction Iron produced in the country last year at 27,907,000 tons, showing a six percent growth as compared to a year earlier.

Some 26,359,000 tons of sponge iron was produced from March 21, 2018 to March 20, 2019.

After India, Islamic Republic of Iran is considered as the second-largest producer of sponge iron in the world, ISPA added.

Statistics showed that 26,965,000 tons of sponge iron was consumed in the country last year [from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020], registering a four percent growth as compared to the same period of last year.

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The spokesman of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps says the IRGC’s satellite launch once again proved that the US sanctions have not hampered the country’s scientific development.

“Following the launch, the Americans and Europeans have confessed that the sanctions have failed to interrupt the Islamic Republic’s scientific development,” Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif said during a state TV interview on Monday.

“They confessed that although the sanctions have affected the Iranians’ lives, they have not hampered the country’s growth in different areas,” he said, stressing that when the country is capable of such measures under sanctions, it is also able to provide its people with their needs despite the economic terrorism posed to them.

He expressed gratitude to the Iranian scientists, authorities, political figures, and the noble nation for their positive reactions to the satellite launch, underlining that the IRGC will continue its efforts on hte path Iran’s development and empowerment.

IRGC successfully launched and placed the country’s first military satellite into the orbit on Wednesday (April 22).

The satellite, dubbed Noor-1 (Light), was placed into the orbit 425 kilometers above Earth’s surface.

According to reports, the Noor-1 is Iran’s first multi-purpose satellite with application in the defense industry among other areas. It was launched by Qased, the country’s first three-stage satellite launcher.

On Friday, IRGC Aerospace Division Commander Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh said that the country had received signals from Noor-1 satellite and that it plans to launch a future satellite in a higher orbit.

“We received the latest signal last night,” he added, explaining that the satellite orbits the earth every 90 minutes.

“The satellite’s configurations will be fully set in a few days allowing the satellite to attain its full operational capacity,” he added.

He said that the satellite launch has caught the enemies in surprise, following their economic pressures against the Islamic Republic and the nation.

In a tweet on Thursday, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani also said that “new surprises are on the way” as the country battles US sanctions and pressure alongside the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

“The continuous production of power & use of up-to-date knowledge for security & welfare of Iran people from hospitals to space will continue. New surprises are on the way,” he said.

The US claims that medical equipment and medicines are technically exempt from the sanctions, but their purchases and imports are blocked by bank’s unwillingness to process payment over fears of heavy US penalties.

Iran has now stepped up the production of its own medical equipment, such as ventilators needed for COVID-19 patients.

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