Iran is planning to launch three satellites in upcoming years, says Iranian Space Agency (ISA) chief Morteza Barari.

“Under the country’s second decade-long space development program, three satellites are being developed to be ultimately put into orbit,” Barari said on Sunday.

“The second decade-long space development program was initiated in 2016 and will continue until 2025 with the development of space-related infrastructure,” he said, Press TV reported.

The ISA chief underlined that no country had helped Iran in the development of satellites launched by the country so far, adding that the Islamic Republic’s top universities had instead made good investments in the field.

Iran’s indigenous satellite launch capabilities first made headlines when the first locally-built satellite, Omid (Hope), was launched in 2009.

The Islamic Republic also sent its first bio-capsule containing living creatures into space in February 2010, using a Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) carrier.

In February 2015, the Islamic Republic placed its domestically-made Fajr (Dawn) satellite into orbit, which is capable of taking and transmitting high-quality photos to stations on Earth.

In January 2019, the domestically-built Payam (Message) satellite was launched into space with an aim to collect environmental information; however, technical problems that occurred during the final stage of the launch prevented the spacecraft from reaching orbit.

Speaking on Sunday, Barari noted that that the development of space technology in Iran could lead to “major” developments in the country’s economy.

The space agency chief explained that the newly emerging economic field related to space technologies had grown 139 percent during the time span of a decade and therefore represented an economic opportunity.

Further elaborating on the economic benefits of advanced space technology, Barari explained that satellite images could help increase efficiency in managing Iran’s environmental and agricultural sectors.

Data gathered from the satellites could also have a major role in avoiding and managing natural disasters, he said.

The ISA director added that pre-existing satellite information greatly contributed in managing and reducing damages inflicted from major floods earlier this year.

“With new satellite data, this can be done much better,” he said. / T.T/

Iranian men’s taekwondo team finished the 2019 Serbia Open, also known as Galeb Belgrade Trophy, with two gold, one silver and three bronze medals to stand second in the medals table.

The one-day event was held on Sunday in Belgrade with the participation of 285 practitioners from 43 countries.

Soroush Ahamdi (-68kg) and Mirhashem Hosseini (-74kg) earned two golds for Iran. The sole silver was brought home by Armin Hadipour in -58kg while Farzan Ashourzadeh (-63kg), and Sajjad Mardani and Saied Rajabi (both in +87kg) snatched three bronze medals.

Gold, silver and bronze medals of this event added respectively 10, 6, and 3.6 points to Olympics ranking of athletes.

Mexico claimed the event’s title with three golds and one silver and Australia finished third with two golds. / MNA/

Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Minister Ali Asqar Mounesan announced on Wednesday that about five million foreign tourists have visited Iran in the first half the current Iranian calendar year (starting March 21, 2019).

As he added, the data shows a 27 percent growth compared to the first half of the preceding year.

The minister hoped that the announced figure will hit 10 million by the current yearend.

As reported, the largest numbers of tourists entering the Isfahan province are from Germany, France, China, Spain, Turkey, Japan, Greece, Thailand, and Australia.

Iran has taken some important steps to increase its revenues from tourism under US sanctions.

For instance, as of July 16, the country started the implementation of no-visa policy for Chinese and Hongkonger tourists and businessmen who make trips to Iran.

Also in mid-August, Chairman of Iran Tour Operators Association Ebrahim Pourfaraj announced that the ban on imports of motorcycles with engines above 250cc and cars over 2,500cc has been removed to let foreign tourists ride them on Iranian roads.

Such vehicles are now allowed to be imported for the use of foreign tourists under specific conditions and supervision of Iranian customs and travel agencies, he added.

The ban has been removed only in favor of foreign tourists but to have Iranians also enjoy riding such vehicles, an affiliated plan is needed to be submitted to the cabinet and ratified, Pourfaraj said.

The ban outlawing motorcycles with engines above the size of 250cc was introduced in the early years of the Islamic revolution. / MNA/

Iran freestyle team became runners-up at the 2019 U23 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

The Iranian team won three gold medals, one silver and two brones in the competition.

2018 Cadet World champion and 2019 Junior World silver medalist Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) followed Nickal’s lead, shutting down 2016 U23 European bronze medalist Vitali Goloev from Russia in the finals match at 125 kg, 10-0.

At 86 kg, Kamran Ghasempour won his second-consecutive U23 World championship with a decisive 9-3 win over Gadzhimurad Magomedsaaidov from Azerbaijan.

Mojtaba Goleij, who did not compete at the 2018 U23 World Championships, put up seven points in the second period of the 97 kg title match against 2017 Junior World champion Shamil Musaev from Russia for an 8-2 victory and the gold medal.

Alireza Nosratolah Sarlak beat Mongolian Zanabazar Zandanbud 7-4 in the 57kg bronze medal match.

Hossein Lotfali Shahbazi also defeated Azerbaijan’s Shamil Zubairov 5-1 at the 92kg bronze medal match.

2017 Cadet World bronze medalist Mohammed Nokhodi lost to 2018 Junior World silver medalist Razambek Zhamalov from Russia at the 74kg final.

Russia won the team title with 145 points, followed by Iran with 139 points and Azerbaijan with 111 points, unitedwordwrestling.org reported.

Throughout the 2019 season, Russia has won the men’s freestyle team title in every age-group, including Cadet, Junior, U23 and Senior.

Team standings

1. Russia – 145
2. Iran – 139
3. Azerbaijan – 111
4. Georgia – 109
5. Mongolia – 70
6. Japan – 65
7. Kazakhstan – 65
8. Turkey – 60
9. Ukraine – 58
10. USA – 5

/TT /

Iran and Venezuela will cooperate on science and technology through the production of knowledge-based companies.

During her visit to Pardis Technology Park, Venezuelan Science and Technology Minister Gabriela Jiménez Ramírez said that Iran and Venezuela have the opportunity to collaborate in the field of science and technology and develop new talents in the countries and use technology to preserve and promote peace and prosperity.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed with Iran’s Presidential Deputy for Science and Technology which will be a great opportunity for the development of science in Venezuela, she added.

She mentioned that her country takes and appreciates all opportunities to exchange science and technology with Iran.

Venezuelan Science and Technology Minister Gabriela Jiménez Ramírez in her visit to Iran also met and held talks with Iran’s Minister of Science, Research, and Technology Mansour Gholami in Tehran on Wednesday. / MNA /

70,000-year-old human settlement found in northern Iran
A group of archeologists found a human settlement in a cave in Alborz Province, west of Tehran, which dates back to 70,000 years ago.
The cave contained invaluable remains that prove human settlement, said the head of the excavation team Elham Qassidian.

Qassidian said that rock settlement found in the Sorhe area provides priceless data from the Middle Paleolithic age, IRNA reported.

She said that items discovered so far are mostly stone tools, which need more precise investigations, adding that this is the first settlement of Middle Paleolithic humans found in this area.

The other discovered items include stone tools, bones, and coal, said Saman Heydari, an archeology professor, adding that this style of tool-making can be traced back to 125,000 years ago.

Qassidian added that such settlements had already been found in the western parts of the country, like Kermanshah and Lorestan provinces, but this is the first time they are found in the southern parts of the Alborz Mountain range.

Alireza Dehqan-Mehrjui, the deputy head of the province’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, said that the excavations are being done by an Iranian group in cooperation with Germany. The Neanderthal Museum of Germany is financially supporting the excavations. / ID /

The sixth edition of Kish International Exhibition of Exchange, Banking, Insurance and Privatization and the 11th International Exhibition for Presenting Iran’s Investment Opportunities, will be held in November under the title of Kish Invex 2019.

The exhibitions, scheduled for November 18-21, are focused on attracting domestic and foreign investments and exploring avenues to reach economic prosperity in under the current international circumstances.

Some 25 forums and panel discussions are embedded in the fair to create an international communication platform for exhibitors, trade associations and partners to present their latest trends and services.

Kish Invex seeks to introduce capabilities of Iranian and foreign financial institutions; to present Iran’s achievements in capital and insurance markets; to introduce modern banking and insurance services; and to enhance the competition capacities of monetary and capital markets of regional countries. / MNA/

Bahman Kiarostami’s documentary ‘Exodus’ has won the Special Jury Award at the 30th edition of New Orleans Film Festival.

The 30th edition of the Oscar-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival was held in New Orleans in the US state of Louisiana on October 16-23 and the Iranian documentary ‘Exodus’ directed by Bahman Kiarostami won the Special Jury Award.

‘Exodus’ had also received an Award of Excellence at the New Asian Currents section of the Japanese film festival.

The documentary focuses on migrant workers from Afghanistan who entered Iran illegally and now wish to go back home, and they make their case at the government center near the border. ‘Exodus’ narrates the stories of people with different family and work circumstances from Iran with a reggae lilt, according to the festival.

Bahman, son of the celebrated filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, said that he was inspired by his father in making ‘Exodus’. “The film owes a debt to Abbas Kiarostami’s ‘Homework’ and ‘First Graders’.”/MNA/

Bahman Kiarostami’s documentary ‘Exodus’ has won the Special Jury Award at the 30th edition of New Orleans Film Festival.

The 30th edition of the Oscar-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival was held in New Orleans in the US state of Louisiana on October 16-23 and the Iranian documentary ‘Exodus’ directed by Bahman Kiarostami won the Special Jury Award.

‘Exodus’ had also received an Award of Excellence at the New Asian Currents section of the Japanese film festival.

The documentary focuses on migrant workers from Afghanistan who entered Iran illegally and now wish to go back home, and they make their case at the government center near the border. ‘Exodus’ narrates the stories of people with different family and work circumstances from Iran with a reggae lilt, according to the festival.

Bahman, son of the celebrated filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, said that he was inspired by his father in making ‘Exodus’. “The film owes a debt to Abbas Kiarostami’s ‘Homework’ and ‘First Graders’.” / MNA/