An official from Iran’s Ministry of Energy said the country would launch new power plants with a capacity of more than 3,800 megawatts (MW) until next summer.
“Based on the devised plans, 3,864 MW worth of new power plants will connect to the national electricity grid before the peak of the next summer,” Mohsen Tarztalab was quoted as saying by Press TV.

The announcement means that Iran could add some 34 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity to its current production of above 300 TWh, as authorities seek to both increase exports to neighboring countries and increase stability of the domestic network over hot summer months.

He said the share of gas burnt in thermal power plants across Iran had topped 90 percent until March 2019, an increase of nearly 10 percent compared to the similar period three years ago.

The official said plans were in place to turn many of the current gas-fired power plants to combined cycle systems (one gas turbine followed by a steam turbine in sequence) to reach a target of 40-percent efficiency in production.

A report by the Ministry of Energy in August showed that electricity output in thermal power plants, which accounts for 80 percent of Iran’s total power generation, had surged by 8,991 megawatts, or 78 TWh in energy terms, over the past six years.

Iran’s total capacity of thermal power is around 550 TWh although government data shows generation hit a record high of 287 TWh last year. / Iran Daily /

Iranian athletes won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze at the Karate 1 – Premier League Moscow on Sunday.Sara Bahmanyar defeated German karate competitor Shara Hubrich 1-0 in the final of the Female Kumite -50kg.

Rozita Alipour edged Haya Jumaa from Canada 1-0 in the Female Kumite -61kg final.

And Zabihollah Poorshab defeated Ryutaro Araga of Japan in the Male Kumite -84kg final to win Iran’s third gold in the competition.

Sajad Ganjzadeh also lost to Georgia’s Gogita Arkania 7-3 in the final of Male Kumite +84 and claimed a silver medal.

Earlier on the day, Bahman Asgari Ghoncheh from Iran had claimed a bronze medal at the Male Kumite -75kg by beating his Spanish opponent Rodrigo Ibanez 3-1.

Karate 1 – Premier League Moscow brought 642 competitors together from 85 countries in Moscow, Russia. / Tehran times /

Iran’s value of non-oil trade with other countries stood at over $42 billion during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22), the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

According to a report released by IRICA, the country exported 70 million tons of commoditized worth $20.948 billion and imported 16.5 million tons of products valued at $21.221 billion during the first half, IRNA reported on Sunday.

As reported, China, Iraq, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Afghanistan were the top five export destinations of Iranian products, while China, UAE, Turkey, India, and Germany were the five major exporters of goods to Iran in the first six months of the current year.

As previously announced by IRICA, the value of Iran’s non-oil exports stood at $44.3 billion in the previous Iranian year, while $42.6 billion worth of commodities were shipped into the country.

Iran shares border with fifteen countries, namely the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Oman, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

Based on the data published by Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO), the value of trade with the neighboring countries stood at over $36.5 billion in the past Iranian calendar year, which is about 41 percent of the country’s total non-oil trade in the mentioned time span.

Iran plans to launch 15 mega export projects to identify more target markets, according to TPO former head.

Mohammadreza Modoudi said with the implementation of these projects, which mainly focus on the markets of neighboring countries, identifying professional trade and promoting export of non-oil commodities will be put on agenda, Mehr news agency reported.

The official further referred to the $1.7 billion positive trade balance in the country’s non-oil trade in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2019), and said this positive balance was achieved through cooperation with the private sector. / Tehran times /

Iran has been introduced by United Nations World Tourism Organization as the world’s second fastest growing tourist destination in 2018, with 49.9 percent growth in arrivals year on year.

Surpassing rivals such as Egypt, Nepal, Georgia and South Korea, Iran was ranked the second after Ecuador, according to the UNWTO annual report which details the countries where tourism has grown the most, and where it has fallen the furthest.

“Here’s one that gladdens the heart. Iran’s numbers might still be small – 7.3 million visitors in 2018, compared with, say, France’s 89 million – but they’re increasing sharply. More and more people are being drawn to one of the world’s most misunderstood countries, which can only be a good thing. Get there now before everyone else does,” the Traveller reported.

In the ranking, Iran is followed by Egypt which its foreign arrivals were up 36 percent, Uganda with 31.9 percent, Nepal with 24 percent, Slovenia with 23 percent, Vietnam with 19.9 percent, Georgia with16.9 percent, and South Korea with 15.1 percent.

Iran welcomed some four million foreign nationals during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 – August 22), which shows 30 percent hike, compared with the same period last year, according to official data compiled by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts.

The Islamic Republic attracted 7.8 million foreign travelers during the last Iranian year, which shows 50 percent growth year on year, the ministry announced earlier in September.

The 2019 Travel Risk Map, which shows the risk level around the world, puts Iran among countries with “insignificant risk”, a category where the UK, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, and Finland are placed in.

The country boasts hundreds of historical sites such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 22 being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list

Under the 2025 Tourism Vision Plan, the country aims to increase the number of tourist arrivals from 4.8 million in 2014 to 20 million in 2025. / T.T/

A team of researchers at the Iranian National Algae Culture Collection have produced a kind of protein-rich juice out of algae with a somewhat astringent flavor.

Speaking to Mehr correspondent on Wednesday, Ali Khalili, the marketing manager at the Iranian National Algae Culture Collection (INACC), said Iran is home to one of the richest reserves in the world in terms of diversity of algae species.

He said a team of researchers at the INACC have recently used spirulina, a type of cyanobacteria which is often referred to as blue-green algae, to produce drinks.

“Spirulina is native to Mexico. We managed to mass produce it at the INACC and have now used it to make juice,” he added.

The alga is high in protein and minerals and can boost your defense against allergies, diabetes, and other conditions. It is high in vitamins and iron, too, he added.

According to him, the alga juice has an astringent flavor and is produced at the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran. /MNA/

Iranian film ‘Katyusha’, directed by Ali Atshani, has won the best feature and best cinematography awards at the 2019 Love International Film Festival (LIFF) in the US.

The festival’s Best Feature award went to Iranian film ‘Katyusha’, directed by Ali Atshani, while Mahmoud Atshani received the Best Cinematography award for the film.

‘Katyusha’ is about Khalil, known as Khalil Katyusha, who is a religious guy and member of Basij. He is forced to spend a couple of days with Arshia, the lousy rich boy. The different backgrounds and ideals make these two to make troubles for each other.

‘Katyusha’ was also nominated in four other categories, including Best Actor (Hadi Hejazifar), Best Supporting Actor (Ahmad Mehranfar), Best Director (Ali Atshani), and Best Screenplay (Mehdi Ali Mirzaee/ Ali Atshani)

Love International Film Festival (LIFF) focuses on bringing films and filmmakers from the international community whose work brings the world closer together and promotes love and healing through cinema. All proceeds for the 2019 LIFF will be given to the Lotus Light Children’s Charity, according to the event’s website.

The 4th edition of LIFF was held in Los Angeles, California from September 18th, 2019 through September 21st, 2019. / MNA/

Hassan Yazdani from Iran claimed a gold medal in the 2019 World Wrestling Championships on Sunday after his Indian rival Deepak Punia withdrew from the final because of injuries from previous rounds.

The Iranian freestyle wrestler, who won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games, was scheduled to meet Punia in the 86kg final.

“My leg is swollen up and it is hurting. The eye is swollen too, but it happens in wrestling. I picked up both injuries during the first round. I am not fighting in the final (because of leg injury),” Deepak told Sportstar from Nur-Sultan on Sunday.

Iran’s freestyle team wrapped up the 2019 World Championships with two bronzes, one silver and one gold medal.

Alireza Karimi had won a silver in 92kg category while Younes Emami and Behnam Ehsanpour seized two bronze medals at the 70kg and 61kg, respectively.

Russia won the title with 190 points, followed by Kazakhstan (103 points) and the U.S (94 points).

Iran narrowly finished in fourth place with 93 points.The 2019 World Wrestling Championships were held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. /  T.T/

Iranian actress Mahtab Keramati, the star of acclaimed movie “Mazar-i-Sharif”, has been selected as the president of the 19th Imagineindia International Film Festival, which will be held in the Spanish capital of Madrid from May 17 to 31, 2020.

She won the award best actress at the 2015 Imagineindia for her performance in “Ghosts” by acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui.

Keramati also was named best actress at the International Film Festival of Tamilnadu in Chennai, India in 2016 for her role in director Hassan Barzideh’s drama “Mazar-i-Sharif” about Taliban terrorism in Afghanistan.

Her fellow Iranian filmmaker Mehdi Rahmani will be in company with her on the jury, which also is composed of Indian film expert Modhura Palit, Polish filmmaker Hanna Polak and Afghan actress Leena Alam.

The Jury also includes Australian producer Bridget Ikin, Indian professor Anjali Monteiro, Kazakh filmmaker Olga Korotko, British-Indian writer and director Sandhya Suri, Kazakh producer Olga Khlasheva and German producer Daniela Creutz.

Iranian director Reza Mirkarimi’s drama “Castle of Dreams” will be competing in the official section of the festival, which also features the Indian movies “Bulbul Can Sing” by Rima Das, “Aamis” by Bhaskar Hazarika and “Aadhar” by Sumon Ghosh.

“Aga’s House” by Lendita Zeqiraj from Kosovo “Summer Survivors” by Marija Kavtaradze from Lithuania and “Brotherhood” by Pavel Lungin from Russia will be screened in the official competition.

In addition, “Driving Lessons” by Iranian filmmaker Marzieh Riahi will be screened in the short films competition. / T.T /

Iranian and Austrian officials on Wednesday discussed ways to expand tourism ties through promoting sustainable ecotourism and holding a joint symposium in this regard.

“Iran and Austria can expand cooperation on exchanging tourists and professors, as the sector cannot be put under [U.S.-led] sanctions,” said Alexander Rieger, deputy head of mission of the Austrian Embassy in Tehran, addressing a news conference on International Sustainable Eco-tourism Symposium, Mehr reported.

The symposium is scheduled to be held in Tehran on September 25 and 26.

Talking on similarities that Iran and Austria have in tourism, Rieger said that the two nations can have a good cooperation in this sector without being worried about the U.S. sanctions.

He informed that a group of officials from Austria and five EU countries have visited some of Iran’s ecotourism sites to become familiar with the Iranian culture in various parts of the country, the report said.

Rieger presides over the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) and he is also head of the Austrian Cultural Forum in Tehran.

A poster for the Sustainable Eco-tourism Symposium

On July 31, 2018, and on the occasion of the Damavand Anniversary Project 2018, some 100 Austrian and Iranian mountaineers together with a group of European ambassadors jointly ascended the Mount Damavand. The two-day event marked the 175th anniversary of the first Austrian ascent of Mount Damavand by the botanist and scholar Theodor Kotschy in 1843, Mehr added.

The event sent a strong signal that Europe and Iran are making good on their promises to engage in an ever-increasing number of sectors and areas, Stefan Scholz, Vienna’s ambassador to Tehran said at the time.

“Iran is more than a country, it’s a civilization in its own right and one of the most ecologically diverse places in the world,” the Austrian ambassador had said.

“Austria stands ready to partner in further developing Iran’s great tourism potentials in a sustainable way, protecting natural resources and supporting the life and culture of mountain populations. This new sector partnership is part of Austria’s bilateral contribution to preserving and maintaining the JCPOA by bringing concrete and measurable economic benefits to the Iranian people,” he added.

Last November, the Trump administration reinstated sanctions on Iran, mainly the ones that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, in order to batter Iran’s economy, however, according to official data, they have so far failed to lessen foreign arrivals to the Islamic Republic.

“Nearly 7.8 million foreign nationals visited Iran over the [past Iranian calendar] year 1397 (March 2018-19) that shows a 52.5 percent increase year on year. The country hosted 5.1 million travelers in 1396 (March 2017-18),” deputy tourism chief Vali Teymouri said in April. / T.T/

Iran defeated South Korea 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-22) to book a place at the 2019 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship at the 12,000-seater Azadi Sports Complex here on Friday.

Team Melli will meet the winners of Japan and Australia match on Saturday.

In the fourth set, the players engaged in a fight at the court.

“I am deeply ashamed of what happened in the fourth set. This victory is like a defeat for me. We didn’t play well but had positive energy. But I am sad for what happened in this match,” Iran coach Igor Kolakovic said.

“It’s for the first time in my life I saw physical challenge during a match. It can be interesting in boxing but not in volleyball. Behaviors of some of players were disappointing,” he added.

The event is a biennial international volleyball tournament organized by the Asian volleyball governing body, the Asian Volleyball Federation (AVC). The tournament is being held from Sept. 13 to 21.

Top eight teams of this tournament will qualify for the 2020 Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, which will be held in Jiangmen, China from 7 to 12 January 2020, where the winners will qualify to the 2020 men’s Olympic volleyball tournament. / T.T/