A large group of literati came together at Tehran’s Felestin Cinema on Friday evening to commemorate Quds Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who was martyred in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, during a poetry night entitled “Tough Revenge”.

The poetry night was organized on the sidelines of the 10th Ammar Popular Film Festival, which is currently underway in Tehran.

The session was attended by several prominent poets, including Ali-Mohammad Moaddab, Ahmad Babai, Nafiseh Sadat Musavi, Mohammad-Mehdi Sayyar, Milad Erfanpur, Fatemeh Nanizad and Mobin Ardestani as well as cultural officials and the families of the martyrs who lost their lives in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war or in fighting against terrorism.

At the beginning of the session Forugh Monhi, whose three sons were martyred during the war, noted that Iranians are not alone and the U.S. should await their tough revenge.

“General Soleimani trained thousands of soldiers like himself. These soldiers will fight the enemies of Islam, the U.S. and Israel,” she added.

Afterwards, poets recited selections from their works about resistance and fight against the world arrogance.

Established by a number of Iranian revolutionary figures, the Ammar Popular Film Festival has been named after Ammar Yasir, a close companion of Prophet Muhammad (S).

The festival, which opened in Tehran on Wednesday, will come to an end on January 9./T.T/

The Statement of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Dhaka, Bangladesh on the Occasion of the Heinous Crime of the United States in Martyring the Iranian Major General, Qassem Soleimani

مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَضَىٰ نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَنْتَظِرُ ۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا

“Among the believers are men true to what they promised Allah. Among them is he who has fulfilled his vow [to the death], and among them is he who awaits [his chance]. And they did not alter [the terms of their commitment] by any alteration –“

(Holy Quran, Chapter 33, Verse 23)

 

The Gallant Nation of Bangladesh,

The flags of the Iranian Embassies around the world including ours in Dhaka have been flown at half-mast to salute the exalted soul of the great and exemplary soldier of Iran, the martyred General Soleimani who was an untiring combatant fighting the current of extremism and terrorism. The Glorious commander-in-chief, Qassem Soleimani was a credit and dignity not just for the people of Iran but for all the Muslims and all the oppressed and destitute in the entire world. The blatant act of the United States in dastardly assassinating the glorious commander of Iran’s Quds Army in the city of Baghdad is the symbol of unilateralism, criminality and encroachment upon Iraq’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. This wicked action violated all the international rules and laws as well as the regional peace and stability and it was aimed at escalating tensions and war-mongering. However, the unwise and heartless perpetrators of this horrible crime should know that they will receive a teeth-shattering response.

Today the United States is viewed as the embodiment of “State Terrorism” by the freedom-living nations of the world and its government is considered the most hated of all the governments. This assassination once again bears witness to this reality. Those running the White House and Pentagon should  know that the era of bullying and hit-and-run is long gone and a harsh vengeance awaits the criminals on whose hands the pure blood of this free man and others martyred in this nefarious crime will remain forever. Qassem Soleimani devoted all his life to the path of struggles for sake of Allah and martyrdom was his ultimate prize.

General Soleimani was a nightmare for Israel, Al-Qaeda and ISIS and he was the person who saved Syria and Iraq from the clutches of the barbaric terrorists of ISIS. Yes … His only sin was that he was the destroyer of ISIS which was created in the first place by the United States itself and that is why he was highly sought-after by the U.S. government.  Without a doubt, the blood of this great commander of Islam that was spilled unjustly will make the tree of resistance bulkier and will make the tension-raising policies of the US even more ineffective than before. The name and the memory of the exalted commander-in-chief Qassem Soleimani as well as his accompanying martyred comrades specially Mr. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (one of the greatest strugglers of the Islamic World and the Deputy of the Popular Mobilization Forces of Iraq), will forever stay alive in the minds and hearts of the freedom-loving people of the world and will remain an eternal shame for the history’s worst criminals.

وَسَيَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَيَّ مُنْقَلَبٍ يَنْقَلِبُونَ

“And those who do wrong will come to know by what overturning they will be overturned”.

(Holy Quran, Chapter 26, Verse 227)

Deputy Culture Minister for Cultural Affairs Mohsen Javadi said on Monday that over 60,000 book titles have been published in Iran over the past year.

Speaking during a press conference in Tehran, he added that there is a five-percent increase in the number compared with previous year’s figures.

“The ministry has also purchased 400,000 books, out of which over 350,000 have been distributed across the country,” he added.

He also said that the ministry annually holds some seasonal book fairs across the country to help promote book reading.

He added that the 33rd Tehran International Book Fair will take place at Imam Khomeini Mosalla from April 14 to 24, 2020, and Turkey will be received as the guest of honor at the cultural event.

Javadi announced a culture ministry’s plan to merge the Iran Cultural Fairs Institute, Iranian Fiction and Poetry Foundation and the Khaneh Ketab Institute, and said that by the downsizing, the ministry intends to promote the private sector to play a key role in the national economy. /T.T/

As part of a national plan, Iranian researchers have managed to develop a new generation of nanofilters capable of absorbing diesel soot, IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

The process of obtaining international standards for manufacturing the product is currently underway.

Currently, car manufacturers are using ceramic filters that do not meet the requirements of Euro 2 diesel engines, while they are being imported at a price three times above the Iranian product.

According to Rasoul Norouzian, the product designer, the filter is capable of absorbing particulate matter (PM 2.5), which can be efficient in curbing air pollution.

According to a study conducted by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), about 75-85 percent of Tehran’s air pollution is related to cars and motorcycles.

Air pollution haunting Iranian capital

Tehran air quality index (AQI) reached an unhealthy level of pollution for 59 days since the beginning of this year (March 21), according to a report published by the Tehran Air Quality Control Company.

An AQI is used to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become.

The index categorizes conditions according to a measure of polluting matters into excellent (0-50), good (51-100), lightly polluted or unhealthy for sensitive groups (101-150), moderately polluted (151-200), heavily polluted (201-300) and severely polluted (301-500).

During the aforementioned period, heavily polluted air haunted the capital for 5 days which was almost dangerous for all the residents.

This is while, last year over the same period 44 days were unhealthy for sensitive groups, and Tehraners did not breathe a single day of heavily polluted air.

Some of the air control stations in the capital exceeded the 210 level, including the southern city of Shar-e-Rey and the southwestern city of Shadabad.

Polluted air also resulted in the closure of schools and universities for five days.

The leading cause of air pollution in the capital is PM 2.5, PM 10 and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). /T.T/

The 40 best films of the millennium list released by The San Francisco Chronicle includes Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s ‘The Past’ (2013).

Mick LaSalle, The San Francisco Chronicle’s film critic, has released a list of 40 best films of the millennium, with Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s ‘The Past’ (2013) making the cut at the 11th place.

The critic considered science fiction as the dominant genre for 20 years, adding however that the best films of the millennium have not been science fiction films.

He has published two best-of the-millennium lists, one for English-language films and the other for foreign-language films that is limited to foreign films released in the United States.

French–Italian–Iranian drama film ‘The Past’, by the director of Oscar-winning film ‘A Separation’, was named as the 11th best film of the millennium on the foreign-language film list.

The critic described Farhadi’s ‘The Past’ as a methodical, naturalistic film about love, marriage and infidelity, in which everyone is ripped apart emotionally.

The film was nominated for the Palme d’Or award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and won the festival’s Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. Bérénice Bejo also won the festival’s Best Actress Award. ‘The Past’ was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Golden Globe Awards.

Top on LaSalle’s list of English-language films are ’25th Hour’ (2002), ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009), and ‘The New World’ (2005). /MNA/

Iran’s Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development for Construction and Development of Railways, Ports and Airports said that Iran’s rail network will be connected to Afghanistan soon.

Abbas Khatibi made the remarks on Sat. and pointed to the quantitative increase of rail network towards neighboring countries and revealed the connection of railway network of the country to neighboring Afghanistan.

He also referred to the prioritized projects of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and added, “up to the present time, five rail projects have been put into operation in the country.”

Efforts are underway to put Bostanabad-Khavaran Road in Tabriz, East Azarbaijan province, into operation before termination of the next year (to start March 21, 2020), he emphasized.

He went on to say that Khaf-Herat railway project, as long as 139 km, which connects the rail network of the country of Afghanistan, will come on stream by the end of the next Iranian year (to start March 21, 2020).

Connection of rail network of the country to neighboring countries is one of the main policies of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, the issue of which has been put atop agenda of the ministry, Khatibi added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the deputy minister of roads pointed to Rasht-Astara Railway project and said, “effective and constructive talks have been made in this regard in line with completing construction operation of this giant project.”

He also revealed the development of rail lines of the country towards Eurasia and added, “in construction of railway projects, technical specifications are taken into consideration, so that the trains are transited and exited from the country in appropriate time.”/MNA/

Pakistan’s Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Sania Nishtar said that Iran’s health system is pioneer in the Islamic world.

She made the remarks in an interview with IRNA on Sat. and added, “salient achievements gained by Iran in the field of healthcare are on par with the developed countries, and Pakistan is ready to take advantage of high potentials and capabilities of Iran in this field.”

Iran is a friend and neighboring country to Pakistan and the two countries have established amicable and intimate relations with each other for a very long time period.

She termed activity of higher education centers, medical universities and other health services organizations in Iran as ‘significant’, adding, “we can make use of the capacities and potentials of Iran in the fields of research and training.”

Pakistan has taken remarkable measures in line with supporting the low-income families such as alleviation of poverty among women in the society, she emphasized.

Pakistan’s Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Sania Nishtar also appreciated policies taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran with regards to empowering women in the country./MNA/

Head of Iran’s Budget and Planning Organization (BPO) said the government has paid 395 trillion rials (over $9.4 billion) for financing development projects across the country in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 22).

Speaking in a ceremony for inauguration of a housing project in the northeastern province of South Khorasan, Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht said: “Based on the statistics for the last nine months, we have paid 35 trillion tomans [350 trillion rials] for various development projects throughout the country and thousands of billions more will be paid in the coming months”, ILNA reported.

“In spite of all the difficulties, we are still paying all our dues including government employees’ wages, retirees’ pensions, and the payments to all the groups covered by support agencies, just like before,” he said.

Back in October, Nobakht announced that the government is going to allocate all revenues from oil sales to the development projects following structural reforms in the next Iranian calendar year’s (March 2020-March 2021) budget bill.

According to the official, 430 trillion rials (about $10.2 billion) is allocated for development projects in the next year’s budget plan, up 53 percent from the figure for the current year.

“We intend to invest as much as we can in the development sector in the next [Iranian calendar] year (starts on March 19, 2020), so we have increased the budget for this sector by 53 percent to achieve significant growth,” Nobakht said.

President Hassan Rouhani submitted the administration’s draft of the national budget bill for the next Iranian calendar year 1399, which starts on March 20, 2020, to the Majlis in early December.

The main characteristic of the next year’s budget bill which makes it different from previous years’ budget bills, is the impact of the U.S. sanctions on the country’s economy and the consequent considerations which have been taken into account in preparing it.

The next year’s budget bill has been modified in terms of resources, expenditures, policies, and objectives, considering the resistance against the U.S. sanctions. /T.T/

Iranian documentary ‘Beloved’, directed by Yaser Talebi, has snatched awards from three international film festivals in Spain, France, and China.

‘Beloved’ follows the life of an 80-year-old mother named Firouzeh who is fond of her isolated lifestyle in nature with her cows. The film shows her kind and loving character and demonstrates her bravery and strength tackling the hardship of life in the Alborz Mountains without the modern comforts of technology. She believes happiness lies in the simplicity of life.

The Iranian documentary won the Best Film about Mountain Culture award at Torello’s International Festival of Mountain and Adventure Films in Spain.

It also grabbed the Remarkable Film Award at China International Green Film Week.

The grand prix of the International Mountain Film Festival of Autrans in France also went to ‘Beloved’.

The successful Iranian documentary will next take part at the 18th Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh. /MNA/