Nahid Kiani of Iran claimed a silver medal at the Taiyuan 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Prix on Tuesday.She defeated American taekwondo athlete Faith Dillon 2-1 in her first match and then beat Chia-ling Lo of Chinese Taipei 2-1 to book a place in the semi-final.

Kiani defeated Russian Tatiana Minina 2-1 but lost to Canada’s Skylar Park 2-1 in the final match of the women’s under-57kg.

The competition is being held in Taiyuan, China from Oct. 10 to 12. The last GP in the country was held in Suzhou in 2014. China has innovated and hosted another elite competitive series, the Grand Slam, usually held at year’s end in Wuxi.

Crucial ranking points in the Paris 2024 qualification process will be on offer across three days at the Shanxi Sports Center./T.T/

Seven Iranian films will go on screen at the 15th edition of the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. “Punch Drunk” by Adel Tabrizi will compete in the main section of the festival, which will be held in the U.S. city from November 2 to 12.

Set in Tehran in 1996, the story of the film follows Mahtab who lives along with her 10-year-old child, Erfan. She is divorced from her husband, Morteza, who is in jail.

Mahtab has enrolled her child in a karate class so that he does not end up like his father as far as his character is concerned. Erfan’s only interest is cinema and could not care less about sports. Hassan Khoshnud, the tough and serious karate instructor with his dictatorial methods causes Erfan to run away one day from the karate academy in the middle of exercises.

Short films “Katvoman” by Hadi Sheibani, “Zhakaw” by Farshid Gavilian and “Survivor” by Karim Azimi are also among the films.

An Iranian-Indian joint film, “Katvoman” shows a mom and son playing dressed up as Batman and Catwoman before dad returns for dinner. Through the play, the child discovers a difficult truth about his parents.

“Zhakaw” narrates the journey of a budding filmmaker, whose first cinematic venture has finally wrapped up. With an intention to break free from the shackles of isolation and connect with the folks in his apartment complex, he decides to host a screening of his flick. However, he struggles to bridge the communication gap between himself and his neighbors, resulting in further social awkwardness.

“Survivor” portrays some immigrants waiting by the sea for them to be able to cross it. A young couple is going with the other immigrants to the light of the world, but they have problems when their baby is born.

The festival will also screen Iranian shorts “Shalal”, Unnamed” and “Aban”.

Directed by Amir-Ali Sisipour, “Shalal” tells the story of a young boy named Mehran and his mother Ziba, who possess a peculiar habit of capturing people’s shadows using a black fur and drinking it until their own shadows return. One fateful day, Mehran feels compelled to capture someone’s shadow all by himself and sets out on a mysterious journey.

“Unnamed” by Iranmehr Salimi revolves around the life of Zainab. As a talented volleyball player, Zainab feels that her spirit aligns more with the male gender. Consequently, she chooses to undergo a gender transition. However, in doing so, she is aware of the severe repercussions, including the end of her successful career due to her short stature and the loss of her sole source of income, which could potentially jeopardize her family’s future.

“Aban”, a co-production between Iran and France by Abbas Taheri and Mahdieh Tusi, tells the story of Nazanin who tries to turn their 9-year-old child, Aban, away from a very driven feminine taste under constant pressure from her ex-husband. Today, Aban goes to the hospital hoping to undergo life-changing surgery.

The Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival emphasizes artworks that are by, for, and about the Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora experience.

Asian and Pacific Islander includes, but is not limited to people from and are descended from areas now known as Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Russia, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, and the Pacific Islands./T.T/

Iran ranks first in the field of ophthalmology among West Asian countries and competes with the world’s most advanced countries in this regard, according to an Iranian health official.

Chairman of the Ophthalmology Department at Iran’s Health Ministry, Dr. Mahmoud Jabbarvand, said Iran has been welcoming millions of medical tourists on a yearly basis and that no Iranian patient is sent abroad for medical treatment.

“Given the scope of research and studies in the field of ophthalmology, Iran is comparable to the world’s advanced countries,” Jabbarvand said in an interview with IRNA published on Saturday to mark World Sight Day.

“Because of the extensive range and outstanding quality of ophthalmic services and treatment here in Iran, no patient is sent abroad and even many patients from different countries, especially neighboring ones, travel to the country for treatment,” he said.

He further said that Iran has gained the expertise to domestically manufacture artificial corneas, adding that artificial cornea transplant is performed on patients who neither can receive human tissue nor stem cells.

Those who have undergone the surgery have managed to regain their full eyesight, Jabbarvand said.

He explained that 2,500 ophthalmologists are currently active in Iran, which has achieved significant progress in the field of stem cell application.

Iranian specialists can skillfully undertake meticulous applied research, he noted.

“Due to the great expertise and dazzling performance of our doctors, coupled with the efficient operation of state and private hospitals, patients who are diagnosed on time will quickly undergo surgery and regain their sight,” the top Iranian health official said.

Iran’s scientific community has remained productive in recent years, even as economic sanctions have made it difficult for universities to buy some of the most advanced equipment or send talented students to Europe or the United States to attend scientific meetings.

Tehran, Mashhad, Yazd, Shiraz and Ahvaz are among the top destinations chosen by medical tourists, who choose to cross borders to seek affordable treatment in Iran. /MNA/

Iran’s first satellite system project named after top anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani will be put into orbit within the next two years, according to the head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA).

Hossein Salariyeh said on Tuesday that his agency, in line with efforts to provide space station services in the field of communications especially the Internet of Things (IoT), has drawn up the technical specifications of the first indigenous narrowband telecommunication satellite and invited relevant knowledge-based companies to contribute their share to the project.

“In the first phase of the bidding process of this ambitious project, qualified and eligible companies and consortia were identified; and the winner of the tender, which is a consortium comprising of private and public firms, was selected in the second phase,” the official said.

Salariyeh went on to say that the contract for the Martyr Soleimani satellite project has been negotiated and concluded, emphasizing that a contract for the design, construction, delivery, test, and launch of the telecommunication project has been finalized between the ISA and a domestic consortium.

The senior Iranian space official further said that the satellite system project is gradually being built, and will be put into orbit within the next two years as several domestically-developed satellites are already in line to be blasted off into space.

“Martyr Soleimani satellite constellation will initially provide narrowband IoT services, meaning it will mostly collect data from sensors on the ground and transmit it to a reference station. God willing, the number and capabilities of involved satellites will grow later on,” Salariyeh said.

He added, “Currently, a specific bandwidth has been defined for the system, which will increase as newer models of satellites will be manufactured in the future. This means that the satellites will be equipped with newer and more advanced payloads.”

The ISA chief noted that the Martyr Soleimani satellite constellation will be placed in a low Earth orbit (LEO), hailing the project as the first of its kind in Iran and even the Muslim world.

The system has been developed entirely by Iranian specialists and is currently under construction. It will provide excellent services to state institutions, private companies, and ordinary people, Salariyeh said.

Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in recent years, Iran has managed to take giant strides in the civilian space program.

The country is among the world’s top 10 countries capable of developing and launching satellites. /MNA/

Directed by Nasrin Mohammadpour, the Iranian short film ‘Twenty-one Weeks Later’ was awarded at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.

Twenty-one Weeks Later managed to win the Sonje Award at the South Korean festival.

Banafshe Rezaie, Leila Hosseinzadeh, Soudabeh Bahraminejad, and Parisa Asgari are the cast members of the short film.

The 28th edition of the Busan Film Festival was held on October 12-21 in South Korea. /MNA/

The 35th edition of the International Film Festival for Children and Youth opened in the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday evening.

The ceremony was attended by Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili, the Governor of Isfahan Seyyed Reza Mousavi, the Mayor of Isfahan Ali Qassemzadeh, and the secretary of the festival Majid Zeinolabedin as well as a large number of children and youth.

“The festival offers a unique platform for Iranian children to unite and collectively aspire towards achieving great heights,” the minister said during the opening ceremony.

The education and development of the new generation of artists must include a fundamental incorporation of culture and art in their learning journey, he added.

The ministry is keen on partnering with the Farabi Foundation to implement cinema into the school curriculum and this would involve arranging dedicated sessions for film and cinema lessons, he explained.

He emphasized that cinema has the power to serve as a shared language between diverse nations and cultures and that the dynamic contributions of Iran’s younger generation will be integral to the industry’s ongoing advancement.

For his part, Zeinolabedin said that this year, more than 550 films applied for the festival in the four competitive categories and national and international sections in the field of short and feature films.

After a meticulous selection process, a grand total of 68 films qualified for the final phase of the competition.

The inclusion of 835 children and youth jurors is a testament to Isfahan’s children’s fervor and eagerness for the festival, as well as the widespread support from the community.

The 35th International Film Festival for Children and Youth will run until October 12. /T.T/

Iranian athletes finished the 2022 Asian Games in China with 54 medals on Sunday. Iran has sent 289 male and female athletes to the Games in 34 sports events. At the end of the tournament, Iranian athletes won 13 gold, 21 silver, and 20 bronze medals to stand in seventh place in sporting events.

China, Japan, South Korea, India, Uzbekistan, and Chinese Taipei were ranked first to sixth respectively.

Iran’s national chess and volleyball teams each won gold medals in the Asian Games.

Afshin Salimi (Wushu), Yousef Sabri (Wushu), Sadegh Azarang (Kurash), Hossein Rasouli (Discus throw), Reza Alipour (Climbing), Mohammad-Hadi Saravi (Greco-Roman wrestling), Amin Mirzazadeh (Greco-Roman wrestling), Sajjad Ganjzadeh (Karate), Younes Emami (Freestyle wrestling), Hassan Yazdani (Freestyle wrestling), and Amir-Hossein Zare (Freestyle wrestling) were Iranian athletes who bagged gold medals in different categories for the country in the sporting event.

Iran’s women’s double sculls team and quadruple sculls team, Iran’s men’s kabaddi team each won silver medals in the Asian Games.

Mehdi Hajimousaei (Taekwondo), Alireza Hosseinpour (Taekwondo), Arian Salimi (Taekwondo), Shoja Panahi (Wushu), Zahra Kiani (Talo-Wushu), Elahe Mansourian (Wushu), Mohsen Mohammadseifi (Wushu), Mehdi Olfati (Gymnastic), Majid Vahid Barimanlo (Kurash), Donya Aghaei (Wushu), Zahra Bagheri (Wushu), Ehsan Hadadi (Discus throw), Amin Kavianinejad (Greco-Roman wrestling), Naser Alizadeh (Greco-Roman wrestling), Taraneh Ahmadi (Freestyle skating), Rahman Amouzad (Freestyle wrestling), Mojtaba Goleij (Freestyle wrestling) and Ali Davoudi (Powerlifting) were Iranian athletes who bagged silver medals in different categories for the country in China.

Iranian national table tennis, fencing, shooting, double table tennis, 2x Canoe, Kayak and Wome’s Kabadditeams each won bronze medals in the Asian Games.

Also, Iranian athletes including Marjan Salahshouri (Taekwondo), Mobina Nematzadeh (Taekwondo), Matin Rezaei (Taekwondo), Melika Mirhosseini (Taekwondo), Mehran Barkhourdari (Taekwondo), Faranak Partoazar (Cycling), Mohammad Rahbari (Fencing), Shahrbano Mansourian (Wushu), Melika Omidvand (Wushu), Hediyeh Kazemi (Kayak), Danial Sohrabi (Greco-Roman wrestling), Fatemeh Sa’adati (Karate), and Sara Bahmanyar (Karate) each won bronze medals in the sporting event.

With more than 12,000 competitors from 45 nations and territories, the 2022 Asian Games has more participants than the Olympics. /MNA/

Iran saw 3.35 million tourist arrivals in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21), which soars 38 percent year on year, a government official said on Monday.

The rate of tourist arrivals, mainly from Iran’s neighboring countries, has been “promising”, Ali-Asghar Shalbafian, who is the deputy tourism minister said on Monday.

“The course of attracting inbound passengers was promising so that from the first of the year to end of Shahrivar, three million and 354 thousand travelers entered the country, which shows a growth of 38% compared to a year earlier,” Shalbafian said in a press conference.

He probably hinted at the country’s tourism revival as coronavirus restrictions have been eased, but remained way below pre-pandemic levels.

The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seeks a border-easing strategy based on which it may unilaterally drop visa requirements for passport holders of 60 states, the official noted.

The scheme recommends unilateral cancellation of visas with Muslim countries and neighboring states to increase international arrivals, the official said.

The Islamic Republic recorded about 850,000 foreign tourist arrivals during the first two months of the year, which shows over 50 percent growth year on year, the tourism ministry announced earlier this year.

The Islamic Republic has steadily stepped up efforts to use tourism, over the past couple of years, to help promote its international image battered by endless opposition mostly from the U.S.According to the statistics bureau of the World Tourism Organization, Iran’s foreign tourist arrivals in 2022 rose 315 percent from a year earlier. Data showed around 4.1 million tourists came to the country in 2022, while the Islamic Republic attracted 990,000 tourists in 2021.

The upsurge of foreign tourist arrivals in 2022 was three times the global average growth in this field. Nevertheless, Iran’s share in attracting foreign tourists is still small, and only 0.4% of all foreign tourist trips in 2022 have been made to Iran, the report said.

Before the COVID pandemic, Iran’s tourism had constantly been growing, reaching more than eight million visitors in the Iranian calendar year 1398 (started March 21, 2019). That surge, however, helped prejudices to become thick and thin.

Iran’s tourism, however, was already grappling with some challenges, on top of those Western “media propaganda” aimed at scaring potential travelers away from the Islamic Republic. Some say Iran is still somehow “unknown” for many potential travelers due to such a “media war.”

The Islamic Republic has steadily stepped up efforts to use tourism, over the past couple of years, to help promote its international image battered by endless opposition mostly from the U.S.

The Islamic Republic expects to reap a bonanza from its numerous tourist spots such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 27 are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. /T.T/

Determined to bring home a medal for Iran, Faranak Partoazar, Iranian cyclist, talked about her dedication after winning a bronze at the Cycling Mountain Bike in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Partoazar’s win on Monday marked the first time an Iranian woman cyclist has won a medal in the Asian Games.

“I was determined to win this medal, and nothing could stop me,” said Partoazar in her interview with Tehran Times.

“I made it my goal to win a medal for Iran after my loss at the previous edition of the Asian Games in Jakarta. While unforeseeable circumstances impacted my medal’s color, I’m happy to have demonstrated the potential of Iranian female cyclists,” she added.

“I put my disappointment at the Asian Games behind me and set my sights on the Hangzhou Games. My determination paid off and I made history for my country as a female cyclist. I hope my success inspires more women in Iran to pursue cycling and compete for medals in the upcoming games,” she added

When asked about her next goals, Partoazar said, “The 2023 Asian Cycling Championship is taking place in India soon, and I’m hoping to prepare myself well without any injuries or pressure. I aim to shine once more and obtain the 2024 Olympics quota, and show that achieving Olympic quotas is not a dream for the Iranian cyclists anymore,” she concluded./T.T/

The Ministry of Science is planning to increase the number of international students to some 320,000 from currently around 100,000 by 2026, Hashem Dadashpour, the head of the Organization of Student Affairs, has said.

“There was an increase in the number of international students over the sixth National Development Plan (2017-2021). The seventh development plan (2022-2026) has also put increasing the figure to around 320,000 on the agenda,” he explained.

“Strengthening scientific authority, developing public diplomacy, and expanding the Persian language are the three main reasons for attracting international students,” Dadashpour said, IRIB reported.

He went on to say that the principle of attracting international students is a major strategy and plan for the Ministry of Science.”

Dadashpour stressed that the international campus of universities is the center of attracting international students and managing their affairs, but all university vice-chancellors are responsible for international students as much as Iranian students.

He pointed out that “International students’ attendance at the cultural events of the university helps Iranian students to get more familiar with them and their culture.”

“Also, international students can have their own cultural and artistic organization.”

The infrastructure of the university, educational and cultural planning, and the university staff should all attract students in a way that gives them a different positive view of Iran as they get back home.

The deputy head of the student affairs organization considered it important to provide suitable centers and platforms for teaching the Persian language to international students in universities.

Dadashpour stated, “Learning the Persian language is an important precondition for studying in Iran.”

The 61st meeting was held with the motto of cultural transformation of the university and smart governance.

Foreign students from 119 countries

Currently, international students from 119 countries are studying in Iran, IRNA reported.

Shortening the processes of providing services to international students, such as issuing visas and residence permits, offering employment, banking, and transportation services, and benefiting from cultural advisors who are currently based in 81 countries, as well as ambassadors in different countries, are among the capacities which can be used to attract more international students.

The Ministry of Science is planning to upgrade an online system titled “Study in Iran” in order to familiarize foreign students with universities as well as the conditions and costs of living in the country.

For the time being, the system is operating in four languages Persian, English, Arabic, and Chinese, Dadashpour said in June.

“We plan to add three more languages, namely Russian, French, and Spanish in the next few months,” he added, IRNA reported.

The system actually plays the role of an intermediary between universities and applicants for studies in Iran, Dadashpour said, noting: “We briefly introduce the universities with the license to admit international students, and at the same time, the applicants can be connected to the desired university through special links.”

This possibility is also provided for the applicants to study in Iran to register and send the admission application while being familiarized with the cultural and academic situation in Iran, and at the same time to learn about the experiences of international students in the country, he highlighted.

Also, an exhibition will be held from November 14-19 with the aim of introducing the advantages of studying in Iran for international students, he said.

“The first section of the exhibition is related to Persian language teaching centers, and the second section is related to private institutions for attracting international students and institutions of target countries.”

“The third section is dedicated to activists who are interested in attracting international students to Iran. The fourth section is related to scientific and technological achievements of science and technology parks and knowledge-based companies, and finally, the fifth section is related to the cultures and customs of foreign countries.” /T.T/