Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei declared on Saturday general policies on family to the three branches of the government under 16 paragraphs, characterizing family as the “cornerstone of the Islamic society.”

“As the underlying entity and cornerstone of the Islamic society, family is the locus of growth, human sublimity, and the source of well-being, flourishing, prowess, and spiritual promotion for the country and the establishment…” the Leader stated.

In its push toward what the Leader termed a “family-based society,” the country should focus on the ensuing guidelines:

1. Establishing a family-based society and reinforcing and strengthening family and its main functions on the basis of an Islamic model of family

2. Considering family as a pivotal entity in regulations and laws, executive policies, and all educational, cultural, social, and economic systems, particularly the housing and urban development

3. Highlighting the functions of family-mosque links to preserve and promote the Islamic and national identity as well as family and society

4. Forming a nationwide movement to facilitate and disseminate successful marriage for girls and boys and all of those at marriage age through enforcing supportive policies and culture-making

5. Strengthening family and promoting its social capital on the basis of fairness, satisfaction, friendship, and respect

6. Offering and working out the Islamic model of family and boosting the Islamic-Iranian life style

7. Revising, rectifying, and completing the judicial system and the relevant procedures in connection with family

8. Creating a healthy environment and observing Islamic norms in relations between men and women

9. Promoting living and economic conditions of families through empowering them to diminish future concerns about employment, marriage, and housing

10. Organizing the counseling system of the country for offering services before and after forming a family and facilitating access to the services

11. Strengthening and encouraging families to help the country to push forward with its goals and plans in all cultural, economic, political, and defensive sectors

12. Supporting the dignity of connubiality, motherhood, house holding, paternal and economic roles of men, etc.

13. Preventing social abnormalities and factors which loosen the foundations of family, particularly the issue of divorce

14. Supporting female-headed single parents financially, economically, and culturally and encouraging them to re-marry

15. Adopting supportive and encouraging mechanisms for honoring the old in families and boosting their physical and emotional cares

16. Working out mechanisms to promote general well-being of families, particularly the fertility well-being and increasing birth rate in order to have a young, healthy, dynamic, and booming society / Tehran times /

According to the Global Innovation Index 2016, the Islamic Republic of Iran, among 128 countries and economies, ranked second in the percentage of graduates in science & engineering, fourth in tertiary education, 26 in knowledge creation, 31 in gross percentage of tertiary enrolment, 41 in general infrastructure, 48 in human capital as well as research and 51 in innovation efficiency ratio.

Iran ranks second in the percentage of graduates in science, engineering

The United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Tehran said in a press release on Wednesday Cornell University, INSEAD Business School and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently released the Global Innovation Index 2016, which ranks the innovation performance of 128 countries and economies around the world, based on 82 indicators.

WIPO Director General, Francis Gurry believes “Investing in innovation is critical to raising long-term economic growth”. / Irna /

Family of a brain dead soldier, who was declared brain dead following a June 22 road accident, donated his organs and saved three lives.

Vahid Hallaj, a soldier who was among the passengers boarding a bus coming back from the garrison in Kerman, was announced brain dead on August 23 after spending two months in a critical condition at the hospital.

Vahid’s kidneys and liver were the organs viable for transplant. His liver went to a 39-year-old male patients and his kidneys went to two patients; a 47-year old male and a 48-year old female, Mehr news agency quoted Health Ministry spokesman Iraj Harirchi as saying on Thursday.

Over a bus rollover which took place on June 22 on a road linking the southern cities of Shiraz and Kerman 19 passengers who were all soldiers passed away and dozens got injured. / Tehran times /

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei received the cabinet on Wednesday on the occasion of the Government Week.

During the meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and his ministers, the Leader outlined seven priorities to be adopted by the government that included resistance economy foreign policy science and technology security culture the sixth development plan, and social media.

Lauding efforts made by the government over the past three years, the Leader stressed, “Today, economic bottlenecks are the foremost problem of the country, which must be resolved. Their resolution depends on the correct and accurate implementation of the policies of resistance economy.”

To achieve this, provinces should be given the leeway to make decisions, banking loans and liquidity should be channeled into the production sector, export incentives should be considered, agricultural products should be purchased and paid for on time, and finally, heed should be paid to villages and processing industries.

As the second priority, the Leader referred to the foreign policy pursued by the administration, calling for more accurate and vigilant approaches to regional issues.

He also advised the government to act eclectically in its foreign policy: “Asia, Africa, and Latin America must be given their due share in the country’s foreign policy.”

As the third lap of the roadmap, the Leader pointed to the importance of science and technology.

“For the country to make progress it needs science and technology and over the past years, good progress has been made.”

Elsewhere in his remark, Ayatollah Khamenei put emphasis on the issue of security, thanking Allah and armed forces for high security and stability indexes of the country.

“…while countries in the region are fraught with incidents and insecurity, the country enjoys a strong security shield.”

This is owing to “the revolutionary and religious spirit of the people,” as well as “defense capabilities” of the county, he added.

Culture was the fifth priority the Leader touched upon, warning against dogmatism.

“Culture includes literature, art, life style, and social code of conduct; and all cultural entities have responsibilities in all these areas.”

“Personally, I do not support dogmatism, pressure, or suppression in the cultural arena, but I do strongly believe in liberalism, however it should not be taken to mean slackness and leaving room for the enemy to cause damage.”

Referring to delays in drafting the sixth five-year development plan of the country, the Leader called for accelerating the process.

“Development plans bring coordination and synergy and act like the links of a chain, pushing the country toward objectives of the Outlook Plan.”

Last but not least, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to social media, saying, “Social media are a progressive, extensive, and unstoppable world that can bring with them great opportunities and at the same time, threats.”

/ Tehran times /

With 12 new power plant construction projects inaugurated in the Government Week (August 23-29), Iran’s nominal electricity generation capacity will reach 80,000 megawatts (MW) in near future, Mehr news agency reported on Monday.

According to the report, the total generation capacity of the inaugurated projects will be 6,084 MW with a 178.337 trillion rials (about $5 billion) finance.

However, one of the goals of the country’s electricity industry within the framework of the sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2016-2021) is to boost electricity generation to more than 100,000 MW.

During the current Iranian calendar year of 1395 (started on March 20, 2016) with the operation of 10 new power plants, the country’s electricity production capacity has reached 74,000 MW, Mehr reported.

In line with starting the new power plant projects, three new thermal plants with a total capacity of 3,460 MW will be also inaugurated and start operating in the Iranian calendar month of Shahrivar (August22-September 21).

During the mentioned period, 22 renewable energy projects (solar and wind power) will also become operational across the country.

Earlier in July, Mohammad Sadeqzadeh, the managing director of Renewable Energy Organization of Iran, Known as SUNA, announced that the Islamic Republic will add renewable energy plants with the total generation capacity of 100 MW by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2017).

/ Tehran times /

Iran’s non-oil trade during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-August 21, 2016) amounted to $35.817 billion, according to the Iran Customs Administration.

The country’s non-oil exports totaled $19.108 billion, a 10.22 percent rise compared to the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, $16.709 billion of non-oil goods were imported, showing 2.85 percent decline year on year.

Main exported items included gas condensate, worth $3.27 billion, and liquefied gas, worth $1.94 billion.

Rice and corn were the two main imported items, valued at $476 million and $417 million respectively.

China topped the list of Iranian non-oil goods importers with $3.405 billion of import. The United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Turkey and South Korea ranked next.

Meanwhile, China was the leading exporter of non-oil goods to Iran with $3.863 billion of export. The United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Turkey ranked next.

Iran’s non-oil trade hit $83 billion in the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 19, 2016.

Iran exported $42.415 billion of non-oil goods while imported $41.499 billion of non-oil goods, showing 16.11 percent decrease in exports and 22.53 percent decline in imports when compared to its previous year. / Tehran times /

Rural women play an important but hidden role in the economy of families and the society, said Shahindokht Molaverdi the Iranian vice-president for women and family affairs.

Unfortunately, the role of rural women is not appreciated and their hidden role is ignored in the society, ISNA quoted Molaverdi as saying on Friday.

“This is an injustice toward rural women,” she stressed.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of cultural festival of rural girls which was held in Zibakenar rural area, Gilan province, Molaverdi put the emphasis on the role and position of rural girls in different fields.

Women’s investments can be utilized for implementing resistance economy, Molaverdi said, adding that encouraging women for teamwork is essential for the society.

Without women’s contribution, implementing general goals of the resistance economy will not be possible, the vice-president noted.

Women make up 12 million out of the 32 million rural population of Iran, Molaverdi said, adding that women in the province of Gilan play a key role in agriculture and handicraft industries.  / Tehran times /

The Iranian team ended the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro ranking 25th in the standings, winning eight medals – three golds, one silver and four bronzes.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games drew to a close Sunday following 17 days of competition between more than 10,900 athletes representing 206 nations.

The Rio Games, which marked the first Olympics to be held in South America – saw the U.S. top the medal chart in every category for only the seventh time in Olympic history and the first since 1948, leading all nations with 121 medals, including 46 golds, 37 silvers and 38 bronzes.

Kianoush Rostami claimed a gold medal in the men’s 85kg weightlifting.

Rostami, 25, a silver medalist in the same category in London four years ago, made 217kg with his final clean and jerk for a total of 396kg, beating his world record by one kilogram.

China’s Tian Tao took silver with 395kgs despite making only two of his six lifts, while Romania’s Gabriel Sincraian secured bronze with 390kg.

Sohrab Moradi won the gold medal in the men’s 94kg category to claim Iran’s second weightlifting gold medal of the Rio Games.

Moradi dominated the event with a combined total of 403kg.

Belarus’s Vadzim Straltsou claimed silver on 395kg while Lithuania’s Aurimas Didzbalis took bronze with 392kg.

Hassan Yazdani claimed first wrestling gold medal of the Olympic.

Yazdani scored the winning points just seconds from the end of the under-74kg title bout against Russian opponent Aniuar Geduev.

Jarayil Hasanov of Azerbaijan beat Uzbekistan’s Bekzod Abdurakhmonov 8-7 for bronze. European champion Soner Demeritas won a battle of the bushy beards to snare the other bronze medal, beating Galymzhan Usserbayev of Kazakhstan 6-0.

Iranian freestyle wrestler Komeil Ghasemi claimed a silver medal in the men’s -125kg freestyle final.

He lost to Turkey’s Taha Akgul 3-1 in the Rio Olympics final match.

Geno Petriashvili of Georgia and Belarus’ Ibrahim Saidov bagged the bronze medals in the weight category.

Kimia Alizadeh claimed the first ever Olympic medal by an Iranian woman in Rio on Friday.

Alizadeh, 18, defeated Sweden’s Nikita Glasnovic 5-1 in the under-57kg division to win the historic bronze medal.

Great Britain’s Jade Jones defeated Spain’s Eva Calvo Gomez 16-7 to reclaim the gold medal she won at the 2012 London Games in the category.

Hassan Rahimi snatched a bronze medal at the men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling.

Rahimi, who lost to Japan’s Rei Higuchi in the semifinals, defeated Cuba’s Yowlys Bonne, the world No. 3, 5-0 to win the bronze medal in the division.

Gold medal went to Vladimer Khinchegashvili, who beat Higuchi in the final match.

Greco-Roman wrestler Saeid Abdevali claimed a bronze medal in the 75kg.

The Iranian beat Peter Bacsi from Hungary 3-1 in the bronze medal match.

South Korean Kim Hyeonwoo also defeated Bozo Starcevic from Croatia 3-1 to win a bronze.

Russian wrestler Roman Vlasov won gold in the category, defeating Mark Madsen from Denmark 5-1 in the final match.

And Ghasem Rezaei snatched the bronze medal in the men’s Greco-Roman 98kg division.

The London gold medalist defeated Carl Fredrik Stefan Schoen of Sweden.

Cenk Ildem of Turkey earned another bronze medal in the division, taking down Alin Alexuc Ciurariu of Romania.

Artur Aleksanyan of Armenia beat Yasmany Daniel Lugo Cabrera of Cuba, earning the gold medal.

/ Tehran times /