The recent birth of four baby red deer in Semeskandeh Wildlife Refuge in Sari, Mazandaran Province, has lifted the spirits of officials and activists, and increased the critically endangered animal’s chances of survival.

Prior to the birth of the four fawns, the red deer, or maral deer, numbered 21 in the wildlife refuge.

The red deer is the largest species of deer in Iran and its habitat stretches from the southern shores of Caspian Sea to as far as North Khorasan Province in northeast.

Illegal hunting and deforestation of the Caspian Hyrcanian Forests (where the animal is found) have caused a major drop in the population of the mammal, putting it at serious risk of extinction.

Conservation efforts are made all the more difficult by the fact that maral’s gestation period is around 8.5 months and the female deer gives birth to one fawn at a time.

Bahram Faghani, the head of Department of Environment’s office in Sari, Mazandaran Province, said the mortality rate of red deer “has decreased significantly over the past few years”, Mehr News Agency reported.

With an area of 937 hectares, Semeskandeh Wildlife Refuge is a lowland forested hillside located in southeast Sari. The refuge is also home to the Persian fallow deer, a species that has been listed as an endangered species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List since 1986.

The animal’s main habitat is the province of Khuzestan in southern Iran but is kept in Semeskandeh for conservation purposes.

/financialtribune.com/

Iran national wrestling team claimed the Freestyle World Cup for fifth successive year on Monday. In the gold medal match Iran topped Russia five matches to three at The Forum, Inglewood, California. Iran beat Azerbaijan (5-3), India (8-0) and the U.S. (4-4) in the event. Iran has won Freestyle World Cup seven times so far. Georgia defeated host the U.S. 5-3 in the bronze medal match. The 2017 Freestyle World Cup is set for Tehran, Iran next year.

2016 MEN’S FREESTYLE WORLD CUP

At The Forum, Inglewood, Calif., June 11-12

Final Standings

1st: Iran

2nd: Russia

3rd: Georgia

4th: United States

5th: Azerbaijan

6th: Mongolia

7th: India

8th: Turkey

1st Place Match

Iran 5 – Russia 3

57 kg: Hassan Rahimi (Iran) dec. Gadzhimurad Rashidov (Russia), 3-3

61 kg: Masoud Esmaeilpour Jouiybari (Iran) dec. Viktor Rassadin (Russia), 12-6

65 kg: Magomed Kurbanaliev (Russia) dec. Meysam Nasiri (Iran), 4-1

70 kg: Mostafa Hosseinkhani (Iran) dec. Khalil Aminov (Russia), 10-1

74 kg: Hassan Yazdani Charati (Iran) tech. fall Khetik Tsabolov (Russia), 14-4

86 kg: Shamil Kudiiamagomedov (Russia) dec. Alireza Karimi Machiani (Iran), 6-3

97 kg: Abdusalam Gadisov (Russia) dec. Amir Mohammadi (Iran), 10-3

125 kg: Komeil Ghasemi (Iran) dec. Muradin Kushkov (Russia), 3-2

3rd Place Match

United States 4 (16) – Georgia 4 (17)

57 kg: Vladimer Khinchegashvili (Georgia) fall Daniel Dennis (United States), 2:32

61 kg: Beka Lomtadze (Georgia) dec. Tony Ramos (United States), 8-5

65 kg: Frank Molinaro (United States) dec. Zurab Iakobishvili (Georgia), 4-4

70 kg: James Green (United States) tech. fall David Tlashadze (Georgia), 10-0

74 kg: Alex Dieringer (United States) dec. Yakob Makarashvili (Georgia), 10-1

86 kg: Dato Marsigashvili (Georgia) dec. J’den Cox (United States), 7-4

97 kg: Kyle Snyder (United States) dec. Elizbar Odikadze (Georgia), 3-3

125 kg: Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) dec. Zach Rey (United States), 6-2

5th Place Match

Azerbaijan 5 – Mongolia 3

57 kg: Makhmud Magomedov (Azerbaijan) tech. fall Batbold Sodnomdash (Mongolia), 11-0

61 kg: Akhmednabi Gvarzatilov (Azerbaijan) tech. fall Tuvshintulga Tumenbileg (Mongolia), 10-0

65 kg: Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (Mongolia) dec. Magomed Muslimov (Azerbaijan), 7-3

70 kg: Gadzhimurad Omarov (Azerbaijan) dec. Altangerel Dorjtsegmed (Mongolia), 6-5

74 kg: Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia) dec. Ashraf Aliyev (Azerbaijan), 7-0

86 kg: Uitumen Orgodol (Mongolia) fall Magomedgadzhi Khatiyev (Azerbaijan), 2:37

97 kg: Aslanbek Alborov (Azerbaijan) dec. Khuderbulga Dorjkhand (Mongolia), 6-1

125 kg: Said Gamidov (Azerbaijan) dec. Chuluunbat Jargalsaikan (Mongolia), 6-2

7th Place Match

India 4 – Turkey 3

57 kg: Suleyman Atli (Turkey) forfeit (India)

61 kg: Bajrang (India) tech. fall Soyler Mehmet (Turkey), 11-0

65 kg: Rajneesh (India) dec. Dogan Burak (Turkey), 4-3

70 kg: Vinod Kumar (India) dec. Selahattin Kilicsallayan (Turkey), 10-9

74 kg: Parveen Rana (India) forfeit (Turkey)

86 kg: Selim Yasar (Turkey) tech. fall Pawan Kumar (India), 10-0

97 kg: Mutlu Muren (Turkey) forfeit (India)

125 kg: Double forfeit

Seven international companies have expressed eagerness to participate in the construction of the Iran-Oman Gas Pipeline, managing director of National Iranian Gas Export Company said on Sunday.

“We cannot hold serious negotiations with foreign companies as long as feasibility studies of the project are not concluded,” Alireza Kameli was also quoted as saying by Shana.

Kameli noted that plans have been made to increase the envisaged gas transmission capacity of the pipeline from 28 million cubic meters to 42 mcm.

Evaluating the trilateral meetings attended by the representatives of NIGEC, Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company and an unnamed Omani company as “positive”, the official noted that the process is continuing as per the schedule.

“The project’s contractor [which is due to work under the supervision of the two countries], has been selected, the geodetic operations have been completed on Iran’s part and it is being implemented on the part of Oman,” Kameli said.

IOEC, as the project’s consultant company, has carried out studies for choosing the best sea route for the delivery of Iranian gas to the Arab neighbor, which has been finalized in coordination with the Omani side.

NIGEC’s chief executive expressed optimism that studies would come to fruition in three months, adding that it will take two years to implement the whole project, including laying the pipeline and setting up infrastructures such as gas metering and compressor stations in Iran’s territorial waters.

Kameli noted that preparatory measures, including establishing a joint venture company, for talks on other contracts related to the pipeline, are also on the agenda.

/financialtribune.com/

Hamid Sabzevari, an Iranian poet who is mostly known for the works composed in the heat of the Islamic Revolution and the early years after the historic event, died at the age of 91 at Tehran’s Asia Hospital on Friday night.

He was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

“My father had left Tehran over the past few days to take a rest in Karaj; however, we transferred him to the hospital on Friday after his illness worsened and unfortunately he died at 10 p.m.,” Sabzevari’s son, Mohsen, told the Persian service of ISNA on Saturday.

Sabezvari’s fans and friends are scheduled to gather at Tehran’s Art Bureau on Monday to bid him farewell. He will then be transferred to Sabzevar to be buried in his hometown in Khorasan Razavi Province.

In his last will and testament, Sabzevari asked to be interred at his home in Sabzevar, Mohsen said.

He said that his family is negotiating with the officials of Sabzevar to persuade them to fulfill Sabzevari’s will.

Many Iranian officials, including Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati, Academy of Persian Language and Literature Director Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel and Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, offered condolences over the death of Sabzevari.

Born as Hossein Aqa-Momtaheni in 1925, Sabzevari began composing poetry at the age of 14. He composed poems in different styles including couplets, sonnets and blank verse.

In 1979, he composed “Khomeini, Oh Imam!” in praise of Imam Khomeini, the founder of Islamic Republic. The poem was performed and recorded by a group of students weeks before the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

He is the composer of “USA, USA, Shame on Your Deceits!”, which was performed by a chorus and solo tenor Esfandiar Qarabaghi after the occupation of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979.

His poem “This Is the Call of Freedom from the Orient” was performed by singer Mohammad Golriz after the victory of the revolution.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei once called Sabzevari “a talented poet who always supports the achievements of the Islamic Revolution in his works.”

In October 2012, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in collaboration with the Hakim Sabzevari University commemorated Sabzevari during a special ceremony in Sabzevar following a request from Ayatollah Khamenei.

Sabzevari made his last public appearance on May 17 this year at Tehran’s Imam Ali (AS) Religious Arts Museum, where a large number of literati gathered to commemorate him.

/ Tehran times /

Primary estimates show a 40 percent decline in the smuggling of gods in Iran over the past two years, Qasem Khorshidi, head of the Anti-Smuggling Headquarters said on Wednesday.

The 40 percent drop is the result of making corrective decisions in macroeconomic level, and also taking preventive measures as well as countermeasures, Khorshidi explained, IRNA news agency reported.

Firstly, the decisions made in macroeconomic issues of the country such as bringing the inflation rate under control and reducing it have led to a decrease in smuggling, he noted.

Next, the preventive measures such as increasing intelligent and online monitoring of the transit networks, limiting the transit of some specific goods, and administrating product tracking ID are of the few preventive steps taken against smuggling, he added.

And lastly, police forces increased cooperation doubled with Supreme National Security Council and armed forces supports are also the countermeasures taken to battle smuggling, Khorshidi highlighted.

Given the three aforesaid measures, he said, the $25 billion worth of smuggling reported in Iranian calendar year 1392 (March 2013-March 2014) diminished to $15 billion in the calendar year ended in March 2016.

/Tehran times/

French Parliament Speaker Claude Bartolone says without Iran’s engagement, West Asia will not see lasting peace.

“I believe that today, the most urgent priority is fighting terrorism, in which Iran has its role,” ICANA reported him as saying on Thursday. “Without Tehran, the region will not see a durable peace.”

He made the remarks in a phone conversation with the Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani.

Congratulating Larijani on his reelection as chairman of the new legislature, Bartolone said he will soon visit Iran to help prepare the way for closer interaction between the two legislatures.

“The French Parliament is willing to discuss with Iranian officials ways to develop bilateral ties, especially in economic spheres, the [global] campaign against terrorism and collaboration between Iran and the European Union to help secure peace and security in West Asia,” the senior French official said.

Larijani said cooperation between the two parliamentarians will facilitate bilateral relations, which entered a new stage after President Hassan Rouhani visited Paris in January.

He was referring to the high-profile political-economic visit and the economic deals worth $33 billion signed between the two sides.

“There are major issues regarding the situation in the region which can be discussed during the trip of the French parliamentary delegation to Tehran,” Larijani said.

/financialtribune.com/

Pakistan’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project will be completed by June 2018, Pakistani news agencies reported on Friday.

The minister made the remarks while briefing the diplomats, civil society and the media on the government’s performance and strategy at the Prime Minister Office on Thursday.

The project’s capacity is estimated to be 0.25 – 0.75 billion cubic feet per day, he said.

Touching upon the relationships between the two countries, Abbasi said, the U.S. sanctions are still causing problems for economic and financial relations between Pakistan and Iran. However, talks between Tehran and Islamabad on completion of the gas pipeline project is going on, IRNA reported.

Abbasi also noted that two main obstacles in the way of completion of IP gas pipeline are unresolved issue of trade in dollar and also the possibility of sanctions against Iran being reversible.

“So far Pakistan has not been able to convince investors to invest on the gas pipeline project” he added.

Iran and Pakistan signed an agreement for the construction of the gas pipeline in 1995. Later, Iran made a proposal to extend the pipeline from Pakistan into India. In February 1999, an accord between Iran and India was signed.

Iran has opened direct flights between Tehran and the Russian city of Astrakhan to boost trade ties between the two countries, local media reported Tuesday, citing a senior official with Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization.

Flights between Iran’s capital and southern Russian city are scheduled for every Tuesday and Friday, the ISNA news agency cited TPO Vice President Mohammad Reza Modoudi as saying.

The flight is aimed at promoting trade between Iran and Russia, but ordinary passengers will also use the route, according to Modoudi.

The media outlet did not name the flight operator, while the online timetable of Astrakhan’s international Narimanovo Airport shows a Taban Air flight arriving at 13:00 local time (09:00 GMT). / Tehran times /

Efforts are underway to take back Mesbah satellite seized by Italy during the sanctions period, the head of Iran Space Agency said.

“Iranian researchers are now studying the options of launching Mesbah satellite into the orbit,” Mohsen Bahrami was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

Italy refused to hand back the satellite to Iran after both teams jointly developed the low orbiting vehicle in 1998.

Iran’s Mesbah satellite was built in collaboration with Italy’s Carlo Gavazzi Space S.p.A in 1998 and was unveiled in 2005.

Mesbah, a low earth orbit telecommunications satellite, was never launched as both Russia and Italy refused to continue cooperation with Iran on space projects due to the sanctions. Iran has been making extensive efforts to reconnect to its former science partners since sanctions were removed earlier in January.

Earlier in March, Iran and seven member states of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization announced plans to jointly design and build a remote sensing satellite.

Abolqasem Naqqash, Iran’s representative at APSCO, told Mehr News Agency at the time that Iran, in addition to holding the organization’s presidency, was also pursuing cooperation on various projects with other member states.

He further said one such project was the construction of a miniaturized satellite, stating that the general outlines of the project have been approved by APSCO.

Naqqash noted that universities of China, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Mongolia and Peru have stated their readiness to participate in the satellite project.

“In the joint student satellite project, the participating teams intend to build two ‘CubeSats’ and a ‘Microsatellite’,” he said.

Earlier in the year, Iran was reportedly taking preliminary steps toward leasing or buying commercial satellites and acquiring related technologies.

Providers of satellite services and hardware on both sides of the Atlantic were believed to be making maneuvers to land business in Iran. The country has started recruiting western advisers to pave the way for such deals, which could include using satellites already in orbit, according to some of these officials.   /financialtribune.com/