Iranians are celebrating the national Women’s Day to honor the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad’s daughter Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra (PBUH).

Every year, people in Iran commemorate the national Women’s Day and Mother’s Day on the 20th day of the lunar Islamic month of Jamadi al-Thani, which marks the birthday anniversary of Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra.

Hazrat Fatemeh was the wife of Imam Ali (PBUH), the first Imam of Shia Muslims, and is referred to as a role model for all Muslim women.

Many Iranians take the occasion of this holiday to thank and honor their mothers, grandmothers, wives and sisters and to spend more time with them. They pay tribute to them by giving them gifts.

/ press tv/

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has stressed the strengthening of Iran’s defense capabilities in the face of enemy threats.

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with eulogists on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad’s daughter Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra (PBUH) on Wednesday.

Ayatollah Khamenei noted that Iran needs to have boosted its defensive military capabilities in order to strengthen its position in potential negotiations.

“If the Islamic establishment seeks technology and negotiations but does not have defensive power, it will have to back down in the face of any petty country that threatens [it],” the Leader said, wrote Presstv.

“That they say the future of the world is one of negotiation and not one of missiles… if that is said out of ignorance, well it is ignorance, but if it’s said knowingly, it is treason,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“The Islamic Republic must use all tools,” the Leader said, adding, “I am not opposed to political dialog, not with everyone of course. I am fine with political dialog on the level of global issues. These are times of both missiles and negotiations”.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks come as the United States and some of their European allies are seeking a meeting at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Iran’s recent missile tests, which they claim were carried out in defiance of a UNSC resolution.

In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Spain’s UN Ambassador Roman Oyarzun Marchesi, the US, Britain, France, and Germany have reportedly called for discussions on an “appropriate response” by the UNSC to Iran’s missile tests.

In their joint letter, the four countries claimed that the missiles used in Iran’s recent tests were “inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons” and were “inconsistent with” and “in defiance of” UNSC Resolution 2231 adopted last July to endorse a nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries.

Resolution 2231, which endorses the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the Iran-P5+1 agreement — provides for the termination of the provisions of previous Security Council resolutions over the Iranian nuclear program.

On March 9, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully test-fired two ballistic missiles as part of measures to assess IRGC capabilities. The missiles, dubbed Qadr-H and Qadr-F, were fired during large-scale drills code-named Eqtedar-e-Velayat. Iran fired another ballistic missile dubbed Qiam from silo-based launchers in different locations across the country on March 8.

Iran argues its missiles are defensive and designed to carry conventional explosives only. The US, Britain, France, and Germany were, along with China and Russia, members of the P5+1, which reached the nuclear deal with Iran after some 22 months of negotiations. Iran and the six other countries started implementing the deal on January 16.  / Iran Daily /

New data by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) shows ‘unprecedented’ surplus in the country’s foreign trade over the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 19).

The latest customs figures reveal the country registered a trade surplus of USD 0.916 billion in the 12-month period ending over a week ago.

Iran’s balance of trade (BoT) turned positive with its exports tallying USD 42.415 billion, compared with USD 41.499 billion worth of imports, IRNA reported Monday, citing official data.

Although IRICA figures show a drop of more than 16% in exports, they register a ‘record low’ volume in imports, 22.53%, compared to the previous year, hence marking an unprecedented score on the trade balance sheet.

IRICA said Iran spent more than 12 billion dollars less on foreign commodities last year, in comparison to the previous Iranian calendar year.

Gas condensate, oil and petrochemical products constituted the major part of Iranian exports, while maize for cattle feed, wheat and rice were among the chief imports, the report added.

China, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Afghanistan and India purchased more Iranian goods than other countries last year, while a fair share of Iranian imports came from China, the UAE and South Korea.

Earlier this month, the Statistical Center of Iran announced that the Iranian economy grew 0.7 percent in the first nine months of the past Iranian calendar year.

The center said in a report that the agriculture sector listed a growth of 3.2 percent while industries and services experienced negative growths of 1.2 and 0.3 percent respectively.

Iran’s economy has seen a slow but steady growth after last July’s agreement with UN Security Council members plus Germany over Tehran’s nuclear program, which saw the effective removal of sanctions against the country earlier this year.

Back in January, the World Bank predicted a major growth rate of 5.8 percent for the Iranian economy in 2016.

The bank said Iran’s economic growth would be specifically encouraged by a surge in its oil production. It said Iran’s crude output will increase by an estimated 0.5–0.7 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2016 up from the 2015 level of 2.8 mbd. / press tv/

Iran said it has signed a basic agreement with Austria to promote mutual cooperation with the country in multiple industrial fields.

The agreement that has been reportedly signed on Thursday between the chambers of commerce of the two countries could have a collected value of above $2 billion, Press TV reported.

It comprises eight documents that envisage broader cooperation in several areas including the automobile sector, the steel industry, the pharmaceutical field and the engineering services.

The current level of trade between Iran and Austria stands at around $300 million. Officials from both countries announced last year that a serious plan has been devised to boost mutual trade to as high as $1 billion before 2020.

Austria’s President Heinz Fischer visited Iran last September for three days at the head of a 240-member delegation to discuss ways to further expand Tehran-Vienna relations. Fischer expected to host Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani this past week, but the trip was postponed by Tehran.

Officials in Vienna had earlier said business deals worth a total of €1 billion to €2 billion were expected to be signed during Rouhani’s visit.

“Every nation has to decide for itself about the safety and security of its head of state,” President Fischer said in a statement in reaction to the cancelation of the visit by his Iranian counterpart to Vienna.

“The quality of the relations with Iran won’t be touched by this delay and the cooperation in the realm of politics, business, culture and science will be continued in a comprehensive manner.”

/ Iran daily/

Chinese President Xi Jinping has hailed the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 as a “milestone,” saying the political breakthrough has provided inspiration for the settlement of other issues through diplomacy.

He made the comments during a meeting with leaders of the countries involved in nuclear talks with Iran — Russia, the US, the UK, France and Germany– on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Friday.

The meeting was also attended by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who chaired the P5+1 states during the nuclear negotiations.

Xi further said the nuclear deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), proved that serious disputes can be resolved through dialogue and cooperation, calling for the full implementation of the accord reached between Tehran and the six world powers on July 14, 2015.

After the JCPOA went into effect on January 16, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US were lifted. Iran, in return, has put some limitations on its nuclear activities.

“We should stick to the political commitment and make sure the deal is implemented as it should have been,” said Xi, adding that any “external interference” should be eliminated.

The Chinese head of state also said Beijing has always been “an active participant, constructor and contributor” in the settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.

“We stand ready to work with all related sides to push forward the implementation of the deal,” Xi stated.

He stressed the importance of strengthening the global security, saying that dialogue and negotiation should be the best choice in resolving key issues.

The Chinese leader said that “justice and equity should be the underlying principle for reaching any international agreement,” adding that “double standard” will lead nowhere.

This comes as the  Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on Friday Iran’s commitment to the nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group of countries, saying Tehran has even gone beyond its obligations under the accord.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano made the announcement on Friday after talks with leaders of China, Russia, the US, the UK, France, Germany and the European Union about the agency’s monitoring of Iran’s nuclear-related commitments under the nuclear deal called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran “is implementing not just its safeguards agreement with the Agency, but also its Additional Protocol” to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which allows for snap inspection of nuclear facilities, said Amano in a statement following his meetings that took place on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. / Iran daily /

A joint venture to manufacture cars in the Persian Gulf sultanate of Oman by Iran will begin in a year, an Iranian official has said.

Iran Khodro, the Middle East’s biggest automotive group, will start producing 10,000 cars in the first phase before raising the number to 20,000 units within two years, its deputy head for export and international affairs Saeed Tafazoli said.

An ongoing feasibility study will conclude next month, paving the way for the establishment of a joint venture company, the Times of Oman on Monday quoted him as saying in an interview in Muscat.

“We will need 12 months for building an assembly unit and creating other facilities for starting production,” Tafazoli said.

Iran Khodro signed a memorandum of understanding with Oman Investment Fund in January to build cars in the sultanate in a venture worth $200 million.

The venture, Orchid International Auto, envisages setting up a plant at the southern Omani port of Duqm, which would be owned 60 percent by the fund, 20 percent by Iran Khodro and 20 percent by an Omani investor.

It would initially start as an assembly facility and move gradually towards manufacturing automobiles, officials have said. The plant is expected to start production by 2017.

Oman has traditionally had close relations with Iran, but the Arab country has moved to strengthen those ties since the lifting of sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi visited Tehran in February to fast-track plans for an undersea pipeline which is due to carry Iranian gas to the Persian Gulf country.

Under a $60 billion deal concluded during President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Muscat in 2013, Iran will ship 20 million cubic meters per day of gas to Oman for a period of 25 years.

Iran Khodro’s Chief Executive Hashem Yekke-Zare has said the Oman project would target a market which stretches deep into Africa.

The plan is for semi-knocked-down (SKD) production of cars, with 5,000 units intended for Oman and 15,000 others for neighboring markets in Yemen, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and elsewhere, Yekke-Zare said in May last year.

Automotive industry is the second most active in Iran after oil and gas. Iranian manufacturers produced 1.6 million vehicles in 2011, about half of them by Iran Khodro.

Along with Saipa, Iran Khodro dominates the country’s massive market of about 80 million people. The automaker had also set up production lines in Venezuela, Belarus, Senegal, Azerbaijan, Syria and Iraq before sanctions were imposed on Iran.   / press tv /