Speaking in an exclusive interview with Iran Daily, Saghar Salehpour, added all the world’s modern infertility treatment methods are currently employed in the country.

“Given the high level of treatment services provided in Iran, at present, a large number of patients from the Persian Gulf littoral states travel to Iran to undergo infertility treatments. The highest percentage of international patients referring to Iranian health and treatment centers come from Azerbaijan and Iraq.”

She added Iran provides all of its infertility treatment services with state tariffs and at affordable prices.

Salehpour, who is also a member of the Middle East Fertility Society (MEFS), said infertility is a prevalent disorder in the world, adding, on average, 15 percent of the couples who plan to have baby suffer from infertility problems.

Iran is the region’s top country in treating infertility, said a member of the National Association of Iranian Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

“The figure stands at up to 13 percent in Iran. One out of every six couples suffer from the disorder.”

She said infertility rate in men and women stands at 40 percent and 60 percent respectively.

“This is while, in 10-15 percent of the cases, neither the husband nor the wife individually, has any problems. However, they need medical consultation and assistance to be able to conceive baby.”

Salehpour noted that almost all infertile couples would eventually manage to have baby using one of the treatment methods.

She listed causes of infertility in women as increased age of pregnancy, ovary-related disorders, prevalent ovarian cysts and problems occurring during human pre-implantation embryo development.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) and other modern technologies, employed in treating infertility, are prove effective in 45 percent of the cases, Salehpour said.

“A part of infertility problems is caused by disorders emerging in ovary or during ovulation. These disorders include polycystic ovary syndrome, thyroid malfunction and occurrence of premature ovarian failure prior to the age of 40. Some of the disorders occur due to undergoing chemotherapy or surgery on ovary.”

She said disorders emerging in brain or central nervous system can also lead to secondary ovarian insufficiency or emergence of infertility problems, adding these disorders include benign or malignant tumors, intense mental stress, abrupt weight loss, doing heavy physical exercises and going on strict diets.

Commenting on the causes of infertility in men, Salehpour said in men, the disorder is caused mostly due to the decrease in the number of sperms, growth in the number of deformed sperms or lower sperm motility.

She listed other problems affecting men’s fertility as sexually transmitted diseases, aging (which is accompanied a decrease in the number of sperms or lowering of their quality), aggressive physical, emotional or mental actions, drug abuse, consuming alcoholic drinks, smoking and being exposed to lead as well as chemical pesticides. / iran daily /

Iran says its oil exports have already reached around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in what could highlight a major progress in the country’s post-sanctions oil industry performance.

Iran’s First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said the figure marked a rise of 900,000 bpd in the country’s oil production that had been materialized within only two months after the lifting of the sanctions.

In mid-January, a series of economic sanctions that had been imposed on Iran for multiple years were removed after a deal between the country and the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany – was implemented.

The sanctions barred foreign investments in the Iranian oil industry and also limited a low ceiling of 1 million bpd on the country’s oil exports.

“Until this past [Persian calendar month of] Bahman (21 January-February 2015), Iran was able to sell 1.3 million bpd,” Jahangiri told reporters. “But within two months after the removal of the sanctions, we have been able to export 2.2 million bpd of crude oil.”

Last Saturday, figures provided by Bloomberg showed that Iran’s oil production had climbed to 3.37 million bpd in January, the highest level since February 2014.

Before the sanctions were lifted, Iran said it had made the necessary preparations to boost its oil production capacity to pre-sanctions levels.

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh had repeatedly emphasized that the Islamic Republic was determined to regain its share of the oil market that it had lost as a result of the sanctions.

Zangeneh had also said on the same front that plans had been devised to increase the country’s oil production by 500,000 bpd immediately after the removal of the sanctions and by a further 500,000 bpd later on.

Last week, he emphasized in his message to the nation on the occasion of the new Iranian calendar year (began 21 March) that Iran has already been able to regain its lost oil market share.

/ presstv/

Iran and Germany are to set up an international university, says the deputy president of Iran’s University of Science and Technology.

Touraj Mohammadi noted that the university’s initiation was decided during the last visit of a German trade delegation to Iran, Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.

He noted that Iran’s Science and Technology University follows various international initiatives, the latest of which is “becoming a communication portal between Iran and Germany’s universities.”

According to Mohammadi, the university will accept students from all over the world while similar cooperation with other countries is in the planning stages.

He refrained from giving a location, time-table or budget for the university’s establishment.

/ press TV /

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says tackling economic problems is Iran’s top priority, stressing that the Resistance Economy is key to resolution of the country’s economic woes.

Addressing the nation in his annual message on the occasion of the Persian New Year early on Sunday, the Leader said, “In my estimation, the issue of economy is the top priority. In other words, among high-priority issues, economy is the most pressing matter.”

The Leader added that “appropriate and decisive” economic actions by the Iranian government and nation could possibly influence other issues such as social, moral and cultural ones as well as social maladies, presstv.reported.

Highlighting the importance of paying attention to domestic production, job creation, elimination of unemployment, economic prosperity and tackling recession, Ayatollah Khamenei, added, “If we are to solve the problems of recession, [low] domestic production, and unemployment; if we are to curb inflation, [the solution to] all those fall within the purview of Resistance Economy.”

“Resistance Economy encompasses all of them. With the Resistance Economy, it is possible to fight unemployment and recession and to curb inflation; it is possible to stand up to the enemies’ threats; it is possible to create numerous opportunities for the country and use those opportunities,” Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out.

The Leader called on officials to take more “action and practical steps” in a bid to bring about tangible results that could be felt by the people, noting, “Therefore, I will choose the rubric ‘Resistance Economy; Action and Implementation’ as the motto of this year…This is a straight and bright road to what we need.”

The Leader expressed confidence that “if action and implementation are well planned” their results can be witnessed at the end of the year.

Elsewhere in his message, the Leader urged the Iranian nation to make itself invulnerable to the enemies’ threats and animosities.

“We need to make ourselves invulnerable to threats by the enemies and reduce [our] vulnerability to zero,” Ayatollah Khamenei stated. / Iran daily /

In a decision of far-reaching strategic implications, India is all set to sign a deal to have a direct subsea gas pipeline from Iran, by circumventing Pakistan.

The subsea pipeline would allow Iran to transfer natural gas from Turkmenistan to India, Tribune India reported.

The $4.5 billion gas pipeline project would supply 31.5 million cubic meters per day of gas to India’s west coast.

The 1,400-km pipeline will bypass the exclusive economic zone of Pakistan. Laying such a pipeline would need technical expertise for which a global consortium will lead the way.

A top official of the Narendra Modi-led government who did not wish to be named said, “Yes, the deal for the Iran-India subsea gas pipeline will be done. Matters have become easier, as the US-imposed economic sanctions on Iran have been lifted.”

India and Iran have held talks on key issues since the lifting of sanctions. Even during the sanctions, India was among the few countries allowed to buy crude oil from Iran.

New Delhi has also approved a three-pronged push toward Iran and Central Asia. It will fund a rail link between the Iranian port city of Chabahar and city of Zahedan, located on the junction of Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan.

The rail link, when concluded, will join Chabahar Port with International North-South Transport Corridor to provide direct access to Central Asia.

It will also be used to establish greater links with Afghanistan as the India-built Zaranj-Delaram Road in that country is close to Zahedan.

Tehran is also studying plans to lay a subsea pipeline that connects its gas facilities in the south to the Sultanate of Oman. The 260-km pipeline project is expected to be laid by 2019 at a cost of $1 billion. It will supply 28 mcm/d of natural gas (10 billion cubic meters a year) from Iran to Oman under a 25-year contract.

/financialtribune.com/