Iran’s chargé d’affaires to the United Kingdom says London has returned a third-century rock relief sculpture, which was gouged from a cliff in Iran and smuggled out of the country, to the Iranian embassy.

In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Mehdi Hosseini Matin said the Iranian embassy had taken delivery of the antiquity, dating to the period of the Sasanian Empire (AD 224-651), after it was put on display at the British Museum for three months.

“The statue of the Sasanid soldier, which had been smuggled into Britain, was displayed temporarily at the British Museum for three months after Iran’s ownership was proven,” Hosseini Matin wrote.

“Today, the precious ancient work was officially delivered to the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London. God willing, it will be sent soon to the beloved homeland.”

The ancient treasure had been seized by the British border police in January 2016 at Stansted Airport near London.

It was heading for the black market in Britain when it was confiscated by British border police officers upon growing suspicious of its haphazard packaging.

The unique relief, which is over one meter in height, depicts an imposing male figure. It was hacked out of living rock or rock that has been carved in situ.

Experts believe the artifact, reportedly worth more than £30 million, may have come from Iran’s southwestern Fars Province where a majority of Sasanian rock reliefs exist.

Dr. St John Simpson, a senior curator and archaeologist in the British Museum’s department of the Middle East, said previously that the thieves had used “an angle grinder to slice diagonally behind it and across the top. It was then packed in an incredibly bad manner, in a small, almost unpadded crate held together with nails.”

“We almost never come across a case of something being cut out of the ‘living rock’. That’s a level of brutalism that surpasses anything,” he said.

The artifact had broken into two due to its haphazard packaging, but it was repaired by conservators.

Meanwhile, no arrests have been made so far, even though the case was investigated by Interpol and the National Crime Agency, and despite the fact that the packaging stipulated the sender, recipient and destination. /MNA/

The 26th International Exhibition of Electronics, Computers, and Electronic Commerce (Elcomp) kicked off on Sunday at the Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds.

The 26th Elcomp Exhibition dubbed “Iran Elcomp 2023” was opened in the presence of Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology (ICT) Eissa Zarepour after a four-year hiatus.

More than 450 companies are particip[rating in the “Iran Elcomp 2023”, of which 50 are foreign companies from Uzbekistan, France, Pakistan, Bosnia, Syria, China, Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Iraq that offer their latest programs, products, and services.

The exhibition is being held at Tehran International Permanent Fairground from June 25 to 28, 2023. /MNA/

Tehran will host the Eurasia Expo 2023 in December as Iran is in the final stages of securing a free trade deal with the Eurasian Economic Union.

This is the second edition of the exhibition, which will be held at Tehran’s International Fairground, according to Alireza Jafari, the administrative manager of the event.

The Eurasia Expo 2023 is scheduled to be held on December 4-7.

MNA/

Iran defeated Australia 3-1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 25-20) in the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Women on Sunday. Iran lost to Chinese Taipei and Vietnam and emerged victorious over Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, the Philippines and Australia in the competition.

Vietnam will meet Indonesia in the final on Sunday, while India and Chinese Taipei lock horn in the bronze medal match.

The tournament has brought 11 Asian teams together in Gresik, Indonesia.

The 2023 Asian Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup is the fourth edition of the Asian Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup, an annual international volleyball tournament organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) with Indonesian Volleyball Federation (PBVSI).

The tournament is being held in East Java’s Tri Dharma Petrokimia Gresik Gymnasium, Indonesia from June 18 to 25. /T.T/

Iran defeated Uzbekistan 1-0 on Tuesday in the final match of the 2023 CAFA Nations Cup. In the match held at the Milliy Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Sardar Azmoun found the back of the net with a right-footed strike in the 48th minute.

Iran defender Hossein Kananizadegan was sent off in the 90th minute after receiving the second yellow card.

Earlier in the day, Oman defeated Kyrgyzstan 1-0 to finish in third place. Iran had defeated Afghanistan 6-1 and Kyrgyzstan 5-1 in Group B.

Iran forward Mehdi Taremi scored six goals in the tournament and became the top goalscorer.

The 2023 CAFA Nations Cup is the first edition of the CAFA Nations Cup, the biennial international men’s football championship of Central Asia organized by Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).

The event was held in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan from June 10 to 20. /T.T/

In 2022, Iran was ranked the fourth top country in the world in water technology, Mohammad Hemmat, an official with the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, has said.

Through targeted planning, the Vice Presidency intends to advance the country’s position to the third top country in this field, IRNA quoted Hemmat as saying.

In 2021, the country was ranked sixth in the world by the prestigious ranking site SCImago, he added.

“Currently, according to the announced ranking, only three countries, namely China, the United States, and India are ranked higher than Iran, and all European countries are ranked lower than Iran in this scientific field.”

Over the past 25 years, Iran has surpassed countries such as England, Germany, Canada, France, Russia, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, and many other countries, he concluded.

The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology has allocated one billion euros for implementing 26 large propelling projects over the course of three years.

The projects are to be implemented in the fields of health, transportation, water, and food security, Rouhollah Dehqani-Firouzabadi, the vice president for science and technology, said in March.

The projects are of high-level technology that will have a great impact on people’s lives, he added.

He also said that the projects will be implemented with the support of the Iranian elites living abroad.

“We have defined 18 propelling projects for the current year and eight more for the next year,” Dehqani-Firouzabadi noted.

More than 300 knowledge-based companies are active in the country to resolve the problem of water shortage by presenting over 3,500 products, IRNA reported.

The intensification of climate change has spread the phenomenon of drought not only in countries with arid and semi-arid climates such as Iran but also in regions such as Europe and America.

World Meteorological Organization experts have announced that some regions and countries like Iran are at the center of the water shortage problem.

Studies show that Iran will face a very large drought in the next eight years.

In big cities like Tehran, the phenomenon of water shortage is caused by excessive population growth, migration, and increasing demand for water.

Human-caused water losses are caused by the excessive withdrawal of surface and underground water sources over a long period of time and the excessive consumption of water in homes, farms, and industries.

Precipitations in the country have decreased by 16 percent in the current water year that started September 23 compared to last year, according to the data released by the Meteorological Organization.

The average rainfall since the beginning of the water year has reached an average of 120 millimeters, while the normal rainfall for this time period is 143 mm, so it shows a decrease of 23 mm or 16% compared to the long-term.
President Ebrahim Raisi has said science and technology are the cornerstones of national development.

The chain of knowledge, research, innovation, and technology ensures sustainable development in the country, he added.

The national budget bill for the current Iranian calendar year 1402, which started on March 21, has earmarked about 37 trillion rials ($74 million) for science and technology.

The bill increased the budget by 35 percent compared to the previous year’s budget, ISNA reported.

Generalities have been approved for setting up the national foundation for science in the country.

Transforming the national fund for supporting researchers and technologists into the national foundation for science is on the agenda, IRNA reported.

The national fund for supporting researchers and technologists was established in 2003. Supporting the systematic development of basic sciences and humanities will be among the new missions of the national foundation for science.

According to the latest statistics, a total of 8,046 knowledge-based companies are operating in the country.

The number of knowledge-based companies in biotechnology, agriculture, and food industries is 362, in advanced pharmaceuticals is 480, in advanced materials (chemistry and polymer), is 1130, and in advanced machinery and equipment is 1721.

Moreover, 326 companies are operating in the field of medical equipment, 1821 companies in electricity and electronics, 1778 companies in information technology, 397 companies in commercialization, and 31 companies in creative industries and humanities. /T.T/

Iranian movie “Bloody Gravel” has won the award for best international short at the Astoria Film Festival in New York. Directed by Hojjat Hosseini, the film is about Roya and Bashir who are in love but due to restrictions in Afghanistan they are forced to flee. They hope to enter Iran illegally. Roya is pregnant and the child was not planned.

Winners of the festival were announced on Sunday and the Zukor Award – Best Humanitarian Film was given to “Recoba” by Nicole Pagonis and Álvaro Guzmán Bastida and “Iron Sharpens Iron” by John Richie.

The American film follows Josué, a Honduran immigrant going through his first New York winter, who struggles to stay afloat in the U.S., where the immigration and labor systems have stacked the cards against him, while keeping the connection with his wife and son.

Ivan Medina won the best performance award for his role in “Recoba”.

“Iron Sharpens Iron” chronicles Ironton’s fight against the development of the Plaquemines Liquids Terminal (PLT) atop the community’s ancestral burial grounds, as well as the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ida.

The Grand Jury Prize was awarded to “Handwritten”, a documentary by American filmmaker Jaime Sunwoo.

In this film, after discovering old diaries and notebooks, artist Sunwoo examines her shape-shifting penmanship and wonders why she’s never had a consistent style. Through playful paper puppetry and animation, she reflects on what handwriting means to her personally, its significance throughout history, and its relevance in our computerized world.

The awards for best documentary short and best cinematography went to “Lavender” by Chloe Cobb.

The film recounts actress and model Kaitlyn Figueroa’s experience with the auto-immune condition Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

“Beach Day” by Robin Johnson, about a newlywed who unwinds with a solo day at the beach full of peculiar activities, was named the best horror short, while Jenny Ward was picked as best director for “Goblin”.

The best comedy short award went to “Let My Grandpa into Heaven” by Lana Bolycheva.

On the day of his grandfather’s funeral, 6-year-old Lucas hears his father Patrick say in a fit of anger that the deceased grandpa should be burning in hell. Lucas decides to do everything to help his grandpa avoid hell.

In the youth competition, the Grand Jury Prize was given to “Fish” by Jeremy Hsing.

Several other films were also honored in the side sections of the festival. /T.T/

Nearly 2,000 houses of environment have been established so far across the country, Nourollah Moradi, an official with the Department of Environment, has said.

According to the Constitution, people should participate in environmental protection.

For this reason, the houses of environment were launched as a platform for interaction and understanding, as well as boosting effective cooperation between volunteers, environmentalists, and NGOs.

Under the plan, a house in each province is considered a gathering place for environmental activists in different age groups, to be trained by related organizations.

Students are prioritized and are the most important age group in education.

President Ebrahim Raisi has highlighted the importance of environmental protection, emphasizing that the preservation of the environment is prior to every development.

Environmental protection will lead to power, security, investment, and production growth in the country, he said.

Both people and NGOs have an effective role to play in the protection of the environment, and they should be given a chance to play their role, he added.

The need to use new technologies and the ability of knowledge-based companies in the field of environment, solving issues and problems related to legal proceedings, attention to domestic and international diplomacy in the field of environment, attention to water transfer in the country from one region to another, attention to the dangers of trawling, attention to environmental water rights and also attention to land management were among the topics that were discussed in this specialized meeting.

On November 17, 2015, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, announced the general policies on the environment, emphasizing the need for comprehensive, harmonious, and organized management of vital resources based on ecological capability and sustainability, particularly by increasing capacities and appropriate legal and structural capabilities accompanied by public participation.

However, it seems that implementing the policies has not met its stated goals.

Ali Salajeqeh, the chief of the Department of Environment, has said after passing seven years, implementing the policies is not satisfactory.

The policies call for establishing a cohesive and national system on the issue of the environment.

Improving environmental conditions with the purpose of helping society enjoy a healthy environment, administering justice and observing intra-generational rights, preventing and prohibiting the circulation of all kinds of unlawful pollutants, recording crimes related to the environment, administering efficient and preventive punishment of polluters and destroyers of the environment and forcing them to compensate for their actions, were also among the policies.

Continuous refinement and control of air, water, soil, and noise pollutants, destructive waves and rays, and unfavorable climatic changes, and making compulsory the observation of environmental standards and criteria in implementing rules and regulations, development plans, and spatial planning, were other issues that the Leader urged officials to do.

In December 2022, Rouhollah Naqdipour, the secretary of the strategic council of the Department of Environment, announced that a roadmap for environmental protection has been developed.

The document presents 13 national macro strategies and 46 cross-sectoral measures for five main environmental challenges, he said, IRNA reported.

The 7-chapter book also suggests reforms for systematic purposeful solutions and policies to solve environmental issues including the water crisis, he explained. /T.T/

Iran House of Innovation and Technology (iHiT) in the city of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, was inaugurated on Sunday. The center aims at introducing knowledge-based, technological, and creative products of Iran to Uzbekistan, and facilitating scientific interactions and cooperation between the two countries, IRNA reported.

Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-based Economy, Rouhollah Dehqani Firouzabadi, and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation, Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, officially inaugurated the center in an online ceremony.

The private sector has invested about $4 million to establish the iHiT Tashkent.

The two sides signed a technological cooperation agreement worth $10 million in the field of energy under the support of the house of innovation and technology.

Exporting technological products of Iranian knowledge-based companies is one of the important and key programs of the vice presidency for science and technology, and in this regard over the past years, with the support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, the Iranian houses of innovation have been set up in several countries to develop the global market for knowledge-based products.

These centers have already been set up in countries such as Russia, Turkey, China, Syria, Kenya, Armenia, and Iraq.

By supporting innovative ideas, and holding technological and innovative events, the centers will be a platform for the development and promotion of Iranian knowledge-based companies, startups, and creative industries.

The centers are mainly formed with the investment and support of the private sector to provide the necessary infrastructure for their exports through innovation houses.

In February, President Ebrahim Raisi said science and technology are the cornerstones of national development.

The chain of knowledge, research, innovation, and technology ensures sustainable development in the country, he added.

“Our interaction with all nations and governments in the world should be for the transfer of knowledge and technology, and our interaction with all neighboring countries, in the region and globally, should be based on this criterion,” Raisi highlighted.

The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology was formed in 2006 with the aim of creating an environment for supporting knowledge-based companies and providing the ground for the development of technological industries.

The country’s progressing process of development has accelerated with the emphasis on the formation of the technology and innovation ecosystem and the approval of laws for supporting knowledge-based companies and boosting Iran-made products.

Today, we are witnessing the positive effects of adopting the approach in the economy, culture, and daily life of people.

The national budget bill for the current Iranian calendar year 1402, which started on March 21, has earmarked about 37 trillion rials ($74 million) for science and technology.

The bill increased the budget by 35 percent compared to the previous year’s budget, ISNA reported.

Improving the scientific level of society, achieving high global rankings in the number of scientific articles, references, and patenting, reducing the illiteracy rate, and increasing the number of university courses and students are only a part of the achievements after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

According to the latest statistics, more than 8,000 knowledge-based companies are operating in the country. /T.T/

Iran defeated Hong Kong 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 25-17, 19-25, 15-8) in the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup opening match on Monday. Opposite Ashofteh Mona led all scorers on the board with 27 points in the victory, with Soudabeh Bagherpour (15 points) and Mahsa Kadkhoda (14 points) supporting with double-digit markers. The Iran side imposed their height advantage, gaining much in their middle attacks and block

Meanwhile, opposite hitter To Wing Man charted a total of 19 points in defeat. Team Melli will meet Chinese Taipei on Tuesday in Pool B. The tournament has brought 11 Asian teams together in Gresik, Indonesia.

The 2023 Asian Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup is the fourth edition of the Asian Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup, an annual international volleyball tournament organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) with Indonesian Volleyball Federation (PBVSI).

The tournament is being held in Tridharma Sports Hall, Gresik, East Java, Indonesia from June 18 to 25. / T.T/