Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday during a visit to Kabul to hold talks on issues of mutual concern.
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday during a visit to Kabul to hold talks on issues of mutual concern.
Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif is to set off on a tour of regional countries in the coming days to help enhance cooperation and strengthen business, economic and political ties.
Zarif’s first destination will be India where he is to head a large business delegation made up of private sector representatives.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said Zarif will then head to Iraq.
“In the near future, the foreign minister will make visits to neighboring countries in line with Iran’s permanent and unchanging policy on neighbors,” the spokesman said on Friday, ISNA reported.
Qasemi added that Iran’s attitude toward regional countries has always been based on the notions of “peaceful coexistence, better relations and collective effort to ensure peace, sustainable security and closer economic cooperation”.
Iran’s decision to make a more concerted and open push for peace in Afghanistan through direct negotiations with the Taliban can help increase security in both countries as well as the entire region, a political analyst said.
“The move to hold talks with the Taliban can open up great opportunities for Tehran, Kabul and countries such as Pakistan, and can certainly lead to positive security achievements for the countries surrounding Afghanistan,” Nozar Shafiei, an expert on international affairs, told the Iranian Diplomacy website in a recent interview.
His comments came days after Iran confirmed that Taliban representatives negotiated with Iranian officials in Tehran late December with the knowledge of the Kabul government in a fresh bid to help end the 17-year conflict and restore peace to Afghanistan ahead of a possible US drawdown.
Annual water loss in urban areas (25%) is of epic proportions, director of the Consumption Management Office at the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company said in Mashhad on Saturday.
“Every year 6.2 billion cubic meters of water is produced by NWWEC to meet the urban needs, of which a staggering 1.55 billion cubic meters is wasted,” Ali Seyedzadeh said in a meeting regarding water management in the capital of Khorasan Razavi Province.
A part of the wastage is due to seepage and the existence of old and eroding water pipelines, IRNA reported him as saying.
The eight traditional customers that got a waiver from the US to continue importing specific quantities of Iranian oil are fully compliant with the sanctions, Iran's deputy oil minister for trade and international affairs said on Saturday.
“China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Greece, and Italy that were granted waivers from America to purchase Iranian oil do not buy even one barrel more from Iran for fear of provoking US wrath,” Amir Hossein Zamaninia was quoted as saying by Shana.
The United States withdrew from a nuclear deal with Iran last year and imposed new economic sanctions on Tehran to force it to “come back to the negotiating table for a new deal.” However, fearing a serious negative impact on global oil supply and prices, Washington allowed eight customers to keep buying Iran’s crude for six months.
Turkey's crude oil import profile is set for major changes this year following the re-imposition of US sanctions against its main crude supplier, Iran, coupled with the commissioning of Socar's new 214,000 bpd STAR refinery.
OPEC crude cargoes leaving for the United States in December dropped to the lowest level in at least five years, data from Refinitiv Eikon and market intelligence firm Kpler show.
Iraq vowed on Friday to adhere to the production cuts agreed to by OPEC and its allies that went into effect at the start of the year.
The Export Price Index in Iran stood at 938.7 for the eighth month of the current fiscal year (Oct. 23-Nov. 21, 2018), registering a 5.9% decrease compared with the preceding month, and a 240.2% rise compared with the similar month of 2017, the Central Bank of Iran’s latest data show.
The EPI index saw a rise of 162.6% over the eight-month period from the beginning of the current fiscal year (March 21, 2018) to Nov. 21, and an increase of 118.5% over the 12-months to Nov. 21 compared with the corresponding periods of last year.
EPI is primarily influenced by two factors: foreign exchange rates and global commodity prices.
The index is calculated for the prices of one or a basket of commodities in international trading, using FOB export prices.
A total of 2,670 new cooperatives were registered during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 22), which shows a 1.15% increase compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Close to 693.6 billion rials ($6.54 million) worth of investments were made in these cooperatives during the period.
These newly-founded cooperatives have around 50,425 members and have created jobs for 44,753 people to register a 42.5% decline and a 3% rise respectively year-on-year, Fars News Agency reported citing latest data released by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare.
Iran traded 46.16 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $25.03 billion with the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Nov. 21).
This registers a 5.3% and 8.4% growth in tonnage and value respectively compared with last year’s corresponding period, the latest data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show.
Iran’s exports to OIC member countries totaled 41.62 million tons worth $18.46 billion during the period, indicating a 12.86% and 31.5% increase in tonnage and value respectively year-on-year. Imports stood at 3.32 million tons worth $6.09 billion, down in tonnage and value by 30.14% and 29.56% respectively YOY.
Tehran Stock Exchange’s main index TEDPIX gained 208.54 points or 0.13% on Saturday to end trading at 161,107.4.
More than 1.8 billion shares valued at 4.27 trillion rials ($39.93 million) changed hands at TSE for the day.
Trading at TSE and Iran Fara Bourse starts on Saturday and ends on Wednesday and is also closed for national holidays.
Zagros Pharmed Pars Pharmaceuticals (a company affiliated to Social Security Investment Corporation) and Iran Carton Company were the biggest winners as their shares went up 5% to 10,319 and 16,898 rials per share, respectively.
The Expediency Council, a powerful body that resolves disputes between parliament and a watchdog body, the Guardian Council, on Saturday approved the amendment to Combating Money Laundering Law on the first meeting of the council chaired by its new head Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani.
The bill was passed by the Majlis last September as part of the legislative push by the administration of President Hassan Rouhani to update the country's laws in line with international norms and especially to meet an action plan set forth by the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force.
However the Guardian Council found the bill in contravention to the constitution but as lawmakers insisted on their earlier version of the bill, the issue was referred to the Expediency Council which finally decides on what would be "expedient for the system."
During the nine months to Dec. 21, 2018 Iran’s auto production plunged to 763,519 cars and commercial vehicles -- a 31% year-on-year drop.
According to Ministry of Industries data, during the nine-month period, 713,233 cars were produced, down 31.2% compared to 1,037,374 units made during the same period last year. During the period, 50,101 trucks, buses, minibuses and pickups were made, indicating a 27.4% YoY decline.
Following the re-imposition of US sanctions, the Iranian economy is facing challenges and the rial has tanked, losing more than 60% of its value this year. The industrial sector is believed to be hit the worst due to its dependence on imports and the increasing reluctance of foreign companies to sell to Iran fearing the wrath of the openly hostile US administration.
Norwegian Air Shuttle said on Friday one of its Boeing-737s has been stuck in Iran for three weeks after an unscheduled landing due to engine problems, as United States restrictions reportedly create headaches for the airline and possibly passengers.
About 5.2 million tourists travelled to Iran during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Nov. 21) to register a 57% growth compared with last year's corresponding period, the head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization said.
"The development of tourism infrastructure, considerable investments in tourism sector, issuance of electronic visa and visa waiver for target countries could be considered the main reasons for the growth in the number of foreign travelers," Ali Asghar Mounesan was also quoted as saying by the organization's website CHTN.ir earlier this month.
The official noted that the number is already higher than last year's 5.1 million.
Whenever there is talk of air pollution, the debate is focused on Tehran. However, Tehran is not the only Iranian metropolis grappling with bad air quality and experts say Isfahan is facing worse conditions.
The central city is in need of early action for curbing air pollution. Experts mostly blame the situation on mismanagement, lack of an integrated air pollution reduction schemes and smog-inducing dilapidated gas-guzzlers, IRNA reported.
Isfahan Province is one of the main industrial hubs in Iran. For long, environmentalists have complained that factories in and around the province largely disregard environmental standards.
The Department of Environment, which monitors air quality in the province and the city and delivers data based on the Air Quality Index, recently issued a new and more worrying report.
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