Iran's total number of coronavirus cases surged past the two million milestone on Thursday, amid the relentless spread of a fourth wave of infections that has overwhelmed hospitals in all major cities.
Iran's total number of coronavirus cases surged past the two million milestone on Thursday, amid the relentless spread of a fourth wave of infections that has overwhelmed hospitals in all major cities.
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi underlined Iran’s determination to continue serious engagement with the world on the nuclear agreement, adding that it depends on the genuine political will of the other sides.
The cooperation deal recently signed between Iran and China is unpalatable to those seeking to isolate Tehran and force it to surrender, which is why they are frantically attempting to vilify the agreement and foment a media outcry against it, a senior diplomat said.
Construction of a wind farm in Mil-e-Nader Wind Farm zone in Zabol, Sistan-Baluchestan Province, has gained momentum as 10 more turbines each with a capacity of 2.5 MW have arrived at the site, head of the renewable energy department at the provincial power company said.
“The 50-megawatt farm will have 20 wind turbines. Five are already in place and linked to the national grid and the rest are being installed,” Babak Zahed was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The turbines are equipped with a permanent magnet direct-drive system in which the turbine and generator are hinged to form a compact and structurally integrated unit.
Oil prices edged down on Friday as investors weighed rising supplies from major producers and the impact on fuel demand from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Power plants in Gilan Province generated ten million megawatt hours of electricity in 2020 of which only 500,000 MW hours was from renewables, head of the marketing office of the provincial power company said.
“There are 12 power stations in this region, five of which (Talesh, Bijar, Tarik, Sefidroud and Loshan) are hydroelectric and a wind power plant is in Manjil, 250 kilometers north of Tehran,” Mohsen Babazadeh was quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry news portal.
Of the total production six million MWh was consumed in the province and the balance was supplied to Mazandaran, Ardebil, Zanjan and Qazvin.
Tehran’s Grand Bazaar will be closed for two weeks starting Saturday, April 10, to contain the rapid spread of Covid-19 infections.
According to Qasem Noudeh-Farahani, the head of Tehran Chamber of Guilds, aside from the Grand Bazaar, all non-essential businesses, i.e., Group II, III and IV of jobs are forced to shutter, since the capital city has been demarcated as a “red zone”.
Notably, only essential businesses categorized as Group I, including bakeries, supermarkets, grocery stores, car shops, chain stores, health and treatment centers, pharmacies, factories, transportation companies, public parking garages, military bases, post offices, internet service providers, press, nursery homes and print shops, are allowed to remain open in red zones.
Earlier, Iran Chamber of Guilds issued a statement expressing concerns regarding the economic implications of a new surge in Covid-19 cases.
Demand for gasoline doubled during the Nowrouz (Persian New Year) holiday season last month compared to the same period in 2020, head of the Iran Gas Station Owners Union said.
The National Iranian Copper Industries Company's sales reached a record high of 419.4 trillion rials ($1.6 billion) in the last Iranian year (March 2020-21), says the company’s managing director, Ardeshir Sa'd-Mohammadi, noting that the figure indicates a 90% increase compared with the same period of the year before.
He added that NICICO’s sales during the 12th month of the year (Feb. 20-March 20, 2021) totaled 72.7 trillion rials ($290 million), the company's website reported.
NICICO’s sales totaled 227 trillion rials ($886 million) in the fiscal 2019-20 to witness a rise of 127% compared to the year before.
The value of products made in Chabahar in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan has increased 6.2-fold over the past eight years from 1,240 billion rials ($4.91 million) to 7,728 billion rials ($30.6 million), says Abdolrahim Kordi, the director of Chabahar Free Zone Organization.
“Domestic investment in Chabahar increased from 630 billion rials [$2.49 million] in the Iranian year ending March 2015 to over 3,000 billion rials [$11.88 million] in the year ending March 2021. Only 20 investment contracts were signed in the year ending March 2015. As we speak, seventy-five contracts have been finalized with investors,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA on Wednesday.
“The Iranian year ending March 2018 could be regarded as a turning point in the history of foreign investments in Chabahar: Upwards of $63 million in foreign investment were materialized then. However, the US sanctions drove down investment to $7 million in the fiscal 2018-19. The figure rebounded in the following year and has remained on an upward trajectory thus far. As much as $16 million in foreign investment were made in Chabahar in the year ending March 2021,” he said.
All customs offices and exporters are advised against shipping goods via Dogharoun border terminal with Afghanistan in Khorasan Razavi Province until further notice, IRNA quoted Rouhollah Latifi, the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, as saying on Wednesday.
Noting that Afghan truck drivers, who suffered massive losses in a fire at Islam Qala customs office in February, have blocked Herat-Islam Qala in Afghanistan, the Iranian official said exporters are recommended not to send their commercial shipments to Dogharoun Customs Office to avoid crowds, hours-long delays and unexpected incidents.
“Afghanistan’s Abu Nasr Farahi customs [in Farah Province] officials have also imposed new restrictions regarding maximum load weight of the container trucks into Afghanistan through Mahiroud Border Terminal in South Khorasan Province. From now on, trucks crossing this border may weigh no more than 50 tons. The measure will reduce cross-border freight flow and lead to an increase of transshipment or transit operations. That calls for more cooperation between cargo owners and border officials,” he said.
For the first time since the birth of Shaparak Network, Iran's domestic payment network, Beh Pardakht Mellat e-payment company lost its pole position as company with the highest number of monthly transactions.
As per a report by Shaparak, Saman Electronic Payment (SEP), affiliated to Bank Saman, managed to top the PSP list in terms of monthly transactions with 19.8% share in the month to March 19.
Beh Pardakht was second 19.4% followed by Parsian Electronic Commerce Company affiliated to Parsian Bank at 18.62% and Asan Pardakht Persian with 10.57%.
Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnasser Hemmati has denied accusations that the CBI's interest rate policy had a role in the stock market collapse in the last calendar year that ended in March.
Discussing CBI polices with a group of economists via Clubhouse, the newly lunched social media network, Hemmati denied the bank had intervened in the bourse with design and direction.
In recent months stock market authorities, investors and economic experts have singled out the CBI for its implicit role in the market crash accusing it of “manipulating bond and interbank interest rates.” The bank has always denied the charges.
Foreign exchange rates dropped on the last day of trading week Thursday, distressing prices in the domestic bullion market.
The dollar lost close to 1.5% against the national currency to fetch 247,500 rials in the open market down 3,700 rials in one day.
Similarly the euro and pound sterling fell 1.2% and were quoted at 297,260 rials and 347,390 rials, respectively while the UAE dirham lost 1.47% or 1,000 rials to buy 68,300 rials.
President Hassan Rouhani launched several technology development projects worth 34 trillion rials ($135 million) on Thursday to create jobs and promote self-sufficiency.
Rouhani inaugurated the projects in the capital city Tehran via videoconference, the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology reported on its website Isti.ir.
The projects are financed jointly by the private sector and the vice presidential office, with the latter’s share amounting to only 1.45 trillion rials ($5.8 million).
The first project coming on stream is a production line of an influenza vaccine with a new formula, developed by the knowledge-based PharMED Salamat Company based in Tehran.
According to the company, the project will not only meet the domestic demand for flu vaccine, but also create 60 direct and 150 indirect jobs.
Also known as flu shots or flu jabs, influenza vaccines should be developed twice a year, as the influenza virus mutates rapidly.
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