By Faranak Bakhtiari

Operation Headquarters come to contain coronavirus

TEHRAN – With the high prevalence of the pandemic in late October 2020, the Operation Headquarters for Coronavirus Control was established, which led to significant control of the disease in the country, as the number of high-risk “red” cities reduced from over 160 to 7.

By Mehdi Garshasbi

Pushing COVID-19 ‘toward zero deaths’

TEHRAN - The second phase of a national plan named after martyr Qassem Soleimani will start at the beginning of the next Iranian calendar year (March 20), aiming to reduce the coronavirus deaths to zero.

By Ebrahim Fallahi

Majlis decides to unify forex rates; is it a good thing?

TEHRAN - The budget review committee of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) has recently voted in favor of changing the foreign currency exchange rate for the import of essential goods from 42,000 rials to 175,000 rials per dollar, suggesting that the prices of essential imports should be set in accordance with the exchange rate prevailing in the Forex Management Integrated System (locally known as NIMA).

By Mahnaz Abdi

Government's ETF approach still under debate

According to Note 2 of the budget law of the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 20, 2020), the government is allowed to offer and sell its remaining shares in the state-owned companies in the usual way or through the exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

By Afshin Majlesi

Emerging niches, changing tendencies: travel prospects in 2021 and beyond

Ubiquitous hand-sanitizers, face masks, social-distancing floor labels, nasal swabs, and new customer-service protocols were not part of the travel experience before the coronavirus pandemic. Nowadays, they are a regular part of the routine. But for how long?

By Masoud Hossein

Conspiracy theory in Iran football

TEHRAN – It’s not a weird thing in the world of football that a team have been accused of being favored but here in Iran, many teams want to hide their failures by accusing another team. They are not responsible for what they’ve done and want to mislead their fans.

By Afshin Majlesi

Qazvin: a city with fascinating churches, Armenian neighborhoods

Besides serving as places of worship and religious services, churches are visited for their splendor and architectural beauty, their majesty and magnificence.

By Ebrahim Fallahi

Why has Iran suddenly reduced gas exports to Iraq?

TEHRAN - Sharing a long border and an ancient cultural and religious heritage, Iran and Iraq have become strong economic and political allies since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and Iran has played a significant role in meeting the Arab country’s energy needs.

By Mahnaz Abdi

Iran’s steel production, export not affected by sanctions

While the U.S. sanctions has targeted Iran’s metal sector besides its oil industry, the periodical reports released both by the international and domestic sources show that Iranian steel industry has not been affected by the sanctions, while it has also been booming.

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Let’s build a partnership against epidemics

TEHRAN – Today that newly-emerging infections are inevitable, as exemplified by the ongoing coronavirus posing devastating impacts on human lives, social and economic development; preparation is the most, if not the only, important way in face of new epidemics.

By Ebrahim Fallahi

U.S. sanctions’ silver lining for Iranian home appliance industry

TEHRAN – Although the U.S. sanctions have created major problems for the Iranian economy in many areas, for one particular industry they have been certainly “a blessing in disguise”, and that is the home appliance sector. The home appliance industry has flourished with the U.S. sanctions pushing foreign competitors out of the domestic market.

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Christmas celebrations going virtual in Iran

TEHRAN – In the light of the global pandemic, Christmas is celebrated virtually, unlike usual gatherings, among Iranian Christians to prevent the COVID-19 transmission chain.

By Masoud Hossein

You never lose, you either win or learn

TEHRAN – Persepolis football team could have written their name into the history books as the first Iranian team to win AFC Champions League but they fell short against Ulsan Hyundai in the final match on Saturday.

By Afshin Majlesi

Another coronavirus casualty: how Iranians are preparing for the Yalda night?

Children chasing each other, mothers setting out dried nuts, pomegranates, and watermelons amongst other fine foodstuffs, and fathers watching a ball game amid all! Does it sound familiar?

By Ebrahim Fallahi

Goreh-Jask oil pipeline: a mega project that opens Indian Ocean gates to Iranian oil

TEHRAN – Given Iran’s geopolitical position - being located at the heart of the world’s oil production center, that is West Asia, and intersecting the trade corridor between east and west- and considering the sanctions, and unjust pressures imposed by some world powers against the country; for more than a decade, the Islamic Republic has been following new strategies for diversifying its export routes in the country’s southern borders to nullify such pressures and reach its full economic potentials.

By M.A. Saki

Serious doubts about Grossi’s intentions 

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the Atomic Energy Agency, has said reviving Iran’s nuclear deal under U.S. President-elect Joe Biden would require striking a new agreement setting out how Iran’s reduction of commitments should be reversed.

By M.A. Saki

Security must be inclusive 

TEHRAN - As President-elect Joe Biden has announced that he is seeking to revitalize the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), Anwar Gargash, the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, has said his country is seeking a “JCPOA++”.

By Samaneh Aboutalebi

This underground city repetitively sheltered women, children, and the elderly from invaders

With a long history, underground cities are the fascinating foundations that are considered as some luring tourist attractions nowadays. 

By Afshin Majlesi

Why lodging at a caravanserai is a must-do in Iran?

Imagine a place so serene in the heart of the ancient Silk Road(s) where you can plunge into a forgotten age while staying for a day or two.You may conjure up the hustle and bustle of the merchants selling their goods, bargaining on prices, telling their long-lived journey to one another while their animals chew on hay amid massive portals, elevated load-bearing walls, rooms encircling the courtyard, a heavy-doored gateway, and the tranquility of the surrounding nature!

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Social work’s vital role in fight against pandemic

TEHRAN – With the outbreak of coronavirus, many people globally faced fear, stress, and depression after being isolated and dealing with an invisible virus, so that social work’s importance is becoming increasingly apparent.

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Subsidies should target environmental sustainability

TEHRAN – Targeted subsidy strategies can improve consumption patterns and trends toward natural renewable energy, which play a major role in environmental sustainability.

The odds are there to be…

Many international political activists remember July 14, 2015, when Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini officially announced that Iran and six other countries - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States - have reached a final nuclear agreement. That day, a joint statement was issued in Vienna in which the transcript started with a bold sentence: "Today, is an historic day".

By Faranak Bakhtiari

THANK YOU volunteers

TEHRAN – Volunteers are dedicated to building a better global community; they are always at the forefront to fight against bad events without any expectations, even during the coronavirus pandemic, they made great efforts which needs to be appreciated more than ever.

By Samaneh Aboutalebi

Qom, a prime destination for pilgrims, day-trippers, history buffs, and nature lovers

Iran’s second holiest city after Mashhad, Qom is home to the holy shrine of Hazrat-e Masumeh (SA), several major seminaries, madrasas as well as many tourism resorts both cultural and natural.