BY: Ebrahim Fallahi

Iran’s turbulent auto market: will prices calm down?

TEHRAN – Over the past few weeks, car prices in Iran have been skyrocketing despite claims of the market being stagnant.

By Salman Parviz

Saudis react to economic squeeze

Saudi Arabia and the UAE introduced the five percent Value Added Tax (VAT) in January of 2018, a first for the Persian Gulf region which had long prided itself on its tax-free, cradle-to-grave welfare system. On the same day, Saudi Arabia announced a petrol price hike of 127 percent. Measures were taken to boost revenues, cut spending, and lowering the ballooning budget deficits.

By Afshin Majlesi

What’s it like visiting Iran during Ramadan?

They say for all human beings there is a time to sow and a time to grow under the never-ending generosity of the Almighty God.

By Faranak Bakhtiari

World’s Women in Mathematics Day: Mirzakhani, a genius who shattered stereotypes

TEHRAN – The second year of World’s Women in Mathematics Day will be celebrated through video conferencing on May 12, which is the birthday of late Maryam Mirzakhani, the Iranian-born genius mathematician who shattered stereotypes about women's ability in mathematics.

By Salman Parviz

Cloud seeding projects to help erode crude income dependence

Frequent rain to help agricultural, industrial sectors

Lack of rainfall followed by frequent droughts is nothing new in Iran. Meteorologists claim that the country has faced an annual lack of rain by 50mm over the past five decades. However, in the recent past, we have witnessed higher than average rainfalls. Remember the sound of thunder last week? Whether these are just wet spells or have been caused by another phenomenon, needs some scrutiny.

By Mahnaz Abdi

ETFs to speed up privatization, support ordinary investors

On May 2, the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), which is the main stock exchange of Iran, listed the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) from a series of three ETFs, through them shares of some state-owned organizations and companies are planned to be offered.

By Afshin Majlesi

Iran, quakes, and tourism

Early on Friday, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 struck Damavand county, 56km northeast of the capital Tehran, killing two and injuring 33. It made an excuse for writing a note about the impact of natural disasters, specifically earthquakes, on tourism and cultural heritage.

By Salman Parviz

Politicizing Covid-19

Trump’s reactions as U.S. president and medic-in-chief

Before the Covid-19 pandemic I dreaded at my certainty that U.S. President Donald Trump stands a good chance for re-election in November. However, Trump’s behavior and reactions have given me some hope. Can Trump administration’s poor response to the pandemic cost him the elections in November? 

By M.A. Saki

White House discussing phasing out coronavirus task force. Here is the motive behind it. 

The White House is mulling over the winding down of its coronavirus task force, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announced on Tuesday, even as the country is exceeding the grim death milestone of 70,000. 

By Afshin Majlesi

Normal life not a distant dream as Tehran sees drop in new corona cases

The average death toll from COVID-19 pandemic in Iran has been on the decline, and also in the capital Tehran, over the past couple of weeks, thanks to a temporary lockdown introduced earlier in March.

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Coronavirus brought healthcare reforms into sharp focus

TEHRAN – The coronavirus outbreak proved that one-dimensional health systems cannot survive from health-threatening crises, which occur every few years in the form of infectious diseases, a mere view of treatment is not enough, so that the need for healthcare reforms should be brought into sharp focus.

By Mohammad Shojaeian Zanjani

Following the guidelines of martyr Beheshti

“The Tehran Times is not the newspaper of the government, but the loud voice of the Islamic Revolution and the supporter of the oppressed people in the world,” martyr Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad Beheshti has underscored. 

By Mehdi Garshasbi

Persian Gulf, the eternal heritage of ancient Iran

TEHRAN-  Tenth of the second Iranian calendar month Ordibehesht (April 29) marks the National Persian Gulf Day, which is the anniversary of the victory over Portuguese troops during a war in the Persian Gulf in 1622.

By Salman Parviz

Oil producers dig into savings amid fiscal deficits

Crude demand stymied by lockdowns due to Covid-19 outbreak

TEHRAN- Today many of the world’s major cities remain under lockdowns while their respective government is implementing work-from-home schemes. This has dramatically reduced the number of cars on the streets and cut the demand from the transportation sector. With WTI hovering around $10 and Brent on $20 a barrel, oil-producing nations are feeling the pinch. 

By Mohammad Jafari

Nationwide protests in late 2019, COVID-19-based lockdown, what is the next in Lebanon?

The Lebanese citizens, who poured into the streets in late 2019 calling for structural economic change, have faced the novel coronavirus outbreak and the following lockdown which has emptied the Lebanese people's pockets more than ever but meantime have made them more determined to seek the best way possible to root out the economic and political instability from their country via basic reforms.  

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Building resilient cities, a post-coronavirus necessity

TEHRAN – When a global disaster spreads out in the form of coronavirus pandemic, how communities will survive the aftermath crosses everyone’s mind, However, how can one particular intervention succeed in strengthening a city against epidemics and disasters?

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Iran taking final step toward malaria elimination

TEHRAN – Iran has not had any indigenous cases of malaria for two years in a row, and if the country’s passes this year with no indigenous cases, the World Health Organization will grant it a certificate of malaria eradication, Ahmad Raeisi, head of the Malaria control department of the Ministry of Health, has stated.

By Afshin Majlesi

How is COVID-19 affecting travel in Iran? Experts explain

TEHRAN – As you are well aware, nearly all travel businesses have been disrupted worldwide in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Why corona lockdown did not bring Tehran cleaner air?

TEHRAN – Many cities around the world have enjoyed cleaner air since restrictive measures were applied due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, Tehran, being hit by nitrogen oxides (NOX) pollutants, has experienced less clean air days.

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Earth Day 2020: nature is a beneficiary of coronavirus

TEHRAN – Human beings have put too much pressure on the Earth causing irreparable damage, however, with the onset of coronavirus outbreak, the planet seemed to prosper and relive the burden which was unprecedented over the past 50 years when the first Earth Day celebrated.

BY Ebrahim Fallahi

Missing out on LNG market Iran needs to take action

TEHRAN – Last week, Qatar Petroleum announced the start of drilling operations for the development of its North Field (known in Iran as South Pars) gas field, in which the company plans to drill 80 new wells to increase the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity by 43 percent to reach 110 million tons per annum (Mtpa).

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Coronavirus crisis: a time for lasting togetherness

TEHRAN – In the wake of coronavirus, many people have faced difficulty earning income or finding self-protective products due to lock-down measures, but benefactors stood up and volunteering opportunities cropped up, which highly reflects that togetherness never ends.

By Salman Parviz

Theories on origins of COVID-19 disease

WHO figure for April 13: 213 countries, 1,878,489 cases, 119,044 deaths

There are many theories about the exact origins of the novel coronavirus, designated “nCoV-2019” by World Health Organization or commonly referred to as COVID-19 disease, also called SARS-CoV-2 because it is related to SARS pathogen. Theories about the missing link for transmission of the new coronavirus from bats to humans abound.

By Afshin Majlesi

Ubiquitous coronavirus: Do travel blockades work?

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Iran climate: wet spell or still short of rain?

TEHRAN – While some experts claim that Iran has entered a period of the wet spell after experiencing dry spells over the past few decades, some others highly reject the claim implying that the country faced a lack of rain by 50mm over the past 5 decades.

By Faranak Bakhtiari

Knowledge-based companies pushing for ‘surge in production’

TEHRAN – Iran has developed plans to support and empower knowledge-based companies as a step forward to materialize the goal of a surge in production, as the economy is grappling with the coronavirus predicament.

By Masoud Hossein

Iran football: us against us

TEHRAN – Imagine you have just four lives in a video game and entering into the next stage depends on how you keep your lives. That’s all. The only thing you need is to stay focused. However, it doesn’t work in Iran football.

By Farrokh Hesabi

Can the Iranian clubs ask players to take pay cut?

TEHRAN - The Iranian clubs face a crisis regarding the payment of the players' salaries, and the coronavirus pandemic has worsened the situation.

By Mahnaz Abdi

Privatization to materialize ‘Surge in Production’

TEHRAN- The current Iranian calendar year (began on March 20) is named the year of “Surge in Production” by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.