A group of European restoration experts will cooperate with Iran to renovate parts of the Jame Mosque of Qazvin in northwestern Iran, which is one of the oldest Islamic structures in Iran.

Cooperated with Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage Tourism and Handicrafts, they will work on the dome and maqsurah (closed-off space) of the mosque, IRNA wrote.

The head of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department in Qazvin Province Alireza Khazaeli said the European team is highly experienced in restoring ancient monuments.

He added that 15 to 20 ancient buildings in Qazvin Province will also go under restoration until the end of the current Persian year (ending March 20, 2021).

The oldest section of the mosque is said to be constructed by the orders of Harun al-Rashid, the fifth Abbasid caliph, in 807 CE.

Later additions were made, the last was during the late Safavid Era (1501–1736). The double layered main dome of the mosque was added in Seljuk Era (1037–1194). The mosque also features some precious examples of relief calligraphy from medieval times.

In spite of the devastating Mongol conquest of Persia in the early 13th century, the mosque still stands today in its full glory. It is still in use. Parts of the mosque have been turned into a public library.

In spite of the devastating Mongol conquest of Persia in the early 13th century, the mosque still stands today in its full glory. It is still in use. Parts of the mosque have been turned into a public library.

Jameh Mosque of Qazvin

The Congregational mosque of Qazvin, also known as Masjed Jāme-e Kabīr, is located on the western side of Shohada Street. The mosque is a real museum of Iranian-Islamic art and architecture, including exquisite decorations and architectural plans from early centuries of Islamic period to the Qajar era. As the story goes, the mosque was built by Haroun al-Rashid, the Arab Caliph. Based on available historical data, Haroun al-Rashid had a short stop in Qazvin on his way to Khorasan in 808 (the second century of Islamic era).

As a result of this short stop, the fire temple of Qazvin, dating back to the Sassanid period, changed its architectural character and function and turned into an Islamic mosque. For years, the southern ayvan of the mosque housed and protected parts of the original fire temple, but it was destroyed at the hands of Mongols and Afghans.

The current plan of Jame Mosque of Qazvin includes two portals, one on the eastern side (in Shohada Street) and the other on the north-western side. The eastern portal is the main entrance to the mosque, bearing lofty, magnificent decorations. Based on the oldest inscription on the portal, it was built in 1664, at the time of Shah Abbas II (1642-1666). However, the portal was restored several times during different eras, as testified by the presence of various inscriptions representing different dates. According to one of these tiled inscriptions, the portal was first renovated by an affluent person of Qazvin, Mohammad Sadeq Khan, in 1777. Then, based on another inscription, Ali Naqi Mirza, the Qajar ruler of Qazvin and son of Fath Ali Shah, commissioned some further restorations in 1835. Finally, as a tiled panel on the forehead of vestibule shows, the portal underwent restoration for the last time in 1934

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Stating that efforts have to be expanded to implement the JCPOA, EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said, “I am sorry that the European parties failed to meet their commitments under the JCPOA.”

EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell met and held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday evening in Tehran.

During their meeting, Iranian President said that Iran is fully committed to its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), criticizing the other side’s failure to live up to its commitments and adding, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is still ready to interact and cooperate with the European Union to settle issues.”

He also said that developing relations and cooperation with European countries, as long-standing partners, is always important to Iran, expressing hope that relations further deepen with the efforts of the new EU foreign policy chief.

Referring to the process of efforts that eventually led to the JCPOA over 12 years, the president said, “Unfortunately, the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the agreement created many obstacles and difficulties for other parties to fully implement it.”

Rouhani stated that Iran’s move to reduce its obligations was within the framework of the agreement and to maintain it, adding, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is still fully ready to interact and cooperate with the European Union to settle issues and whenever the other side lives up to its commitments completely, Iran is ready to return to its commitments.”

Condemning US policy toward regional countries, he said, “They have already made a lot of strategic mistakes towards regional countries, including Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan, and their recent move that was done in cooperation with the Zionist Regime under the title of “Deal of the Century” is in accordance with these mistakes and is doomed to fail.”

Rouhani said that today, the region is not in a good condition and terrorism has not yet been fully eradicated from the countries of the region, saying, “America assassinated General Soleimani, who was the leader of fighting terrorism in the region, and this was a tremendous help to the terrorists in the region.”

The President praised the joint efforts of Iran and the European Union to resolve many regional and international issues, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran remains committed to the IAEA’s monitoring, the process of which has been continuing to date and it will continue unless we face new conditions.”

EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell, for his part, referred to Iran’s influential role in regional affairs and the development of peace, stability and security in the region, saying, “Developing cooperation with Iran has always been important for the EU.”

“I am sorry that the European parties failed to meet their commitments under the JCPOA,” he said, adding that efforts have to be expanded to implement the deal.

Stating that today European countries are seeking to preserve the JCPOA and resolve issues to keep the deal in place, Borrell said, “As the EU’s High Representative, I will do everything in my power to create a robust interaction for saving the JCPOA.”

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Purchasing €2.9 billion of goods from Iran, Italy was the biggest importer of Iranian products in 2018, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday, citing the data released by European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat.

The country’s imports from Iran in 2018 was 31 percent of the total of European countries’ imports from Iran. However, the figure registered an annual decrease of 13 percent in 2018 from its previous €3.36 billion in 2017.

According to the data published by Eurostat, Germany with exports of €2.7 billion to Iran, i.e. 30 percent of the total exports of EU to Iran, was the main European exporter to Iran last year, the same report added.

Germany’s exports to Iran showed eight percent decrease in 2018 in comparison with the preceding year when the figure stood at €2.95 billion.

In 2018, after Italy, Spain (€2.02 billion) and France (€1.53 billion) were respectively the major importers from Iran while Italy (€1.68 billion) and France (€895 million) were the main exporters after Germany to Iran.

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Iran says a host of European giants are bidding for the development of its South Azadegan oil field – which was once considered as the world’s biggest oil find after it was discovered over 15 years ago.

Nouroddin Shahnazizadeh, the managing director of the Petroleum Development and Engineering Company of Iran, told the domestic media that the leading European bidders for the project include Total (France), Shell (UK/Hollande), Eni (Italy), Wintershall (Germany), Rosneft (Russia), OMV (Austria) and Maersk (Denmark).

Shahnazizadeh added that several Asian companies including CNPC and Sinopec (China), ONGC (India), Pertamina (Indonesia), Petronas (Malaysia) and PTTP (Thailand) would also participate in a tender over South Azadegan.

The official said officials from the bidding companies had visited Iran for three days to become fully aware about the conditions of the project. Almost a dozen of them, he added, had been even taken to visit the project site.

Nevertheless, Shahnazizadeh did not indicate when the tender over South Azadegan would be held.

Iran has repeatedly postponed the tender over the giant field which it jointly shares with Iraq.

Reuters quoted an unnamed Iranian official as saying in June that the bidding over the project had been delayed by another few months.

This, the unnamed official told Reuters, was meant to allow energy companies more time to study the field.

Iran discovered Azadegan oil field in 1999 in what was the country’s biggest oil find in decades. The country accordingly teamed up with Inpex to push the project toward development. However, the Japanese company later quit the project in what appeared to be the result of US sanctions against Iran.

The NIOC later divided the project into South Azadegan and North Azadegan and both were awarded to China’s CNPC when Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013) was in office.

The media reported in 2014 that Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh had sidelined CNPC from South Azadegan due to its protracted delays in developing the field.

South Azadegan is believed to hold an in-place oil reserve of about 33.2 billion barrels and its recoverable resources estimated at about 5.2 billion barrels.

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Iran’s crude oil and condensate exports to Europe has reached one million barrels per day.

Iran sells crude oil to European companies within the framework of long-term deals and spot cargo, however the volume of spot cargo is higher, an informed source told Fars News Agency.

Iran still encounters problems in receiving payments due to banking issues, the source said, adding that central bank officials are seeking ways to expedite the process.

The source said that Iran also faces the same problem in oil export to Asian countries as banking sanctions still remain in place, the source said.

Iran was exporting 2.5 mbd of crude oil and gas condensate prior to the sanctions which were imposed in 2012, of which 18 percent was supplied to the EU.

After 2012, the EU cut Iran oil purchase while Asian countries had to decrease Iranian oil import gradually, which led to a decline in Iranian oil and gas condensate exports to 1.2 mbd in 2015.

After the removal of sanctions in 2016, based on nuclear agreement, Iran resumed its oil exports.

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Iran announced that several major European and Asian financiers have announced their readiness to fund the purchases of planes from global aviation giants Airbus and Boeing.

Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development for International Affairs Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan was quoted by Press TV as saying that nine financial institutions from Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Britain, China and Japan had already approached Iran to fund the purchases.

He did not disclose the names of the interested financers.

Nevertheless, he underlined that arrangements to hold a tender to choose the financier for the purchases were underway, adding that tender documents would be sent out to potential bidders within a month.

Last week, he was quoted by THE media as saying that Britain’s key export credit agency — UK Export Finance (UKEF) — had informed Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development that it was ready to provide funding for all of Iran’s purchases from Boeing and Airbus.

He stressed that Iran wanted to have an open hand in choosing the best financiers and that a tender to this effect would be held soon.

“Iran Air is preparing the tender documents so that they would be sent to all credible financiers worldwide,” Fakhrieh Kashan told IRNA.

“We are in conditions that permit us to choose our desired financiers in a competitive atmosphere that a tender creates.”

Also, Iran’s media last October quoted an unidentified government official as saying that Boeing had sealed a deal with an American bank to provide financing for Iran’s purchase of airliners in cooperation with a Japanese bank.

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Iran is making rapid forays into the European crude oil market and selling its parcels to countries such as France, Italy, Greece and Spain, UK-based global shipping consultancy, VesselsValue said.

“Following the removal of sanctions, new players have emerged in the mix,” VesselsValue said in a report. Iran’s crude oil shipments have been delivered to destinations ranging from Malaysia and Singapore in Asia to Syria in Africa, it said, according to Platts.

In 2016, the number of voyages to deliver crude from Iran to France was estimated at 21, while Italy, Greece and Spain took 15, 14 and 13 shipments respectively, it said. This includes shipments in VLCC, Suezmaxes and Aframaxes.

In July 2012, the European Union had banned the import of Iranian crude by member countries and also the provisions of EU-linked insurance, which included protection and indemnity cover for any shipments of Iranian crude, irrespective of destination. The sanctions were relaxed in January last year.

There has also been a significant change in the geographical mix of owners whose ships were used to lift Iranian cargoes of crude.

Prior to the lifting of sanctions, the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) was the largest provider of tonnage to load cargoes from Iran, in addition to Iran-o Hind, Idemitsu Tanker, JX Ocean and KLine.

The Iranian ships were provided local insurance cover but there were always concerns over the possibility of any potential liability in event of maritime accidents in waters of importing countries which were permitted to purchase crude from Tehran.

During the period of sanctions, India permitted Iranian ships to call at Indian ports based on Tehran’s local insurance cover, China used ships of domestic companies while the Japanese government provided insurance cover only for VLCCs.

South Korea and Taiwan also took deliveries of cargoes purchased on a cost and freight (CFR) basis.

Now, “the group of shipowners lifting crude from Iran has changed dramatically to include those from Greece and Belgium”, VesselsValue said.

“The influx of owners from Greece has significantly increased the number of Suezmaxes plying on the ex-Iran voyages to 81 last year, compared with 15 in 2015,” the report said.

While NITC continues to be the market leader in terms of the number of ships deployed for loading crude from Iran, other companies with ships loading from the country include Dynacom, Delta Tankers, Euronav, Polembros, COSCO, Avin International, Olympic Shipping and Management, New Shipping and Thenamaris, it said.

Last month, two Iranian VLCCs, the ‘Huge’ and the ‘Snow’ delivered a mix of the country’s heavy and light crude grades to Shell at Rotterdam, according to trade sources and S&P Global Platts.

In late January, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that the country was producing 3.9 mbd crude and was set to reach its 4 mbd target by the end of the Iranian year on March 20.

This will mark the return of Iran’s output to levels last seen before 2012, when international sanctions were imposed on the country.

A Platts survey released on February 6 estimated Iranian production at 3.72 mbd in January, up 30,000 bpd from December.

While cuts in crude production have been initiated under an OPEC-led agreement, Iran is allowed to boost its output to 3.797 mbd. If this materializes, Iran’s output would exceed its OPEC quota by more than 100,000 bpd.

This is expected to translated into more crude shipments from Iran. According to VesselsValue, the seaborne exports of Iranian crude are rising significantly.

The number of crude laden shipments from Iran increased to 563 last year — up from 66 in 2012 and 277 in 2015, their data showed.

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An Iranian oil tanker has called at a European port for the first time since the lifting of sanctions last January, said managing director of the National Iranian Tankers Company (NITC) said.

Sirous Kianersi added the first NITC tanker leased to a major Spanish oil company docked at the Port of Algeciras just recently, reported IRNA on Wednesday.

More NITC tankers are heading to other European ports, he said, adding two vessels are currently en route to the Netherlands.

NITC is the biggest tanker company in the Middle East and one of the largest in the world with a capacity of 15.5 million tons per year.

Managing Director of Iran’s Port and Maritime Organization Mohammad Saeednejad also said on Wednesday that the lifting of sanctions has allowed Iranian ships to fully resume operations to Asian, European and American ports.

Since October, Iranian VLCCs have reportedly completed 32 voyages delivering around 70 million barrels. China accounted for 13 voyages and India for 12 others.

As many as 17 international shipping lines have resumed their calls at Iranian ports which were deserted by and large during the sanctions, Saeednejad said.

Iranian VLCC fleet, which had been used as floating storage, has started to reappear on international trading routes. Since October, more than 20 NITC-operated VLCCs have returned to the market compared to just 13 in October.

Iran’s oil exports hit 2.04 million barrels per day in November, recovering from a decline of around one million barrels per day during the sanctions. Over the last 12 months, European customers have resumed lifting Iranian crude oil, with France, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Taiwan taking at least one shipment.

According to ship tracking data, the number of Iranian VLCCs in storage has fallen from 16 to 7 units, which equals to a reduction of 20 million barrels. As much as 15 million barrels of crude oil is estimated to remain in floating storage on NITC’s VLCCs — down from an estimated peak of between 40 and 50 million barrels.

On Tuesday, a report said global ship insurers were about to resume near full coverage for Iranian oil exports from next month without involving US-domiciled reinsurers.

Restrictions on US firms handling Iranian goods had greatly limited the number of reinsurers of cargoes, but the new arrangements, which essentially allow re-insurance of ships without the involvement of US firms, should boost the number of eligible shipments, Reuters reported.

“There will be no US-domiciled reinsurer participation on the 2017 IG reinsurance program,” the news agency quoted Andrew Bardot, secretary and executive officer at the International Group (IG) of P&I Clubs in London, as saying.

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Italy ranked first among European importers of Iranian goods in the nine months to December 20, 2016, Iran Customs Administration (ICA) figures showed.

Italy was first among European importers of Iranian commodities importing over 678,000 tons of Iranian goods worth more than $385 million in the nine-month period, announced Iran’s customs office, IRNA reported.

It further said that 40 European countries imported Iranian goods valued at $1.856 billion.

In late November, Italian Ambassador to Iran Mauro Conciatori in a meeting with Hormuzgan Governor General Jassem Jadari in Bandar Abbas voiced Rome’s willingness to expand economic and industrial relations with Tehran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi met in New York which was the fourth meeting in the past years, he pointed out. During the meeting the two sides underscored the need to double efforts to broaden relations, Conciatori said during the meeting.

He reiterated that Iran and Italy have deep familiarity about each other and have been in contact with each other through Silk Road which can pave the way for boosting ties between the two countries.

Conciatori pointed to the berthing of Italian warship in Bandar Abbas, and said, “The presence of the Italian warship shows the positive development in relations between the two countries.”

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Iran‘s gas can be exported to Europe via Georgia and the Black Sea in the near future, said head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA).

According to Fars News Agency, Gholam-Hossein Shafeie noted, “Cooperation between the two countries (Iran and Armenia) is of special importance in energy security and in the near future, Iran’s gas can be transferred to Europe via Georgia and Black Sea.”

Shafeie accompanied President Hassan Rouhani’s delegation during the three-nation tour of Central Asia, which included Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from December 21-23.

He said Iran and Armenia have in recent years been strategic partners in the region.

Iran and Armenia, he noted, can cooperate in the exchange of technical and engineering services as well as in energy, petrochemicals, power transfer, dam building, establishment of factories, mining, agriculture, tourism, particularly eco-tourism and health tourism, cooperation in a third country and cooperation between the small and medium-sized companies.

He suggested the transportation of Armenian goods to other countries, especially China, India and Southeast Asia, via Iran’s Persian Gulf ports.

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