Chabahar is the only oceanic port of Iran which lies on 645 km to the south of Zahedan, the provincial capital city.

India regards Chabahar inauguration as gold opportunity to expand regional cooperation

India’s Ministry of External Affairs described the inauguration of Iran’s Chabahar Port project as a golden opportunity for New Delhi to enhance its regional role and cooperation.
In a statement on Sunday, it referred to the visit of the Indian Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan to Iran on the occasion, noting that the ceremony was attended by ministers, ambassadors and senior officials primarily from countries of the region.

According to the statement, Radhakrishnan, during his two day visit on 2-3 December 2017, represented India in the 2nd meeting of the India-Iran-Afghanistan Ministerial-level Trilateral Meeting on Chabahar Port Development and involving the respective Ministers of Iran and Afghanistan. The inaugural Trilateral meeting was held in September 2016 in New Delhi.

It said that “in the Trilateral meeting with Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi and the Afghanistan Trade and Commerce Minister Humayoon Rasaw, the three sides reviewed and positively assessed the progress in the development of Chabahar Port and reiterated their commitment to complete and operationalise the Port at the earliest that would contribute to bilateral and regional trade and economic development and also provide alternate access to landlocked Afghanistan to regional and global markets.

It added that the three sides also commended the recent joint efforts which led to the transit of first tranche of 110,000 tonnes of wheat from India to Afghanistan through the Chabahar Port.

The Ministers agreed to further intensify efforts on issues concerning regional connectivity and focusing on Chabahar Port development under the Trilateral Transit and Trade Agreement at the Trilateral Meeting.

The Indian minister expressed his positive appreciation to the Iranian side on the recent steps taken towards ratification by the Majlis of Iran on the Trilateral Transit and Trade Agreement signed in May 2016 between India, Iran and Afghanistan.

The completion of the internal procedures on the ratification process by Iran is expected to lead to full and early operationalisation of the Transit and Trade arrangement between the three countries though the Chabahar Port.

He said it is expected that a trilateral coordination meeting of senior officials will be convened at the earliest.

According to another statement, Sushma Swaraj, the Indian External Affairs Minister visited Iran on December 2, 2017 on her return journey from SCO Summit at Sochi to meet her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif.

The two foreign ministers discussed the various aspects of India-Iran relations and ways to strengthen it.

They also positively reviewed the initiatives undertaken since the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Iran in May 2016 including cooperation in Chabahar Port.

Both Ministers also exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest.

The 2nd Ministerial level trilateral meeting between Afghanistan, India and Iran to discuss the implementation of Trilateral Agreement on Establishment of International Transport and Transit Corridor was held at Chabahar on Sunday.

President Hassan Rouhani opened the first phase of Shahid Beheshti Port in the southeastern city of Chabahar on Sunday morning during a ceremony attended by 60 foreign guests from 17 countries at the port located by the Oman Sea.

The port links India to Central Asisa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

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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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Classical vocalist and tonbak player Homayoun Shajarian, and composer Sohrab Pournazeri, are currently staging a multimedia concert titled ‘Si’ based on Persian poet Ferdowsi’s ‘Shahnameh’. The stories performed include ‘Rostam and Esfandyar’, ‘Zal and Rudabeh’ and ‘Rostam and Sohrab’.

About Shahnameh

A little over a thousand years ago a Persian poet named Ferdowsi of Tous collected and put into heroic verse the millennium old mythological and epic traditions of Iran. It took him thirty years to write the sixty thousand verses that comprise the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings). This monumental tome is one of the most important literary works of Iran and like other great epics, such as Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, Nibelungenlied and Ramayana, it is a record of the human imaginative consciousness. It is well known and has been adapted through out the Near East, Central Asia and India but is mostly unknown in the West.

The stories of the Shahnameh tell the long history of the Iranian people. It begins with the creation of the world and the origin myths of the arts of civilization (fire, cooking, metallurgy, social structures, etc.) and ends with the Arab conquest of Persia in the seventh century, A.C.E. A mix of myth and history, the characters of Shahnameh take the readers on heroic adventures filled with superhuman champions, magical creatures, heart-wrenching love stories, and centuries-long battles.

Ferdowsi was grieved by the fall of the Persian Empire. Shahnameh was meant to harbor the Persian collective memory, language, and culture amidst a turbulent sea of many historical storms and to preserve the nostalgia of Persia’s golden days.

Heroes of Shahnameh are often torn between incompatible loyalties: moral duty against group obligations, filial piety against national honor, etc. Some Iranian kings and heroes appear in Shahnameh as shining examples of courage and nobility. Others are portrayed as flawed human beings who lose their divine “charisma,” their loved ones, and even their own lives to pettiness and hubris. Ferdowsi stresses his belief that since the world is transient, and since everyone is merely a passerby, one is wise to avoid cruelty, lying, avarice and other evils; instead one should strive for order, justice, honor. truth and other virtues.

Shahnameh has survived as the embodiment of the pre-Islamic Persian soul, but it is much more than a national treasure. As a document of human collective consciousness, it reflects the dilemmas of the human condition as it confronts us with the timeless questions of our existence.

The present version covers the brief mythological opening of Shahnameh as well as the main bulk of its epic stories. The last one third of the book that is dedicated to the tales of the last pre-Islamic dynasty of Iran and the Arab conquest is not part of this version of Shahnameh./ Source

Homayoun Shajarin
Homayoun, was born 21 May 1975 in Tehran is a Persian classical music vocalist, and a Tombak player. He is the son of Mohammad Reza Shajarian, the grand master vocalist of Persian traditional music. Upon his father’s advice, he began studying knowledge of technique and rhythm under supervision of Nasser Farhangfar, master of the tombak, a Persian hand drum, at the age of five. Afterwards, he also continued learning the tombak under Jamshid Mohebbi’s supervision.

He commenced learning Persian traditional vocal Avaz at the age of ten, alongside his older sisters under their father’s supervision and gained knowledge of Avaz techniques and voice-producing. Simultaneously, he attended Tehran Conservatory of Music and chose Kamancheh as his professional instrument as well as being tutored by Ardeshir Kamkar.

In 1991, he accompanied father in concerts of Ava Music Ensemble in US, Europe and Iran, playing Tombak; and from 1999 on, started accompanying father also on vocals. His first independent work Nassim-e Vasl, composed by Mohammad Javad Zarrabian, was published on his 28th birthday, on 21 May 2003.

Homayoun on instagram

Sohrab Pournazeri
Sohrab Pournazeri, virtuoso of the Tanbour and the Kamancheh, is a sensational phenomenon of modern Iranian music. He is a singer and instrumentalist whose music has surpassed the borders of Iran, fusing with cultures and artists as far and wide as China and the United States. Sohrab was born in 1982 to the musical family of Pournazeris. Music was Sohrab’s mother tongue; he learned it as other children learn to speak. At the age of two he would play his father’s Tanboor (whose body was larger than his) and sing the poetry of Rumi and Hafez. At 13 he was introduced to the stage as part of the Shamss Ensemble, and today he is considered one of the core members of the band. Also starting at age 13, Sohrab studied the techniques of Kamanche with Ardeshir Kamkar, and because of his musical talent was able to begin playing as a soloist with the Shams Ensemble after two years.

Sohrab Pournazeri on instagram

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The celebration of feast of Blessing of Grapes and Assumption of Mary was held on in Saint Sarkis Cathedral in Tehran.

The construction of St. Sarkis Church in Tehran began from 1964 and was complete by 1970. The church was built by Sarkisian brothers in memory of their parents.

At beginning the Tehran prelacy was located at conjunction of St. Mother Mary Church in central Tehran. In the early 1960s it was decided to change the site of the prelacy offices into new location. So therefore the bishop and committee members of the time requested to an Armenian benefactor Markar Sarkissian to help them in this cause. So the committee bought the land located at end of Villa Street (now called Nejatollahi Street). In 2006 Mr. Hrair Hagopian renovated the baptism pool and the church in memory of his beloved wife Vartoohi Davidian.

Armenians in Iran

Armenians can be found in almost every major city of Iran, engaged in a variety of professions and occupations, as university professors, physicians, high-school teachers, businessmen, engineers, skilled workers, truck drivers, artists, technicians, artisans, professional athletes, etc. Their traditional centers of Azerbaijan and Isfahan (since the 11th/17th century) have been overshadowed in recent years by the tremendous growth of the Armenian population in Tehran, where more than 66 percent of the entire community (estimated at 270,000 in 1977, see Nyrop, Iran, p. 152) resided in 1345 Š./1966 (Firoozi, The Population of Iran, p. 346). Three prelates with jurisdiction over the three district areas of Azerbaijan, Isfahan (including southern Iran and India), and

Tehran (including Qazvīn, Rašt, Mašhad, Bandar-e Anzalī, Hamadān, Arāk, and Kermānšāh) head the community. They are subject to the catholicos of Cilicia in Lebanon who nominates three candidates for each prelate post out of which one candidate is elected by the assembly of local representatives; then the elected prelate is officially appointed as such by the catholicos (Rāʾīn, Īrānīān-e Armanī, pp. 61-62). The Iranian community traditionally acknowledged the jurisdiction of the catholicos of Echmiadzin (Vałaršapat, the ancient capital of Armenia, now in Soviet Armenia) until the 1950s, when for political reasons he was replaced by the catholicos of Lebanon. This led to a split in the Armenian community, since a large number continued to follow the catholicos of Echmiadzin, who refused to relinquish the jurisdictional claim of his church over the entire Iranian community (Nyrop, Iran, p. 135).

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The head of Iran National Carpet Center (INCC) said a total of 730 domestic companies are expected to take part in the 26th edition of the world’s largest handmade carpet expo which is scheduled to open in Tehran on August 23.

Hamid Kargar added the Iranian capital will play host to the 26th Iran Handmade Carpet Exhibition — the biggest of its kind worldwide — during August 23-29, IFP News reported.

He said the expo will be held in Tehran International Fairground.

Kargar added the exhibition will be held in 14 halls spanning over an area of more than 30,000 square meters.

A hall will be allocated to specialized entrepreneurs, he said, adding they will be provided with free pavilions in Hall No. 5. “[A number of] foreign traders who are among the customers of handwoven Iranian carpets, particularly those from Iran’s export targets, have been identified and invited to visit the expo.”

He put the number of foreign traders at 91, of which 38 are Iranian carpet merchants living abroad and 14 are from the US.

Kargar said concurrent with the exhibition, the Seventh Top Carpet Exhibition and Festival will be held in Tehran with the aim of creating new intricate carpet patterns and improving the process of carpet production.

He added the fest’s slogan is ‘Modernization and Maintaining the Market, While Focusing on Originality of Iranian Carpet’.

Kargar said rugs made by Iran’s nomads as well as antique and modern carpets will be featured in the festival, adding those judged as top works will be put on display in a hall.

“A carpet is currently being woven in Iran based on a speech by [Iranian President] Hassan Rouhani in the United Nations which will be unveiled at the expo. The carpet will be presented as a gift to one of the international institutes after its weaving is completed.”

He said different methods for decorating spaces with handwoven Iranian carpets will also be presented to the visitors in the exhibition in cooperation with INCC and the National Council of Furniture and Decoration and Correlated Industries.

Kargar noted that to increase the adaptability of handwoven Iranian carpet, a book titled ‘Farsh Man — The Aesthetics of Persian Carpet’ will be unveiled in hall No. 5.

In addition, he said, a number of workshops will be held during the six-day exhibition, in the morning and afternoon, to familiarize visitors with the designing and production processes of Iranian carpets in different parts of the country.

The INCC head added moreover, the processes involved in the making of a handwoven carpet such as designing, restoration and washing will be demonstrated to visitors in this expo.

“Following the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) [on January 16, 2016], Iran resumed carpet exports to the US. During 2010-2016, Iran failed to directly export any carpet to the US due to [Western] sanctions. This was while in 2009, the US was the target of over 16 percent, or more than $80 million, of Iran’s carpet exports. After the implementation of the JCPOA, Iran exported its first carpet collection to the US from Germany.”

He added in 2016, Iran’s overseas sales of carpet amounted to $365 million, of which $95 million were sold to the US.

“We expect that Iran’s carpet exports to the US would increase again after a six-year hiatus. This, however, calls for continuous monitoring of the activities of our rivals, particularly India and Pakistan, in international carpet markets. It is also important to screen the background of our present-day customers in the market. We are also required to make optimum use of means of advertisement and establish connection with foreign traders.”

He said according to the figures released by Iran’s Customs Administration, the country’s carpet exports reached $89 million during March 21-July 22, 2017, indicating an increase of more than 3.7 percent compared to the figure for the same period last year.

Kargar added establishing a carpet start-up is also on INCC’s agenda.

“According to INCC statistics, there are one million carpet weavers in Iran, of whom 700,000 are full-time workers and the rest are part-time employees.

He dismissed allegations that handwoven Iranian carpets are expensive, noting such carpets have considerable price diversity.

Handwoven carpets made by Iran’s nomads are both very beautiful and precious and sold at reasonable prices.

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Tehran hosted the 11th World Polo Championship Qualification of region E with participating India, Pakistan, South Africa and Iran.

In Tehran qualification India’s Polo team climbed to the Australian World Cup. Iran, ended two defeats against India and Pakistan and wins South Africa.

Polo was invented and first played in Iran thousands of years ago. The original name of polo is “Chogan” which is a team sport played on horseback. Yesterday, polo was played symbolically at Shohada Sport Complex in Tehran, to be prepared for its inclusion in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.

“The game of polo is played on horseback with a stick (mallet) and ball. The earliest records of polo are Persian; there is evidence that it was played in the time of King Darius the Great (522- 486 B. C). Persian polo is described in Sir Anthony Shirley’s Travels to Persia (1613)” [Encyclopedia Britannica].

Polo was invented and first played in Iran (or ancient Persia) thousands of years ago. The original name of polo is “Chogan” and in Iran the game is still referred to as “Chogan”. From its Iranian origins in Persia it spread to Constantinople, and eastward through Bactria and Afghanistan to Tibet, China, and Japan, and from Tibet to India, where it flourished throughout the Mughal (Mogul) dynasty. The word “polo” comes from the Tibetan word for the willow root from which polo balls were made of, which is “Pulu “.

Find more about Polo

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By Karen Gilchrist: Iran signed a $5-billion deal with a consortium led by French oil company Total on Monday to develop the giant South Pars Gas Field — the world’s largest natural gas field.

The deal is the Islamic Republic’s first with a European oil company in more than a decade, marking a major milestone for a country whose standing as an international trade partner has hung in the balance ever since it was slapped with sanctions in 2006 amid concerns that it was developing nuclear weapons.

Total has taken a 50.1 percent interest in the South Pars project, and alongside state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, which holds 30 percent, and Iran’s Petropars (19.9 percent), will begin producing gas for the Iranian market from 2021.

Though the deal has been a slow burn, coming some 18 months after EU sanctions against the Middle Eastern nation were lifted, Iran will be hoping that it marks a new era of investor confidence and a particular boon for its dwindling oil production.

“Total’s decision to sign the South Pars 11 contract is a cautiously positive sign for foreign investment in Iran’s upstream,” Richard Mallinson, geopolitical analyst at Energy Aspects, told CNBC via email on Monday.

Who else is ready to invest in Iran?

Already, India, one of Iran’s most steadfast trading partners, on Monday announced that a consortium of domestic businesses would offer up to $11 billion to develop another of Iran’s natural gas fields, Farzad-B field, and create the infrastructure to export the fuel, Bloomberg reported, quoting Narendra Kumar Verma, managing director of the overseas investment unit of India’s largest explorer, Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC). / Farzad B gas field, Persian Gulf

Iran is the second-largest supplier of crude oil to India, and, as a result, India is one of the largest foreign investors in Iran’s oil and gas industry. However, fraught diplomatic relations between Iran and other states have made it a difficult relationship to uphold.

Under US sanctions, which were reinforced last month, India has been unable to trade with Iran using the dollar — the world’s premier reserve currency — and had to defer payments or revert to payments in rupees and, more recently, euros.

Iran has the world’s largest natural gas reserves and the fourth-largest oil reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration. This translates to 10 percent of the world’s crude oil reserves and 13 percent of OPEC’s.

Why is Total doing the deal now?

Total was previously one of the biggest investors in Iran before sanctions were imposed. Though the deal was laid out last year, the group has been awaiting clarity on the Trump administration’s stance on sanctions.

During campaigning, President Donald Trump pledged to ‘dismantle’ the 2015 nuclear agreement, which aimed to reduce sanctions, though has not yet followed up on it.

Total has so far only committed to an initial $1 billion investment, citing continued risks. The stock was up 1.78 percent when the deal was signed Monday.

Though the investment will help revive Iran’s antiquated energy sector, which has borne the brunt of years of under-investment into the country, it will be purely domestically focused.

It is likely to have less of an impact on the wider international markets, which have been struggling to balance output since a supply glut saw prices plummet in early 2015.

Brent prices were lower by 0.06 percent in Monday afternoon at $48.75 per barrel while US crude was up 0.09 percent at $46.08 per barrel.

Lack of new deals holding back growth

Indeed, while companies including Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni have signed provisional agreements with Iran, according to the FT, the path ahead to recovering Iran’s energy sector looks far from smooth.

“Other developments are not so positive,” said Mallinson, citing Azadegan, another Iranian oilfield project which has suffered continued delays amid uncertainties over Iran’s trading future.

“The tender for the Azadegan oilfield was supposed to be imminent but was then pushed back by three or four months to give foreign companies more time for analysis. This suggests that the major firms that Tehran really wants to attract are largely not ready to commit to Iran deals.

“Currently Iran’s oil production has flat-lined and each new delay to the return of foreign investors pushes back the timeline for further growth in output,” Mallinson added.

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Nowruz holidays provide a good opportunity to the tourists willing to see historic monuments of Tehran.

Nowruz inscribed in UNESCO list

The multinational case of Nowruz, the traditional Iranian festival of spring, has been inscribed in UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage on Wednesday 30 November 2016.

This morning, in the third day of the 11th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that has been underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 28 Nov. to 2 Dec., the multinational case of Nowruz was finally inscribed in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Following the inscription, Mohammad Hassan Talebian, Iran’s deputy head of Cultural Heritage, began his address by reciting a poem by the great fourteenth century Iranian poet Hafiz, adding “Nowruz is the manifestation of wisdom, moderation, and hope for life.”

Iranian Ambassador to UNESCO Ahmad Jalali who headed the Iranian delegation at the global conference on the Intangible Cultural Heritage, delivered a lecture on the significance of Nowruz and its message.

Representatives of Kazakhstan and India hailed Iran’s leadership in the Nowruz case that included participation of 14 other countries.

Nowruz celebration is observed by Iran, Albania, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China (by Turkic peoples and Tajiks), Georgia, India (by Parsis), Iraq (by Kurds and Turkmens), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Syria (by Kurds), Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

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International port and shipping sector is looking to Iran as one of the most interesting growth opportunities in years and volume growth is imminent.

The January 2016 lifting of the nuclear-related sanctions provided a boost to Iran’s economy, but for the recovery to be sustained, longstanding structural reforms are required.

Container and bulk volumes above and beyond pre-sanction levels are probable if global political developments turn out in Iran’s favor. However, port infrastructure in Iran has not seen upgrades for many years and with the cascading of larger vessels on to regional trades, significant investment is clearly essential.

Risk perception of Iran has reduced in the global investment community, although recent developments associated with the Trump administration may have significant influence on the overall investment climate in Iran.

For now, however, it appears that Western investors are holding their horses, ready to move if local and global political developments turn out favorably.

Nevertheless, the government is looking at increasing foreign involvement to facilitate growth and bring state-of-the-art operational knowledge and expertise.

In Iran’s current national five-year development plan, Makran Port is noted as a top regional greenfield development in the port sector. Iranian authorities plan to open up this project to foreign investors in order to attract sponsorship for a project that combines an industrial park, petrochemical facility plant, transit cargo and a bunkering facility.

An advantage of establishing the industrial park within the proposed free trade zone is its proximity to available energy resources. Reportedly, the Iranian authorities are expected to offer an interesting investment climate with attractive incentives such as the possibility to invest jointly with an Iranian partner or independently. Tax exemption, sovereign guarantees and free repatriation of capital and profit will also likely be included.

Iran is also ideally located to play an ever more important role for transit cargos. Through the Caspian Sea, it has access to Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, as well as the adjacent countries. It also neighbors Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Currently, the majority of the transit cargo is routed through Shahid Rajaei Port. This provides access to a North-South Transit Corridor, connecting to the former Soviet Republics and offering a competitive alternative to the Black Sea route via Georgia.

Chabahar investment

The East transit corridor provides access to Afghanistan and Central Asia through the Chabahar-Milak Corridor. Here, Chabahar port is open for significant investment, collectively amounting to $565 million.

The port is located on the southernmost tip of Iran on the Gulf of Oman. It lies near the border of the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Oman and is currently the only Iranian port with direct access to the ocean.

Located 72km west of Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, Chabahar holds immense strategic and economic significance for India, which has committed to $150 million of finance and a build-operate-transfer scheme worth $85 million through government-backed India Ports Global Private Ltd. Once completed, the port would enable India to send its goods from Chabahar to Central Asia and Afghanistan in particular, without passing through Pakistan.

Chabahar is also crucial for landlocked Afghanistan, as the deal also includes a north-south railroad that could help Afghanistan exploit its untapped mineral wealth and reduce its reliance on foreign aid.

The project will also lessen Iran’s vulnerability to possible disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

If the Strait, which is a shipping bottleneck at the mouth of Persian Gulf, were to be blocked due to regional hostilities, Chabahar would be the single point connecting Iran to high seas.

Amirabad promise

Iran’s other investment opportunity is at Amirabad Port — a port on the Caspian coast. It includes a rail-ferry terminal on the North-South Corridor and is a major grain handling facility.

It is currently the largest port facility in north Iran and the third-largest port in the country. Plans include a modern rail ferry terminal, a ro-ro facility and increased grain handling facilities to boost the volumes from 7½ million tons to 18 million tons by 2030.

To achieve this, the grain silo capacity will be enlarged from 170,000 tons to 500,000 tons. Further, its oil storage capacity will be expanded from 16,000 cubic meters to 70,000 cubic meters in order to support fuel transit activities.

Another major cargo flow is anticipated for container and vehicle transit with the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

During the sanctions, container volumes dropped by 30 percent and are currently 2.5 million TEU.

Looking at overall container volumes, 86 percent are transported through Shahid Rajaei Port in Hormuzgan Province, with smaller volumes through Bushehr, Iman Khomeini and Khorramshahr ports. All four ports have room and desire to grow above and beyond the pre-sanction volumes.

Maersk, MSC, CMA-CGM, UASC, HMM, Messina, PIL, Wan Hai and Evergreen are all now back in Iran, post sanctions.

The majority of services are either feeder services via Jebel Ali/Salalah or short-sea between the Far and Middle East.

In the meantime, vessels have increased in size and are set to increase further in 2017 with new alliance services.

Natural resources

There is significant potential to grow still further, and it is expected that 10,000 TEU ships will become a regular sight in Iran later this year.

Increased traffic compared with previous years is already being observed. As an example, Maersk recently added a call at Bushehr with a 3,300 TEU vessel via Jebel Ali.

While there are undoubtedly a lot of uncertainties that can potentially influence further volume growth, economic expansion is expected to drive onboard container volumes to pre-sanction levels relatively quickly, despite these uncertainties.

Apart from the oil and gas industry, Iran’s mineral reserves were valued at more than $770 billion in 2014.

Although the oil industry provides the majority of economic revenues, roughly 75 percent of all mining sector employees work in mines that produce minerals other than oil and natural gas.

Iran’s mineral reserves include coal, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, barite, salt, gypsum, molybdenum, strontium, silica, uranium and gold.

The mines at Sarcheshmeh in Kerman Province contain the world’s second-largest lode of copper ore at five percent of the world’s total. Further, large iron ore deposits exist in central Iran, near Bafq, Yazd and Kerman.

As such, it is expected that the mining sector could eventually contribute to more than a third of Iran’s non-oil and gas exports.

Policy moves

The dependence of the government’s future on economic growth suggests that the efforts to implement investor related reforms are genuine.

Foreign investment is required to reinvigorate the economy. Iran’s economy is marked by internal market activity and significant agricultural, industrial and service sectors and reliance on oil and gas exports.

Recent reforms have increased the positive outlook, but there are also structural issues that weigh down the economy, undermining the potential for private-sector-led growth.

There is a general positive expectation towards economic improvement and greater international engagement. This could all lead to the reintegration of the Iranian economy on the global platform.

Due to the lifting of the sanctions and a more business-oriented environment, real GDP growth is projected to reach 4.8 percent in 2017.

Strong capital inflows, including FDI and the repatriation of part of the frozen assets, could put upward pressure on the Iranian rial which will help contain imported inflation.

Iran’s current account position is expected to turn into a surplus in 2017, also primarily driven by rising oil exports.

The government’s five-year development plan covering 2017–2021 aims for an annual growth rate of eight percent and a reform agenda built on a gradual but sustained transformation of the economy.

The plan envisages the implementation of reforms of state-owned enterprises, the financial and banking emphasis on the allocation and management of oil revenues to productive investments. None of this can happen without a significant level of investment in a modernized port sector.

Container volumes are on the rise, containerization is increasing and pre-sanction levels are on the horizon.

Whether or not Iranian ports will be able to capitalize on that potential will largely depend on global and local political developments.

All the right ingredients are there and the world is anxiously watching. Iran could very well be the shipping world’s next rough diamond.

*Roy van Eijsden is a senior director at WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff and looks after the global Maritime Advisory and Transaction Services portfolio.

By Roy van Eijsde, This article originally appeared in portstrategy.com.

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The Iranians come to Shiraz for celebrating Nowrouz.

Some people say that it’s the 5,774th time that Iranians across the world are celebrating the ancient Persian New Year festival, Nowruz. However, some history experts believe that Nowruz has been enshrined and observed for more than 15,000 years, well before the official establishment of the Persian Empire. Like Christmas, Nowruz is an elaborate festival that brings millions of people together, but there are certain elements in Nowruz that make it a distinctive tradition, and one of these important elements is its historicity.

Cyrus the Great, the first king of the Persian Empire, came to throne in 550 BC, but for almost 2000 years before him, when In-Su-Kush-Siranna was the ruler of the Kingdom of Aratta, Nowruz had been celebrated in Greater Iran, which consisted of several provinces that currently constitute modern countries like Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Pakistan, Iraq, and parts of India and Turkey.

HaftseenNowruz is considered the most important national holiday in Iran as it marks the beginning of a new solar year and the arrival of spring. According to the Persian calendar, Nowruz begins on the vernal equinox, which starts on March 20 or 21. The beauty and wonderfulness of Nowruz is that it starts on a unique moment each time and people excitedly and breathlessly wait for the announcement of what is known as the moment of the transition of the year. This moment is astronomically calculated according to the Jalali solar calendarand officially inaugurates the New Year.

Unquestionably, Nowruz is one of the prominent hallmarks of the Persian culture and Iranian civilization. It represents the glory and magnificence of ancient Iran and manifests a sense of national pride and dignity for Iranians around the world. In his long epic poem, Shahnameh, the 10th century Iranian poet and philosopher Ferdowsi talks in detail about the origins and roots of Nowruz. He says that when the legendary, prehistoric Iranian king Jamshid Jam conquered the world and ascended the throne, he declared that day as Nowruz and the beginning of Iranian New Year. On that day, Iranians from across the country would come to visit Persepolis (the ancient capital of the Persian Empire) to hold festivals, receive rewards and gifts from the king, enjoy eating festive meals of dried nuts, fruits, and sweetmeat, sing happy songs, and perform plays.

Nowruz is important in that it comes as winter ends, and that is why Iranians believe Nowruz is a feast of rebirth and rejuvenation that injects fresh and warm blood into the veins of the frosty and frozen nature. Iran, which is famous for its climatic diversity and unique nature, is very beautiful in the spring, and especially during the 13 days of Nowruz festivals. Fragrant flowers and attractive plants grow in large quantities in northern, central, and southern parts of Iran, and the weather is predominantly mild and moderate in the majority of the cities all around the country.

Nowruz is celebrated from the Farvardin 1 to 13 (Farvardin is the first month of the solar calendar whose name is taken from the Zoroastrian word “Faravashis” meaning “the spirits of the dead.” Iranians believe that the spirits of their deceased beloved ones will return to the material world in the last 10 days of the year.) One of the common traditions of Nowruz that the Iranians are strongly committed to is paying visit to the elderly and meeting the other members of the family. In such meetings, Iranian families entertain each other with delicious Iranian cuisines, spring fruits, dried nuts, candies, confections, deserts, rice-cakes, pastries, and cookies.

Setting the “Haft-Seen” table is also one of the customs of Nowruz that is seen as a quintessential part of the New Year celebrations. Haft means “seven” in Persian, and “seen” stands for the sign of the 15th letter of Persian alphabet which sounds “s”. The Haft-Seen table is named so because there are seven items on this table whose name start with the Persian letter “seen”. Each of these seven items signifies a certain meaning. These items include “Senjed”, or silver berry, the sweet, dry fruit of the lotus tree, which denotes love and affection; “Sumaq”, or sumac, the crushed spices of berries, which symbolizes sunrise and the warmth of life; “Seeb”, or red apple, which stands for health and beauty; “Seer”, or garlic, which indicates good health and wellbeing; “Samanu”, a sweet paste made of wheat and sugar that represents fertility and the sweetness of life; “Sabzeh”, or sprouted wheat grass, which is a sign of renewal of life; and “Sonbol”, or the purple hyacinth flower, which represents prosperity and goodwill in the New Year. However, the majority of Iranian families put more than 7 items on their “Haft-Seen” table settings. The additional things are “Sekkeh”, coins that herald wealth and affluence; “Serkeh”, vinegar that symbolizes age, patience, and the toleration of hardships; and “Sangak”, a plain whole wheat sour dough flatbread that characterizes blessing and good luck. Iranians also put colored eggs and a bowl of goldfish on their traditional Haft-Seen table and consider these two elements as signs of fertility, welfare, and happiness.

One of the other elements placed on the beautiful Haft-Seen table is a mirror, a symbol of purity, reflection, and honesty. Iranians never forget to put a beautifully adorned and decorated mirror on their traditional table setting. They also put a copy of the Holy Quran on their Haft-Seen table, which they believe will guard their life in the coming year.

In an elaborate and well-researched article about Nowruz published on the Iran Review website, the cultural researcher Firouzeh Mirrazavi writes, “The festival, according to some documents, was observed until the fifth of Farvardin, and then the special celebrations followed until the end of the month. Possibly, in the first five days, the festivities were of a public and national nature, while during the rest of the month it assumed a private and royal character.”

Since Nowruz was historically celebrated in Iran’s ceremonial capital Persepolis [Takht-e-Jamshid] in the southern city of Shiraz, every year thousands of Iranians travel to Shiraz to take part in the national celebrations of Nowruz. Even the foreign tourists who travel to Iran to take part in the celebrations prefer to visit Shiraz or Isfahan during the 13 days of Nowruz.

But why is Nowruz extended for 13 days? According to the ancient belief of the Iranians, 13 is an inauspicious number. On the 13th day of Farvardin, Iranian families gather in parks, gardens, farms, and other green places to eat cuisines containing certain local herbs and have friendly conversations. They also throw sprouted wheat grasses into rivers believing that by leaving the “Sabzeh” in the waterways, they throw away the misfortune associated with the number 13 and the 13th day of the year, and this way, they guarantee their New Year and prevent hardships and calamities from coming into their life. They think that the Sabzeh that is pitched into the rivers will take the bad luck with itself to an  unknown destination.

In Nowruz, the adults in the family pay the younger members certain amounts of cash as a gift for the New Year. This reward is called “Eidi” and is not usually spent during the whole year but saved and kept as a token of blessing and wellbeing.

With all of its beauties and splendor, Nowruz is now considered a global festival as it was officially recognized and registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in February 2010. The same year, the UN General Assembly recognized March 21 as the International Day of Nowruz, describing it as a spring festival of Persian origin which has been celebrated for thousands of years.

Nowruz is a relic of past days, a remnant from the dawn of human civilization. It removes religious, cultural, lingual, and national boundaries and connects the hearts of millions of people who want to take part in a unique ceremony marking not only the beginning of New Year, but the end of the distressed winter and arrival of the delightful spring. It’s not simply a source of honor for Iranians who observe and celebrate it, but an opportunity for the congregation and solidarity of all the peace-loving and peace-making nations around the world. / Source

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