Iranian people across the country took to the streets to celebrate the reelection of President Rouhani in Presidential elections, announced on Saturday.

Cars packed the streets and horns sounded in celebration, as people of Tehran carried flags and portraits of President Rouhani who swept to victory on Saturday and will now begin a second term as president.

The impromptu rallies, which snarled traffic in some cities including the capital Tehran, were a chance for many to breathe easily again after a tense campaign between Rouhani and his main opponent Ebrahim Raeisi.

“I’m happy and a bit relieved after a month of stress,” said 27-year-old Afshin told AFP as he joined a large crowd gathered in Vali-Asr Square in central Tehran.

Across the country, young men and women, many wearing the purple of the Rouhani campaign, chanted slogans and sang together in the streets until the early hours of the morning.

Cars honked amid patriotic chants as more and more people filled the streets after dark, completely blocking traffic across wealthier north Tehran.

One group screamed with joy as a young boy threw batches of Rouhani photos into the air.

“I’m very happy because I’ve reached what I wanted, which was not Mr. Rouhani himself, but the path of reform, freedom and progress,” said Pegah, 25.

Many were determined to ensure Rouhani now kept his vows to improve civil liberties and reform the economy.

“In the same way we campaigned for him, we will demand he keep his promises,” said Afshin.

Videos on social media showed huge crowds in all four corners of the country.

“We didn’t leave Mashhad; we took it back,” chanted young people in the holy city of Mashhad, Raeisi’s hometown.

In the Azeri-speaking city of Tabriz in northwest Iran, crowds performed folk dances and local songs at a packed stadium as teenagers waved lighters in the air, while in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, it was the drum-heavy Bandari music that got thousands of revelers dancing.

The police were deployed to control the exuberance, and despite a few scuffles, no arrests were reported.

In Tehran’s Vali-Asr Square, police tried in vain to disperse the crowds, saying they lacked a permit to gather, only to back down when the numbers became too great, and let the party continue.

Rouhani garnered 23.5 million votes out of 41.2 million ballots cast, while Raeisi bagged 15.7 million votes. Iran has 56.4 million eligible voters.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei praised Iranians for their big turnout after voters queued up for hours to cast their ballots. The strong turnout of around 73% of eligible voters was “massive and epochal,” he said.

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Hassan Rouhani has won Iran’s 12th presidential election, receiving a popular mandate for another four years in presidential office.

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli appeared at a press briefing on Saturday to declare Rouhani the winner of the Friday election with 23,549,616 votes, or 57 percent of the total ballots.

Rahmani Fazli said that a total of 41,220,131 votes had been cast, and that the results he was announcing were almost definitive.

The candidate with the second largest number of votes was Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, who garnered 15,786,449 votes, or 38.5 percent.

Mostafa Aqa-Mirsalim and Mostafa Hashemi-Taba, the other two candidates, received 478,215 and 215,450 votes respectively.

President Rouhani will speak live on state television at 6:00 p.m. Iran time (1330 GMT) on Saturday.

Iran’s 12th presidential election was held on Friday. Elections were also simultaneously held for City and Village Councils.

Voting hours were extended several times due to a high turnout in the polls.

Six candidates had been approved after vetting by the Guardian Council to run in the election. In the final days of campaigning, however, two of the candidates, namely First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, withdrew from the race in favor of President Rouhani and Raeisi, respectively.

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Iranian girl rugby championship held in Gorgan city with participating of 15 teams from pro league and first division on Friday 12 May 2017.

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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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One of Iran’s traditional invention is a method for distilling the essence of herbs and flowers.The art has been taught from one generation to the next. The distilled essence of rose in called Golab.
The best Golab is produced in Shiraz ,Kashan and Oromiyeh cities. The people of Kashan have special costume.

The photo shows rose farm and workshop in Qamsar near Kashan.

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Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Iran on 19 May 2017. It will be the twelfth presidential election in Iran. Local elections will be held alongside of this election.
Candidates started official campaigns on 21 April 2017 and campaigns ended on 17 May 2017, 1 day before election.

list of presidential candidates
The Iranian Interior Ministry has released the final list of candidates qualified to run in the forthcoming presidential election.

Iran’s Interior Ministry on gave the following list of eligible candidates (in alphabetical order) vetted by the Guardian Council.

Mostafa Aqa-Mirsalim
Mostafa Hashemi-Taba
Es’haq Jahangiri
Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf
Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi
Hassan Rouhani
The vetting body was examining the qualifications of more than 1,600 candidates who registered to run for president for days.

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The 24th nomads festival of east Azerbaijan held in Kaleybar. In this festival people participated on horse riding, athletics and Archery.

Nomads Tour in Iran

There are about one and a half million nomads in Iran, extending from the border of Turkistan to the warm waters of the Persian Gulf. Most of these tribes, the Kurds, the Lurs, the Bakhtiaris, the Guilaks (on the Caspian Coast) and the Baluchis are the original invaders who, in the first millennium BC, swept down from Central Asia and settled in various parts of the Iranian Plateau. Most of the tribes in central Iran are from pure Aryan stock, while other tribes such as the Arabs of Khuzestan and Khorassan, the Turkish tribes of Quchan, the Qashqai tribes, the Shahsevan and Afshar tribes of Azerbaijan and the Turkmens are remnants of races that have passed through Iran at various periods of history.

Traditionally, there has always existed a close link in Iran between the ruling dynasty and the domination of one particular tribe or ethnic group./ More

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Executive Director of Iranian Offshore Oil Company Hamid Bovard announced that the oil extraction from the joint Iran-Saudi Arabia oilfield will be increased by at least 12,000 barrels per day.

“The Iranian Offshore Oil company, other than its role to produce crude oil, establishes the presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf,” Bovard said, IRNA reported.

Foroozan oilfield, a joint field between Iran and Saudi Arabia, is located about 100 kilometers southwest of the Kharg Island and the Arabian part of this oilfield is called ‘Marjan’.

This oilfield, with a reserve of around 2.3 billion barrels of crude oil, is mostly placed in Saudi Arabia’s waters and according to the accepted borderline between Iran and Saudi Arabia Iran’s share to obtain oil from this field is 11 percent.

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The European Union’s energy commissioner headed to Iran to strengthen ties following a growth in trade ties in response to the easing of sanctions.

EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete left Friday for Tehran for the inaugural bilateral business forum on sustainable energy, UPI reported.

The commission said the forum aims to bring more than 50 European companies with 40 of their Iranian counterparts to lay the ground work for joint partnerships in the energy sector.

While departing Brussels, the commissioner said trade between the EU and Iran is up 79 percent, with exports from Iran quadrupling since a multilateral nuclear agreement brought sanctions relief to the Islamic Republic in January 2016.

Following the conclusion of the JCPOA, Europe has the opportunity to shift towards a more constructive approach towards Iran.

“Now we want to take this success story one step further,” he said in a statement.

“The energy sector will feature prominently in our future relations and we are committed to fully tap into its economic and social potential while contributing to achieve our climate commitments.”

Iranian state media this week said the EU was already establishing stronger bilateral ties in the agricultural sector. The EU stressed the two-day forum in Tehran is geared toward clean energy and the transition to a low-carbon economy.

According to IRNA, non-oil exports for the 11 months to March 20 were up 33 percent.

International Monetary Fund projections said the economy of Iran, one of the top oil producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), should grow at a rate of about 4.5 percent, but wax and wane between growth of 6.6 percent this year and 3.3 percent through 2018.

A profile of the ease of doing business with Iran from Britain, which is now still part of the EU, said “Iran is the biggest new market to enter the global economy in over a decade.”

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The first debate among the six candidates of the 12th Iranian presidential election has been aired live on state television.

The candidates outlined their plans for the post. They were given an equal time to garner as many votes as possible in order to win the ticket to the office.

The live broadcast, which lasted for three hours, aimed to reduce the candidates’ campaign spending and pave the way for eligible voters to make their choice based on the sharp-cut and unambiguous plans represented during the program.

The six candidates running for the presidential election are Seyed Mostafa Aqa-Mirsalim, Seyed Mostafa Hashemi-Taba, Es’haq Jahangiri, Hassan Rouhani, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi.

Iranians will go to the polls on May 19 to elect the country’s next president.

Upon entering the headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in the capital, Tehran, Rouhani was asked if he was ready, to which he responded, “We’re probably all ready that we have come [here].”

Meanwhile, Mehr news agency reported that the debate had been put off half an hour to 16:30 local time (1200 GMT) upon the request of Rouhani’s camp.

Morteza Heidari, the renowned Iranian television news host and presenter who moderated the debate, also said he was prepared for the task and everything had been rehearsed

There will be three live televised debates in total. Today’s debate focused on social issues while the next two will revolve around economic and political matters.

The candidates have drawn lots to determine their seating arrangement for the debate. Every effort seems to have been made not to leave any room for accusations of partiality.

According to schedule, Fars News Agency reports, the candidates can hold a meeting of 15 minutes with the aides and advisors after 90 minutes of debate.

The debate began with Heidari outlining its format and regulations and how the time would be broken up between the candidates.

Settlement on outskirts of cities

Aqa-Mirsalim was the first candidate to answer the first question about settlements on the outskirts and peripheries of cities. This too was determined through a draw. Aqa-Mirsalim expressed his serious concern about lack of management of natural resources. He said correct water management would be the first step to reduce immigration from rural areas to cities. He added that lack of attention to proper spatial planning was the main reason behind immigration.

The other five candidates then took two-minute turns to make their own remarks on the issue and challenge Aqa-Mirsalim.  Hashemi-Taba said Iran is plagued with severe environmental crisis. The third hopeful, incumbent Rouhani, said that immigration to big cities is a major problem not only in Iran but in most countries. He added that unemployment and low income are major reasons behind immigration to big cities. Qalibaf, for his part, said social and economic imbalance is a major reason behind immigration. Jahangiri said attention to immigrants to big cities must be the first priority in tackling their problems. Raeisi said the first priority is to have correct figures on immigration to big cities. While Qalibaf put the number of outskirts dwellers at 11 million, Raeisi said the figure belongs to four years ago and currently stands at around 16 million.

Aqa-Mirsalim then retook to the podium and said immigration should be curbed before it gives rise to social crises and added that 350,000 illegal wells have wasted the country’s water resources and caused immigration. The candidate said social facilities must be distributed evenly in cities and villages and expressed regret that some 10.2 million Iranians are totally illiterate. He noted that suitable housing must be provided in small towns and villages to prevent immigration.

Social justice

Raeisi was next up on the podium. He responded to a query on social justice and how to establish and promote it in Iran. In the four minutes allocated to him, Raeisi said the GINI Index, a measurement of the income distribution of a country’s residents, shows class divide has increased in Iran, adding that tripling subsidies handed out to lower classes would be a good way to narrow the social gaps. He noted that tax evasion must be prevented to promote social justice.

Rouhani stressed the importance of striking a balance between eastern and western parts of the country. Qalibaf said promoting social justice would be difficult as long as urban crises are not resolved. Jahangiri said social justice is not limited to economic issues but also includes education, political and judicial matters.

Raeisi one again took to the podium to give his responses and explanations about questions raised by the other hopefuls. He said joblessness and shutdown of production units are major problems facing the country’s economy. He added that the next administration must make plans to narrow social gaps in a bid to promote justice.

Housing

Hashemi-Taba was the third candidate who took to the podium to responsd to a debate question about his plans to solve the country’s housing problem. He said bank loans and mass construction would be good ways to tackle the housing problem, adding that job creation would help resolve this issue.

Jahangiri said unoccupied housing units are the main obstacle to solving the housing problem and added that increasing bank loans and establishing housing investment funds would be good solutions to this issue.

Hashemi-Taba then retook to the podium and used his five-minute time to answer the raised questions.

Youth marriage

Rouhani was the next hopeful taking to the podium to respond to a debate question about his plans to encourage the youth marriage. He said unemployment was the main problem facing the promotion of youth marriage and added that boosting hope and avoiding unnecessary limitations in the society are key to solve problems. He said hope for future has increased in the Iranian society and employment has improved. Hope for future and employment are the best ways to promote youth marriage in Iran, Rouhani added.

Raeisi said banking facilities, housing and employment are the main necessities to promote marriage among young Iranians. The other candidates also offered their viewpoints with Qalibaf challenging Rouhani on an alleged pledge that Rouhani had made during the previous presidential campaign to create four million jobs. Rouhani denied ever making that promise.

Rouhani then said oil revenues and taxation are major sources of the administration’s income and noted that his administration has reduced dependence on oil revenues to below 30 percent.

Cutting down on red tape

Jahangiri was the fifth presidential candidate to use his four-minute time to outline his plans on reducing bureaucracy in executive bodies. He said the current administration has managed to change the security-based approach to social issues and added that most of the Iranian people are not satisfied with municipalities and banks. The current first vice president said the establishment of an e-government was the major step to reduce bureaucracy.

Raeisi said an electronic government would increase transparency and facilitate the administrative processes. Rouhani said some media outlets undermine the social capital in the country. In this segment, Qalibaf questioned the reason behind Jahangiri’s candidacy, implying that Jahangiri has only registered to support Rouhani.

Jahangiri said forceful measures would fail to solve social problems and added that he took part in the presidential election as a representative of the Reformist camp. The current first vice president emphasized that the 11th administration has managed to increase petrochemical production by nine million tonnes.

Environmental challenges

Qalibaf was the last hopeful taking to the podium to answer a question about his plans to tackle the environmental challenges if elected president. He said the dust storm problem is currently plaguing 20 Iranian provinces and added that inappropriate measures taken inside the country has led to this crisis.

Jahangiri said the current administration has succeeded in taking essential measures to solve the environmental problems. He added that 70 percent of the dust storm problem stems from reasons beyond Iran’s borders.

Qalibaf defended the performance of Tehran Municipality in the environment-protection sector, saying it has used garbage to generate power and produce compost. The mayor of Tehran added that over 20,000 hectares have been planted with trees around the capital.

With all the six candidates having taken to the podium, the moderator announced the end of the first section of the debate and called a break before the beginning of the second round.

Round 2

In the second section, each candidate was given two minutes to answer a question raised by the moderator. Draws determined the candidate and the question that he answers.

Rouhani explained his plans to promote employment for women, saying his administration has managed to create 700,000 jobs for women. He added that women account for over 50 percent of university students in Iran.

As per the draw, Aqa-Mirsalim next responded to a question about his plans to solve the heavy traffic problem in big cities and said giving priority to public transport would be the best solution to the issue.

Jahangiri was asked about his plans to boost the social status of the elites. He highlighted the fact that Iranian elites have greatly increased the country’s scientific ranking in the world.

Raeisi responded to a question about his plans to promote the culture of sportsmanship and said winning medals in sports is very important for the country.

Qalibaf and Hashemi-Taba also in turn provided answered to the questions posed to them. In this section Qalibaf displayed a screenshot of the Iranian president’s website which he claimed confirms his remarks about Rouhani’s pledge during the previous campaign to create four million jobs.

The next and final section of the debate involved each candidate providing their concluding remarks. This section involved a verbal back and forth between Qalibaf and Rouhani over some of the claims against the latter by the former throughout the debate.

Full English Video of Iran 2017 presidential candidates hold first live debate on social affairs

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