French jazz musician and composer Guillaume Perret and Spanish Flamenco group Duquende, Diego Del Morao and El Piraña performed at the fifth day of the 32nd Fajr International Music Festival in Tehran.
Iran’s aluminum output surpasses 220k tons in 9 months
Over 220,544 tons of aluminum ingots were produced in Iran in the first nine months of current Iranian fiscal year (ending December 20, 2016), IRNA reported on Monday.
The figure shows half a percent decrease in the country’s aluminum ingot production compared to the same period in the preceding year, the report added.
Iran’s aluminum production of 350,000 metric tons a year is below capacity of 470,000 tons because of a shortage of bauxite and insufficient electricity generation, Mehdi Karbasian, managing director of state-owned Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, said at a conference in Tehran in May 2016, Bloomberg reported. With additional investment, Iran could boost output to 1.5 million tons by 2025, he said at the time.
Italy top European importer of Iranian goods by $385 million
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.”
Iran’s sells $30bn crude in 9 months
Iran’s deputy petroleum minister says Tehran’s total crude oil and condensate sales reached around $30 billion in the first 9 months of the current calendar Persian year which started on March 20.
“Iran’s crude and condensate exports surpassed 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in December 2016,” Amir Hossein Zamaninia said on Saturday.
Iran exported nearly 2.6 million bpd during the first 9 months of the current year, he added.
“In fact, Iran’s crude and condensate exports have been doubled following the implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” Zamaninia noted.
Iran’s crude and condensate exports surpassed 2.8 million bpd in December 2016 and exported nearly 2.6 million bpd during the first 9 months of the current Persian year.
In July 2015, Iran and the five permanent members of UN Security Council plus Germany clinched a deal following marathon talks.
Under the international agreement which was implemented in January 2016, Tehran agreed to put curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of unilateral sanctions.
In 2012, Iran’s energy sector was hit by the US-led sanctions, reducing the country’s crude exports from 2.5 million bpd to nearly 1 million barrels per day.
As a result of the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union, Iran’s exports of crude oil and condensate dropped to their lowest level since 1986.
The sanctions also negatively affected investment in Iran’s oil sector, cutting crude production sharply.
OPEC output cut deal
The recent boost in Iran’s oil sales comes against a backdrop of efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major crude exporters to contain global supply glut to prop up prices.
Back in December, OPEC clinched a historic deal with Russia and other non-members to slash global production by nearly 1.8 million barrels a day for six months starting January.
OPEC exempted key member Iran from cutting output, allowing the country to increase its crude production by 90,000 bpd to reach pre-sanction output levels of 4 million bpd.
Iran’s Deputy Petroleum Minister for International Affairs and Trading Amir Hossein Zamaninia pointed to the recent deal and said Iran’s oil revenues will further increase in a foreseeable future.
Iran is now pumping 3.7 million barrels of crude oil per day in the post-sanctions era.
Tehran seeks to regain its market share of pre-sanctions levels of 4 million bpd.
Iran’s oil export to India hit new record in 2016
India‘s annual oil imports from Iran surged to a record high in 2016 as some refiners resumed purchases after the lifting of sanctions against Tehran, according to ship tracking data and a report compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research and Forecasts.
The sharp increase propelled Iran into fourth place among India’s suppliers in 2016, up from seventh position in 2015. It used to be India’s second-biggest supplier before sanctions.
India import 473,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran in 2016
For the year, the world’s third biggest oil consumer bought about 473,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran to feed expanding refining capacity, up from 208,300 bpd in 2015, the data showed.
In December, imports from Iran trebled from a year earlier to about 546,600 bpd.
In 2015 refiners slowed purchases due to sanctions which choked payment routes, insurance and halved Iran’s exports.
Indian refiners Reliance Industries, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) last year resumed imports from Tehran, attracted by the discount offered by Iran.
“In most of 2016 there was a fight among Gulf producers to increase their market share and lifting of sanctions against Iran has intensified that fight,” said Ehsan ul Haq, senior analyst at London-based consultancy KBC Energy Economics.
In April-December, the first nine months of this fiscal year, Iranian supplies to India averaged a record 530,300 bpd, up from about 400,000 bpd before sanctions tightened against Tehran.
India’s 2016 Iranian oil imports were the highest in at least six years, according to the Reuters data.
Government data going back over a longer period shows the average was the highest since the 2001-02 fiscal year.
Overall, India imported 4.3 million bpd oil in 2016, up 7.4 percent from the previous year.
Rising imports from Iran and Iraq lifted the Middle Eastern share in India’s crude diet to 64 percent in 2016, reversing a declines in recent years, partly due to rising prices for Atlantic Basin oil tied to Brent.
The average premium for Brent jumped against Dubai crude to more than $3 a barrel in 2016 from around $1.80 in 2015.
“In 2016 Iran ramped up its output to regain market share while Iraq segregated its production into Basra Light and Heavy to attract customers. Basra Heavy was sold at a discount, making it more attractive than rival grades,” said Haq.
Iran’s share of Indian oil imports surged to 11 percent in 2016 from 5 percent in 2015.
Saudi Arabia remained the top supplier to India last year followed by Iraq and Venezuela.
Imports from Latin America declined for a second year, with its share of imports shrinking to about 16 percent from 18 percent, while Africa’s share fell to about 15 percent from a fifth.
“Low oil prices brought down production in Latin America while Nigerian barrels were impacted by violence in the Niger Delta. Also falling US oil output impacted trade flows, with some Latin American and African oil finding a place in the US,” Haq said.
The first Iranian girls Joined Bulgarian volleyball club
Bulgarian volleyball club Shumen W completed the signing of Iranian international player Maedeh Borhani.
Borhani, 29, is the first Iranian woman player who joins a European volleyball team. The opposite spiker joined Shumen W from Iranian volleyball club Bank Sarmayeh.
“We agree with the transfer but we have to find a replacement for our player. We will make the final decision about Giveh on Monday,” Azad University coach Maryam Hashemi told the Tasnim news agency.
Shumen W competes at eight-team Bulgaria Superliga Women.
Iran’s Zeinab Ali Giveh on Verge of Joining Shumen W
Iranian woman volleyball player Zeinab Ali Giveh will most likely join club Shumen W.
The opposite spiker joined Shumen W from Iranian volleyball club Bank Sarmayeh. Also, Zeinab Ali Giveh, Azad University player, is allowed to join club Shumen W.
She left Tehran on Thursday to join the Bulgarian club.Shumen W competes at eight-team Bulgaria Superliga Women.
Polish’s Lotos S.A. and PKN Orlen participating in Iran oil industry
A delegation, comprising senior officials of Poland’s largest oil company, is scheduled to visit Tehran in coming days aiming to ink a contract for developmental of Iranian oilfields.
Poland has begun new cooperation with Iran in the post-JCPOA era over development of oil trade as well as collaborations for investment in upstream sector of Iranian oil and gas industry.
So far, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has signed spot contracts for crude sales to Lotos S.A. and PKN Orlen while negotiations have also begun with another Polish oil giant for investment in Iranian oil and gas industry.
Managing Director of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) Bijan Alipour, while pointing to the held talks with a Polish firm over implementing developmental projects and boosting recovery factor in southern Iranian oilfields, announced that senior officials of a Polish oil and gas refinery will travel to Iran late January to finalize talks with Iran.
Moreover, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), in a statement released last week, affirmed adequacy of 29 international oil and gas companies willing to put in tenders for Iran’s upstream oil sector with the name of Poland’s PGNiG SA on the list.
Poland’s biggest refiner PKN Orlen announced a major purchase of crude oil from Iran thus becoming the latest company to join the already long list of European clients of Iranian oil.
What’s more, NIOC and PGNiG have recently signed into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for development of Sumar field in west Iran.
In the same line, Deputy Head of NIOC for Development and Engineering Affairs Gholamreza Manouchehri has described the deal with the Polish over Sumar oilfield saying “PGNiG will conduct studies in the field for six months before making a proposal and a contract will be inked in case both side reach agreement.”
Chairman of Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA (PGNiG) Peter Wozniak referred to the age-old history of ties between Iran and Poland stressing that his company had returned to Iran after a six-year hiatus, “given our outstanding experiences in Pakistan and Norway, we will hopefully succeed in development of Sumar field.”
From 2006 to 2010, PGNiG held several talks with Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) for expansion of Lavan gas field in the Persian Gulf and eventually refused to cooperate with NIOC after years of using delaying tactics.
Bordering Iraq in the west of Kermanshah province, Sumar oil field was discovered in 2009 and is believed to hold an in-place reserve of 475 million barrels of which 70 million barrels is recoverable.
Photo: Iran’s memorable farewell to unforgettable man: Hashemi Rafsanjani
Millions of mourners turned out in the capital Tehran on Tuesday to bid a final farewell to former president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
High-ranking state and military officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, stood in rows behind Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei who led the funeral prayer for his “old friend, comrade and ally” at University of Tehran.
After the prayer, the Leader sat at Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s coffin for the last farewell. Other dignitaries and family members followed suit.
In his condolence message, Ayatollah Khamenei said Rafsanjani’s “loss is hard and overwhelming”.
Outside the university, mourners flooded Enqelab Avenue as a truck carrying Rafsanjani’s casket topped with his white clerical turban inched down the iconic thoroughfare along which black banners and posters showing the two-time president were raised. Some of them read “goodbye old combatant”.
The pallbearers yelled slogans in a show of sympathy and unity with mourners weeping and beating their chests in grief.
Officials said more than 2.5 million people attended the ceremony.
The cortege finally made its way through the throngs to reach the mausoleum of Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini, the late founding father of the Islamic Republic, in the south of Tehran where the body of Ayatollah Rafsanjani was laid to rest.
Popularly known as a “Pillar of the Revolution”, Ayatollah Rafsanjani played a pivotal role in the course of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the ensuing years. He served as president from 1989 to 1997 and had been the chair of the State Expediency Council since he left office.
The ayatollah died on Sunday after suffering a heart attack. Since his passing, condolence messages have poured in both from home and abroad.
Photo: Hashemi Rafsanjani’s life pictures
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani an influential politician and close ally to the Father of the Islamic Revolution the late Imam Khomeini in both pre and post-Islamic Revolution days and also Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei died on Sunday due to cardiac arrest in a Tehran hospital at the age of 82.
Hashemi rafsanjani in presion of Shah
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ayatollah Khomeini appear at a press conference at the Refah School. Tehran, February 5, 1979
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in his home.
Hashemi Rafsanjani was the commander of Iran -Iraq war.
TEHRAN, IRAN: Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto meets Iranian President Ali Akbar Hachemi-Rafsandjani (R) 07 November in Tehran. Benazir Bhutto denied any rivalry between her country and Iran for influence in their common neighbor Afghanistan. The Pakistani prime minister arrived here 06 November for a three-day official visit. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Hashemi Rafsanjani in his home.
Hashemi Rafsanjani reporting imam Khomeini.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 4 hours before heart attack.
Hashmi rafsanjani’s office
Hashemi Rafsanjani and Imam Khomeini after victory of Islamic revelutionon 1979.
Hashemi Rafsanjani in the first Friday pray of Tehran 1979.
Hashemi Rafsanjani was the commander of Iran -Iraq war.
Hashemi Rafsanjani was the commander of Iran -Iraq war.
Hashemi Rafsanjani was the commander of Iran -Iraq war.
Hashemi Rafsanjani in Friday pray 1980s.
Hashemi Rafsanjani was the commander of Iran -Iraq war.
Hashemi Rafsanjani was the commander of Iran -Iraq war.
Hashemi Rafsanjani was the commander of Iran -Iraq war.
Hashemi Rafsanjani was the commander of Iran -Iraq war.
President Hassan Rouhani appeared at Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani’s mourning ceremony in Jamaran Husseiniya and extended condolences to the Supreme Leader.
Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani passed away
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani an influential politician and close ally to the Father of the Islamic Revolution the late Imam Khomeini in both pre and post-Islamic Revolution days and also Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei died on Sunday due to cardiac arrest in a Tehran hospital at the age of 82.
Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of the Expediency Council and former president of Iran, passed away at the age of 82 on Sunday afternoon in a hospital in Tehran.
He died of severe heart condition, according to people close to the Rafsanjani family.
A funeral ceremony has been arranged for Tuesday.
“The soul of the great man of the revolution and politics, the paragon of patience and resistance, ascended to the heavens,” said President Hassan Rouhani in a tweet.
Rafsanjani, a true follower of Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, led a life of political dynamism and eclecticism for over six decades.
Born in 1934 in a village in eastern province of Kerman, Rafsanjani grew up in a wealthy family.
He started his political career in the 1960s, acquainting himself with the views of the to-be founder of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini.
Soon he proved leadership qualities, winning the trust of Ayatollah Khomeini. He was arrested time and again by security forces of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last monarch of Iran, for his key role in anti-monarchy campaigns.
With the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Rafsanjani became the first parliament speaker of the post-revolution Iran.
In 1980, Ayatollah Khomeini tapped Rafsanjani as commander of the war after Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein waged a war against the fledgling revolution.
He served the revolution in his capacity as parliament speaker (1980-1988), president (1989-1997), and chairman of the Expediency Council (1998-to his death). He was also the head of the Assembly of Experts from 2007 until 2011 and interim Friday prayer preacher of Tehran from 1981 to 2009.
“Men of history will be remembered for ever. Ill-wishers should bear in mind that Hashemi is alive because the movement is alive,” said Ayatollah Khomeini of Rafsanjani after he survived an assassination attempt on May 25, 1979.
The unwavering ayatollah established the Servants of the Construction Party in 1995. He was also one of the co-founders of the Islamic Republic Party and the Combatant Clergy Society.
Leading a hectic political life did not prevent Rafsanjani from acting as a pragmatic politician.
The post-war “reconstruction” era of Rafsanjani (1989-97) saw economic development, private sector growth, and rising prosperity for the middle and upper classes.
He also established the Islamic Azad University, now the largest mortar-and-brick university in the world, accounting for half university seats in Iran.
The seasoned Rafsanjani was also a man of letter, writing a number of books, including the “Story of Palestine” and the multi-volume Tafsir Rahnama, a contemporary 20-volume exegesis of Quran.