ECONOMIC IDEAL – Tehran, Jan 6, IRNA — The following headlines appeared in the English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Wednesday:
** IRAN DAILY
— Economic security is vital for investors: Rouhani
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that investors who undertake legal activities in Iran should not feel insecurity in the country.
Economic and businesspersons can rely on domestic capability only when they feel confidence and security, President Rouhani said at a national economic coordination meeting in Tehran.
— ESCO signs deal to export rail tracks to Afghanistan
Iran’s Esfahan Steel Company (ESCO) signed an agreement to export $4.3 million worth of rail tracks to Afghanistan, according to the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA).
The rail tracks will be used in the country’s railway development projects.
Afghanistan is currently taking serious measures for developing its railway infrastructure and will be needing millions of tons of rail tracks to this end, and Iran as a major producer of rail tracks in the region can meet all its neighbor’s needs in this sector.
Iran and Afghanistan officially inaugurated a joint railway project called Khaf-Herat on December 11, 2020, to link eastern Iran to western Afghanistan. Some sections of this project were implemented by the Iranian side and Afghanistan was in charge of constructing one part.
— Iran finds first case of new virus variant in traveler from UK
Iran registered its first case of a highly contagious coronavirus variant that emerged in Britain, in an Iranian who arrived from the UK, Health Minister Saeid Namaki said on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, we found the first case of the mutated British COVID-19 from a dear compatriot who had returned from England … and who was admitted to one of our private hospitals,” Namaki told state TV.
** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
— Iran Can Produce 9 kg of 20% Uranium Per Month
Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency, on Tuesday said the organization can produce between 17 to 20 grams of 20 percent enriched uranium per hour.
“So we can produce about eight or nine kilograms per month and reach the 120 kilograms per year demanded of us by law,” he said following a ceremony to name a building in the organization in honor of senior nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh who was assassinated near Tehran in late November.
— U.S. Hits Iran’s Steel Industry With New Sanctions
The United States on Tuesday blacklisted a Chinese company that makes elements for steel production, 12 Iranian steel and metals makers and three foreign-based sales agents of a major Iranian metals and mining holding company, seeking to deprive Iran of revenues as U.S. President Donald Trump’s term winds down. In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department named the China-based company as Kaifeng Pingmei New Carbon Materials Technology Co Ltd. (KFCC), saying it specialized in the manufacture of carbon materials and provided thousands of metric tonnes of materials to Iranian steel companies between December 2019 and June 2020.
— Head of Iran’s CAO: Halt to UK Flights Extended
– Iran has extended a two-week suspension of flights to and from the UK until the end of January due to concerns over the new fast-spreading coronavirus strain, the head of the country’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) says.
The decision came as reports said Iran had detected the first case of infection with the new strain of the coronavirus found in Britain. On Tuesday, Health Minister Saeed Namaki confirmed the case.
** TEHRAN TIMES
— Iran ranks 14th for top universities worldwide
Iran ranked 14th among 102 countries for the highest number of top universities, as 46 Iranian universities were listed on ISC World University Rankings 2020.
ISC is the third internationally accredited citation center established in the Islamic Republic of Iran based on a resolution adopted in 2008 by the 4th Meeting of the Islamic Ministers of Higher Education (ICMHESR) in Baku, the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan, to index, evaluate and publish scientific productions in Islamic countries.
— Iran to unveil stamp in honor of legendary wrestler Takhti
Iranian Wrestling Federation secretary general Jalal Askari has announced that legendary wrestler Gholamreza Takhti’s new stamp will be unveiled on Wednesday.
The stamp will be released to honor the 53rd death anniversary of Takhti, Askari said. “Due to coronavirus restrictions, the fans are not allowed to participate in the anniversary at the Ebn-e Babvieh Cemetery in southern Tehran, but the federation’s officials will attend the ceremony,” he said.
— Anthropology museum, research center under construction in UNESCO-tagged Maymand
An anthropology museum as well as a research center are under construction in the UNESCO-registered Maymand, a southeastern Iranian village of troglodytes.
A budget of 20 billion rials ($476,000 at the official rate of 42,000 rials) has been allocated to the projects, Reza Riahian, the director of the World Heritage site, said on Monday.
The cultural landscape of Maymand was named a UNESCO World Heritage in 2015 as an exemplar system of manmade cave dwelling that is believed to be practiced in the region to cope with its harsh climate.
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