March 05, The Iran Project ��Iran�s Asghar Farhadi winning his 2nd Oscars for �The Salesman�, President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attending�ECO Summit, Indonesia�s Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution visit to Iran and meeting with senior officials, Iranians mourning martyrdom anniv. of Hazrat Fatima, Iranians celebrating 2nd Oscars win for Farhadi, French Minister of Finance and Public Accounts Michel Sapin trip to the country and meeting with senior officials, Closing ceremony of 40th FIDE Women�s World Chess Championship 2017, Sri Lanka�s Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya trip to Iran and meeting with senior officials and Damavand military drill successfully testing S300 air defense system�dominated the country�s media outlets in the past week (Feb 27� Mar 05).


Politics

Iranian navy test-fires new homegrown anti-ship missiles


The Iranian Navy displayed and successfully test-fired an advanced domestically-made guided missile system dubbed �Dehlaviyeh� which is specialized in targeting vessels and ships.




Valfajr torpedo first fired in Velayat 95 naval drill


Iran�s smart torpedo dubbed �Valfajr� was first fired successfully from Navy�s Ghadir submarine on Monday.




Rouhani, Erdogan discuss bilateral ties, regional developments


President Hassan Rouhani met his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the 13th ECO Summit in Islamabad on Wednesday and discussed bilateral ties and regional developments.




Rouhani, Sharif discuss bilateral ties in ECO summit


Iran�s Hassan Rouhani and Pakistan�s Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has discussed bilateral ties on the sidelines of ECO summit in Islamabad.




Iran�s navy to benefit from an expiring UN ban, U.S. study says


Iran is likely to go on an international shopping spree for surface warships, submarines and anti-ship missiles after the expiration in 2020 of a United Nations resolution prohibiting it from acquiring sophisticated weapons, according to the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence.




Tillerson holds Iran deal talks with IAEA chief


Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held private talks with head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency Thursday in the first direct meeting between the outfit monitoring the Iranian nuclear accord and a senior official from the Trump administration, which has been sharply critical of the 2015 deal.




Iran to give crushing response to any possible aggresssion: Comdr


Commander of Khatam ul-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaeili Iran will severely respond any possible aggression on its territory �with a strong fist�.




S300 successfully test-fired in drill


Damavand military drill has test-fired S300 air defense system, during which it successfully targeted aerial vehicles flying in the outreach.




President Rouhani: US ashamed by Iran�s visas for American wrestlers


President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran�s move to grant visas to the American wrestlers who attended the newly-ended World Cup in Iran has �made the US administration ashamed�.




Iran-CIS relations will turn region into world energy hub: Zarif


Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says strengthening cooperation between the Islamic Republic and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on different issues will serve the interests of the region.




Zarif: Iran keen to broaden trade ties with Sri Lanka


Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday that Iran�s private companies are interested in the expansion of trade exchanges with Sri Lanka.




Iran has no problem in exploring, converting, enriching uranium: AEOI spokesman


Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi highlighted the progress in the country�s peaceful nuclear program and said the Islamic Republic faces no problems in exploring, converting and enriching uranium.








Economy




IMF hails Iran�s post-sanctions economic performance


The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has hailed Iran�s ability to achieve what it has described as an impressive economic recovery after the removal of multiple-year sanctions against the country.




Iran ranks First among world�s DRI producers


The Islamic Republic of Iran ranked first among countries producing Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) in January 2017, the preliminary data published by the World Steel Association showed.




China�s ZTE expected to plead guilty over Iran sales � source


Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp (000063.SZ)(0763.HK) is nearing an agreement to plead guilty to U.S. criminal charges and pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties over allegations it violated U.S. laws that restrict sale of U.S. technology to Iran, a person familiar with the matter said.




Siemens to build new power equipment factory in Iran


According to a preliminary deal which has been signed with Siemens,various types of transformers will be produced in a joint firm, based on the German engineering giant license, to be sold inside and outside of Iran, Arsalan Fathipour,




French Economy Minister: Financial circuits need to be normalized


France has called for �normalization� of banking ties with Iran to improve economic relations between the two countries.


Regional Affairs




Army General Command: The Syrian army establishes control over Tadmur (Palmyra) city


The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces announced on Thursday that units of army re-established control over the city of Tadmur (Palmyra) after inflicting heavy losses upon ISIS terrorist organization in personnel and equipment.




80 percent of Canadians back Israel boycott � poll


Four in five Canadians expressing an opinion believe the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) on Israel is reasonable, a national survey released Wednesday suggests.




UN mediator wraps up �tough� Syria talks in Geneva


The United Nations special envoy for Syria concluded Friday a marathon round of talks in Geneva with an agreement from the conflicting parties to pursue further talks on a political transition to end the six-year war.




Russia, Turkey, Iran managed to consolidate Syria ceasefire � Deputy FM


The joint work by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran has helped considerably improve the situation in Syria, Russia�s deputy foreign minister said.




Syrian Army lost contact with jet flying reconnaissance mission near Turkey


The Syrian army lost contact with a jet performing a reconnaissance mission near the Turkish border, local media said Saturday.


Society




Iran�s Asghar Farhadi, absent at Oscars, pleads for empathy in win for �The Salesman�


A political context larger than that of films themselves swept Iran�s �The Salesman� into the limelight and effectively solidified its win in the best foreign language category at the Oscars on Sunday. Iranian astronaut Anousheh Ansari accepted the award on behalf of director Asghar Farhadi, who was absent from the ceremony in protest of Donald Trump�s travel ban.




Iran�s Nemati, best female Para archer of 2016


Iranian recurve athlete Zahra Nemati has been elected as the best female Para archer of the year 2016.




Study says Islam to replace Christianity as most popular religion after 2050


Islam will replace Christianity as the most popular religion in the world after 2050, says a study conducted by Pew Research Center.




Iran�s Abbasi: The Middle East�s most beautiful hotel


Flick through almost any travel magazine these days and you�re bound to come across an article hailing Iran as the next big destination.




Rouhani: Sports should provide hope for nation


President Hassan Rouhani had hailed sports as a parameter of national glory especially in international competitions.