Mohammad Javad Rezaie, Head of Iran’s Saffron Exports Development Fund evaluated the current saffron market as ‘satisfactory’ and estimated its worth at $2000 per kilo; “this shows that considering the increase in saffron production in the country, the sales figures are satisfactory both in domestic and foreign markets,” he said, according to MNA.
“Following the implementation of the nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1, certain European countries such as Spain expressed their interest in purchasing Iranian saffron directly,” he said.
Rezaei explained that with the sanctions having been in place for years, the export of saffron to European countries had faced a lot of limitation and went through a drastic decline, since the banking sanctions posed many difficulties for the money transfer.
“The US has called for buying Iran’s saffron and the first 20kg shipment of saffron will be soon ready for export after 15 years,” said Rezaei, adding the shipment is expected to be sent by next week.
“During the sanctions period, certain countries such as the UAE and even Spain played middleman for Iran’s ‘red gold’ market and bought this valuable product from Iran and exported it to global markets in their own packaging and brand,” he said.
According to Rezaei, Iran’s direct saffron export to European countries can flourish Iranian saffron market by 40 percent.
Iran is the world’s largest producer and exporter of saffron, the most expensive and most-sought after spice in the world, which is used to flavor food and pastries, with further application in medicine and cosmetics. First harvest of the reddish, aromatic plant dates back to 3,000 years ago in Iran.
With a monopoly over more than 90% of saffron output, Iran exports to more than 50 countries across the world. Iran’s saffron is globally known for its matchless quality, fascinating fragrance, pleasant flavor, and superb coloring strength.

Project Director of Phases 17 and 18 at Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) Hassan Boyeri referred to the restitution of some blocked Iranian gas equipment in Dubai and Netherlands adding “with the lifting of sanctions, some foreign companies, which had sold their equipment for the operation of Phases 17 and 18 through third-parties, have arrived in Assaluyeh to accomplish and implement their facilities.”
He noted that after the sanctions imposed upon the Islamic Republic intensified, some of the equipment purchased for petrochemical projects in Iran was seized, after which sellers refrained from delivering equipment to Tehran, MNA reported.
“Following the recently signed nuclear agreement, the companies started releasing the detained equipment,” he added, underlining that some of the recently released equipment is now in use in Iranian projects.
Regarding the freeing up of petrochemical industry equipment blocked by Siemens Company, Boyeri said the company has released a number of turbo compressors. He announced that representatives of Germany’s Siemens Company have travelled to the south of Iran to install the turbo compressors of Phases 17 and 18 in South Pars field; “the German company is also committed to provide warranty coverage as well as to supply spare parts in addition to implementation of some of the refinery’s equipment.”
“Furthermore, representatives of Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, a producer of floating pumps, have arrived in Assaluyeh,” said the official stressing “also considering the visit of a Dutch company, a total of 80 deputies and experts of European and Asian companies have entered Iran over the previous ten days in order to deliver and run refinery facilities of South Pars field.”
Boyeri also noted that the barriers against the exports of gas condensate produced for Phases of South Pars have been removed adding “more than one million barrels of gas condensate have been produced at Phases 17 and 18 which will be soon deployed to South Korea.”
“The project of Phases 17 and 18 are currently 92 per cent through and the whole units will become operational by March or April,” he concluded.

In 2015, Russia allocated 10 loans, including several to countries from the Eurasian Customs Union (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan). In 2016 there will be no loans to any countries, with Iran being the only possible exception.
“The financial situation has now changed and we can scarcely afford to provide loans to any country,” explained Storchak.
“In my view, the underwriting limit of the adoption of new international obligations has been reached for some period of time,” the deputy minister noted. “Now new [obligations] are not being discussed, except for one country (Iran).”
The Ministry of Finance has also made a decision to prepare a series of euro bonds in 2016.

In an interview with IRNA-London on the sidelines of a water-management symposium, the leading researcher welcomed cooperation with Iranian scholars and research centers as follows:

Q. Would you describe the importance of techincal symposiums?
A. They are of great importance to both the UK and Iran, because what it signals is an opportunity for the world leading engineers at Imperial College London and arguably the world’s leading engineers in the universities sector for England to connect with one of the strongest engineering basis among middle eastern states.
Imperial college London recognizes Iran’s contribution of expertise in this regard because we have hired many Iranian nationals to work primarily as engineers and scientists within Imperial college London.
Hosting this event at the Centre for Environmental Policy, signals very appropriate selection because we have the highest Iranian nationals working as professionals but also post graduates in the department.
Our experience working with Iranian nationals both as advanced degree candidates and staff is that they are very gregarious in reaching out other nations in order to conduct collaborative research.
Q. What was the fruit of this symposium?
A. What this symposium was deliberately designed for was an awareness that Iran is a world leader in engineering, though it is water management that we are addressing.
We recognize that water management engineering is a source of expertise in England but we are coping with many problems in the water management field.
Although it sounds perhaps a bit unusual but Iranian engineers can make a contribution to solving some of the problems that we face but we are maybe a little bit too close to, to see objectively what the solution should be.
UK has significant problems with droughts in the South East of England but also flooding. On the subject of droughts we have not designed an infrastructure properly so that we can do basic things like providing water for agriculture or water for health, water for life. Iranian engineers are very aware of these challenges and have dealt with them for centuries. So as UK scientists and engineers this is a relationship which we will benefit.
In this session we have also drew some engineers from California who face similar problems to rather a longtime ago in Iran in respect of drought and also problems in respect of droughts in South East of England as they have been solved in California.
So from these sessions, three nations come together to compare solutions to see what will work best.
Q. Are such meetings going to have a follow up?
A. Because we have significance influence with the government departments as Imperial college London, because we are seen as objective analysts of circumstances to try to persuade the British government departments particularly FCO’s department of Business but also organizations like the Department for Energy and Climate Change to open their mind to the possibility of more exchanges of this nature.
It may sound like a political statement, but the warming up of relations between Iran and the west is a significant strategic opportunity where there is demands in Iran for exchanging expertise with us but it goes the other way as well.
We recognize that Iran is a fundamental importance as a research partner; so working together with Iran gives an opportunity to understand how these collaborations can set an example for other nations.

Mohammad Khoda-Karami announced the news quoting the representatives of British Airways as saying so in their previous day’s visit to the CAO.
He said that currently the Iranian Airlines, HOMA, is shouldering the direct Tehran-London regular weekly flights as the British Airways had halted the route five years ago amid the intensifying anti-Iranian sanctions at the time.
‘The related memorandum of understanding was signed between the two countries’ a while ago,’ added the CAO official.
Khoda-Karami said that the other European airlines Air France and KLM, too, have announced readiness to resume direct Iran flights in near future and maximum within the next three months.
He also said that Spanish, Japanese and Malaysian (Air Asia) airlines have announced readiness to resume direct Iran flight on a regular weekly basis.
Roads and Rural Development Minister Abbas Akhuni had earlier announced that Iran welcomes aviation cooperation with all countries, save for the Zionist regime’s El Al airlines.

President Rouhani met Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné and Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier separately and discussed signing contracts.

The Iranian president welcomed the presence of foreign investors in Iran and the transfer of technology with production approach and cooperation in the field of exports, and said, ‘The Islamic Republic of Iran is looking for joint investment with the participation of major international companies in a new atmosphere and based on new principles.’

During the meeting with Total CEO, President Rouhani pointed to the cooperation with the French company, and said, ‘Iran is the hub of energy in the region and Total can also make use of the good opportunities which are available in the field of energy given the two sides’ experiences and records.’

During the meeting with Airbus CEO, President Rouhani welcomed the interest shown by the French aviation company to cooperate under the new conditions, and said, ‘Iran does not want to only have trade with Airbus, but it is seeking to cooperate in the fields of training, research, repair and parts manufacturing.

During the meeting the Airbus CEO announced that his company will open an office in Tehran in the near future, and said, ’17 Airbus planes will be delivered to Iran in 2016, including one being handed over the Islamic Republic within next month.’

Brégier reiterated that the educational cooperation in the field of aviation industry, pilot training, repair and production of parts have been considered by both sides.

During the current visit of the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his entourage to France, the two sides held various round of talks on signing a deal between Iran Khodro and Peugeot at the presence of Iranian president, French premier and ministers of industry, mines and commerce as well as senior economic managers and the two auto making managing directors.

This is for the first time ever that a top international automobile maker is to finance in Iran’s automobile industry.

Establishment of Iran-France Joint company with equal sharing of fifty percent will bring latest technological development to Iran for auto making products.

President Rouhani leading a high delegation arrived in Italy and now is in France on his second leg to his European tour.

“Fincantieri has reached a cooperation and development agreement with Azim Gostaresh Hormoz Shipbuilding Industry Company, a new Iranian shipbuilding complex strategically positioned in the Persian Gulf within the Persian Gulf Special Economic Zone,” Fincantieri said in a statement as reported by Italian news agency AGI.
The Iranian company is a subsidiary of Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Company, which in turn owns the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran–one of the biggest Iranian companies active in the country’s process of development and industrialization.
According to Fincantieri, the agreement provides for cooperation between the two companies in the construction of new merchant ships and offshore units and in the field of naval repairs and conversions, as well as in the refitting of units already in use. Fincantieri, through its subsidiary Isotta Fraschini Motori, has also signed two other agreements in the marine propulsion and rail transport sectors, the report added.

To expand international interactions, enhance vocational educations, and improve the quality of trainings, Iranian Technical and Vocational Training Organization is mulling over cooperation with foreign countries, said Mohammad Amin Sazgarnejad Iranian Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare in his meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Tehran Hiroyasu Kobayashi on Wednesday.
Referring to the competency of the Japanese in bilateral cooperation, the Iranian official named Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as an institute to partner with Iranian training centers in near future, Mehr News Agency said.
Also cooperation in defining educational standards, running vocational courses, and interacting with Japanese centers like the vocational schools of Educational Group Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology are in our agenda of cooperation with the Japanese, highlighted Sazgarnejad.
He described the Japanese embassy in Tehran as a bridge to join Iranian with their Japanese counterparts and valued the service provided with high respect.
During the meeting, Kobayashi, for his part, voiced satisfaction with the removal of anti-Iran sanctions and underlined that now that the JCPOA has been put into practice and Iran is in broad connection with the world, Japan is willing to have all-out relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran especially in areas of vocational cooperation.
Hiroyasu Kobayashi, Japanese ambassador to Tehran, voiced hope for bright future in bilateral ties of Tehran and Tokyo and reiterated that Iran is a big, powerful country in the Middle East that Japan can bolster post-sanctions ties with in a step-by-step process.

The cooperation pacts were signed at the presence of President Hassan Rouhani and his French counterpart Francois Hollande at Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday evening.

The roadmap document on strengthening of Iran-France bilateral ties as the first document was signed by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) on communications were signed between the two countries’ communications ministers and the MoU on cooperation in the field of environment and climatology was signed between the heads of the departments of environment of the two countries.

The two countries also signed an MoU on tourism and also a cooperation pact in the field of health and medicine.