Iran privatizes $63bn of state assets

Iran has privatized $63 billion worth of government equity in state-owned firms since 2005, says the head of Iran's Privatization Organization.

Gholam-Reza Heydari-Kord Zangeneh said in a Sunday press conference that the disinvestment cut the government's share in the gross domestic product (GDP) from 80 percent to between 40 and 45 percent.

“The government's assets were estimated at about $120 billion. In the past five years, about $63 billion of the assets was privatized,” Zangeneh said, adding that the government's privatization program had met half of its target since 2005.

The program was launched as part of the government's 10-year plan to privatize 80 percent of state-owned assets, under Article 44 of Iran's Constitution.

Several state banks have offered a fraction of their stake as part of the program. Iran also plans to transfer its three large insurance companies — Dana, Alborz and Asia — to the private sector.

In the biggest deal so far on the Tehran Stock Exchange, 51 percent of shares of the Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) were sold to an Iranian consortium for $8 billion.

Some economists have criticized the sell-offs, saying the stakes sold in such equity disinvestments do not really end up in the private sector.

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Iran set to construct ten new enrichment plants with 20,000 megawatts of electricity for domestic use

Days after a new resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog called on Iran to halt the construction of its Fordo enrichment plant, the Iranian government tasks the Atomic Energy Organization (AEO) with building ten more nuclear enrichment sites.

According to the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the AEO should begin the construction of five of the requested enrichment facilities over the next two months.

Upon the Iranian government's request, the organization should also propose locations for the remaining five enrichment plants within a two-month period.

According to the report published on the Iranian president's website, the request for the construction of the new sites comes as the Iranian government is expected to provide the country's power plants with 20,000 megawatts of electricity for domestic use.

The decision, which was made during a Sunday cabinet meeting, comes as President Ahmadinejad argued that the country is in need of 500,000 centrifuges for generating the cited amount of electricity.

The requested nuclear sites are expected to be as large as Iran's enrichment facility in the central city of Natanz.

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Sinopec to provide $6.5bn for Iran refineries

China's Sinopec has signed a tentative deal to provide financing of $6.5 billion for the construction and development of oil refineries in Iran, Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Mehr, giving no source for what it described as an exclusive report, said the final agreement between Sinopec and National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company was expected to be signed within two months.

'National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company and China's Sinopec have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the provision of $6.5 billion in finance for development projects in the country's oil refineries,' Mehr said.

It said technical experts from the two companies were studying the MOU and how to implement it. 'It is expected that the formal contract will be signed in the next two months,' Mehr said. It did not give further details on the MOU.

Chinese top refiner Sinopec had earlier agreed to import 150,000-160,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude this year, unchanged from 2008.

Mehr listed seven new oil refinery projects in Iran and said they needed a total of $23 billion in investments to build or complete them.

'By completing or building these seven new oil refineries, the country's total oil refining capacity will reach 3.2 million barrels per day from the current 1.67 million,' Mehr said.

Analysts say Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude exporter, badly needs foreign investment and technology to help develop its energy riches.

Western firms have become increasingly wary of investing in Iran, which is under UN and other sanctions because of a dispute over its nuclear energy programme. Tehran denies US claims that the programme is aimed at developing nuclear bombs.

But Iran is still drawing interest from Indian, Chinese and other Asian firms seen as less susceptible to international pressures.

China, which is among six world powers seeking to resolve the long-running nuclear row diplomatically, is the second-largest buyer of Iranian oil.

In 2007 Sinopec finalised a $2 billion pact to develop the huge Yadavaran field in Iran, whose economy has been hit by the fall in oil prices over the past year.

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Iranian Navy in Caspian Sea

The Iranian Navy exercises control over the country’s twenty percent share of the Caspian Sea, the commander of the Navy said here on Monday.

Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told reporters at a press conference that the Caspian Sea is the sea of “peace and friendship” and the Navy does not plan to instigate a major military build-up in the Caspian Sea region.

He also said the Navy is carrying out an important mission in the Gulf of Aden to provide security for oil tankers sailing in the region.

There are strategic sea routes in that area and piracy is rife in the region, he noted.

Therefore, a special force, consisting of ships from 21 countries, was established under the command of the U.S. Fifth Fleet to tighten security in the area, and the force receives orders directly from NATO, Sayyari said.

Iran joined the group at the United Nations Security Council’s request and it has sent a number of warships to the area so far, he added.

However, the country’s warships act independently and receive orders from the Iranian Navy not from NATO, he explained.

The U.S. Fifth Fleet, working alongside U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, patrols an area of about 7.5 million square miles of sea off the coast of the Middle East and East Africa.

The area covers the coasts of 27 countries and includes the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and parts of the Indian Ocean, as well as the important shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Aden, and the Suez Canal.

On Iran’s self-sufficiency in manufacturing naval equipment, he said the armed forces should use domestically manufactured military equipment in order to make it difficult for enemies to hit targets in the country.

Asked about potential threats to the country, he said Iran is closely monitoring every move of its enemies and will devise strategies based on the threats.

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Intl. cartoon biennial opens in Tehran and Ahvaz

The 9th Tehran International Cartoon Biennial opened Sunday with a ceremony at the Saba Art and Cultural Institute.

The biennial is being held concurrently at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts and the Ahvaz Museum of Contemporary Art from November 22 to December 16.

The ceremony was attended by officials as well as artists including Bahman Abdi, Mohammad-Hossein Nirumand and Kiumars Derambakhsh.

A total of 4,238 artworks were submitted to the gala’s secretariat out of which 839 works are going on display at the exhibition.

The contest is in five categories. The Cartoon section has a sub-section on the theme of fear and also one that is free theme. The Comic Strip section is free theme and the Caricature section has a sub-section on the theme of political portraits and also one that is free theme.

Turkey, China and Brazil respectively are the most active participants in the event.

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Philippines’ day celebrated at ASEAN culture exhibit in Qazvin

The Philippine Embassy in Tehran celebrated a special day dedicated to the country during the First ASEAN Business and Culture Exhibition at the Qazvin Islamic Azad University (QUIA) on November 20.

Each ASEAN country participating in the event, which is currently underway, has been given a pavilion to showcase its cultural and tourist attractions, handicrafts, and national costumes.

They have also been provided with a special day to give an overview of their countries and their relations with Iran.

First Secretary and Consul General Rosario P. Lemque delivered a short speech about the Philippines relations with Iran focusing on cooperation between the two countries in the areas of business, tourism and culture.

In addition, a number of Iranian students gave presentations on the history, tourist attractions and economic situation of the Philippines.

After the program, Lemque had a meeting with Salehpur, a Ministry of Commerce official in Qazvin on possible cooperation between the Philippines and Iran specifically in Qazvin Province.

Organized by the QUIA, the exhibition aims to raise Iranians’ awareness of ASEAN countries’ cultures as well as to promote a better understanding of tourism potential and business opportunities in Iran.

Other ASEAN member countries with embassies in Tehran, namely Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, also participated in the event, which opened on November 16.

For other ASEAN countries with no permanent missions in Iran, such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Singapore, QUIA relied upon the cooperation of nationals working in the country in order to have complete representation among the ASEAN pavilions.

The ASEAN Business and Culture Exhibition runs until November 25.

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Planning to establish an Indonesian-Iranian film organization

Hollywood rules the world's film industry, while Bollywood has its loyal international audience. In the case of Iran, it has stolen the hearts of many with its soul-catching movies.

If you still remember the famous Children of Heaven, then you know it only took a pair of shoes to make the audience understand what poverty and family relationship are all about. A simple, yet meaningful story that gives us more than just a drama.

"The stories depicted in Iranian movies are far from most Western movies that mainly highlight violence and sensuality," said senior actress Jenny Rachman, president of the Indonesian Film Artist Association (Parfi). "They're high quality movies dealing with issues of religion, humanity, morality and patriotism," she added.

Working with the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Indonesia, Jenny and her Parfi fellow brought the richness of Iranian movies to Indonesia. Under the three-day Iranian Film Festival that kicked off on Nov. 16, five international award-winning movies Hayat (Life), Ghoflsaz (Key Maker), Charkh (Wheel), Kheili Dur Kheili Nazdik (So Close yet So Far) and Har Shab Tanhaye (Alone Every Night) were screened at the Haji Usmar Ismail Film Center in Jakarta.

"After I watched Hayat yesterday, I was really tired," actress Ayu Azhari laughed, but quickly added, "I mean, I was emotionally exhausted."

"It felt like I forgot about everything else."

In the eyes of Ayu, who has watched many Iranian movies, Iranian filmmakers always tackle simple issues with a different perspective.

"Perhaps I can say they always pick marginal issues, yet those issues are very interesting as they're very different from the ones most Hollywood and Bollywood movies revolve around," she said. "Iranian movies are a touch melodramatic, without overkill. They're very natural."

Many viewers echoed Ayu's praises, said movie director Gholamreza Ramezani, who directed Hayat, Ghoflsaz and Charkh.

"Stirring audience's emotions, but in a natural way, is one of the characteristics of Iranian movies," said Ramezani in the middle of his movie preview. "When I had screened Hayat in theatres in Iran, I saw many crying faces after watching the movie," he added.

Iranian movies, Ramezani went on, are always firmly based in reality.

"We want the audience to feel like they are witnessing *life', instead of just watching a movie," he said.

Of course, when it comes to real life, there are many issues worth the spotlight. So, how do Iranian directors make up their mind?

"Sure, there are many problems in society," said Ramezani. "But the problems we pick are either the ones we want to get rid off or those that need special attention," he added.

Although Iranian movies tend to focus on local issues, Ramezani said, international audiences are still receptive to them.

"Logically, people would pay special attention to something different and unusual," he said. "So, problems in Iran might turn out interesting to audiences in other countries."

Ramezani's claims proved right with many Iranian movies gaining recognition in international film festivals in Berlin, Venice, Cannes and London, as well as in prestigious events such as the Academy Awards.

"The movie industry in Iran has made significant progress in the past few years, in terms of content and technology," Ramezan explained. "We produce at least 80 movies every year."

Thirty years after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, he went on, filmmakers do not really feel restricted by the government. The government's policy, which requires that 85 percent of all movies screened be local, is indeed very encouraging for Iranian filmmakers.

"The fact that foreign movies with anti-Islamic values cannot be screened in Iran is actually something normal," he said. "I believe that each country has its own policies, and after all, restrictions aren't always for the worse," he added.

Ramezani dismissed reports that the Iranian government does not allow its filmmakers to cooperate with their American counterparts.

"It's never prohibited," he underlined. "The thing is, we, Iranian filmmakers, don't feel we need to work with them in our productions, or use their technology.

"But of course, we do exchange ideas with many of them. Recently, we invited some Oscar-winning teams *from the USA* for a workshop," he added.

Iran however openheartedly welcomes cooperation with Indonesian filmmakers. The same thing goes for Indonesia, as expressed by Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik.

"It's through movies that Iran and Indonesia can cooperate and understand each other's culture," he said when opening the festival.

Movies, he said, can help bind both countries, and later encourage more cooperation in the future. The film festival is just the medium for such cooperation.

Indonesian movie director Aditya Gumay added that future cooperation would include movie exchanges between the two countries.

"We're planning to hold a film festival like this in Iran," Aditya said. "After all, many Indonesian films share similar religious and moral values with Iranian movies," he added.

Jenny Rachman added that Parfi was planning to establish an Indonesian-Iranian film organization. Both Jenny and Aditya said they were confident such cooperation would be meaningful for Indonesia.

"From Iran, we can learn how to highlight simple, smaller-scale issues and transform them into something important and meaningful," Aditya said. "As we know, most Indonesian filmmakers always prefer to tackle big issues and think small problems are not worth their time," he added.

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Iran to launch largest aerial defense maneuver

Iran is scheduled to launch a large-scale joint aerial defense maneuver in an attempt to prepare itself for any potential attack against the country.

The country's biggest exercise, dubbed 'Asemane Velayat 2', will begin on Sunday November 22, said the head of the air-defense headquarters of Iran's armed forces.

The five-day maneuver is aimed at developing the country's aerial defense against any potential attacks -- especially on the country's nuclear plants.

"The large scale exercise will start tomorrow and will be carried out in three phases over a five-day period," said Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani on Saturday.

He added that the maneuvers will cover a vast area in the northwest, west, south and southwest of the country.

Both the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and Iran's regular armed forces will participate in the exercises.

The senior commander went on to say that Iran has all the necessary information about the enemies' equipment.

"We are also fully able to analyze the data," he added.

According to Miqani, enemies will find it impossible to violate Iranian airspace.

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1st Asean-US Leaders' Meeting

Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) met for the first time with US President Barack Obama in what is considered here a historic meeting.

Obama arrived to Singapore on Saturday to attend the Apec 2009 Summit, which brought together the leaders of 21 “member economies”. Seven out of the 21 Apec members are also members of Asean.

The meeting is historic since it's the first time that all of Asean's leaders, including Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein met with the US president. It's also important in the sense that it reflects American desire to counter Chinese influence in the region.

A joint statement was issued at the conclusion of the “1st Asean-US Leaders' Meeting'”on Sunday. The meeting, which also included Brunei Darussalam, a unifying force in the Asean equation, was co-chaired by Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand, and President Obama.

``We noted with satisfaction that over the last 32 years of dialogue relations, Asean and the United States have developed mutually beneficial cooperation in many areas, reflecting our broad shared interest,'' the statement read in part. It added, the US “welcomed plans to achieve an Asean community by 2015 based on the Asean Charter.”

As for the controversial subject over the US-Myanmar quarrel, the statement read, “The leaders of Asean welcomed the high-level dialogue and the policy of the United States to engage with the Government of Myanmar, as indicated by the recent visit of US officials to Myanmar.''

Obama, who is leading a serious US push to reclaim his country's position in Asia, is hoping to counter Chinese influence in the region by engaging all members of the Asian community, including Myanmar. The US president, however, reaffirmed at the Singapore meeting that Myanmar should release detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi along with other political prisoners.

The US “realises that if they are to retain American influence in this region, they must be able to match what China is doing,'' Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy was quoted by Bloomberg. “If China is improving its ties by leaps and bounds with Asean, it is not in America's interest to be left behind.''

The Asean-US meeting was attended by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

“We were pleased to note that economic relations between Asean and the United States continue to be strong and dynamic,'' said the leaders in their statement. “We applauded the sizable increase in trade and investment between Asean and the United States over the past several years. Two-way goods trade reached US$178 billion in 2008, and, Asean is host to US foreign direct investment of US$153 billion, making it the favoured US investment destination in Asia.''

China too, however is making a sizable impact in Asia, including Myanmar itself. China's largest oil company, China National Petroleum Corp, is building a 771-kilometre pipeline from Myanmar to Southwest China. Cnooc Ltd, China's largest offshore oil producer, is also exploring for oil in the country, where total trade between both nations is estimated at US$2.6 billion.

As for Asean, “China's trade with Southeast Asia has grown almost 20 times since 1993 to US$179 billion last year, with its share of total Asean commerce rising to 10.5 per cent from 2 per cent. The US share of trade with the region during that time fell to 12 per cent last year from 17 per cent even as two-way shipments almost tripled to US$201 billion, according to Asean statistics,'' Bloomberg reported.

The US, of course, is taking notice of what it considers an alarming shift.

The joint US-Asean statement however remained upbeat. ``Recognising the importance of trade and investment liberalisation to our future economic growth and prosperity, we welcomed the results of the 2009 Apec Leaders' meeting and reaffirmed our commitment to accelerating regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific by promoting greater convergence among Apec economies in key trade and investment policy areas.''

Obama, who arrived to Singapore on Saturday to take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group's annual summit, followed by the Asean-US meeting on Sunday, will head to China next.

Asean consists of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Asean is considered an important player in regional economy, and a model for further regional and global integration.

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Iran to mass produce heat-seeking missiles

Iran is going to mass produce a new generation of domestically built air-to-air heat-seeking missiles which can track targets via their infrared emission.

Air Force commander Brigadier General Hassan Shah-Safi told IRNA on Saturday that having been successfully test-fired in different situations, the heat-seeking missiles are now going to be mass produced at the Defense Ministry.

This missile is fired towards the target by a plane and can track the object until it hits it, Shah-Safi said. It has a range of up to 100 kilometers, he added.

According to the top commander, the missile has been tested with a range of more than 40 kilometers, but its range could be modified to increase at higher altitudes.

Shah-Safi said Iran has also produced different kinds of air-to-air missiles, adding that radar-evading planes are being sample produced on a small scale as well.

To advance its defensive capabilities against any possible attack, Iran has so far launched different kinds of missiles.

In June, Iran inaugurated the production line of a domestically-made, supersonic ground-to-air missile system called 'Shahin'.

The system, which has a range of more than 40 kilometers, is capable of targeting fighter jets and helicopters.

Earlier in May, Iran also successfully tested its new solid-fuel Sejjil 2 missile, which is designed to be more accurate and swift than previous Iranian-made models. It has a major deterrence power.

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Iran proposes joint foreign currency fund by OIC

Ahmadinejad proposes joint Islamic fund

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad put forward a proposal for the establishment of a joint foreign currency fund by the Organization of Islamic Countries’ (OIC) member states.

He made the statement in Tehran on Sunday before his departure to Ankara to take part in the 25th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the OIC members.

""Reliance on the global capitalism can not resuscitate the world's current ailing economic situation. In such circumstances, multilateral cooperation in the framework of well-established organizations can be a solution,"" the Mehr News agency quoted Ahmadinejad.

OIC inter-governmental trade accounts for only 15-16 percent of their total global foreign trade, he pointed out and urged the Islamic countries to appreciate their 1.5-billion-people market and boost their economic cooperation, he added.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) was established in 1969. It is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents.

In order to coordinate and boost its action, align its view points, and be credited with concrete results in various fields of cooperation, the Organization has created different committees, nearly all, at ministerial level, a number of which are chaired by heads of state, among which is the Standing Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation (COMCEC)

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