Iran completes first phase of human trial of locally made coronavirus vaccine Head of Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order: Phase one of clinical studies of COVIRAN Barakat vaccine has been completed. As far as I know, the government has considered 70% of the foreign vaccine price as the cost of producing the vaccine. Three countries have started preliminary talks with us to purchase the vaccine. Two other countries have also showed their interests, but we have not got into negotiations yet. We will start talks in the coming days. ***** Iran made Covid-19 vaccine effective against UK variant; mass production from May While the UK variant of the coronavirus has reached Iran, experts say, the Iranian vaccine is effective against the mutated virus. COVIRAN vaccine has proved safe for mass vaccination, and the next step is to test its efficacy. Experts say this will be made clear in the second phase of the human trial which will kickstart in almost a month. Mass production is set to start in May this year. *****   Iran unveils new uniform for COVID-19 medical staff Two academic elites of Iran have made a new uniform for COVID-19 medical staff, protecting them against the virus and preventing heat and humidity inside the uniform. These characteristics are unique in the world. *****   During the pandemic, no one remains outside hospitals - Iran minister of health Iran minister of health said in a statement that during the pandemic, no one is left outside hospitals, adding that more than 200,000 Afghans, some of whom did not even have a residence card, were treated free of charge. The minister also stated that fortunately, no production centers or factories were shut down during the epidemic. *****   EIKO inaugurates Iran’s largest ethane complex The Office of Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO) inaugurated the Parsian Ethane Complex, Iran’s largest ethane-producing plant in Mohr city of the southern province of Fars on Tuesday. During a one-day visit to the industrial zones of Bushehr and Fars, Mohammad Mokhber, the EIKO, inaugurated the complex, which has a gas refining capacity of 75 million cubic meters per day. “With the opening of this refinery, a big step was taken in the field of environment and preventing pollutants in natural gas, as well as preventing the burning of valuable raw materials of natural gas,” Mokhber said. ***** Iran plans to build 100-seat passenger plane Head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) Touraj Dehqani Zanganeh has said the country is planning to establish the production line for a 100-seat commercial passenger plane, Iran’s Civil Aviation Network News reported. The mentioned production line will be established by CAO in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, according to Dehqani. *****   Mapna’s hydrogen gas turbine to make debut Mapna, the engineering and energy giant, has manufactured hydrogen-fuelled gas turbines that consume less gas to generate electricity and instead of hazardous emissions discharge water, the managing director said. CEO Abbas Aliabadi told reporters Thursday the MGT-75 turbine will be unveiled soon and considerably boost production from existing infrastructure without the need for new and costly power plants. "MGT-75 is an industrial accomplishment and one of the best-in-class turbines in the world. The new generation MGT-70 turbines allow expansion of power production without spending massive amounts on new units," Aliabadi said. Adding hydrogen to natural gas is a major step toward decarbonize energy production as its combustion process emits less greenhouse gases including CO2. It also produces more energy. *****   Iran web and mobile festival selects outstanding startups The 13th Iran Web and Mobile Festival wrapped up on Friday by introducing Iran’s top startups and entrepreneurs. Unlike previous years, the event was held online due to Covid-19. Iran’s startups and knowledge-based companies competed during IWMF, which is organized by the private sector, the festival’s website reported. Milad Ehrampoush, co-founder of IWMF, told reporters that this year’s event was warmly received by participants, which included many fledgling startups with high potentials. The event’s other cofounder, Shayan Shalileh, said the 13th round was a unique experience. *****   Iran's atomic energy chief visits Radiopharmaceutical production line The Vice President and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran visited the production line of radiopharmaceuticals in Pars Isotope company. The meeting lasted two hours and at the end of the meeting, the head of the organization praised the achievements and production speed. Iran to launch direct shipping routes to Latin America An Iranian official says the country will launch a direct shipping route to Latin America. The trade official said the plan to design the linking route is on the agenda. “Registration is underway of applications by those requesting to directly transport commodities to those countries,” said Babak Afghahi, the head of the non-oil trade and export development committee of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce (ICC). *****   The Old Castle to become museum Head of Meshginshahr Cultural Heritage Organization says in a statement that the Old Castle which is the largest brick castle in the northwest of Iran will be used as a historical park and a large museum of anthropological research next Iranian calendar year.   Country’s economy has stabilized – Iran official Iranian industry, mining, and trade minister, Alireza Razm Hosseini, said in a statement that Iran is an exporter of steel and petrochemicals and many of the industrial products have reached global markets. “The number of permits issued for the establishment of factories in the country has increased by 38% in the last 10 months compared to last year; This shows the political and economic stability of the country”, he added. *****   Iran Air Defense Force unveils 'Bahman' radar system Two home-grown achievements, including the 'Bahman' radar system and 'Nejat' Mobile operating room, were unveiled by Air Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Saturday. Unveiling ceremony of 'Bahman' radar system and 'Nejat' Mobile operating room from the projects of the Air Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran was held Saturday morning in the presence of Iran's Commander of Army Air Defense Force Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard and the Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari. "One of the characteristics of the 'Bahman' Radar System is that it is passive, which can detect and identify all conventional aircraft and drones with a very small cross-section," he added. *****   Chinese media report on Iranian-Indian-Russian military exercise A Chinese media outlet reported on a joint Iranian-Indian-Russian military exercise. According to the media, the exercise, which is being held in the North Indian Ocean, is to prepare for possible threats. Russia participated in the exercise with a destroyer, a logistics ship and a helicopter. The Chinese military, which had participated in the previous exercise, was unable to join due to the Chinese New Year. *****   Iran, our country’s neighbour in tough days - Afghan TV The tragic incident of fire at Islam Qala customs in Herat, Afghanistan, despite great financial losses and suffering for people, once again showed the long-standing unity and solidarity between Iran and Afghanistan. In the first hours after the fire started at Islam Qala customs, the Iranian media followed it quickly, resulting in the Iranian government prompt reaction to help the neighbouring country and Afghan businessmen operating in the economic zone. "If we had not had the help of the fire department of Iran's Khorasan Razavi province, it would not have been impossible for the Herat firefighters to contain the uncontrollable flames. NATO did not respond to the Afghanistan’s request did not respond to the firefighting helicopters," Arianpour TV reported. "What is important is that the Iranians rushed to help, and other foreign forces refused to send a firefighting helicopter,” Ariana News stated. The Afghan media added that the reason for the refusal of NATO forces was not yet clear. But one thing became clear in this incident: neighbours are together on good and bad days, while strangers are useless on bad days. *****   US Secretary of State acknowledges defeat of maximum pressure against Iran Stating that the policy of maximum pressure against Iran has failed, the US Secretary of State reiterated that if Tehran returns to the full implementation of its commitments to the UN Security Council, Washington will do the same. *****   Iran says assesses EU invitation to meet with U.S. Abbas Araqchi, the Iranian deputy foreign minister, said late on Saturday that Iran is studying a European Union proposal for an informal meeting between current members of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal and the United States, but has yet to respond to it. Araqchi said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has expressed his readiness to invite the current parties to the JCPOA, namely the P4+1 and Iran, to attend an unofficial meeting to develop the future roadmap of the deal. Speaking at a televised program, Araqchi said, “We are studying Josep Borrell’s proposal to hold an informal meeting of the 4+1 (nuclear deal members) with the United States and Iran, and we are consulting with our partners, including Russia and China, and we will respond to this proposal in the future.” “However, we believe a U.S. return to the nuclear accord does not require a meeting, and the only way for it is to lift the sanctions,” Araqchi added. *****