About 37 years ago the world witnessed overthrow of dictatorial regime of the Shah in Iran, which materialized as a result of wise leadership of Imam Khomeini and strong determination of the absolute majority of the Iranian people to get rid of the authoritarian regime. Since the revolution, the country had “independence, freedom and an Islamic Republic “as its main motto. A referendum was held to determine the type of government to rule the country; the outcome of which was “Islamic Republic “voted for by 98 percent of the people who participated in the referendum. So far more than 30 elections have been held in the country, and each of which indicative of the scope of people’s participation in determining their destiny.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is like a bridge in the heart of the region which links the Caspian Sea the Persian Gulf, as well as the east and west Asia together. Therefore, its security and stability can have undeniable effect on the entire Middle East region and west Asia. That’s why peaceful coexistence, promotion of bilateral relations and extensive regional and international cooperation are seriously pursued in Iran’s foreign policy.
In this article few aspects about the Islamic Republic of Iran will be described:
Tourism:
There are few countries in the world that every four seasons at the same time exist. Tourists, who visit the southern coasts of Iran in winter, can enjoy very pleasant weather and swim. Some cities like Tabriz and Tehran are cold enough that winter sports can be done. This climatic norm from the snowy mountains till the rainy forests and sunny deserts differs and has made an ecological beauty of Iran’s diversity of nature. Iran, with rich cultural heritage and valuable and countless geographical and natural gifts, could turn into an important tourism centers.
Furthermore, Iran as the cradle of the civilizations has the precious treasure of cultural heritage, which has been, remained more than 10 thousand years. Architecture, sculpture and so many different handicrafts like Iranian carpet are examples of antiquity of art in this country. The Iranian style of architecture is unique and creative. Persepolis, Pasargadae and extraordinary edifices of Isfahan as well as the air traps of the central dessert region are the hall-mark of the Iranian architecture.
Among different Iranian monuments, religious architectures are a significant part of Iran’s cultural heritage and tourism industry. This architecture during different historical eras has proved to be an effective and beautiful piece of art.
Tourism is becoming an increasingly popular way to boost economic growth in developing countries. Iran tries to increase its potentials and capacities through identification and introduction of its numerous historical monuments, handicraft industries and eye catching architectures.
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) is assisting Iran in embarking on a Tourism Development Master Plan, an ambitious 20-year plan in which Iran hopes to capture 1.5% of the world’s total tourist arrivals, about 20 million international tourists annually. This is not at all an unrealistic goal considering that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ranks Iran seventh in the world in terms of possessing historical monuments, museums, and other cultural attractions.
To foster and expedite this trend, an estimated U.S. $ 5 billion will be put forth by the government for preservation and restoration efforts of historical monuments as well as other tourism infrastructure needs. The Iranian people, who are known for their hospitality, as well as the government, welcome every one of you to visit Iran
Free Zones:
The significant role of free trade zones as centers of free taxation trade activities to absorb FDI along with the role of re-export regions is very important. Also bottlenecks in technical and industrial developments have been removed and the country is on the verge of a great economic progress. Owing to its rich oil and gas reserves, Iran has always been considered a very cost-effective market. Now with the addition of its industrial and productive capabilities in various fields especially in oil, gas, petrochemicals, steel, power and also increase in its exports of manufactured goods, it will be changed into a much stronger market.
Women:
Women in Iran have equality, respect and the right to participate in all social, political and economic activities. They live their lives productively and with dignity. Throughout the 20th Century Iranian women have organized and fought for human and political rights, from the Constitutional Revolution at the turn of the century to the democratic movement that overthrew the Shah of Iran. They were strong participants in the 1979 revolution.
After the victory of Islamic Revolution in Iran, the society was re-formed in accordance with Islamic standards. Bearing in mind that in pre- revolution era, Iran was fully influenced by western cultures based on considering women as a trading commodity, it was decided to replace this imported culture with genuine Islamic Ideology in which women should be held in high esteem and all their rights be observed…
In accordance with the Article 111 of Law on National Development Plan the government shall take measures for the purpose of enhancing the role of women in the society, promoting opportunities for women and elevating their participation.
Moreover there are lots of examples proving the interest of policy makers in Islamic Republic of Iran to have special concern to women societies.
Women in Iran are active in social and political life of the country and have high profiles in the official governmental positions. Having a strong footprint in Islamic Legislative Assembly, President Office and different ministries are few examples among the others. Also different NGOs run by women, as influential centers in Iran are widely active in different political, economic and benevolence contexts.
The wide participation of women in political, economic and social arenas in Iranian, has not affected the structure and basis of families as the most important basic element for formation of a society. Not only in the Constitution and civil laws but also in practice and directives they emphasized to preserve the dignity of the family and also sheltering of the children and their safe growth. In this regard the government has decreased the women working hours in governmental offices to enable them to join their families sooner.
Nuclear Energy:
Iran’s nuclear energy was always for peaceful purposes. Due to political disagreements, the West branded Iran’s nuclear program as controversial and kept Iranian government under immense pressure.
Iran has always been carrying out its nuclear activities under supervision of the IAEA. This program does not pose any threat to any country due to its peaceful nature. As the Supreme Leader and other high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have repeatedly announced, WMDs including nuclear weapons do not have any place in Iran’s defense doctrine. The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the main victims of use of WMDs and Iran is the first country that has proposed the plan for making the Middle-East free from nuclear weapons and has always been reiterating its position in this respect. Even after all the assurances given about its peaceful nuclear program, the West still had doubts and stood by its ground. They were fully convinced that Iran’s nuclear program posed no threats to them and their allies.
The West finally realized that the sanctions imposed on Iran are bringing no benefit to either party, and that Iran was able to withstand all the trade barriers. That is why on 26 March 2015, negotiations for an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program commenced between Iran and the P5+1. This agreement could bring new opportunities for not only Iran, but also for the West in terms of trade. It also provided another opportunity for both parties to build new relations after years of hostility. After a series of grueling talks, the West led by the U.S. finally pulled off sanctions as Iran implemented the nuclear deal through brilliant diplomacy on 16th January 2016. This brings a new chapter in world history as the two sides chose to coexist peacefully. A new era awaits Iran; an era of prosperity and peace.
Nanotechnology:
Nanotechnology is a highly multidisciplinary field referring broadly to a field of applied science and technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, normally 1 to 100 nanometers, and the fabrication of devices with critical dimensions that lie with the size range. Since early 2001, Iran has initiated its activities to develop nanotechnology until upon an order by the President, acted its activities to develop nanotechnology until upon an order by the president, Iran nanotechnology initiative (INI) was established in August 2003, to promote nanotechnology. It is headed by the deputy president for science and technology affairs and consists of 6 ministers and 5 senior nanotechnology experts. The first national nanotechnology development plan, titled as “Future Strategy”, was introduced in July 2005. The plan was then adopted by the cabinet ministers. The strategic plan outline country’s action plan to be undertaken from 2005 through 2014 to develop nanotechnology in Iran. It devises short term (two year), mid – term (five year) and long term (ten year) activities. One of the main objectives of this plan is becoming one of 15 top tanking countries in nanotechnology and persisting to improve this position in order to achieve economic development.
Right now, there are more than fifty companies working in nanotechnology field In Iran. Half of these companies are in mass production stage and the rest are in final product commercialization stages. Since development and improvement of Nano sciences is closely related to a country’s scientific development in all areas, each year, and the Survey and Analysis workgroup of the INI evaluated papers on nanotechnology through defined indices from various countries using the ISI data bank and determines Iran’s rank as compared to other countries. In 2001, Iran ranked 52nd with only 0.08% of the total shares of the nanotechnology related papers with 17 papers. Whereas in 2007, with 465 papers and holding 0.79%, it is ranked as 25th and is holding first rank among the Islamic and the Middle East countries.
The ranking of various countries based on the average annual increase in share of nanotechnology – related papers in the years 2001 – 2007 indicates that Iran has had the highest growth rate with an average of 80.2% in generating nano – science.
In addition to the number of papers, the quality of the papers produced in Iran has also improved remarkably during the same years. Evaluation of average citation per article to papers of various countries indicates that Iran’s rank has risen to 25th in the year 2006 as compared with 43rd in 2001 and is placed first among Islamic and Middle East countries.
Foreign Policy:
Peaceful coexistence, promotion of bilateral relations and extensive regional and international cooperation are seriously pursued in Iran’s foreign policy. One of the achievements made by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the arena of foreign policy has been adopting of strategic decisions for the purpose of defusing regional crisis.
Iran has established constructive and interactive relations with the most countries in the world in different continents. This country is the active member of various international and regional institutions. United Nations, Islamic Conference Organization, Non Alignment Movement, ADC, D8, Eco among the others are examples in this arena. Iran has played a significant role in regional disputes and conflicts to create stabilization.
Iran has always been against any tensions and believes to battle against every kinds of terrorism. One of the main challenges that Iran is facing today in the region and the world, is the issue of terrorism. The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long precedence of being a victim of this ominous phenomenon; which dates back to the very early days after the victory of the Islamic revolution, considering the fact that it has lost many of its authorities as well as ordinary people who were targeted by shameful violent and terrorist acts. With due regard to such a background, the country has time and again announced that it condemns terrorist acts and killing of innocent people in any of its forms; and calls for equitable and non-selective struggle against terrorism all over the world. The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that instead of selective attitudes towards this organized phenomenon, its root causes and the grounds that facilitate its growth, including poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and occupation of others’ lands, be identified and eliminated; in order that the international community can live in an environment of peace and security which is essential for advancement of all human communities.
Recently, Iran hosted two days conference, titled, the World Against Violence and Extremism (aka WAVE), that was attended Dec. 9-10 by representatives of more than 40 countries. This conference follows Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s proposal of the WAVE initiative in his first address to the UN General Assembly in September 2013.The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved Rouhani’s WAVE proposal on Dec. 18, 2013. At the opening session of the conference, Rouhani called for a regional response to the threat posed by IS terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. If countries in the region agree, they could eliminate anti-Islamic groups like Daesh [IS] and liberate thousands of innocent men, women and children who have lost their homes.
Iran is serious about combating extremism and cooperates with all countries that have fallen victim to extremism and those who are serious in fighting the terrorism. The international community and all regional players have to recognize violence and extremism as the No. 1 threat to world peace and global stability. Iranian government believes occupation, crackdown, violation of basic human rights, colonialism, hegemony, foreign invasion, poverty, injustice, backwarded-ness and sanctions as objective factors contributing to the creation of extremism and violence. Wars and armed struggles can lead to further escalation of extremism and aggression, wasting more lives, and disturbing the peace and stability of the human societies.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is like a bridge in the heart of the region which links the Caspian Sea the Persian Gulf, as well as the east and west Asia together. Therefore, its security and stability can have undeniable effect on the entire Middle East region and west Asia. That’s why peaceful coexistence, promotion of bilateral relations and extensive regional and international cooperation are seriously pursued in Iran’s foreign policy.
In this article few aspects about the Islamic Republic of Iran will be described:
Tourism:
There are few countries in the world that every four seasons at the same time exist. Tourists, who visit the southern coasts of Iran in winter, can enjoy very pleasant weather and swim. Some cities like Tabriz and Tehran are cold enough that winter sports can be done. This climatic norm from the snowy mountains till the rainy forests and sunny deserts differs and has made an ecological beauty of Iran’s diversity of nature. Iran, with rich cultural heritage and valuable and countless geographical and natural gifts, could turn into an important tourism centers.
Furthermore, Iran as the cradle of the civilizations has the precious treasure of cultural heritage, which has been, remained more than 10 thousand years. Architecture, sculpture and so many different handicrafts like Iranian carpet are examples of antiquity of art in this country. The Iranian style of architecture is unique and creative. Persepolis, Pasargadae and extraordinary edifices of Isfahan as well as the air traps of the central dessert region are the hall-mark of the Iranian architecture.
Among different Iranian monuments, religious architectures are a significant part of Iran’s cultural heritage and tourism industry. This architecture during different historical eras has proved to be an effective and beautiful piece of art.
Tourism is becoming an increasingly popular way to boost economic growth in developing countries. Iran tries to increase its potentials and capacities through identification and introduction of its numerous historical monuments, handicraft industries and eye catching architectures.
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) is assisting Iran in embarking on a Tourism Development Master Plan, an ambitious 20-year plan in which Iran hopes to capture 1.5% of the world’s total tourist arrivals, about 20 million international tourists annually. This is not at all an unrealistic goal considering that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ranks Iran seventh in the world in terms of possessing historical monuments, museums, and other cultural attractions.
To foster and expedite this trend, an estimated U.S. $ 5 billion will be put forth by the government for preservation and restoration efforts of historical monuments as well as other tourism infrastructure needs. The Iranian people, who are known for their hospitality, as well as the government, welcome every one of you to visit Iran
Free Zones:
The significant role of free trade zones as centers of free taxation trade activities to absorb FDI along with the role of re-export regions is very important. Also bottlenecks in technical and industrial developments have been removed and the country is on the verge of a great economic progress. Owing to its rich oil and gas reserves, Iran has always been considered a very cost-effective market. Now with the addition of its industrial and productive capabilities in various fields especially in oil, gas, petrochemicals, steel, power and also increase in its exports of manufactured goods, it will be changed into a much stronger market.
Women:
Women in Iran have equality, respect and the right to participate in all social, political and economic activities. They live their lives productively and with dignity. Throughout the 20th Century Iranian women have organized and fought for human and political rights, from the Constitutional Revolution at the turn of the century to the democratic movement that overthrew the Shah of Iran. They were strong participants in the 1979 revolution.
After the victory of Islamic Revolution in Iran, the society was re-formed in accordance with Islamic standards. Bearing in mind that in pre- revolution era, Iran was fully influenced by western cultures based on considering women as a trading commodity, it was decided to replace this imported culture with genuine Islamic Ideology in which women should be held in high esteem and all their rights be observed…
In accordance with the Article 111 of Law on National Development Plan the government shall take measures for the purpose of enhancing the role of women in the society, promoting opportunities for women and elevating their participation.
Moreover there are lots of examples proving the interest of policy makers in Islamic Republic of Iran to have special concern to women societies.
Women in Iran are active in social and political life of the country and have high profiles in the official governmental positions. Having a strong footprint in Islamic Legislative Assembly, President Office and different ministries are few examples among the others. Also different NGOs run by women, as influential centers in Iran are widely active in different political, economic and benevolence contexts.
The wide participation of women in political, economic and social arenas in Iranian, has not affected the structure and basis of families as the most important basic element for formation of a society. Not only in the Constitution and civil laws but also in practice and directives they emphasized to preserve the dignity of the family and also sheltering of the children and their safe growth. In this regard the government has decreased the women working hours in governmental offices to enable them to join their families sooner.
Nuclear Energy:
Iran’s nuclear energy was always for peaceful purposes. Due to political disagreements, the West branded Iran’s nuclear program as controversial and kept Iranian government under immense pressure.
Iran has always been carrying out its nuclear activities under supervision of the IAEA. This program does not pose any threat to any country due to its peaceful nature. As the Supreme Leader and other high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have repeatedly announced, WMDs including nuclear weapons do not have any place in Iran’s defense doctrine. The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the main victims of use of WMDs and Iran is the first country that has proposed the plan for making the Middle-East free from nuclear weapons and has always been reiterating its position in this respect. Even after all the assurances given about its peaceful nuclear program, the West still had doubts and stood by its ground. They were fully convinced that Iran’s nuclear program posed no threats to them and their allies.
The West finally realized that the sanctions imposed on Iran are bringing no benefit to either party, and that Iran was able to withstand all the trade barriers. That is why on 26 March 2015, negotiations for an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program commenced between Iran and the P5+1. This agreement could bring new opportunities for not only Iran, but also for the West in terms of trade. It also provided another opportunity for both parties to build new relations after years of hostility. After a series of grueling talks, the West led by the U.S. finally pulled off sanctions as Iran implemented the nuclear deal through brilliant diplomacy on 16th January 2016. This brings a new chapter in world history as the two sides chose to coexist peacefully. A new era awaits Iran; an era of prosperity and peace.
Nanotechnology:
Nanotechnology is a highly multidisciplinary field referring broadly to a field of applied science and technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, normally 1 to 100 nanometers, and the fabrication of devices with critical dimensions that lie with the size range. Since early 2001, Iran has initiated its activities to develop nanotechnology until upon an order by the President, acted its activities to develop nanotechnology until upon an order by the president, Iran nanotechnology initiative (INI) was established in August 2003, to promote nanotechnology. It is headed by the deputy president for science and technology affairs and consists of 6 ministers and 5 senior nanotechnology experts. The first national nanotechnology development plan, titled as “Future Strategy”, was introduced in July 2005. The plan was then adopted by the cabinet ministers. The strategic plan outline country’s action plan to be undertaken from 2005 through 2014 to develop nanotechnology in Iran. It devises short term (two year), mid – term (five year) and long term (ten year) activities. One of the main objectives of this plan is becoming one of 15 top tanking countries in nanotechnology and persisting to improve this position in order to achieve economic development.
Right now, there are more than fifty companies working in nanotechnology field In Iran. Half of these companies are in mass production stage and the rest are in final product commercialization stages. Since development and improvement of Nano sciences is closely related to a country’s scientific development in all areas, each year, and the Survey and Analysis workgroup of the INI evaluated papers on nanotechnology through defined indices from various countries using the ISI data bank and determines Iran’s rank as compared to other countries. In 2001, Iran ranked 52nd with only 0.08% of the total shares of the nanotechnology related papers with 17 papers. Whereas in 2007, with 465 papers and holding 0.79%, it is ranked as 25th and is holding first rank among the Islamic and the Middle East countries.
The ranking of various countries based on the average annual increase in share of nanotechnology – related papers in the years 2001 – 2007 indicates that Iran has had the highest growth rate with an average of 80.2% in generating nano – science.
In addition to the number of papers, the quality of the papers produced in Iran has also improved remarkably during the same years. Evaluation of average citation per article to papers of various countries indicates that Iran’s rank has risen to 25th in the year 2006 as compared with 43rd in 2001 and is placed first among Islamic and Middle East countries.
Foreign Policy:
Peaceful coexistence, promotion of bilateral relations and extensive regional and international cooperation are seriously pursued in Iran’s foreign policy. One of the achievements made by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the arena of foreign policy has been adopting of strategic decisions for the purpose of defusing regional crisis.
Iran has established constructive and interactive relations with the most countries in the world in different continents. This country is the active member of various international and regional institutions. United Nations, Islamic Conference Organization, Non Alignment Movement, ADC, D8, Eco among the others are examples in this arena. Iran has played a significant role in regional disputes and conflicts to create stabilization.
Iran has always been against any tensions and believes to battle against every kinds of terrorism. One of the main challenges that Iran is facing today in the region and the world, is the issue of terrorism. The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long precedence of being a victim of this ominous phenomenon; which dates back to the very early days after the victory of the Islamic revolution, considering the fact that it has lost many of its authorities as well as ordinary people who were targeted by shameful violent and terrorist acts. With due regard to such a background, the country has time and again announced that it condemns terrorist acts and killing of innocent people in any of its forms; and calls for equitable and non-selective struggle against terrorism all over the world. The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that instead of selective attitudes towards this organized phenomenon, its root causes and the grounds that facilitate its growth, including poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and occupation of others’ lands, be identified and eliminated; in order that the international community can live in an environment of peace and security which is essential for advancement of all human communities.
Recently, Iran hosted two days conference, titled, the World Against Violence and Extremism (aka WAVE), that was attended Dec. 9-10 by representatives of more than 40 countries. This conference follows Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s proposal of the WAVE initiative in his first address to the UN General Assembly in September 2013.The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved Rouhani’s WAVE proposal on Dec. 18, 2013. At the opening session of the conference, Rouhani called for a regional response to the threat posed by IS terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. If countries in the region agree, they could eliminate anti-Islamic groups like Daesh [IS] and liberate thousands of innocent men, women and children who have lost their homes.
Iran is serious about combating extremism and cooperates with all countries that have fallen victim to extremism and those who are serious in fighting the terrorism. The international community and all regional players have to recognize violence and extremism as the No. 1 threat to world peace and global stability. Iranian government believes occupation, crackdown, violation of basic human rights, colonialism, hegemony, foreign invasion, poverty, injustice, backwarded-ness and sanctions as objective factors contributing to the creation of extremism and violence. Wars and armed struggles can lead to further escalation of extremism and aggression, wasting more lives, and disturbing the peace and stability of the human societies.
