Historic high-rise building in Tehran collapses, kills at least 30 firefighters

A 17-storey Plasco building, a historic high-rise in the heart of Tehran caught fire and later collapsed killing at least 30 firefighters. The disaster was inadvertently shown live on state television and happened in spite of the authorities repeatedly warning the tenants about blocking stairwells with fabric from cramped garment workshops located on its upper floors.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 20 January 2017.

It was not clear how many people were in the steel-and-concrete building at the time of the incident. The fire appeared to be the most intense on the upper floors - it was the location of workshops where tailors cooked for themselves and used old kerosene heaters for warmth.
President Hassan Rouhani has ordered his Interior Minister to investigate the disaster.
The Plasco building was one of the first high-rise to come up against the backdrop of Mount Damavand. It was started in 1962 and was the first privately owned tower to be built during the era of the US-backed shah, when oil money fueled the capital's rapid development. The tower was the tallest in Tehran at that time and was just north of the sprawling Grand Bazaar. It got its name from the plastics manufacturing company that was owned by its builder who was an Iranian Jewish businessman.


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Iran attracting tourists and becoming a favorite tourist destination

Iran used to be, till recently, being considered out of bounds due to political pressure but, it is now emerging as a favorite destination for tourists. New direct flights from London and Paris to Tehran, coupled with the country's fascinating history and affordability, are positioning Iran as one of the hottest destinations to visit in 2017.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 15 September 2016.

British Airways launch direct flights from London to Tehran earlier this month after Air France relaunched its service in April and other airlines are expected to follow with direct flights. The competition could help to lower prices.
Of course, those traveling to Iran have to take care not to travel completely to border areas with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. As far as New Zealand is concerned, there is no direct flights to Tehran and passengers would have to change to other flights in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha.
The UK has relaxed its travel advisories, lifted sanctions and reopened its Iranian embassy in London and, consequently, more number of Britons are traveling to Iran.


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British Airways resumes flights to Tehran after four years

With the lifting of sanctions against Iran after four years, direct flights to the country has been resumed by British Airways. The airline has described Tehran as "an important destination" and it will operate six return flights per week between London Heathrow and the Iranian capital of Tehran. This could increase to a daily service later this year.
It may be recalled that the service had been suspended in October 2012 due to instability in the Middle Eastern country.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 1 September 2016.

Sanctions had been imposed on Iran because of its involvement in the field of nuclear related activities and, in January, the sanctions were lifted after the international nuclear watchdog confirmed that the Tehran government had met all its obligations under a deal with six world powers.
The first BA flight to Iran will be a Boeing 777 that will take off from Heathrow on Thursday at 9.10pm. It had been expected that flights would resume in July, but it was delayed while the route was established. Air France had resumed flights between Paris and Tehran in April after an eight year hiatus.


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Nuclear deal between Iran and world powers to be ratified in Vienna

At long last, six major powers have reached an agreement with Iran on the country's nuclear program. Tehran has been granted relief in sanctions that had been imposed on it to curb its nuclear program.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 14 July 2015.

All associated foreign ministers of Iran and the six powers, that include ministers from Britain and the US, are scheduled to get together at 9.30am UK time in Vienna to ratify the deal which has taken months to finalize.
Subsequently, they are expected to hold a press conference in the Austrian capital at which the details will be released.
The deal has also been confirmed by a Western diplomat to a section of the media.
The six countries are Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
From available information it appears Iran will reserve the right of nuclear police to visit nuclear sites in Iran – fist permission would have to be obtained for any planned visit. Surprise visits will not be allowed.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a long-standing critic of the talks and he has said that the deal would be a bad mistake of historic proportions.
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Iranian women have tickets but cannot watch volleyball match in Tehran

The Iranian Volleyball Federation had provided special accreditation to 200 handpicked women to watch a volleyball match between Iran and the United States in Tehran but, the women were not permitted to enter the stadium. It was a Volleyball World League match.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 20 June 2015.

The tickets had been reserved for "family members of players, supporters of the visiting team and executive officials" but, the accreditations had not been validated by security services at the arena. As a result, the women could not enter.
Iran had introduced rules after the 1979 revolution prohibiting women from gaining access to stadiums.. The official reason was to protect them from obscene behavior of the male fans. But, President Hassan Rouhani's government has been trying to relax the rules in spite of opposition from religious conservatives.
Quite recently, some women were allowed to watch a male basketball match in Tehran – they had to sit in a cordoned-off section of a venue.
Incidentally, Iran won the match 3 sets to 1 and, there are reports that there were some women present inside the arena, including female referees.
The international volleyball federation FIVB, had in November last, indicated that it would not allow Iran to host international events so long as women are banned from attending games. This announcement was a fallout of the jailing of British-Iranian Goncheh Ghavami – she had been arrested after she tried to attend a volleyball match last year.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Iranians hang Obama’s effigy from gallows even as Kerry pursues nuclear deal with Iran

#IranNuclearDeal #IslamicRevolution #sanctions #Tehran The U.S. and Iran have been trying to reach a final nuclear agreement on a nuclear deal by a March 31 deadline against a backdrop of ongoing anti-American hatred in the Islamic republic but, the ground reality shows that there is no love lost between the US and Iran.
It has been reported in foxnews.com dated 25 February 2015 that Iranians had shown an effigy of President Barack Obama hanging from the gallows at a huge Tehran-sponsored rally held to mark the Islamic Revolution’s 36th anniversary. US Secretary of State John Kerry has been depicted as a devious fox.
It seems hundreds of thousands of Iranians took part in the Feb. 11 Revolution Day. This day commemorates the 1979 overthrow of the U.S.-assisted Shah of Iran and the Iranians, as they have in past, chanted, “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” and also burned and trampled an American flag.
The bone of contention is Iran’s nuclear ambitions – while the U.S. and other superpowers want to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, Iran continues to justify its stand by insisting that its nuclear intentions are peaceful. The U.S. and the other superpowers have been trying to work out a deal with Iran so that Iran’s nuclear program is put on hold and, in exchange, the U.S. would lift billions of dollars in sanctions that have damaged Iran’s economy. However, nothing seems to be happening.