TEHRAN (Iran News) The delegation, led by Khorasan Razavi Governor Gholamhossein Mozaffari and Mohammadreza Tavakolizadeh, president of the Mashhad Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture, aimed to bolster economic relations, explore joint investment opportunities, and expand private-sector interactions between the two nations.

The visit, which kicked off in Samarkand, included a packed agenda of business negotiations, B2B meetings, and strategic discussions with economic officials and stakeholders in Samarkand and Bukhara. A key highlight of the trip was the signing of two memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the governors of Khorasan Razavi and Samarkand, as well as the presidents of the chambers of commerce of both provinces.

The MoUs, formalized during a joint trade forum, focus on boosting trade volumes and promoting joint investments in industries such as agriculture, mining, tourism, and transportation. They also outline plans for infrastructure and logistics projects to streamline trade, explore export and co-production opportunities in industrial and agricultural goods, and establish joint working groups to oversee the agreements’ implementation. These agreements mark the beginning of a new chapter in economic collaboration between the two regions.

Tavakolizadeh emphasized the pivotal role of the private sector in deepening Iran-Uzbekistan trade ties. “We believe cooperation between Khorasan Razavi and Samarkand must be practical and results-driven,” he said. He highlighted the province’s strengths in agriculture, mineral industries, energy, and IT, paired with its strategic location, as key assets for fostering effective partnerships with Uzbekistan. Samarkand’s historical and economic significance along the Silk Road further positions it as a vital long-term investment partner.

Beyond the MoUs, both sides committed to forming specialized task forces to ensure the agreements translate into tangible outcomes. Tavakolizadeh noted opportunities for technology transfers and joint production, particularly in mining and industrial manufacturing, leveraging Samarkand and Bukhara’s industrial potential alongside Khorasan Razavi’s resources. Improved transportation links were also a priority, with discussions on optimizing transit routes and a proposal for direct flights between Mashhad and Samarkand to boost tourism and trade.

Tourism emerged as another focal point, with both Mashhad and Samarkand recognized as historic and cultural hubs. Tavakolizadeh proposed joint tourism routes, visa facilitation, and combined travel packages to enhance cultural and commercial exchanges. Governor Mozaffari echoed the need for stronger economic ties, stressing that current trade levels fall short of the regions’ potential and urging more robust steps toward industrial and commercial growth.

Samarkand’s Deputy Governor Shenkur Khodayberdiyev underscored the need to activate untapped economic potential between Iran and Uzbekistan, advocating for targeted trade policies to elevate bilateral commerce. Meanwhile, Iran’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Mohammadali Eskandari, invited Samarkand and Bukhara business leaders to Iran’s Expo 2025 in May, highlighting the absence of barriers to industrial and trade cooperation and the deep historical ties binding the two nations.

This visit and the resulting agreements signal a renewed commitment to transforming shared heritage into modern economic prosperity for Iran and Uzbekistan.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) The visit included tours of the Carpet Museum, Central Museum, museum of the gifts donated by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, and Museum of Master Farshchian’s works.

The group also got familiar with the activities of AQR’s Library, Museums, and Documents Organization and the Office for Non-Iranian Pilgrims Affairs.

The head of the UNHCR office in Mashhad expressed intentions to donate works in Nepali language and coins to the museum of Imam Reza shrine.

“I’m greatly impressed by the organization of things, guidance provided by the museums’ guides, and the books available in the library, along with the people studying there”, Bataray stated.

He further praised the hospitality of AQR and requested that the books in the shrine’s library be translated into English so that foreign guests could benefit from them.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) The airline said on Saturday that flights between Mashhad and Dammam would increase to four per week to boost economic, political, and tourism interactions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

It comes just a week after flights between the two cities were resumed after a nine-year hiatus.

According to the new schedule, flights on the Mashhad-Dammam route will be operated every Tuesday and Thursday.

Dammam, the capital of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, is home to a large community of Shia Muslims.

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Mohammad Beheshti Monfared, director of the Iranian Foreign Ministry representative office in Khorasan Razavi, said on Sunday that the temporary headquarters for the mission was a hotel in the shrine city of Mashhad.

He stated that Saudi Arabia’s consulate general in Mashhad declared the restart of operations on August 13 in a formal note delivered to the representative office.

The Saudi embassy in Tehran has also formally started operations, in response to Tehran’s re-opening of its embassy in Riyadh in June.

Alireza Enayati, a seasoned diplomat, was named Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia in May.

In June, Tehran also reopened its embassies in Riyadh and Jeddah.

On March 10, seven years after official relations were cut, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties and reopen embassies following several days of strenuous discussions hosted by China. Prior to the March 10 agreement, Iran and Saudi Arabia had held five rounds of talks hosted by Iraq.

Following the agreement, Tehran and Riyadh issued a joint statement emphasizing the need to respect one another’s national sovereignty and refrain from meddling in one another’s internal affairs.

They also agreed to implement an agreement reached in May 1998 to increase economic, commercial, investment, technological, scientific, cultural, sports, and youth affairs cooperation as well as a security interaction agreement inked in April 2001.

In June, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported that Saudi Arabia is mulling a plan to connect its railway to Iran.

In a report, the Al-Jarida newspaper quoted a source close to the Saudi government as saying that Riyadh will examine plans to connect its territory to Iran’s railway through Kuwait and Basra in Iraq.

The source had spoken to a senior journalist working for the French newspaper Le Figaro and had cited information given by Saudi authorities during a recent Saudi-French investment forum in France.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan met in the Iranian capital on June 17, nearly three months after Tehran and Riyadh decided to rebuild their ties.

In his meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the same date, the Saudi foreign minister welcomed the thaw in Tehran-Riyadh relations and said, “We are in a golden stage that we should appreciate, and cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran provides the opportunity to benefit from these conditions for the two sides and the region.”

Prince Faisal also said the Saudi king has ordered the formation of various working groups to boost relations with Iran.

He underlined Saudi Arabia’s efforts to upgrade relations with Iran to a strategic level.

“Economic, development and cultural cooperation is on the agenda of Tehran and Riyadh,” he said.

On July 21, the Iranian Ambassador to Iraq, Mohammad Kazem Al Sadeq, hailed the Iran-Saudi deal as “strategic,” saying that the region needs stability.

The Iranian ambassador made the remarks in a meeting with his Saudi counterpart in Baghdad hosted by the Iraqi Foundation of Foreign Policies. The meeting was also attended by a number of Iraqi politicians.

In the meeting, the ambassadors of Iran and Saudi Arabia emphasized the seriousness of the two countries in implementing the Tehran-Riyadh agreement and helping to reduce tension in the region, according to IRNA.

The Iranian ambassador appreciated Iraq as the main actor in the agreement between Tehran and Riyadh and emphasized that Iraq has become an important gate to bring closer the views of Iran and Arab countries.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Chairman of City Council of Mashhad says the economic and financial achievements of Mashhad Municipality have been unique in this term and its revenues grew by 120 percent  in 1398, last Iranian calendar year, which was around 13,390b tomans.

Speaking at a video-press conference on the occasion of City Councils Week yesterday, Mr. Mohammad Reza Heydari said that Mashhad Municipality had a brilliant performance in terms of financial matters last year and it could materialize earning cash revenues as schedule. He said that the city’s cash revenues grew by 156 percent in year 1397 and it enjoyed 120 percent growth in 1398 (last Iranian calendar year) which is a unique record in the history of performance of municipalities in the country.

He added that this achievement shows the endeavors of all bodies in the municipality and city council, adding that some of the cash revenues have been materialized through collecting the debts or bartering the debts of the municipality.

Heydari noted that this achievement indicates that the city has enough dynamism and capability to provide its costs while today, one of the major concerns and challenges of municipalities in the country is in the financial field.

He reiterated that the achievement comes at the time when most municipalities in the country had faced problem in paying salaries of their forces while Mashhad Municipality granted one-million-toman bonuses to its workers and staff after the approval of the city council.

Heydari further said that when the economic section of the municipality is strong, it will give this opportunity to the municipality for offering more financial supports to its staff.

He said in 1396, the municipality only materialized 82 percent of its economic budget and in 1398 it hit 90 percent, adding that if the city can convince the Planning and Budget Organization, the figure will hit 120 percent in 1398.

Heydari also said that the council earmarked special supportive budget for the Coronavirus era and the budget worth 27b tomans which will be spent for providing food packages for the staff.

He reiterated that the life and progress of the city all relies directly on the economic power of the municipality and urges all organs and institutions to help the municipality to materialize its goals which is to develop the city.

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IRAN (Iran News) – Italian Ambassador to Iran Giuseppe Perrone met and held talks with the mayor of Mashhad, Mohammad Reza Kalaei, on Wednesday, about Mashhad urban development.

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The band aimed to transfer the illicit drugs to Bandar Imam Khomeini, south of Iran and then transfer the cargo to turkey by plane, he added.

According to the commander, the forces seized the smugglers’ vehicle at the entrance to Bandar Abbas and discovered 18 packs of narcotics which were hidden in the wall of an industrial water heater.

The Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trades originating from Afghanistan in the past four decades, despite its high economic and human costs. The country has spent more than hundreds of millions of dollars on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.

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There are also regular bus services on the routes of Mashhad to Afghanistan’s Herat, Mashhad to Pakistan and Mashhad to Iraq , he added.

A MoU has recently been signed between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan to launch a regular passenger bus service, Mohammadi mentioned.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, Turkey was the most popular overseas destination for Iranian travelers in 2018, accounting for 41% of all visits abroad.

Turkey’s largest city Istanbul, the eastern province of Van and the southern province of Antalya are the most popular destinations for Iranian vacationers.

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Ferdowsi spend thirty years of his life writing this masterpiece which is firmly believed that it was because of this work that Farsi language was saved from demise and oblivion.

This is why the Iranians have named Ferdowsi the savior of Farsi language. His tomb is inside a vast garden located on the northwest of Toos city at the end of Shaah’nameh Boulevard.

The tomb edifice is inspired by the tomb of Cyrus the great and is cubic in shape some of whose profiles show inscriptions of Ferdowsi’s poems taken the book of kings.

Beside the tomb of Ferdowsi, there is a vast pool at the end of which there is the statue of this great epic poet welcoming the visitors. On the northwest of the tomb territory, there is the burial site of another great Iranian contemporary poet, that is, Mehdi Akhavan sales.

 Among other spectacular aspects of the tomb are Ferdowsi museum in which cultural and historical items are being kept such as pre-historical stone-made items, various types and versions of the book of kings, and a number of paintings portraying scenes adopted from this masterpiece.

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