TEHRAN (Iran News) Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), made the remarks on the sidelines of the cabinet session in Tehran on Wednesday. “IAEA”

Iran has started feeding gas into several thousands of modern centrifuges to put them in operation, Eslami said, stressing that the move is in line with the development of Iran’s nuclear program to ensure the sustainability of its outcomes in the lives of its citizens.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has always demonstrated that it is willing to engage in interaction; meanwhile, the country will not forfeit its rights in the face of pressure, illegitimate behavior, and bullying, the AEOI head said.

“Iran’s nuclear program is fully transparent and for peaceful purposes,” he said, adding that if unilateral pressure is exerted on Tehran through baseless accusations, it will not receive the proper response.

He continued, “We have had no activities beyond the frameworks.”

Iran does not pursue a military nuclear program, and this has been repeatedly confirmed by the US intelligence community, Eslami said, criticizing the anti-Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) parties for not being faithful to their promises.

The US, which was part of the agreement, unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018 and imposed severe sanctions on Iran.

“Iran’s nuclear program is fully transparent and for peaceful purposes,” he said, adding that if unilateral pressure is exerted on Tehran through baseless accusations, it will not receive the proper response.

He continued, “We have had no activities beyond the frameworks.”

Iran does not pursue a military nuclear program, and this has been repeatedly confirmed by the US intelligence community, Eslami said, criticizing the anti-Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) parties for not being faithful to their promises.

The US, which was part of the agreement, unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018 and imposed severe sanctions on Iran.

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Eslami was born in 1956 in Isfahan. He got his BS in civil engineering from Detroit University in 1979 and master’s degree in the same field from Ohio University in 1981. He also got MBA in global aviation management from the University of Sharif and Royal Rhodes University in 2004.

He was also confirmed as housing and transport minister by the parliament in the autumn of 2018 after nomination by President Hassan Rouhani. Eslami became minister after Abbas Akhondi resigned his post. Eslami kept the job until the end of Rouhani’s presidency.

Eslami also served as the managing director of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company and deputy chief of  Aerospace Industries Organization among other top managerial posts.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Minister of Transport and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami says the capacity of rail lines in the country during the current government’s term has increased by 40 percent, adding that the capacity of rail lines would be increased by 60 percent comparing to the past by the end of this government in mid-2021.

Speaking in the inaugural ceremony of exhibition on self-sufficiency in rail industry, Eslami said that an important action has been taken and all rail companies and manufacturers have been encouraged to use the domestic capacity and in these days while Coronavirus has gripped the country, the country witnesses  joining new railways to the railway fleet.

Eslami said that over 1200 wagons and locomotives have been domestically or renovated, and joined the fleet.

Pointing to the national rail, he said that production of domestic –made rail was materialized last year and today, the talks between related bodies for getting more rails are underway.

Eslami said that in the current economic condition and while the country is in economic war, all should take advantage of domestic capacities.

He reiterated that the policy of the country is to expand rail system and soon five provinces will be connected by the railway network.

Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Ardebil, Kurdestan, and part of Northern Khorasan will enjoy railways and north to the south corridor which is the biggest project at the moment aiming at increasing the share of the railway in transferring cargo and passengers, he noted.

Meanwhile in the ceremony Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI) Saeed Rasouli said by completing rail infrastructures like Khaf-Herat railway, Iran would be able to access transit markets with over 35 million tons of annual capacity.

Rasouli underlined Iran’s geopolitical and strategic position which has turned the country into a vital gateway for regional and international trade and said: “We must make the most of this position and these capacities.”

We only have the capacity to transit 18 million tons of goods in the region, a large part of which is transported through sea, he said, adding: “With the development of rail infrastructure, including the Khaf-Herat, Chabahar-Zahedan and Shalamcheh-Basra railway projects, we will access a market of 35 million tons in the region and we must step up our efforts to increase the share of rail transportation in transit.”

“The Khaf-Herat line has a transit potential of nearly two million tons; with the expansion of the rail network in Afghanistan, this capacity will definitely increase exponentially and we can reach much larger markets,” Rasouli said.

Khaf-Herat is part of the Iran-Afghanistan rail corridor. The project started in the fiscal year of 2007-2008, connects Iran’s eastern city of Khaf to Afghanistan’s western city of Ghoryan.

Iran has been following new strategies for increasing the share of transit in its foreign trade basket and the country’s railway network has become the center of the government plans for achieving the said goal.

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He further described that in case of any problems with decoding the black box, required decisions will be made to ask the other involved sides for help.

“The black box is an inseparable item of the incident and since the crash has taken place in Iran, according to Annex 13 of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Iran Civil Aviation Organization is in charge of investigations,” he said.

“A delegation has also traveled to Ukraine to study the documents of the airplane,” he added.

Informing about his recent trip to Ukraine, Eslami said he has conveyed condolences of Iranian President to the Ukrainian President and nation, while the other side expressed gratitude for Iran’s cooperation on the issue.

Heading an Iranian delegation, Eslami traveled to Kyiv on Monday to meet and hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko on the unintentional downing of the Ukrainian plane

In a phone conversation on Thursday evening, Iranian and Ukrainian foreign ministers discussed the latest situation about the unintentionally-downed Ukrainian airplane.

During the phone talk, Mohammad Javad Zarif voiced Iran’s readiness for handing over the bodies of Ukrainian nationals of Ukraine’s 737 plane victims and allowing that country’s experts to be involved in examining the black box.

Iran has urged all parties involved, including American multinational aviation corporation Boeing, to contribute to a probe into a Ukrainian plane crash near the capital Tehran that killed all 176 people aboard on January 8.

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Elsewhere in his remarks, the Roads minister shed light on the three main topics in a joint meeting of five members of Caspian Sea littoral states and added, that in this quintuple meeting, transport and economy ministers of participating countries exchanged their views on the relevant issues.

Expansion of trade exchanges and economic cooperation were put atop agenda of the meeting, Eslami highlighted.

Eslami assessed talks held in the field of maritime transport ‘positive and constructive’ and added. “with the coordination made in this regard, it was agreed that tourist passenger ships will be launched between ports of the Caspian Sea.”

He then pointed to the talks held in the field of road transport and added, “electronic issuance of waybill was exchanged between participating countries including Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan and Russia.”

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The MOU is on standardization of ports, roads, trade chambers, etc. and is to guarantee continuous common cooperation, to unify the utilized procedures of accreditation and to develop present mutual ties.

As reported, the general roadmap of the commission was also signed during the same event between the Iranian and Bulgarian attending delegations.

Eslami, leading a delegation, left Tehran for Sofia on Wednesday to participate at the said two-day commission on April 18-19.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s Cabinet approved a draft MOU on economic cooperation with Iran as a basis for negotiations last Wednesday to specify the prospective areas of bilateral cooperation and the measures that both countries will take to expand and intensify economic cooperation.

On February 1, Bulgarian foreign minister voiced her country’s support for the EU’s trade mechanism aimed at facilitating trade with Iran in the face of US sanctions, saying the mechanism could strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

In early March, in a meeting between the visiting deputy parliament speaker of Bulgaria and Chairman of National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iranian Parliament, the two sides discussed expansion of parliamentary ties.

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 The First International Conference on the Development of Chabahar Port kicked off in Chabahar Port on Tuesday morning.

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