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Ayat. khamenei says fitr prayes sermons
tehran,feb. 9, irna -- multitudes of worshippers took part here sunday morning at eid ul-fitr prayers led by the supreme leader of islamic revolution ayatollah seyyed ali khamenei in the main prayers quarters (mossalla) in central tehran. the worshippers had prepared themselves for the prayers following sight of the new moon. the supreme leader delivered sermons at the prayer, which would follow this news.
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leader says regional states must suspect outsiders
tehran,feb. 9, irna -- the leader of the islamic revolution, ayatollah khamenei, here today led the eid ul-fitr congregational prayers at imam khomeini mossalla (the main prayers quarters of tehran) that marks the end of the fasting month of ramadhan. in his sermons to hundreds of thousands of worshippers, he referred to the political issues of the day saying that for years the enemies of the islamic revolution had endeavored to rouse fear in the persian gulf states as the result of the islamic iran so that they could sell them arms and have an excuse for their military presence in the persian gulf. he said the persian gulf states would be wiser to watch out that foreign forces might not pit the persian gulf into a choatic condition. "if this region should become insecure," he said, "the very same countries that have prepared the conditions for that insecurity will bear the brunt of their action, for having offered their soil to them (foreign troops) " "if any of these foreign powers should indulge in a lunatic act in the persian gulf and pit the region into choas because of an irrational act, the first state that will burn in the fire will be the very same state which has created the conditions for the presence in the persian gulf of that foreign power.'' ayatollah khamenei said that the islamic republic of iran did not cherish expansionist hopes and that it had not even once engaged in the least hostile act against any of her neighbors. the leader of the islamic revolution also said that the strong presence on the political scene of the muslim people of iran since the triumph of the islamic revolution had always been a crushing response to the enemies of islam. he said the massive eid ul-fitr congregaton in tehran sunday morning was unknown in other parts of the muslim world. ayatollah khamenei said that the various branches of the govenrment were consistently busy with mid-term and long-term plans for the betterment of the affairs of the state. in his first sermon ayatollah khamenei dealt on the reformational role of fasting, saying that in the islamic republic, people could develop and abide by the virtues that character pure religion-minded souls. he also warned public officials against being tempted to stumble into the pitfalls that lie before them which, he said, would stain their character and their integrity as government administrators.
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muslims perform fitr prayers around the world
tehran,feb. 9, irna -- muslims in various parts of the world took part in the eid ul-fitr's prayers held at mosques on sunday, the first day of the lunar month of shavval. muslims in ashkhabad, capital of turkmenistan, took part in the prayers held at the local al-reza mosque. in china, thousands of worshippers, among them iranians and scores of beijing-based muslim diplomats, performed their prayers at a big mosque in beijing. the prayers leader called on muslims to abide by their religious duty and maintain their islamic unity. earlier, outstanding iranian recitor of holy qu'ran dehdashti recited verses from the holy book which impressed the attendants. there are about 60 million muslims in china, mainly in western and northwestern areas of the country. meanwhile, muslims in almaty, kazakhstan, tashkent, uzbekistan, and kyrkyzstan gathered at mosques to say their prayers, which have reportedly been the biggest congregational prayers of its kind held in these republics over recent years. iranians residing in the three republics also said their prayers, celebrating the big islamic feast on the eve of the anniversay of the triumph of 1979 islamic revolution of iran.
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fitr prayerswere in qom (central province)
according to reports from qom (central province), the fitr prayerswere held at hazrat masoomah's (as) holy shrine and surrounding streets led by ayatollah mahfouzi as well as at mossalla of qom by ayatollah ali meshkini on sunday. reports from various parts of islamic iran indicated that the eid ul-fitr prayers have been held sunday moning in cities and towns across the country attended by millions of worshippers at the end of the blessed fasting month of ramadhan.
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tabriz-nakhichevan railroad commissioned
tabriz,east azarbaijan prov., feb. 9, irna -- a passenger and cargo train started its operation between tabriz in east azarbaijan province of iran and the capital of autonomous republic of nakhichevan north of iran monday on the occasion of the eid ul-fitr, the feast marking the end of the fasting month of ramadhan, while another train left nakhichevan for tabriz on the same day. the autonomous republic of nakhichevan and iran have 162 kilometers of common borders. railroad service between the two cities that were halted as the result of the crisis in karabakh in 1988 is now to be weekly on mondays.
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6th eco transport, communications expert session winds up
ashkhabad,feb. 9, irna -- the sixth session of transportation and telecommunications committee of the economic cooperation organization (eco) wound up its three-day work on saturday. participants in the session reached agreement on a 10-year program of the organization which aims at expansion of regional transportation and communications networks. moreover, agreement was reached on various subjects including improvement of mashhad- sarakhs-tajan railway, expansion of asian railway networks, construction and renovation of roads, lowerng prices of telephone charges and reconsider transportation regulations and manpower training. the participants also agreed on convention of the international transportation and communications conference in tehran within june 10-14 and on formation of the eco transportation and communications managing board at the eco secretariate office in tehran. based on an agreement signed by the experts, the priority would be given to completion and improvement of international roads among the member countries, especially in the central asian republics. the agreement is to be surveyed at the eco summit meet, which is to be held in ashkhabad in may for final endorsement. attendants at the session also agreed on the necessity of convening a separate conference in order to survey issues relevant to laying pipelines for oil and gas transfer in the eco member states. also eco energy committee experts are to take part in a two-day meeting to be held in tehran from february 22. the sixth eco session had been held here with a view to strengtening cooperation and exploring ways of expanding transportation and communications. founded by iran, turkey and pakistan, eco now includes other members including republics of azerbaijan, turkmenistan, kyrgyzstan, uzbekistan, kazakhstan, tajikistan and afghanistan.
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leader receives president, govt. officials on occasion of eid ul-fitr
tehran, feb. 9, irna -- the leader of the islamic revolution, ayatollah seyyed ali khamenei, here today received president hojatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani and a group of government officials on the occasion of the feast of eid ul-fitr that marks the end of the fasting month of ramadhan. in his speech to his visitors, the leader of the revolution expressed his pleasure with the growing religious sentiments among the masses, saying that as the result of the prevalence of religious mind in iran, the nation always voiced concerted opinion in matters of national concern. he said the enemies of the islamic republic had invested a lot on subversive plots and divisive schemes in iran which, he said, had always been foiled. ayatollah khamenei said struggle with the zionist regime is simply one basic element for the unity of the muslim world. he said as the result of their unity and their attention to divinity, the muslim people of iran would be able to undo the various knots in their society with dextrous hands.
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3 nominees win overwhelming majority of votes in isfahan to enter majlis
tehran, feb. 9, irna -- based on the votes counted in isfahan three out of 43 nominees, whose competency for running parliamentary by-elections had been approved by the guardians council, won overwhelming majority of votes, elections headquarters at the interior ministry announced here on sunday. two other nominees failed to win overwhelming majority of a total of 339,255 votes, cast on friday, and are to run for the second round of the elections. nayyereh akhavan bitaraf with 200,942, abdolrahman tajoddin khouzani with 129,963 and zahra pishgahifar with 129,894 votes in their favour managed to top the list of the nominees for entery to majlis. mostapha moeen najafabadi with 93,851, akbar parvaresh with 82,309, naser khaleqi with 79,611 and mohammad karim shahrzad with 76,387 votes followed the list and are to run for the second round of the elections.
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interior ministry announces outcome of by-elections
tehran,feb. 9, irna -- elections headquarters at the interior ministry here on sunday announced the outcome of the friday by-elections held at 15 constituencies in which 12 nominees managed to win majority of votes. at natanz (isfahan), qamsar and niyasar (isfahan), khomeyn (central prov.), ramhormoz (khouzestan), varzaqan and kharvanaq (east azarbaijan), miandoab and shahindej (west azarbaijan) and zanjan, the nominees failed to win overwhelming majorty of votes and are to run for the second round of the elections. in astara (gilan), shapour marhaba topped the list by gaining 15,124 out of 25,219 votes in his favour. at barkhar and meymeh (isfahan), hossein rowshancheraq won 30,863 out of 68,069 votes to top the list. yet in rafsanjan (kerman), seyed mohammad hosseini won 49,234 out of 103,199 votes. at fouman and shaft (gilan), naser ashouri qaleh roudkhani gained 52,308 out of a total of 93,887 votes. in malayer (hamedan), elaheh rastgoo and hassan-reza zamani won 50,132 and 41,092 out of 112,396 votes in their favour respectively. in naeen (isfahan), seyed abolfadhl razavi with 19,208 out of 29,393 votes managed to top the list of the nominees. in najafabad (isfahan), yousef davoudi with 37,083 out of 109,482 votes in his favur in the by-elections.
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jews association congratualates leader on anniversary of revolution triumph
tehran, feb. 9, irna -- the association of jews of tehran in a message cabled to supreme leader of the islamic revolution ayatollah seyyed ali khamenei on sunday congratulated him and the iranian nation on the triumph anniversary of the 1979 islamic revolution in iran. the message read that commemoration of 22nd of bahman revives the memory of the founder of the islamic republic the late imam khomeini as well as the struggles of the iranian nation aimed to get rid of the monarchial regime of shah. the association announced its readiness to contribute to the country's reconstruction and promotion in future, as it had along with the iranian nation during the revolution and the iraqi imposed war (1980-88).
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rice production triples in southern iranian province
yasuj(kohkilyeh-boyer ahmad prov.), feb. 8, irna -- rice production in the southern province of kohkiluyeh-boyer ahmad has more than tripled compared to the figures on the eve of the triumph of the islamic revolution in 1979, a local agricultural official said here on saturday. abdol-rasul arjmandi talking to irna said that the per hectare yield averages 5 tons currently compared to the 1979 figures of 1.5 tons per hectare. he said that providing necessary facilities for the cultivators and the technical knowhow were among effective factors for the increase. the province after meeting the local needs had a surplus production of 29,000 tons of rice this year, said arjmandi. orchards in the province have also increased to 6,370 hectares with an annual yield of over 60,000 tons of various kinds of fruits. after the victory of the islamic revolution 14 kinds of wheat, barley and rice were introduced by experts of the agricutural research centre in order to further increase the yield, he conculded. the main rice producing areas in iran are gilan and mazandaran provinces on the caspian sea coast.
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women during the post revolutionary period
farideh mostafavi, the daughter of late imam khomeini, the father of the islamic revolution and founder of the islamic republic of iran, who is a member of the board of academia of the fatemiyeh medical school in qom, said that "women having the opportunity to play an active role in political, economic, cultural and social fields and thereby assuming key positions in the decision-making bodies of the nation is definitely a tremendous achievement of the islamic revolution. ms. mostafavi stated that the islamic revolution has been a very important factor in propelling women to take serious interest and become more sensitive towards matters related to both domestic and international affairs. she further propounded that today women have developed analytical mind and insight in the different areas, be it social, cultural, economic, or political, adding that such a state of affairs does not merely apply to top experts and analysts of the nation, but is a national phenomenon present in all the strata of society amongst women whether in the urban areas or rural sides. she went on to say that education and work opportunities in the different fields for women during the post revolutionary period accelarated their role in the various social scenes. ms. mostafavi expressed hope that the officials would further focus on investing on women for the national advancement and facilitate their taking further active role in the different dimensions in the building of a proud nation. dh/as ms. hosseini, an expert in family affairs in the women's social and women's council said "the islamic revolution besides impelling women to take a more active role in the society, has brought a more important achievement which can be sensed in the fact that iranian women have become more conscious of their role on protection of the basis of family values." she added that "iranian families today take special interest in protecting islamic norms and values, applying the teachings of the holy quran in their daily lives in addition to paying special attention to the proper ubringing of their children." dr. hakimiyeh dabiran, a university professor said that "today women have turned their attention to education and taken such responsibilities as assistants, lecturers, professors, researchers and experts at the higher academic institutions, or taking jobs in high schools. dr hakimiyeh said that quite a large number of women specialits are engaged in the different fields and she hoped the officials would take further initiatives in training yet more women at expert level. women themselves should take interest in promoting their education at those level in order to meet the ever growing needs of the expanding society, she added. she also considered that "one of the greatest achievements of the islamic revolution has been the preservation and observance of the family and islamic codes, norms and values despite women's engagement in the different areas of society. dh/as ms. parvin shariati, the head of physical education department of baseej said that ``the islamic republic of iran is the only country which is governed according to the islamic precepts and quranic teachings." she added that "islamic iran is being adopted as a model for women's right in many of the nations in the world." ms. shariati pointed out that with the culmination of the islamic revolution, women began to take active role in the different organizations such as the baseej (mobilization or voluntary force). she went on to say that women played a decisive role in the eight years of holy defense during the iraqi aggression and today other nations have become aware that women can play vital role even in wars, by providing logisitic support. she added that other countries are also trying to adopt similar patterns in regard to the role of women. majlis deputy, ms. maryam behrouzi when questioned by irna on the achievements of the islamic revolution in relation to women, said that "the greatest achievement has been the revival of spiritual values in women, which had been burried and forgotten for centuries." ms. behrouzi who is also the general secretary of the zainab (sa) society, added that iranian women found their real status of being valued as a woman after the islamic revolution, adding that "they began to take active role in political, economic, social, and cultural areas in addition to being active in the international arena." she stated that statistics showed that more women are being graduated at different academic levels and are assuming higher decision making positions. she believed that much more has to be achieved yet. she stated that today there are women as majlis deputies, professors, experts, academicians, analysts as well as artists with touch professionalism.