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TEHRAN Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian held a phone conversation on Friday evening with his Nicaraguan counterpart, Denis Moncada.

According to the Foreign Ministry website, the conversation focused on deepening bilateral relations and cooperation.

The Iranian foreign minister offered congratulations on the victory of Daniel Ortega and the Sandanista Front in Nicaraguas recent presidential election, stressing that Iran stands ready for expansion of cooperation between the two states.

Amir Abdollahian referred to the participation of Iranian Vice President Mohsen Rezaei in the Nicaraguan presidents swearing-in ceremony, saying his attendance in the event indicates that Iran attaches significance to the enhancement of cooperation with the Latin American states, especially Nicaragua.

The foreign minister added that Iran stands prepared to implement all the agreements reached during the Iranian vice presidents trip to Nicaragua.

The chief Iranian diplomat also invited his Nicaraguan counterpart to visit Iran.

He said political relations between the two countries are at a good level, and that he hopes the two sides can bolster economic cooperation in the near future.

For his part, the Nicaraguan foreign minister thanked Iran for congratulating their presidential elections and said it was an honor for his country that hosted the Iranian vice president during the swearing-in ceremony.

Moncada also conveyed the Nicaraguan presidents warm greetings to the Iranian nation, president and government.

The Nicaraguan minister said different agreements have been inked in various economic fields, including medicine, science, technology and industry, voicing Nicaraguas readiness to implement and advance the agreements at the earliest.

In turn, the Nicaraguan minister also invited his Iranian counterpart for a visit to his country.

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Amir Abdollahian says Iran ready to implement agreements with Nicaragua - Tehran Times

Metal singer and guitarist Nikan Khosravi knows how tough it is to have a protesting voice in Iran.

After his band Confess released their last albumIn Pursuit of Dreamsin 2015, Khosravi and bandmate Arash Ilkhaniwere jailed on charges of blasphemy and propaganda.

Now in Norway as political refugees, they're set to release a new album about the 18 months they spent inside Iran's Evin prison, and how they faced solitary confinement.

"It feels awesome to be able to put out music again after seven years," Khosravi told As It Happens host Carol Off. "It's a big relief."

Khosravi spoke with Off about the metal band's new album, Revenge At All Costs. Here is part of their conversation.

How did you find metal music in Tehran? Where did that come from?

I was in junior high school. One of my friends ... he gave me a CD and he was like, 'Go check this out. It's great music.' So when I got back home, I put this in my computer and it was like a bunch of music videos captured on satellite TV.

I was [an] 11-year-old and I was just faced with this huge, energetic and angry music. It was so fascinating. So ever since, I became a big fan.

It's one thing to actually listen to music in your home and to get access to that. But it's another thing to actually make metal music with really strong protest lyrics in it. When did you come to the point where you actually wanted to become a metal artist yourself?

I guess after following this music for a year I asked my mom to buy me [an] electric guitar. And after a couple of years when I became better [at] that, I wanted to write my own music and write my own lyrics.

It became the biggest purpose of my life to form a band and be able to share my own music with the world.

It brought the attention of the authorities on you, didn't it? Especially when you put out your In Pursuit of Dreams album in 2015. Tell us what happened then.

We were arrested by the Revolutionary Guard in November of 2015, two weeks after releasing that album. That album was specifically very focused on the political challenges in the society in Iran and criticizing the religion. We were charged with blasphemy and doing propaganda against the state in our lyrics.

After they captured us, they kept us in solitary confinement in Evin prison for three months. And then [there were] interrogations. Then they sent us to [the] public sector of Evin prison.

Altogether, we were in jail for almost a year and a half.

Eighteen months and not even knowing what would happen to you. How did you endure that?

I really don't know. I just had this hope that one day I'm gonna come out.

I remember that I used to look at this door in the solitary confinement. And I was [thinking] like, one day I got to get out of here. I don't know how, but I'm just going to keep doing this. I don't know how because I cannot be anything else. This is the love of my life, and I'm innocent.

The day that I could make bail for $80,000 and come out of jail, it was great, but I felt like even living outside of jail is not way better than inside because with all the stress that what's going to happen to me and what's going to be my trial look like.

You were just out on bail, but you weren't out in the clear, were you? You were still facing those charges. At what point did you realize that you were going to have to leave?

After the first trial. They gave us six years like they were tossing candies.

The moment I got out of the Justice Department, [which is] basically an injustice department my family [was] like, "You got to go."

And now you're a political refugee in Norway.

Yeah.

We're not saying where you are in Norway, so obviously you're still not completely safe. But you do have this album out, Revenge At All Costs. How is it being received? Are people in Iran hearing your music?

We're very happy to note this fact that we have a huge number of fans now in Iran, too, because we're getting messages on social media from them, emails that they are digging our music and they can relate to it.

One of the messages that really moved me was [from] this teenage boy He [was] like, "One day I'm going to be like you."And I was like, "Oh I don't want you to go to jail."You know? It's like a double-edged sword. You want to speak for people and at the same time you don't want them to be in danger.

But at the same time, the regime trying to punish you has given exposure to your music to another generation.

That's the biggest mistake they made. Because I literally dedicated my album to my judge and my main interrogator in jail.

It's in the physical copy. I wrote a couple of paragraphs and at the end I dedicated the album to them. Because I remember that they were like, "You're not going to see the light of day again."And now I'm here.

Written by Mehek Mazhar. Interview produced by Kate McGillivray. Q&A edited for length and clarity.

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They were jailed for their metal songs in Iran. Now they're releasing an album in Norway - CBC.ca

File photo shows famers harvesting tea in farm in the northern Iranian province of Gilan.

Iran has seen the amount of landdedicated to tea farmingexpanded by nearly a half in the past eight years, according to an official from the countrys agriculture ministry who says tea production will increase in Iran in the upcoming years with more government support and investment.

President of the Tea Organization of Iran Habib Jahansaz said on Saturday that tea cultivation area in the country had expanded to 22,000 hectares from around 15,000 hectares reported in 2013.

Jahansaz said that the expansion in tea faming had been made possible through providing cheap loans to farmers in the northern province of Gilan where a bulk of Irans tea production comes from.

He said special funds were earmarked to revive more tea farms in Gilan during a recent trip by President Ebrahim Raeisi to the province.

During his visit, Raeisi hailed the special flavor of the tea produced in Gilan and said that his government is intent on providing more investment to support tea farming and processing facilities in the region.

If someone drinks Gilan tea hell never use another tea variety, said Raeisi in a speech to local officials and entrepreneurs.

Iran produced 31,000 metric tons of tea over the calendar year to March 2021, up 4% against the previous year.

The government spent over $27 million to buy 137,000 tons of tea leaves from farmers in Gilan and elsewhere over the same period.

However, the domestic output is responsible for less than a third of tea demand in Iran as the country continues to rely on shipments from India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere to fill the gap.

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Iran says tea cultivation area expanded by a half in 8 years - Press TV

LAHORE : Iran-Pakistan Tourism Promotion and Investment Opportunities Session was organised by Khana Farhang Iran-Lahore here on Saturday.

The session was held under the supervision of Director General, Khana Farhang Iran-Lahore, Jafar Ronas. Mohammad Reza Nazeri, Consulate General Iran-Lahore, heads and members of motorcyclist clubs of Lahore and members of business community were present.

Addressing the session, Jafar Ronas said: Iran has become one of the most attractive countries for tourism and investors. Trade relations between Pakistan and Iran can be closer than any other country. Iran is still the cheapest country in the world where all basic necessities of life are affordable as compare to other countries and fuel prices are really low, he added.

He said, There are vast bilateral trade and investment opportunities for the two countries and traders of both sides should take advantage of it. I invite the Pakistani businessmen to trade with Iran and we will provide them all facilities.

Iranian Consul General Mohammad Reza Nazeri, Mukarram Tareen, Omar Ch, Brig (retd) Fazal, Mansoor Khan, Saad Mahmood Khan and Bilal Ahmad addressed the session.

At the beginning of this session a warm welcome was given to the bikers who recently returned from Iran after completing their 32-day Pakistan-Iran Friendship Bikers Rally. Sixty-five motorcyclists under the leadership of Mukkaram Tareen, chairperson of Cross-Route

Motorcycle Travellers Club, were welcomed by DG Khana Farhang Iran-Lahore.

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Pak traders invited to invest in Iran - The News International

Canada will not rest until Iran is held accountable for the downing of a passenger jet by Iranian forces two years ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asserted on Saturday even as family members of those who died in the crash insist more urgent action is necessary.

I promise you we will always continue fighting for the accountability, transparency and justice you deserve, Trudeau said at a memorial for victims of the tragedy, which saw Irans military fire two missiles against a Ukrainian International Airlines flight on Jan. 8, 2020.

Speaking by video, Trudeau attributed the disaster to recklessness and complete disregard for human life of Iranian officials we cannot allow that to stand.

More than 100 of the 176 people killed in the plane crash had ties to Canada, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.

At the partly virtual commemoration in Torontos north end, a group representing family members expressed anger and exasperation at Irans intransigence and the glacial pace of accountability.

Our patience is exhausted. Today is the day when diplomacy ends and justice begins, said Hamed Esmaeilion, who heads the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims.

The group is demanding that the case go before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) a United Nations agency based in Montreal and that the RCMP launch a criminal investigation.

It is also calling for arrest warrants and forma government sanctions against senior Iranian political and military leaders, and for the designation of Irans Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.

The regime snubbed another deadline earlier this week set by Canada and its allies to negotiate a settlement for the families.

We keep writing polite letters, one after another, Esmaeilion said of Ottawa.

We will not relent with an empty, shallow apology and political gamesmanship We shall never forget, nor shall we ever forgive.

Titled the open wound in the sky, the Saturday ceremony included speeches by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Toronto Mayor John Tory and three federal cabinet ministers.

The afternoon memorial saw mothers recite victims names, at times tearfully, and included video montages showcasing loved ones, children among them, directly addressing the deceased.

The two-and-a-half- hour event was to be followed by an outdoor vigil.

The federal Conservatives called on the Liberal government to impose sanctions on Iranian officials following a lack of co-operation from the regime.

Those responsible for this attack must be held to account and the Liberal government has a responsibility to assist the victims families in seeking justice, MPs Michael Chong, James Bezan and Melissa Lantsman said in a statement.

Irans refusal to negotiate compensation for the victims makes it clear the Liberal government must use every tool available domestically and internationally.

The Conservatives are also demanding the government launch discussions with the ICAO to limit Irans ability to operate commercial aircraft in international airspace until they agree to abide by international norms in the investigation.

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

Flight 752 crash in Iran

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