Head of the AREPO, a subsidiary of the Iranian Agriculture Ministry Mojtaba Khayyam Nekouyi , said on Monday that food demand in Iran will reach 180 million metric tons (mt) in 2031 when the country’s population is expected to reach 103 million.

Khayyam Nekouyi said that Iran’s agriculture output is currently responsible for 80% of a total food demand of 156 million (mt) in a country of nearly 85 million people, Press TV reported.

The deputy minister of agriculture said Iran will be capable of responding to its rising food demand in the next seven years if it uses a proper management system for its water and land resources, otherwise, with the continued trend in reduction of water resources and the increasing (global) food supply problems, the country’s food security will be at risk, he emphasized.

He said that average annual precipitation in Iran had fallen from 250 millimeters to 220 millimeters, adding that dwindling water supplies and lack of management on resources could pose a major risk to Iran’s food security in the future.

However, he said Iran could increase its agricultural output to respond to its food demand and cut back on imports with more efficient farming and water management techniques.

“We have the potentials and facilities for production of basic commodities needed in the country,” said the official.

Iran has introduced measures in recent years to increase activity in its agriculture sector.

The policy has been aimed at guaranteeing food security in the country at a time it faces trade restrictions because of US sanctions.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the complex in the southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Raisi described the launch of this project as a major step towards boosting production, increasing the generation of job opportunities, and bringing fresh hope among all walks of life in society.

Homegrown equipment, engineering, design, production chain and job creation for 3,000 people are among the outstanding features of the giant project of Gachsaran Petrochemical Complex, he said, adding that operation of this project also helps prevent waste of flare gas and national wealth as well as avoid pollution of air, SHANA reported.

Raisi arrived in the provincial capital Yasouj on Monday morning as part of his second-round visits to provinces.

The ministry added in a statement that the release followed last month’s visit by Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian to the UAE, where he held consultations with high-ranking Emirati officials.

The ministry also emphasized that it will seriously continue its consular and judicial support for the Iranians abroad and pursue the fulfillment of their rights, including the prisoners, Press TV reported.

On June 22, Amirabdollahian visited the UAE, where he discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance cooperation in separate meetings with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The trip followed stops in Qatar, Kuwait and Oman amid a flurry of diplomatic moves by the Islamic Republic to improve ties with neighbors and secure the region.

Recently, 11 Iranians were released from Kuwaiti jails and seven more from Qatari prisons.

A group of visual artists in the Gaza Strip have painted a mural about Palestine’s resistance against the Zionist regime’s occupation to mark the ninth anniversary of Gaza’s epic resistance against the Zionist occupiers’ aggression during the July 2014 war, known as the ‘Operation Strong Cliff’, and commemorate the memory of the martyrs of the recent battle between the Islamic Jihad Movement and the Zionist regime’s military forces in the battle of ‘Revenge for the Free Men’.

In an interview with Tasnim, Thayer al-Tawil, director of Gaza Fine Arts Center, has expounded on the mural, saying, “This mural is divided into three sections. The main section, as you see, shows a group of fighters that commanded the battle of Revenge for the Free Men, receiving the order for the operation from the special chamber of operation of resistance. At the same time, a rocket launcher is firing rockets at the Israeli cities. This building that attracted great attention after it was targeted and several people died in it is located in Rehovot region. It was hit by the resistance’s missiles directly.”

“The last section of the mural, which is also its most important and expressive part, illustrates the jubilation of our people in the West Bank, the al-Quds city and the 1948 territories. They observe the images of this building which has been destroyed by the missiles of resistance in Gaza. It also shows the city of al-Quds in the center and embracing all Palestinians as the main symbol of the issue of Palestine,” he added.

Mohammed Abulaila, an artist living in Gaza, has talked to Tasnim about the message of this work of art in support of the Palestinian fighters and martyrs.

“Naturally, a Palestinian artist’s responsibility is to narrate a common message or one of the many messages that reveal the cruelty and repression that the occupier forces commit against every human being, every individual or every Palestinian citizen. An artist has the responsibility to try to portray the oppression and the power of resistance of its nation,” Abulaila said.

“In this mural, we have also illustrated the power of resistance and above all, the Quds battalions and resistance in Palestine. We have illustrated the power and might of resistance by creating this mural on the building that was targeted during the battle of Revenge for the Free Men and became the symbol of that battle,” he added.

In a statement on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani reacted to the reports of conflict over the Arash joint oil and gas field.

He said delegations from Iran and Kuwait, in their latest round of legal and technical negotiations held at the level of ranking directors of the foreign ministries in Tehran on March 13, discussed the Arash field and the determination of the sea boundaries.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always taken account of the issues relating to the determination of sea boundaries and exploitation of joint hydrocarbon resources by considering the mutual interests and the principle of good neighborliness with all neighbors, including Kuwait,” the spokesman added.

Kanaani stressed that the Iranian administration’s policy is based on dialogue, cooperation and engagement, noting that all bilateral issues are pursued within that framework.

Arash, aka al-Durra, is a strategically important Persian Gulf oil and gas field shared between Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia that is again in the news after Kuwaiti officials repeated their fallacious claims while denying Iran its legitimate rights.

The development of this gas field hinges on the resolution of a long-running ownership dispute between the three stakeholders, like some other oil or gas fields in the Persian Gulf region, Press TV reported.

During the meeting, Iran’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ehsan Khandouzi highlighted the policies adopted by the administration of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the development of economic relations with the Muslim countries.

“Given the high interest of the Algerian side, it was agreed that the topics of discussion would be thoroughly investigated by expert teams of the two countries by the end of the current month to increase trade and investment between the two countries,” the Iranian minister said.

Iran and Algeria enjoy high potentials and capacities especially in economic field to boost their level of cooperation optimally, he emphasized.

In the meeting, the two sides also agreed to pave suitable ways for the approval of topics of economic cooperation.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum with 21 members in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

This was confirmed by Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East and Africa, and Deputy Foreign Minister.

“As usual, representatives of observer countries will participate [in the talks]. These include Syria’s neighboring countries of Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan. Our colleagues from UN bodies are also here, namely Mr. Geir Pedersen, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Syria,” Bogdanov informed reporters.

The Astana international meeting on Syria, scheduled for June 20-21, is taking place in the Kazakh capital. The negotiations involve delegations from the guarantor countries – Russia, Iran, and Turkey – as well as representatives from the Syrian government and opposition. Observers from the United Nations, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq are also expected to attend the meeting.

CBI figures released on Monday showed that Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) had reached 15,154 trillion rials ($409.5 billion) in the year to March 20, up from 14,571.4 trillion rials reported for the year to March 2022.

The CBI uses fixed prices reported in 2016 as a baseline for its GDP calculation. The US dollar was worth an average of 37,000 against the Iranian rial over that year, much lower than a current market price of 480,000 rials.

The CBI said in a short note that growth in Iran’s manufacturing activity was responsible for a major part, around 1.4%, of the rise in the country’s GDP in the year to late March, Press TV reported.

It added that wholesale, retail, motor vehicle maintenance, transportation, petroleum and communications sectors were other best performers of the Iranian economy over the past calendar year.

Figures in the report showed that Iranian oil sector GDP had increased by 10% to 1,272.2 trillion rials in the year to late March.

The non-oil sector of the Iranian economy also expanded by 4.7% over the period compared to the previous year, it said.

Iran recorded its highest quarterly GDP growth in the quarter to late March when the GDP reached 3,596.8 trillion rials, up 5.3% from the same quarter in 2022.

Economic growth figures reported by the CBI and the Statistical Center of Iran have been verified and corroborated by major international economic institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Those institutions have admitted that Iranian government’s economic policies and the fiscal and monetary policies adopted by the CBI have enabled the country to resist the continued pressure of US sanctions.

The Iranian Center for International Cooperation of Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology of Venezuela to bolster bilateral ties.

The MoU was inked on Thursday between Venezuela’s Vice President for Science and Technology Gabriela Jimenez Ramirez and Head of International Science and Technology Interactions Cooperation Amir Hossein Mirabadi.

Setting up the Iran-Venezuela Joint Innovation and Technology Center and designing a framework of cooperation in the fields of science and technology based on equality, justice and mutual respect have been cited as the main aims of the MoU.

Easing knowledge and technology relations, launching joint research and development (R&D), market development and joint production in Venezuela, mutual cooperation in technology parks, special programs to train and strengthen national talents, growth of scientific projects, venture investments based on technology are common goals behind setting up Iran-Venezuela Innovation and Technological Center.

Communications and Information Technology (ITC), artificial intelligence and mechatronics, medicine, medical and laboratory equipment and nanotechnology, investing in knowledge-based companies, etc. are fields of cooperation between the two countries of Iran and Venezuela.

The task of the joint committee is to create the necessary organizational, legal, technical and financial conditions for the operationalization of this memorandum.

The joint committee can hold its meetings alternately in Venezuela and Iran or virtually.

The Iranian legislators on Tuesday debated the qualifications of Aliabadi as the proposed nominee to lead the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade.

Aliabadi, 62, took office with 187 votes in favor, 58 against, and 8 abstentions.

The former minister, Reza Fatemi Amin, was given a vote of no confidence in April over his performance and poor handling of the industrial development.

A ministerial nominee needs 50 percent plus one vote to win the vote of confidence from the Parliament.

In remarks in January 2022, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called on Iranian officials to work out a strategic road map to development of the country’s industries, saying the governmental organizations should only supervise and help, not interfere in, economic activities.