Latest news with #MinistryofRoadsandUrbanDevelopment
Global News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Iran roads director brought before Canada's refugee board for deportation hearing
A former director general in Iran's roads ministry appeared before the Immigration and Refugee Board on Thursday as Canadian officials continued efforts to expel top-ranking regime members from the country. Afshin Pirnoon is one of 20 alleged senior Iranian officials caught living in Canada since Ottawa launched a crackdown against them in 2022 due to their involvement in a regime that flouts human rights and supports terrorism. The 49-year-old, who said he was working as an Uber driver, spoke through a Farsi interpreter as he faced questions about his role in the repressive Iranian government before he arrived in Canada in 2022 and filed a refugee claim. The Canada Border Services Agency has alleged that as director general of Iran's Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, Pirnoon was a high-ranking official in the service of the Islamic Republic. Story continues below advertisement He is therefore not allowed in Canada and should be deported, the CBSA has claimed. The hearing before the refugee board was to determine whether the CBSA had a reasonable case against him. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Photos on Iranian government and news websites show Pirnoon at events alongside political and religious leaders. He can also be seen attending official meetings, giving interviews and delivering speeches. Afshin Pirnoon, seen here in Iran, appeared before the Immigration and Refugee Board on Thursday. Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development A civil engineer with a master's degree, Pirnoon worked for the Iranian government for 22 years. Until 2022. he was employed by the branch of Ministry of Roads and Urban Development responsible for road safety. But he denied he had any decision-making authority or influence, and said that as a road safety expert he had saved 'so many lives.' He added that working for a government did not mean supporting it. Story continues below advertisement 'Whatever I've done in my life so far was to safeguard the human beings' life,' he said. 'And since I started to live here I tried my best to behave as a very good citizen for the Canadian society.' A decision on his case is not expected until later in the year. The Canadian government announced in 2022 that it had banned senior Iranian officials from the country and that those already here would be deported. The measure was a response to the brutal suppression of women's rights demonstrations in Tehran as well as Iran's state sponsorship of terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemeni's Houthis. Since the federal government stepped up pressure on Tehran, immigration enforcement officers have opened investigations into dozens of alleged regime officials believed to have resettled in Canada. But so far only two hearings have resulted in deportation orders, and only one former regime official has been sent back to Iran, although the CBSA has said that several others had left voluntarily.
United News of India
28-04-2025
- Climate
- United News of India
1 killed, 24 wounded in thunderstorm in Iran's capital
Tehran, Apr 28 (UNI) At least one person was killed and 24 others injured as a thunderstorm swept across the Iranian capital Tehran on Sunday evening, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Of those injured, 16 were hospitalised while the others were treated and discharged after receiving initial medical care, Tasnim quoted Tehran's emergency medical services organisation as saying. The report noted that the number of injured could rise. The thunderstorm reached wind speeds of up to 108 kilometers per hour, according to a press release from Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. UNI XINHUA ARN
The Star
27-04-2025
- Climate
- The Star
1 killed, 24 wounded in thunderstorm in Iran's capital
TEHRAN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and 24 others injured as a thunderstorm swept across the Iranian capital Tehran on Sunday evening, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Of those injured, 16 were hospitalized while the others were treated and discharged after receiving initial medical care, Tasnim quoted Tehran's emergency medical services organization as saying. The report noted that the number of injured could rise. The thunderstorm reached wind speeds of up to 108 kilometers per hour, according to a press release from Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Express Tribune
29-01-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Is Iran shifting its Capital?
Listen to article There has been news that Iran is planning to shift its capital from Tehran in the north to another, yet to be decided location, in the southern coastal region of Makran. The move is under active consideration 'apparently' for geo-economic and environmental reasons, as Tehran has no port hence no maritime trade potential being away from the Arabia Sea. Plus, an overpopulated Tehran, four times larger than the next city Mashhad, faces water and power shortages. Tehran is home to around 20% of Iran's population, reportedly consuming 25% of Iran's drinking water. Industrial pollution and heavy traffic threaten Tehran's sustainability especially in winters. Moreover, the city, generating some 30% of Iran's GDP, is perilously vulnerable to earthquakes, as it sits atop two major seismic fault lines. Tehran was established as capital by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (1742-1797), the first ruler of Qajar dynasty in the 18th Century. Iran, since 1989 in at least six studies, has considered relocating its capital to cities like Esfahan, Hamedan, Kashan, Pardis (new city), Semnan, Shiraz and Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf. The idea was also pursued during the presidency of Iran's 6th President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013). But it was shelved because of financial constraints and political considerations. Iranian Parliament (Majlis) in 2014 again mandated to explore relocation, and in May 2015, Majlis sanctioned feasibility studies under the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, which remain inconclusive and incomplete. The incumbent president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has now revived the proposal as an antidote to Tehran's cited problems. He reckons that lack of seaport at Tehran compels Iran to transport raw material from ports in the south towards north, for manufacturing in Tehran's industrial belt and then ship finished product back to the southern ports using costly land transportation. And this does not make economic sense. Iran's spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani emphasised this January that the new capital is to be 'definitely be in the south, in the Makran region' and that the matter was under active consideration, exploration and feasibility. However, on 8th January, the President's Executive Deputy, Jafar Ghaempanah, toned down the proposal dubbing it 'only an idea', clarifying that no timeline was set for such relocation. Public reaction through social media is one of deep scepticism as Makran region is arid, necessitating potential reliance on costly desalinated sea water to sustain a large city. Makran's 1,000-kilometer coastal belt extends from southeastern Iran along the Gulf of Oman to southwestern Pakistan along the Arabian Sea. Iran's Makran is roughly one-fourth of the historical region ensconced in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan province, Iran's largest but sparsely populated and least developed province. Iran's Makran coastline (around 280 km) has several small ports, including Gwatar, Jask and Sirik. Chabahar, the largest port is in one of Iran's nine Free Trade-Industrial Zones. Chahbahar lies around 180 km west of Gwadar, providing the much-touted direct transit link to the markets of Afghanistan and Central Asia. Chabahar Free Economic Zone comprises two separate old ports, namely the Shahid Beheshti and Shahid Kalantari. Chabahar has substantial cargo handling capacity. We discuss Chahbahar next week in more detail. The roughly 720 km Pakistani Makran coast in Balochistan province has Gwadar deep seaport, Jewni, Ormara and Pasni naval bases and fish harbours, besides other maritime infrastructure. Ports along the Pakistani coast are deeper and more feasible from a maritime standpoint. A new capital along Makran coast provides Iran potential advantages like availability of abundant water (from desalination), direct access to the Indian Ocean through the Persian Gulf, as well as the Strait of Hormuz through the Gulf of Oman. It provides Iran with better market access overseas, making Iranian exports more competitive. The new port city potentially enables Iran, India, Afghanistan and other countries to bypass Pakistan's CPEC and Gwadar Port. India had pledged an investment of $2 billion in 2013 to link Chabahar to Central Asia and Afghanistan by rail. Most of that infrastructure is complete along this trade corridor connecting Chahbahar-Dilaram-Zaranj and Kabul. The 'Dilaram Highway' connects with Afghanistan's 'garland road' famously called the 'ring road' that links Herat, Qandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Shareef. Some reports claim (not very precisely) that some 70% of the Afghan transit trade, initially routed through Karachi, has switched to this corridor. This rail/road corridor enables direct access to India's Fakhor and Ayni airbases in Tajikistan. New coastal city also complements India's geostrategic advantage via-a-vis Pakistan and China, by emerging as a serious player in the regional politics. Despite sanctions against Iran, the US, in November 2018, exempted certain activities through Chahbahar that supported Afghanistan's reconstruction and comprised humanitarian aid. However, a new Iranian capital on the coast would likely be on a 'geostrategic limb', open to seaborne interdiction and Pakistan's proximity. By the same analogy, a closely located capital of an ideologically-driven Iran may complicate Pakistan's sectarian landscape, enhancing Tehran's already pervasive influence. Continuing Indo-Persian bonhomie and intelligence collaboration, and the new Indo-Iran-Afghanistan nexus might have significant implications for Islamabad from geostrategic, geoeconomics and sociocultural standpoints. However, at present, relocating capital to an underdeveloped Makran region seems next to impossible, given Iran's current economic situation, the West Plus's sanctions and the effort, time and resources needed for such an undertaking. A new city needs substantial investment in infrastructure and public services. It also entails shifting Iran's cultural identity in a significant manner as Tehran has been Iran's capital for more than 200 years. Moving the 'first city' would entail significant cultural and historical shifts. However, if the cited difficulties could be controlled, a capital city on Makran coast would enhance Iran's influence in the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia. Iran has immense experience in raising, mentoring and using proxies successfully. Its bruised Middle East junket might re-surface in Central/South Asian variants. In the larger scheme of things, Iran remains a competitor to Pakistan, and an unsettling regional and global player, imbued with a sense of self-righteousness, cultural imperialism and religious dominance, in a manner akin to, and in conformity with the local version of 'manifest destiny'!
