Free Republic

Iran's state television today said the military would launch a series of large-scale exercises on August 19. State television quoted army deputy commander General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani as saying that the upcoming maneuvers "aim at introducing Iran's new defensive doctrine."Ashtiani reportedly said the exercises would involve both ground and air forces and would go on "for an unspecified period of time." Addressing reporters at a news briefing on August 16, Ashtiani said the war games would take place in West and East Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Baluchestan va Sistan, and Khorasan provinces. Most of those peripheral provinces also have large ethnic minority...

Tehran - Police in northeastern Iran are launching a new morality drive by confiscating alluring mannequins from boutiques and clothes stalls in the bazaar, authorities in the city of Bojnourd said on Monday. A spokesperson for the city's judiciary, who asked not be named, explained that the drive would tackle problems of "public chastity". Sixty five mannequins have been impounded so far. He explained the crack-down on tailors' dummies was part of a larger offensive against anti-social behaviour such as vandalism and biker gangs. Bojnourd owes its traditional religious climate to the nearby shrine city of Mashhad, a focal point...

1/10/2005 8:14:00 AM Parthian Circular City Found in Khorasan Tehran, Jan. 10 (CHN)— Iranian archeologists have found the architectural plan of a Parthian circular city in Nehbandan castle in southern Khorasan. Nehbandan castle is one of the most important ancient cities in Iran that has signs of different historical periods. Though it hasn’t been much excavated, archeologists have found remains from Parthian (250 BC – 226 AD) to Safavid (1501 – 1722) eras. “As this site hasn’t been studied much, we began studying the structures in this historical complex 2 years ago and found out that it has a circular...