The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA) is showcasing a collection of works by Iranian and Arab modern artists in an exhibition titled “The Sea Suspended. [...] features artists from around the Arab world, including Egypt, Iraq, North Africa, the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. [...] This is the first time that an exhibition of Arab art from the modern period has been showcased in Iran.

With the aim to promote China-Iran exchange and cooperation, a Chinese cultural festival opened at Niavaran Cultural Center in the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday. The one-week event, titled "2016 Experience China in Iran," features northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region through a photo exhibition and other cultural activities.

The Italian conductor of the World Youth Orchestra, Damiano Giuranna, has said that music can help the world understand peace and brotherhood much more. “We are the same family, different brothers but really the same family. This is an important result to know that brotherhood will be the winner, not the war between us,” Giuranna told the Tehran Times in an interview held at the Rudaki Hall. 

The international community could actually take a lesson out of the Iran example. [...] Even Iran’s allies such as Russia and China joined hands with the U.S. and Britain to build a global pressure regime which eventually worked in forcing Tehran to compromise. What was one of the most contentious global issues till a few years ago was settled amicably in a rare case of the triumph of public diplomacy. 

At its core, the exhibit offered a window into how Arab cultures create identity using social codes and physical structures, while also highlighting how people and artists must take care to change their behavior in certain regimented contexts. "Art is a part of Iranian culture, and in the process of researching this show..."

MAP Director Khalil Hachimi Idrissi and some other executives of the news agency and Iran’s Deputy Culture Minister for Press Affairs Hossein Entezami announced the resumption of MAP activity during the meeting in Tehran on Tuesday. “The government has special regard for the development of media activity and also for a boost for media in private sector, because it deems media diplomacy one of the pillars of the public diplomacy,” Entezami said at the meeting.

Though both sides indulged in diplomatic nice ties regarding the non-confrontational nature of the collaboration, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inviting other countries to join in developing the port, Islamabad’s precarious economy can hardly permit such participation. 

Iran used both top-down and bottom-up approach to utilize its soft power and exert influence before sanctions were lifted. The emphasis at this time was more on the bottom- up approach. But Iran’s priorities in soft power strategies have tactically shifted due to the sanctions reliefs and its application of hard power.