Iran launches first-ever matchmaking site

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran launched its first official matchmaking website on Monday in a bid to encourage millions of singles to marry, officials said, insisting it is not a dating service.

"We have high demand for marriage and 11 million bachelors who are increasing every day," Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mahmoud Golzari said in a ceremony launching the site. "This is a significant issue for the ruling system," he added.

The website, Hamsan.Tebyan.net, provides a platform for singles to post their profiles and specify what they are looking for in a potential spouse. A board of mediators matches applicants after reviewing their age, education, wealth and family background.

Golzari insisted the website is not for dating.

"The matchmaking website you are seeing today is not a website for introducing boys and girls to each other," he said. He added that he hoped the website would serve as a model for other Muslim countries.

After several years of successful policies aimed at curbing population growth, Iran, with a population of 80 million, has begun encouraging young people to marry and have more children. The government fears that an aging population could one day overwhelm its social programs.

Iran has stopped providing free contraception and funding vasectomies, while state-sanctioned sermons have encouraged larger families. The government is also considering funding low-interest loans for new couples and providing cash payments to new parents.

Under the Islamic republic's constitution, the government is obliged to facilitate marriage and the formation of new families as well as protecting existing ones.

The traditional role of Iranian families and local matchmakers in arranging marriages has declined in recent years, and the country has some 350 private matchmaking sites.