Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani presented a draft state budget of about $39 billion to parliament on Sunday, saying it was designed to resist U.S. sanctions by limiting dependence on oil exports, which Washington has targeted. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a multilateral nuclear deal with …

The timing of the announcement suggested an urgent scramble to fill a budget gap caused partly by severe American sanctions. Angry protests over the price increases soon followed. Filling a car at a gas station in Tehran on Friday after the government abruptly raised prices on fuel.Credit…Vahid Iran abruptly raised …

United States Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein on Saturday pressed Gulf Arab states to reconcile differences and unify military capabilities as tensions with Iran simmer. Washington sees an ongoing dispute that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf state Egypt have with Qatar as a threat …

Iran is not calling for the elimination of Jewish people, but it thinks people of all religions should decide Israel’s future, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday in a speech posted on his official website. “Calling for the elimination of the state of Israel does not mean …

Iran has discovered a new oilfield in the southwest of the country that has the potential to boost its reserves by about a third, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday. “Workers and the exploration arm of the National Iranian Oil Company …have found an oilfield with 53 billion barrels of …

Iran should come to the negotiating table with world powers and Gulf countries to seek a new deal that would deescalate regional tensions and revive its economy, a senior United Arab Emirates official said on Sunday. Tensions in the Gulf have risen since attacks on oil tankers in a vital …

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Iran’s latest move to scale back its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal did not pose a threat to the non-proliferation regime, Interfax news agency reported. Iran said on Thursday it had resumed uranium enrichment at its underground Fordow nuclear plant, stepping further …

A semi-official Iranian website reported on Friday that Iran had shot down a drone over its southern port city of Mahshahr, without providing further details. The Iran Front Page website did not say whether it was a military or civilian drone. Iranian officials were not available to comment. The Young …

The European Union and United States expressed concern on Thursday over Iran’s holding of an inspector from the U.N. nuclear watchdog last week, with the U.S. envoy to the agency calling it an “outrageous provocation” that must have consequences. Reuters first reported on Wednesday that Iran had briefly held the …

U.N. nuclear inspectors are on the ground in Iran and will report back on relevant activities, an International Atomic Energy Agency spokesman said on Wednesday after Iran said it injected uranium gas into centrifuges at its Fordow site. “We are aware of the media reports today related to Fordow. Agency …

Iran said on Monday it would take another step away from the 2015 nuclear deal by developing centrifuges to speed up its uranium enrichment, its nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said. “Today, we are witnessing the launch of the array of 30 IR-6 centrifuges,” Salehi, who heads Iran’s Atomic Energy …

Three protesters were shot dead by Iraqi security forces who opened fire on a crowd trying to storm the Iranian consulate in the Shi’ite Muslim holy city of Kerbala overnight, security and medical sources said on Monday. The incident was the latest sign of anti-Iranian anger that has emerged during …

Thousands of Iranians chanted “Death to America” near the old U.S. embassy on Monday, the 40th anniversary on the seizure of the mission and a day after Iran’s supreme leader vowed it would not lift a ban on talks with the United States. State television showed crowds packing the streets …

By Khawla Hassan – Iran signed a preliminary agreement with Syria on Saturday to help rebuild its ally’s electricity grid, Iranian state media reported. A memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries’ electricity ministers in Tehran covered the construction of power plants, transmission lines, cutting losses in Syria’s electricity …

Saudi Arabia has freed 19 Iranian fishermen detained 10 months ago by the kingdom’s coastguard, an Iranian official was quoted as saying on Thursday, following talks between the two regional rivals. The crews of two separate fishing boats had been captured when “bad weather forced the boats into Saudi Arabia’s …

Iran has spent $16 billion on its “militias” in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV on Thursday. He did not give more details on the militias or say when Iran had spent the money. Source: Reuters

The United States plans to allow Russian, Chinese and European companies to continue work at Iranian nuclear facilities to make it harder for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The Trump administration, which last year pulled out of the 2015 Iran …

Iran said on Sunday the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will not mean the end of the group and its ideology, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei tweeted. “The killing of Baghdadi will not end Daesh (the Islamic State) and its ideology … which was created and flourished …

Iran was informed by sources in Syria that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed, two Iranian officials told Reuters on Sunday. “Iran was informed about Baghdadi’s death by Syrian officials who got it from the field,” one of the officials said. The second Iranian official confirmed it. Source: …

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, with tensions simmering between the United States and Iran, and Russia seeking to increase its regional influence. Esper is likely to meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his first trip to the key Middle East …

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo underscored U.S.-Israeli efforts to counter Iran in talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, in an apparent attempt to ease concerns in Israel that Tehran could exploit a U.S. military pullback in Syria. Pompeo and Netanyahu met in Jerusalem hours after Turkey agreed with …

Japan has decided to dispatch its own self-defense troops to the Strait of Hormuz area instead of joining the U.S.-coalition to protect merchant vessels passing through key Middle Eastern waterways, the Asahi newspaper reported. The decision is in line with a previous Japanese media report that Japan would not join …

The United States carried out a secret cyber operation against Iran in the wake of the Sept. 14 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran, two U.S. officials have told Reuters. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the operation took place …

U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday charged Turkey’s majority state-owned Halkbank (HALKB.IS) with taking part in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran – an indictment that may complicate tension between NATO allies Washington and Ankara. The charges unsealed in federal court in Manhattan mirror those against one of Halkbank’s …

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Sunday to develop more advanced and modern weapons, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, amid rising regional tensions. “The Guards should have advanced and modern weapons … Your weapons should be modern and updated. It should be developed at …

Pakistan will do its utmost to enable talks between arch regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Sunday in Tehran, adding that he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. “Pakistan does not want conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia…I am happy to facilitate …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Iran’s missile program should be dealt with as a separate matter to its nuclear program. Putin was speaking in an interview with Arab broadcasters, including Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV, ahead of his first visit to Saudi Arabia in over a decade. “It is possible, and …

Iran has discovered a new natural gas field with a 19-trillion-cubic-feet reserve in the southern province of Fars, the Oil Ministry’s website SHANA reported on Sunday. “The new natural gas field is in the southern part of Fars province with 19 tcf gas in place,” SHANA quoted Reza Dehghan, deputy …

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian   A lot of effort went in to trying to arrange a meeting between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and President Trump last month when they were in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly. President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain, Chancellor Angela …

Iran is prepared to hold talks with regional rival Saudi Arabia, with or without the help of a mediator, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, ahead of a visit by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. Asked about reports that Khan, due to arrive in Iran at the weekend, may …

An Iranian-owned oil tanker was hit by two missiles in the Red Sea off Saudi Arabia’s coast on Friday, Iranian media and officials reported, stoking tension in a region that has faced a series of attacks on crude ships and oil facilities since May. The Sabiti, which was set ablaze, …

Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister said on Thursday he discussed regional security and military cooperation with senior U.S. government officials at a time of heightened tension with Iran following last month’s attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Saudi Arabia and the United States blamed common foe Tehran for the Sept. 14 …

The de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates held talks with Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister in Abu Dhabi on Sunday on military and defense matters and regional security at a time of heightened tensions with common foe Iran. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and …

Iran will use every possible way to export its oil, Iranian Oil Ministry’s website SHANA quoted Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh as saying on Sunday, adding that exporting crude was the country’s legitimate right. “We will use every possible way to export our oil and we will not succumb to America’s …

A hacking group that appears to be linked to the Iranian government has carried out a campaign against a U.S. presidential campaign, Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said on Friday. Microsoft saw “significant” cyber activity by the group that also targeted current and former U.S. government officials, journalists covering global politics and …

A senior Iranian official said on Thursday that Tehran had foiled a plot by Israeli and Arab agencies to assassinate Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force. State media quoted Hossein Taeb, the Revolutionary Guards security chief, as telling a conference that the plotters had planned to buy …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that there was no evidence that Iran was responsible for an attack on Saudi oil infrastructure last month and that the United States had not presented any proof of Iran’s role. France tried to set up a meeting between the leaders of Iran …

Iran is building a $1.8 billion oil pipeline to its port of Jask outside the mouth of the Gulf, the country’s oil minister said, as part of plans to protect its exports against potential problems in the region and to boost shipments of Caspian oil. Iran has been planning since …

The commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command visited Riyadh over the weekend to discuss with the head of Saudi Arabia’s naval forces reinforcing defenses against Iranian threats, the command said on Tuesday. The meeting followed a Sept. 14 drone and missile attack on two Saudi oil facilities that initially …

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to discuss Iran’s nuclear deal and situation in the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at their bilateral meeting in Armenia on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Source: Reuters

An Iranian court sentenced the brother of President Hassan Rouhani to five years in prison, a judiciary spokesman was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the semi-official Fars news. In May, Hossein Fereydoun was sentenced to an unspecified jail term in a corruption case that the president’s supporters allege was …

In the two weeks since attacks blamed on missiles or drones shut down half of Saudi Arabia’s oil output, the country that has arguably moved most deftly to position itself for any upside is Russia. Within hours of the attacks, Moscow’s state arms exporter said it would hold talks with …

The United States offered to remove all sanctions on Iran in exchange for talks, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Friday upon returning to Tehran from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to his official website. “The German chancellor, the prime minister of England (Britain) and the …

The British-flagged Stena Impero tanker left Iran’s Bandar Abbas port on Friday and was heading for Dubai so the crew could be repatriated, the owner said, after the ship was detained in July by Iranian forces during a row with Britain. The Stena Impero was seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards …