Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that the government would file a legal case in Iran against U.S. officials who imposed sanctions on the country as a precursor to action in international courts. Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television that U.S. sanctions had created difficulties …

The military chiefs of staff of Syria, Iran and Iraq will hold a rare meeting in Damascus to discuss “ways to combat terrorism”, the pro-Syrian government al-Watan daily reported on Monday. The paper gave no further details of what would likely be discussed at the meeting, or its timing and …

Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s toughest rival in Israel’s upcoming parliamentary election, dismissed as “political gossip” on Friday media reports of allegations that his mobile phone had been hacked by Iranian intelligence. The former Israeli armed forces chief was speaking near the border with Gaza following a day which …

At least two people were killed on Thursday in a gas pipeline explosion in southwest Iran, the Iranian Students News Agency ISNA reported. “The pipeline links the gas network from Mahshahr city to Ahvaz city,” ISNA said, adding that one child and a woman were killed in the blast. A …

Iran will respond firmly to any Israeli naval action against its oil shipments, Iran’s defense minister said on Wednesday, in comments that came a week after Israel’s prime minister said its navy could act against Iranian oil “smuggling” to enforce U.S. sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump last year quit a …

Iran is to launch four new phases at South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, with a production capacity of up to 110 million cubic meters per day, the oil ministry said on Twitter on Tuesday. No additional information was provided on when the four new phases would be launched. …

Iraq and Iran signed several preliminary trade deals on Monday, Iraqi officials said, as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani began his first visit seeking to bolster Tehran’s influence and expand commercial ties to help offset renewed U.S. sanctions. The deals, among them a plan to build a railway linking the neighbors, …

President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Iraq this week is a strong message to the United States and its regional allies that Iran still dominates Baghdad, a key arena for rising tension between Washington and Tehran. The first Iranian presidential visit to Iraq since 2013 is also meant to signal to …

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian — In a statement issued on 20 February, more than 50 pro-diplomacy organisations representing millions of American voters urged US policymakers to respect the Iran nuclear deal, which verifiably blocks Iran’s pathway to a nuclear weapon, supports good-faith diplomacy and opposes war with Iran. Earlier last month, as millions …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday called for “decisive” action by Pakistan against a militant group behind a deadly suicide attack in a border area, and said inaction by Islamabad could jeopardize relations between the neighbors. Iran’s state news agency IRNA said Rouhani’s remarks came in a telephone conversation with …

Iranian naval forces intervened to repel pirates who attacked an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, state television reported on Friday. The broadcast said pirates in 11 speedboats attacked a tanker with a cargo of 150,000 tonnes on Thursday. It showed naval forces opening fire on speedboats, without …

Translated by Staff, Hezbollah Media Relation   Hezbollah condemned the British decision to proscribe it on the so-called “List of Terrorist Organizations”. Hezbollah is a resistance movement against the “Israeli” occupation; and no country in the world that embraces, finances and supports terrorism has the right to accuse Hezbollah or …

Asia’s crude oil imports from Iran dipped in January to the lowest in two months after top buyers China and India slowed down purchases and as Japan recorded zero imports for a third month, government and trade data showed. Asia’s top four buyers of Iranian crude – China, India, Japan …

Fighting between parties and factions in Iran is a “deadly poison” undermining foreign policy, Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying in an interview published on Tuesday, a day after he resigned as Iranian foreign minister. Zarif’s comments suggest he may have quit over pressure from hardline elements who have …

Syrian President Bashar al Assad made his first public visit to his closest regional ally Iran since the start of Syria’s war in 2011, meeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Monday and championing their alliance, state media reported. Syrian and Iranian state television showed footage of Assad …

Iran successfully tested a cruise missile on Sunday during naval exercises near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s state media reported, at a time of heightened tensions with the United States. Tehran has in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route at the mouth …

Iran on Friday began large-scale naval drills at the mouth of the Gulf, which will feature its first submarine cruise missile launches, state media reported, at a time of rising tensions with the United States. More than 100 vessels were taking part in the three-day war games in a vast …

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif accused Israel of engaging in “adventurism” with its bombing campaigns in Syria and said he could not rule out the possibility of a military conflict between the countries. Zarif told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that Iran was in Syria at the invitation of the …

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the United States’ sale of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia was hypocritical of Washington. “First a dismembered journalist; now illicit sale of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia fully expose #USHypocrisy,” Zarif said in a tweet. Source: Reuters

China wants to deepen “strategic trust” with Iran, the Chinese government’s top diplomat told Iran’s foreign minister on Tuesday, days before Saudi Arabia’s crown prince visits Beijing, underscoring China’s difficult Middle East balancing act. China has traditionally played little role in Middle East conflicts or diplomacy, despite its reliance on …

Iran’s exports of crude oil were higher than expected in January and are at least holding steady this month, according to tanker data and industry sources, as some customers have increased purchases due to waivers from U.S. sanctions. Shipments are averaging 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, Refinitiv …

The man who carried out a suicide bombing which killed 27 members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards near the border with Pakistan last week was Pakistani, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander said on Tuesday, according to the Tasnim news agency. One other member of the militant cell that planned the …

Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday accused Israel of looking for war and warned that its actions and those of the United States were increasing the chances of a clash in the region. Addressing the Munich Security Conference, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also criticized the U.S. administration after Vice President Mike Pence …

Iran warned neighboring Pakistan on Saturday it would “pay a heavy price” for allegedly harboring militants who killed 27 of its elite Revolutionary Guards in a suicide bombing near the border earlier this week, state television reported. Revolutionary Guards chief Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari also accused Tehran’s regional rival …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed the United States and its regional allies on Thursday for a suicide bombing in southeastern Iran that killed 27 members of the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards, Iranian state TV reported. The force said on Wednesday a suicide bomber driving a vehicle laden with explosives had …

Jaish al Adl, a militant group operating in southeast Iran, claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack against Iran’s Revolutionary Guards which left 20 dead, according to the Fars news agency. A bus carrying members of the Guards was targeted by a suicide car bomb, the Guards reported in a …

The United States on Wednesday charged former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Monica Witt with helping Iran in a cyber-spying operation that targeted her former colleagues. As part of its action, the United States also charged four Iranian nationals who it said were involved in the cyber attacks. Washington additionally …

The European Union has convened a wide-ranging industrial group to work on promoting the euro and fighting the monopoly of the U.S. dollar in oil and commodities trading, reflecting broader tensions with Washington over trade and sanctions. The group, which involves executives from European oil firms such as OMV and …

Foreign ministers and senior officials from 60 nations gather in the Polish capital Warsaw on Wednesday where the United States hopes to ratchet up pressure against Iran despite concerns among major European countries about heightened tensions with Tehran. The absence of foreign ministers from major European powers, Germany and France, …

Diane Kruger took herself on a spy-training course in Israel to prepare for her starring role in “The Operative”, and rapidly became a person she didn’t like. The German-born actress plays a multilingual drifter with little in the way of allegiance or personal ties – prime material for Israel’s Mossad, …

The stability and complete security of Syria is an important regional goal for the Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday in a meeting with Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in Tehran, according to the Tasnim news agency. “One of the important regional and foreign policy goals of the Islamic …

Iraqi President Barham Salih said on Monday that President Donald Trump did not ask Iraq’s permission for U.S. troops stationed there to “watch Iran.” Speaking at a forum in Baghdad, Salih was responding to a question about Trump’s comments to CBS about how he would ask troops stationed in Iraq …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday accused the United States of seeking “world hegemony” and denounced Washington for trying to topple Tehran’s ally, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, state media reported. “The Americans are basically against all popular revolutions and independent countries and seek world hegemony by suppressing them,” Rouhani said …

Iran unveiled a new cruise missile with a range of 1,300 km (800 miles) on Saturday during celebrations marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, state television reported. “This cruise missile needs a very short time for its preparedness and can fly at a low altitude,” Defence Minister Amir …

Germany, France and Britain have officially set up a European mechanism to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran and circumvent U.S. sanctions, two diplomats said on Thursday. The EU has been preparing the system, in effect a clearing house that avoids monetary transfers in dollars between the EU and Iran for …

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called top U.S. intelligence chiefs “extremely passive and naive” on Iran and dismissed their assessments of the threat posed by North Korea a day after they contradicted his views during congressional testimony. Leaders of the U.S. intelligence community told a Senate committee on Tuesday that …

Iran has reached “very important” banking agreements with Syria and will also set up a power station in Syria’s Latakia province, Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said on Monday. “We will be by Syria’s side in the reconstruction phase as we have been by its side in fighting terrorism,” Jahangiri said …

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander on Monday threatened Israel with destruction if it attacks Iran, state media reported. The comments by Brigadier General Hossein Salami, deputy head of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, followed an Israeli attack on Iranian targets in Syria last week – the latest in a …

France is ready to impose further sanctions on Iran if no progress is made in talks over its ballistic missile program, the French foreign minister said on Friday. Jean-Yves Le Drian, who this week reiterated support for a European-backed system to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran and circumvent U.S. sanctions, …

An American-born anchor for Iran’s state-run Press TV was freed after 10 days of detention in the United States after testifying as a material witness in an undisclosed federal investigation, a U.S. federal court order said on Thursday. Marzieh Hashemi testified four times before a federal grand jury beginning on …

The UAE has condemned Iran’s interference in the Middle East, accusing Iran of creating more tension and instability in the region and posing a serious threat to the stability of the Middle East. Thus, the UAE called on the international community and the Security Council to seriously pressure Iran to …

Israel struck in Syria early on Monday, the latest salvo in its increasingly open assault on Iran’s presence there, shaking the night sky over Damascus with an hour of loud explosions in a second consecutive night of military action. Damascus did not say what damage or casualties resulted from the …

Iran will be ready for a new satellite launch in a few months’ time after a failed attempt this week, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, ignoring U.S. and European warnings to avoid such activity. Western officials say the missile technology used in such launches could be applied to delivering …

Iran on Wednesday called for the immediate release of an American-born journalist arrested in the United States while working for Iran’s English-language state television, accusing Washington of mistreating her in jail as a black Muslim woman. Iran’s English-language Press TV said earlier Wednesday that Marziyeh Hashemi, its TV anchor and …