The White House has asked the US Supreme Court to reinstate a travel ban on people from majority Muslim countries. The ban has been blocked by lower courts which have said that it is discriminatory. Two emergency applications have now been filed by the government with the court’s nine justices that seek to overturn those … Read more
President Donald Trump’s administration asked the US Supreme Court on Thursday to reinstate its controversial ban on travelers from six Muslim majority nations despite repeated setbacks in the lower courts. In its filing, the government asked the highest court in the land to rule on the legal standing of Trump’s order, appealing a ruling by … Read more
Iran has built a third underground plant to manufacture ballistic missiles, the head of its Revolutionary Guards aerospace division General Amir-Ali Hadjizadeh said on Thursday. The announcement as US President Donald Trump makes a maiden foreign tour in which Saudi and Israeli concerns about Iran have loomed large is likely to stoke new tensions with … Read more
Mr Rouhani was re-elected with 57% of the vote Moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said his re-election shows voters reject extremism and want more links with the outside world. After avoiding a run-off with a 57% outright victory over his main rival, Mr Rouhani said he respected his opponents’ right to criticise him. Mr … Read more
Iran’s presidential election Friday is effectively a choice between moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani and hardline jurist Ebrahim Raisi, with major implications for everything from civil rights to relations with Washington. Rouhani is still seen as the frontrunner, but he faces a tougher than expected challenge from Raisi, who has rallied religious traditionalists and working-class voters … Read more
Polls opened in Iran on Friday with voters set to give their verdict on President Hassan Rouhani’s policy of opening up to the world and efforts to rebuild the stagnant economy. He faces stiff competition from hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, 56, who has positioned himself as a defender of the poor and called for a … Read more
Iranians head to the polls Friday for a vote that has become a referendum on President Hassan Rouhani’s policy of opening up to the world and efforts to rebuild the stagnant economy. He faces stiff competition from hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, 56, who has positioned himself as a defender of the poor and called for … Read more
The US decision to stick by the nuclear deal with Iran, despite new sanctions on its missile programme, provided welcome news for President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday, a day before his bid for re-election. The administration of US President Donald Trump chose to continue waiving nuclear-related sanctions on Wednesday despite its criticism of the agreement. … Read more
Iran criticised new US sanctions on its missile programme on Thursday, saying they would undermine the nuclear deal with world powers. “Iran condemns the US administration’s ill will in its effort to reduce the positive results of the country’s implementation of JCPOA (nuclear deal) commitments by adding individuals to the list of unilateral and illegal … Read more
The United States decided not to reimpose sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program Wednesday despite President Donald Trump’s criticism of the deal Tehran signed with the previous US administration. But, while the waiver on the nuclear-related sanctions was renewed, the US Treasury imposed new measures to punish Iranian defense officials and a Chinese business tied to … Read more
President Hassan Rouhani has spent three decades at the heart of Iran’s revolutionary establishment but is strongly opposed by hardliners for trying to rebuild ties with the West. The 68-year-old cleric, almost always clad in his white turban, won a surprisingly convincing victory in 2013 by bringing together moderates and reformists with his vows to … Read more
A US government attorney insisted Monday that President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban did not unfairly target Muslims, in the latest twist in a months-long legal battle that has dogged the new US administration. Crowd rallied in protest outside an appeals court in the western city of Seattle where a panel of federal judges was … Read more
The investment gold rush that was supposed to follow Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers and revitalise the economy has not materialised, leaving many voters disillusioned ahead of Friday’s election. The figures say it all — President Hassan Rouhani wanted $50 billion a year in foreign investment to reach his target of eight-percent growth. But … Read more
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Tuesday urged the United States to maintain funding for UN agencies, saying relief work was sometimes more important for peace than defense spending. Mogherini delivered the message during a meeting of the UN Security Council that she also used to highlight EU support for the Iran nuclear … Read more
President Donald Trump’s amended travel ban will face a key test on Monday, when a US appeals court is set to take on a case that has stymied the administration’s controversial efforts to bar travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. A Richmond, Virginia-based federal court will hold a crucial hearing to scrutinize a Maryland judge’s ruling … Read more
Iran’s armed forces warned President Hassan Rouhani against discussing the country’s defence programme after he criticised the anti-Israel slogans written on the side of ballistic missiles, local media reported on Saturday. During an election debate on Friday, Rouhani took the rare step of criticising the elite Revolutionary Guards for the provocative messages they wrote on … Read more
A US warship has fired a warning flare at an Iranian Revolutionary Guards vessel that refused to maintain distance in Gulf waters, a US spokesman said Wednesday. Guided-missile destroyer the USS Mahan had an “unprofessional interaction” with an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy vessel on Monday in the international waters of the Gulf, US Navy … Read more
Iran and major powers were set to review adherence to their 2015 nuclear agreement on Tuesday, as uncertainty grows about the landmark accord’s future under US President Donald Trump. The regular quarterly meeting was expected to hear, as Washington confirmed last week, that Iran is sticking to its deal with the US, Russia, China, Britain, … Read more
Iran’s foreign minister mocked US President Donald Trump’s claim Tehran was “not living up to the spirit” of the nuclear deal on Friday, saying Washington was flouting the accord. “We’ll see if US prepared to live up to letter of #JCPOA (nuclear deal) let alone spirit,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted. “So far, it … Read more
Iran is “not living up to the spirit” of the nuclear deal struck with world powers in 2015, US President Donald Trump said Thursday, warning America would set out its position on that soon. Trump’s administration has been publicly tightening the noose on Iran over the deal, which was negotiated by the five permanent UN … Read more