Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and hardline challenger Ebrahim Raisi registered on Friday as candidates in next month’s election, setting up a bruising contest that could decide the future of the Islamic republic. Rouhani, a politically moderate cleric, has won praise since his landslide win in 2013 for taming inflation and reaching a groundbreaking nuclear deal … Read more
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and hardline challenger Ebrahim Raisi registered on Friday as candidates in next month’s election, setting up a bruising contest that could decide the future of the Islamic republic. Rouhani, a politically moderate cleric, has won praise since his landslide win in 2013 for taming inflation and reaching a groundbreaking nuclear deal … Read more
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani defended his economic record in a press conference on Monday but stopped short of formally announcing his candidacy for next month’s presidential election. Rouhani pushed back against criticism from conservatives over his economic performance, saying there had been measurable improvements in agriculture, healthcare, energy and internet coverage, especially in villages and … Read more
Iran’s conservatives announced a shortlist of five presidential candidates on Thursday as they experimented with their first-ever democratic primary in a bid to find a leader to challenge President Hassan Rouhani. Fearing another defeat at the hands of the moderate president in next month’s election, a new alliance called the Popular Front of Revolutionary Forces … Read more
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is credited with pulling the economy back from the brink, but less than two months before his re-election bid, has he done enough to convince voters? “This year was full of stress — no jobs, recession, a stagnant housing market,” said Ali Bakhtiyari, a jeweller in the Tajrish bazaar of northern … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin was on Tuesday to host Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani for talks that will be closely watched for signs of their next moves in Syria. Rouhani’s first official visit to Russia comes as the two Syrian regime supporters push for ways to end the six-year conflict, having done much to marginalise US … Read more
Iran’s central bank said Sunday it will appeal Luxembourg’s decision to freeze $1.6 billion of its assets, which the US is claiming as compensation for victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The bank also said it would take steps to curb its remaining transactions in dollars, which it still receives particularly for oil sales. … Read more
Iran will impose sanctions on 15 US companies for their support for Israel and its “terrorist actions”, state news agency IRNA said Sunday. The decision, which is largely symbolic because the firms do not do business with Iran, comes two days after the US announced new sanctions on a number of foreign firms accused of … Read more
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei fleshed out his vision of a “Made in Iran” economy Tuesday, calling for a ban on certain imports and an end to the $15-billion smuggling trade. The annual speech on the first day of the Persian year serves as a sort of Iranian equivalent to the US State of the … Read more
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday reiterated a call for a “resistance economy” that prioritises domestic production. In a televised message to mark Nowruz, the Persian New Year, he urged officials to “focus on the key issues of domestic production and employment, especially youth employment.” Khamenei said he could feel people’s bitterness, especially … Read more
A jailed US-Iranian and his wife have been formally charged with hosting parties in Tehran, while another couple were given the death penalty for running a “cult”, the Tehran prosecutor said Monday. No names were given, but the dual national and his wife are thought to be the high-profile owners of an art gallery in … Read more
The new US administration has not yet decided what to do about the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the head of the UN atomic watchdog said Monday following talks in Washington. “The new administration of the United States just started and they are looking at this issue,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano said. They … Read more
France wants to encourage the “normalisation” of banking relations with Iran to improve economic relations with the Islamic republic, French Economy Minister Michel Sapin said Saturday in Tehran. “We can’t work on developing our economic relations if we don’t also normalise our banking relations,” he said after meeting his Iranian counterpart Ali Tayebnia. “Over the … Read more
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has decided to run for re-election in May, the vice-president for parliamentary affairs said on Sunday, according to state news agency IRNA. “In recent weeks, Mr Rouhani has reached a conclusion to take part in the presidential elections,” Hosseinali Amiri told reporters. Rouhani, a 68-year-old moderate who has pushed for greater … Read more
Iran’s nuclear chief said Saturday that the country had asked to buy 950 tonnes of uranium concentrate from Kazakhstan over the next three years to help develop its civil reactor programme. The request has been made to the body that oversees the nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers in 2015. Ali Akbar Salehi, … Read more
Iran is complying with a landmark atomic deal signed with major world powers in 2015, according to a report from the UN nuclear watchdog seen by AFP Friday. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s report showed that Iran “has not pursued the construction of the existing heavy water research reactor” and has “not enriched uranium” above … Read more
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard is to conduct military drills next week, a senior commander announced Saturday, despite warnings from the United States and fresh sanctions over a ballistic missile test. “The manoeuvres called ‘Grand Prophet 11’ will start Monday and last three days,” General Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the force’s ground units, told a news … Read more
As the US and Iran lock horns over sanctions and missile tests, athletes from the two countries will grapple each other for real Friday in the final of wrestling’s Freestyle World Cup, held in the Islamic republic. A team of 13 US wrestlers face their Iranian counterparts in the western city of Kermanshah in a … Read more
Iran said Thursday that Israel’s atomic arsenal is the biggest danger to world peace, a day after US President Donald Trump vowed to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon. Israel is the “biggest threat to the peace and security in the region and the world,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said, quoted by state news … Read more
President Donald Trump hailed the United States’ “unbreakable” bond with Israel on Wednesday and promised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran would never be permitted to build a nuclear weapon. Trump’s vow was designed to address Israeli concerns over the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, which Netanyahu has warned expires too soon … Read more