Iran supreme leader optimistic though nuclear talks stalled
April 12, 2022 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday insisted negotiations over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal “are going ahead properly,” even after repeated comments by American officials that an agreement to restore the accord may not happen.
Iran sentences ex-central bank chief to 10 years in prison
October 16, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A court sentenced the former governor of Iran's central bank to 10 years in prison for violating the country's currency system, a judiciary spokesperson said Saturday.
Besides violating the currency system, Valliollah Seif also had a role in smuggling foreign currency, judiciary spokesman Zabihollah Khodaeian told state TV.
Iran appoints another hard-liner to head state broadcasting
September 29, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state TV is reporting that the country’s top leader has appointed a new hard-line ally to head the state broadcasting company.
The Wednesday report says that Peyman Jebeli has replaced Abdolali Ali Asgari, who completed a five-year term.
Iran’s president slams US in first speech to UN as leader
September 22, 2021 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's new president slammed U.S. sanctions imposed on his nation as a mechanism of war, using his first U.N address since his swearing-in to forcefully call out Washington's policies in the region and the growing political schism within America.
Outgoing Iran president says government not always truthful
August 1, 2021 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's outgoing president on Sunday acknowledged his nation at times “did not tell part of the truth” to its people during his eight-year tenure, as he prepares to leave office with his signature nuclear deal with world powers in tatters and tensions high with the West.
Iran’s supreme leader criticizes US as nuclear talks stalled
July 28, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday called the U.S. "stubborn" in stalled nuclear talks in Vienna for discussing Tehran’s missiles and regional influence, likely signaling more trouble ahead for the negotiations.
Iran bypasses Hormuz Strait to export crude oil
July 22, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran Thursday began exporting crude oil for the first time in the Gulf of Oman, bypassing the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
During a ceremony marking the inauguration of the project, President Hassan Rouhani called the plan “strategic.”
Iran’s president warns weapons-grade enrichment possible
July 14, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's outgoing president on Wednesday warned his country could enrich uranium at weapons-grade levels of 90% if it chose, though it still wanted to save its tattered nuclear deal with world powers.
Major blackouts in Iran prompt rare apology from president
July 6, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s outgoing president offered a rare apology Tuesday for the country’s most severe summer power outages in recent memory, as blackouts cripple businesses and darken homes for hours a day.
Iran reimposes virus restrictions as delta variant spreads
July 4, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran announced Sunday it was reimposing coronavirus restrictions on major cities, as the spread of the highly contagious delta variant spurs fears of another devastating surge in the nation.
Iran president warns of possible new wave of COVID cases
July 3, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that Iran may face another wave of coronavirus infections, as health officials warned of the spread of the more infectious delta variant of the virus.
Iran oil workers strike for better wages as economy suffers
June 30, 2021 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Thousands of workers in Iran’s vast energy industry have gone on strike over the past week to press demands for better wages and conditions at oil facilities, Iranian media reported Wednesday.
Apathy greets Iran presidential vote dominated by hard-liner
June 18, 2021 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranians voted Friday in a presidential election dominated by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's hard-line protege after the disqualification of his strongest competition, fueling apathy that left some polling places largely deserted despite pleas to support the Islamic Republic at the ballot box.
A look at the candidates in Iran’s presidential election
June 18, 2021 GMTIranians were voting Friday on who should be the country's next president amid tensions with the West over its tattered nuclear deal with world powers.
While the race is wide open due to President Hassan Rouhani being term limited from running again, authorities barred his allies and nearly every reformist from entering the race.
Iran nuclear deal hangs in balance as Islamic Republic votes
June 17, 2021 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers hangs in the balance as the country prepares to vote on Friday for a new president and diplomats press on with efforts to get both the U.S.
Iran election race narrows but fears persist of low turnout
June 16, 2021 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran grappled with fears of low voter turnout two days ahead of its presidential election as the race narrowed on Wednesday into a showdown between the country’s hard-line judiciary chief and moderate former Central Bank chief.
Analysis: Subdued Iran vote will still impact wider Mideast
June 15, 2021 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's presidential election on Friday, though likely more a coronation for a hard-line candidate long cultivated by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, still carries implications for a wider Middle East already roiled by years of tensions between Tehran and the West.
Many Iranians fear vote will underscore their powerlessness
June 14, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranians this week are preparing to vote in — or perhaps to boycott — a presidential election that many fear will only underscore their powerlessness to shape the country's fate.
Final presidential debate shows Iran’s political fissures
June 12, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran held a final presidential debate Saturday that showed the fissures within the Islamic Republic’s politics, as hard-liners referred to those seeking ties to the West as “infiltrators” and the race’s two other candidates brought up the unrest that surrounded Tehran’s disputed 2009 election.
As Iran prepares to vote, its battered economy a major worry
June 10, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Almost six years ago, Iranians poured into the streets to celebrate Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. They saw it as a chance for the Islamic Republic to re-enter the world economy and create opportunities like purchasing airplanes and selling its oil on the international market.
Outgoing Iran president, a debate target, defends his record
June 9, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's president angrily defended himself Wednesday after coming under harsh attack during a presidential election debate the night before, saying his critics' “love for power causes memory loss.”
Iran debate puts problems on one man: the outgoing president
June 8, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's seven presidential candidates on Tuesday put all the problems of the Islamic Republic squarely on the shoulders of the one man who wasn't there to defend himself: Outgoing President Hassan Rouhani.
Iran’s president appeals to top leader to add candidates
May 26, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday he wrote the country’s supreme leader to protest a decision by an election watchdog to reject high-profile nominees for the June 18 presidential election.
Iran president gives his most upbeat view yet of nuke talks
May 20, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's president on Thursday offered his most optimistic assessment yet of ongoing talks to resuscitate his country's nuclear deal with world powers, claiming there had been “major" agreement among diplomats even as other nations involved suggested challenges remain.
Iran’s hard-line judiciary chief registers presidential run
May 15, 2021 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's judiciary chief, a hard-line cleric linked to mass executions in 1988, registered on Saturday to run in the Islamic Republic’s presidential election next month, a vote that comes as negotiators struggle to resuscitate Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.
Hard-liner Ahmadinejad again seeks to be Iran’s president
May 12, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registered Wednesday to run again for the Islamic Republic's presidency, raising the possibility that the populist leader who rapidly advanced Tehran's nuclear program to challenge the West could return to the country's top civilian post...
Registration opens for hopefuls in Iran’s presidential vote
May 11, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran opened registration Tuesday for potential candidates in the country's June presidential election, kicking off the race as uncertainty looms over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers and tensions remain high with the West...
Iran, China sign strategic long-term cooperation agreement
March 27, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran and China on Saturday signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement addressing economic issues amid crippling U...
Iran’s president claims big victory in bid to end sanctions
February 4, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's president Thursday applauded a ruling by the International Court of Justice that it can hear Iran’s case against the U...
Iran’s president criticizes prosecution of telecom minister
January 27, 2021 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday criticized Iran's hard-liner dominated judiciary over last week's prosecution of the countrys telecommunications minister.
Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi was released on bail after he was summoned for prosecution.
Iran president says Israel was behind killing of scientist
December 14, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Monday claimed that Israel was behind the killing of a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program in the 2000s in an effort to start a war in the last days of President Trump's administration...
Iran says US sanctions hinder access to COVID-19 vaccines
December 9, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that U.S. sanctions are making it difficult for Iran to purchase medicine and health supplies from abroad, including COVID-19 vaccines needed to contain the worst outbreak in the Middle East...
Iran’s virus deaths pass 50,000 as lockdown on capital eases
December 5, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's death toll from the global pandemic has risen above 50,000, state television said Saturday, as the country grapples with the worst outbreak in the Middle East...
Iran’s president opposes bill that would boost enrichment
December 2, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday expressed his opposition to a bill approved by parliament the previous day to suspend U...
Iran’s president hopes Biden unravels Trump’s Iran policies
November 25, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s president reiterated his hope Wednesday that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden would return America’s Iran policy to where he left things as vice president four years ago, state TV reported, rejoining Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers...
Adviser to Iran’s leader: US attack risks ‘full-fledged war’
November 19, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An adviser to Iran's supreme leader who is a possible 2021 presidential candidate is warning that any American attack on the Islamic Republic could set off a “full-fledged war” in the Mideast in the waning days of the Trump administration...
Iran’s president calls on Biden to return to nuclear deal
November 8, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's president called on President-elect Joe Biden to “compensate for past mistakes” and return the U...
Iran’s top leader says fighting virus trumps other concerns
October 24, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader Saturday urged authorities to prioritize public health above any economic or security concerns, amid the Mideast's worst outbreak of the coronavirus...
Iran president calls on world to condemn new US sanctions
October 9, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Friday called on the international community to condemn the Trump administration's decision to blacklist Iran’s financial sector, the country's official news agency reported...
Iran’s Rouhani slams sending fighters to Nagorno-Karabakh
October 7, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday warned that his country will not tolerate the presence of foreign fighters — “terrorists that Iran has fought for years" — near its northern border, where a conflict is raging between Azerbaijan and Armenia...
The U.S. reckoning on race, seen through other nations’ eyes
September 26, 2020 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — It's not only in the United States where protests against racial injustice are part of the national conversation...
Iran strikes defiant tone at UN under crushing US sanctions
September 22, 2020 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Grappling with a weakened economy and the Middle East's worst coronavirus outbreak, Iran's president delivered a defiant and fiery speech Tuesday to the U...
Iran dismisses US efforts for UN sanctions as currency drops
September 20, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's president dismissed U.S. efforts to restore all U.N. sanctions on the country as mounting economic pressure from Washington pushed the local currency down to its lowest level ever on Sunday...
Iran sets June 18 as date for next presidential election
August 24, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's constitutional watchdog on Monday set June 18 as date for the country's next presidential election, a vote that will choose the successor to President Hassan Rouhani who has served two four-year terms in office...
Iran threatens ‘dangerous future’ for UAE after Israel deal
August 15, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard vowed Saturday there would be dangerous consequences for the United Arab Emirates after it announced a historic deal with Israel to open up diplomatic relations...
Iran’s president calls Iraqi premier’s visit ‘turning point’
July 21, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called a visit Tuesday by the new prime minister of Iraq, where the U...
Iran estimates up to 25 million virus cases since outbreak
July 18, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s president Saturday estimated as many as 25 million Iranians could have been infected with the coronavirus since the outbreak's beginning, and urged the public to take the pandemic seriously, the state-run IRNA news agency reported...
Iran warns US not to interfere with Venezuela oil shipment
May 23, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's president on Saturday warned the United States not to interfere with a shipment of oil bound for Venezuela after the South American nation said it would provide an armed escort for the tankers.
Iran parliament: Virus deaths nearly double reported figures
April 15, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The death toll in Iran from the coronavirus pandemic is likely nearly double the officially reported figures, due to undercounting and because not everyone with breathing problems has been tested for the virus, a parliament report said...
Iran’s leaders strike upbeat tone as virus toll climbs
March 20, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's leaders vowed to overcome the new coronavirus outbreak in upbeat messages marking the Persian New Year on Friday, even as the Health Ministry announced 149 more fatalities, bringing the country's death toll to 1,433...
News agency: Iran VP, 2 Cabinet members have new virus
March 11, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's senior vice president and two other Cabinet members have contracted the new coronavirus, a semiofficial news agency reported Wednesday as the death toll in the Islamic Republic from the outbreak rose by 62 to 354...
Virus outbreak in Iran sickens hundreds, including leaders
February 28, 2020 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — After facing sanctions and the risk of war amid tensions with the United States, Iran’s Shiite theocracy now has an enemy in the new coronavirus that infiltrated its leadership in plain view of state-controlled media and despite repeated denials of any looming threat...
An increasingly isolated Iran tries to control virus crisis
February 26, 2020 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran girded Wednesday for a long battle against the coronavirus that is spreading rapidly across the country and the wider Middle East, even though officials in the Islamic Republic had earlier minimized the outbreak that has now killed 19 people, the highest toll outside of China...
Iran’s president: Trump doesn’t want war ahead of 2020 vote
February 16, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) —
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that he doesn't believe the U...
Iran candidates start campaigns for parliamentary elections
February 13, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Thousands of Iranian candidates approved to run in parliamentary elections kicked off their campaigns Thursday ahead of next week's vote, even after authorities barred thousands of others from running, mainly reformists and moderates.
Iran remembers 1979 Islamic Revolution amid high US tension
February 11, 2020 GMTTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Hundreds of thousands across Iran marked the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution on Tuesday amid some of the highest tensions ever between Tehran and the U...
Video: 20 seconds of terror between missiles in Iran crash
January 15, 2020 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's top diplomat acknowledged Wednesday that Iranians “were lied to" for days after the Islamic Republic accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner...
Crash may be grim echo of US downing of Iran flight in 1988
January 11, 2020 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Western allegation that Iran shot down a Ukrainian jetliner and killed 176 people offers a grim echo for the Islamic Republic, which found itself the victim of an accidental shootdown by American forces over 30 years ago...