Page 6 - Iran

G7 ministers seek to expand unity on Ukraine war, China's economic clout

Top diplomats from the world's major industrialized democracies sought on Thursday to expand unified positions on Russia's war in Ukraine, China's growing global economic clout and Iran's crackdown on anti-government protestors. Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations began two days of talks in the historic western German city of Muenster to take stock of the war in Ukraine and keep up economic, military and other support for the country more than eight months after Russia's invasion and as winter approaches. The significance of the venue the same room in which the Treaty of Westphalia ending Europe's bloody 30 Years War was signed in 1648 was not lost on the participants, some of whom commented on the relevance of the principles it enshrined in international diplomacy. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made reference to the 374-year-old document at an event with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, saying Russia's actions in Ukraine are a direct attack on the .

LIVE: As AQI worsens, commercial diesel vehicles banned from Delhi roads

Catch all the live updates from across the globe here

Iran to send delegation to Vienna for talks with IAEA, says FM Abdollahian

He expressed hope for progress to be made in the talks as long as the IAEA sticks to a technical approach

Saudi Arabia tell US that Iran may attack the kingdom, says officials

Saudi Arabia has shared intelligence with American officials that suggests Iran could be preparing for an imminent attack on the kingdom, three US officials said on Tuesday. The heightened concerns about a potential attack on Saudi Arabia come as the Biden administration is criticising Tehran for its crackdown on widespread protests and condemning it for sending hundreds of drones as well as technical support to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine. We are concerned about the threat picture, and we remain in constant contact through military and intelligence channels with the Saudis, the National Security Council said in a statement. We will not hesitate to act in the defence of our interests and partners in the region. Saudi Arabia did not respond to requests for comment. Iran's mission to the United Nations told The Associated Press on Wednesday the US claims are baseless. Western and Zionist regimes spread biased news aimed at creating a negative mood towards the Islamic Repub

US to seek Iran's ouster from United Nation's top women's rights body

The United States announced Wednesday it will seek to oust Iran from the UN's premier global body fighting for gender equality because of its violation of the rights of women and girls and its ongoing crackdown on demonstrators who took to the streets in September after the death of a 22-year-old woman taken into custody by the morality police. Vice-President Kamala Harris made the announcement of the US intention to work with other countries to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women, saying no nation that abuses women's rights should play a role in any international or United Nations body charged with protecting these very same rights. She said Iran is unfit to serve on the commission and its presence discredits the integrity of its work. At an informal meeting of the UN Security Council later Wednesday on the protests in Iran, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield added that Iran's membership is an ugly stain on the commission's credibility and in our view it canno

Iran preparing for an attack on the kingdom, Saudi Arabia tell US

Saudi Arabia has shared intelligence with American officials that suggests Iran could be preparing for an imminent attack on the kingdom, three US officials have said. The heightened concerns about a potential attack on Saudi Arabia as the Biden administration is criticising Tehran for its crackdown on widespread protests and condemning it for sending hundreds of drones as well as technical support to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine. We are concerned about the threat picture, and we remain in constant contact through military and intelligence channels with the Saudis, the National Security Council said in a statement. We will not hesitate to act in the defense of our interests and partners in the region. Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nor did Iran's mission to the United Nations. One of the officials who confirmed the intelligence sharing described it as a credible threat of an attack soon or within 48 hours. No US embassy or consulate in

Iran signs contracts worth $6.5 billion in gas sector with Russia

Iran and Russia have signed contracts worth around $6.5 billion for cooperation in the gas sector, a Minister announced here.

US sanctions Iranian group that put bounty on Salman Rushdie's life

The US is imposing financial penalties on an Iranian-based organization that raised money to target British-American author Salman Rushdie, who was violently attacked in August at a literary event. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the 15 Khordad Foundation, which issued a multimillion-dollar bounty for the killing of Rushdie. He wrote The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims consider blasphemous. Rushdie's agent says the author has lost sight in one eye and the use of a hand as he recovers from an attack by a man who rushed the stage at the event in western New York. The United States will not waver in its determination to stand up to threats posed by Iranian authorities against the universal rights of freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of the press, said Brian Nelson, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. This act of violence, which has been praised by the Iranian regime, is appalling. We all hope fo

Iran's elite technical university emerges as hub of anti-govt protests

The aging brick campus of the Sharif University of Technology, Iran's elite technical school, has long been a magnet for the nation's brightest minds, with a record of elevating its students to the highest reaches of society. Thousands of Sharif University alumni power Iran's most sensitive industries, including nuclear energy and aerospace. One of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's closest advisors has taught there for decades. But as demonstrations erupt across Iran first sparked by the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's morality police the scientific powerhouse known as Iran's MIT has emerged as an unexpected hub for protest, fuelling Iran's biggest anti-government movement in over a decade. We've become politically active because there is nothing to lose, said an electrical engineering major and activist in Sharif University's student association who spoke on condition of anonymity. Like others who insisted their identities be .

Iran calls for expanding trade with Belarus to counter Western sanctions

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said that Iran's expansion of economic and trade ties with Belarus can help minimise the impact of sanctions

Ready for talks with Ukraine over claims of drone supplies to Russia: Iran

Rejecting the claims that Russia used Iranian drones against Ukraine, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed Tehran's readiness for talks with Kiev on such allegations.

Stop sending weapons to Russia to kill Ukrainians: US tells Iran

The US called out to Iran to stop sending weapons to Russia to kill Ukrainians as the war between Kyiv and Moscow escalated in the past few weeks

Gunmen attack major Shiite holy site in Iran; 15 killed, dozens injured

Gunmen opened fire on Wednesday at a major Shiite holy site in the southern city of Shiraz, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, according to state-run media. The official website of the judiciary says two gunmen were arrested and a third is on the run after the attack on the Shah Cheragh mosque. The state-run IRNA news agency reported the death toll and state TV said 40 people were wounded. The attack, which bore the hallmarks of Sunni extremists who have targeted the country's Shiite majority in the past, comes as Iran has been convulsed by over a month of anti-government demonstrations, the biggest challenge to the Islamic Republic in over a decade. Thousands of protesters poured into the streets of a northwestern city to mark the watershed 40 days since the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, whose tragedy sparked the protests. Deaths are commemorated in Shiite Islam as in many other traditions again 40 days later, typically with an outpouring of grief. In

Several Iranian protesters rally to mark 40 days since Mahsa Amini's death

Hundreds of protesters poured into the streets of a northwestern Iranian city on Wednesday to mark the watershed 40 days since the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, whose tragedy sparked Iran's biggest antigovernment movement in over a decade. Deaths are commemorated in Shiite Islam as in many other traditions again 40 days later, typically with an outpouring of grief. In Amini's Kurdish hometown of Saqez, the birthplace of the nationwide unrest now roiling Iran, crowds snaked through the local cemetery and thronged her grave. Death to the dictator!" protesters cried. State-run media announced that schools and universities in Iran's northwestern region would close, purportedly to curb "the spread of influenza". In downtown Tehran, shops were shuttered and riot police were out in force. A group of schoolgirls marched through the streets, shouting against the government as cars stuck in traffic honked their support, witnesses said. Antigovernment chants also echoed fro

Cyber attackers hack into Iran's atomic energy agency as protests continue

As protests over the death of Mahsa Amini continue to escalate in Iran, the country's nuclear energy agency alleged that an email server of one of its subsidiaries was broken into by hackers

Foreign pressures, propaganda won't disrupt Iran's pursuit of progress: FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said that foreign "pressures and propaganda" will not disrupt the determination of the Iranian nation and govt in treading the path of progress

Kyrgyzstan conference stresses importance of INSTC and Chabahar Port

An International Conference titled "INSTC (International North South Transport Corridor) and Chabahar Port in Iran

Iran signs contract to export 40 homegrown gas turbines to Russia

Iran has signed a contract with Russia to export 40 homegrown gas turbines to the country.

Russian military personnel based in Crimea piloting Iranian drones: US

The US has alleged that Russian military personnel based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian drones and asserted that it will pursue all means to expose, deter and confront Iran's provision of these munitions against the Ukrainian people. John Kirby, NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications, also claimed that there was clear evidence that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea. We can confirm that Russian military personnel that are based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian UAVs, using them to conduct strikes across Ukraine, including strikes against Kyiv in just recent days, Kirby told reporters during a conference call here on Thursday. We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations. Russia has received dozens of UAVs so far and will likely continue to receive additional shipments in the future, he said. Furthermore, in light of Russia's ongoing supply shortages, he said the US is concerned tha

Tehran rejects EU claim on use of Iranian drones against Ukraine

Iranian Foreign Minister has rejected the claim of the EU that Iran had sent missiles and drones to Russia to be used against Ukraine