Al-monitor — Before being elected president of Iran in June 2013, Hassan Rouhani was known as a close friend and constant companion of Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Rouhani’s management of the initial round of nuclear negotiations with the West — the failed engagement with Britain, France and Germany over 2003-2005 — earned him the nickname “the …

VOA —Saudi Arabia and Iran on Tuesday dashed hopes that OPEC oil producers could clinch an output-limiting deal in Algeria this week as sources within the exporter group said the differences between the kingdom and Tehran remained too wide. “This is a consultative meeting… We will consult with everyone else, we will hear the views, we will hear the secretariat …

RFL/RE – Former Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad says he will not seek reelection in the country’s 2017 presidential vote, one day after media reported that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had told him not to run. Ahmadinejad made the announcement in a letter to Khamenei that was published by Iranian media on September 27. In the letter, he confirms that …

Iran Human Rights – Iran Human Rights has discovered that Iranian authorities executed 17 prisoners at Vakilabad Prison about two weeks ago on drug related charges. 17 prisoners sentenced to death on drug related charges were reportedly hanged at Mashhad’s Vakilabad Prison (Razavi Khorasan province, northwestern Iran) on Sunday September 11, 2016. “There are currently about 400 prisoners in Vakilabad Prison …

Al-monitor – When Iran’s supreme leader cited on Sept. 18 what he described as US attempts to engage in talks with his country on regional issues, it appeared to be a confirmation of Sept. 14 media reports that Washington had approached Tehran via Oman suggesting that US-Iranian-Russian talks begin to discuss the crisis in Yemen. The report, first run by Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar and …

PayvandNews – Iran launched production line for its first solid-fuel pin-point precision and long-range missile dubbed Zolfaqar on Sunday. Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said during the launching ceremony that the tactical missile Zolfaqar which was entirely indigenous in design and production served the purpose of enhancing Iran’s missile combat might as stated by the Supreme Leader. He said …

PayvandNews – Iranians have begun taking part in the country’s first national online census, with one official saying general response on the first day was “unprecedented”. Ashkan Shabbak, head of the supervisory committee on the census, told IRNA news agency on Sunday that he expected 35% of Iranians to fill out online version of the survey. Those who do not …

PayvandNews – Iran has introduced credit cards for the first time in what appears to be a plan to encourage spending by the public. The credit cards will be presented to applicants with three limits of Rials 100 million ($3,000), Rials 300 million ($10,000) and Rials 500 million ($15,000). They can be used for purchases in shops or online, the …

VOA – Iran says it has released a retired Canadian-Iranian professor, who had been detained on “security charges.” A foreign ministry spokesman, quoted by the official IRNA news agency, said Homa Hoodfar was released on humanitarian grounds. Hoodfar, 65, who most recently taught at Concordia University in Montreal, was arrested June 6 after a visit to Evin prison in Tehran. …

RFL/RE – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly told former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad not to run for president in an election scheduled for next year. Iran’s IRNA state news agency reported on September 26 that Khamenei told Ahmadinejad that it “is not in his interest or that of the country” for him to run again. The staunchly conservative …