Al-monitor – The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) is stepping up its efforts to reform the country’s ailing banking system amid fears that inflation may pick up again. The monetary regulator is “serious” about the reforms, CBI Gov. Valiollah Seif said on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting May 31. He added that efforts to control inflation will continue and …

Al-monitor – The crisis involving Saudi Arabia and its allies against Qatar has caught the attention of Iranian media, with many outlets considering the crisis an opportunity for Iran’s struggling economy while also warning the government not to take any sides in the “war among sheikhs.” AUTHOR Rohollah Faghihi The first reaction in Iran came from President Hassan Rouhani’s deputy …

PayvandNews – Problems in issuing Iran visas for U.S. nationals have been solved so that they can easily obtain the entry permission for traveling to the country, says the chief executive of the Iranian Tour Operators Association. The time of visa application for U.S. citizens has been reduced to two weeks as it took at least one month in the …

PayvandNews – In its latest report, the World Bank (WB) predicted a four-percent growth for Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017. According to the same report, titled as Global Economic Prospects (June 2017), the forecasted Ian’s GDP growth in 2017 registers a 1.2 percent drop from the GDP growth previously predicted by WB in January 2017. The country’s GDP growth will …

PayvandNews – A senior Chinese diplomat has thrown his country’s weight behind Iran’s membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an emerging economic and security alliance jointly led by China and Russia. “China welcomes and supports Iran’s wish to become a formal member of the SCO,” Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Li Huilai told reporters on Monday, ahead of the group’s summit …

RFL/RE – The Islamic State (IS) extremist group has recently expanded its campaign to recruit Iranians and disseminate its message to Persian speakers. By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL In late March, IS published a rare video in Persian in which it called on Iran’s Sunni minority to rise up against the Shi’a-dominated Iranian establishment. The video was dismissed by Iran’s state broadcaster as “nonsense” …

VOA — For many, the whereabouts and machinations of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks until his death remain shrouded in mystery. The terror mastermind had been on the run, trying to evade U.S. forces, while al-Qaida itself was in a period of disarray. Yet even as U.S. Navy SEALs burst into bin Laden’s …

Al-monitor – While President Hassan Rouhani focused on Iran’s educated middle class ahead of the May 19 vote, his conservative rivals targeted the poor. Having achieved an impressive victory, Rouhani now faces the challenge of maintaining this enormous asset, namely the Reform and moderation movement. Failing to do so could mean a return of hard-liners to power, as in 2005, …

Al-monitor – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered one of his harshest criticisms of the new US shift in adopting Saudi Arabia’s anti-Iranian stance. AUTHOR Arash Karami In a speech commemorating the death of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei said that a number of enemy countries emerged immediately in the first decade …

PayvandNews – Pesaro, Italy, June 4, 2017 – Amir Ghafour was the leading scorer for Iran in upsetting the reigning world champions in a 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Leaguematch in Italy. In their third match of this campaign, the Asian squad finally achieved their  first victory – 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 22-25) against Poland. Watch Video Ghafour contributed 19 points to Iran’s win. Mohammadjavad …