Al-Monitor – In the early 2000s, as Iran drafted ambitious plans to exploit its huge gas potential, allocating some of the gas for the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) was firmly on its agenda. In fact, three projects were outlined: Pars LNG, a joint venture between Total (50%), the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC, 40%) and Petronas (10%); Persian …

Al-Monitor – On Nov. 11, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake rattled the border region between Iran and Iraq, causing extensive damage and the death of at least 530 people in the western part of Iran. The highest casualties occurred in the town of Sarpol-e Zahab, situated in Iran’s Kermanshah province. The population of Kermanshah and the area that was affected by …

PayvandNews – ATR delivered two planes to Iran Air in late September, bringing the total number of deliveries so far to six. Related Report: Iran Air receives two new ATR planes (September 2017 photo by Islamic Republic News Agency) European plane maker ATR says it plans to deliver eight more turboprop planes to Iran within the next few weeks. The announcement was …

RFL/RE – Thousands of people spent a second night in makeshift tents or out in the open as authorities downplayed hope for finding more survivors of a powerful earthquake near the Iran-Iraq border that killed hundreds of people. Iran’s Kermanshah Province bore the brunt of the quake, with state media saying that at least 430 people died and about 7,000 …

RFL/RE – A U.S. appeals court is allowing President Donald Trump’s latest executive order barring certain travelers from Iran and five other predominantly Muslim countries to take effect.

Al-Arabia – France’s foreign ministry said on Monday it was an important condition for the stability of the region that Iran not interfere in Lebanon’s domestic affairs.

VOA – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pledged Tuesday his government would quickly help to rebuild areas affected by a deadly earthquake, as the country observed an official day of mourning for the victims. Rouhani spoke during a visit to Kermanshah, which was hit the hardest by Sunday’s magnitude 7.3 quake along the Iran-Iraq border. WATCH: Iran Earthquake Iran’s state-run IRNA …

CHRI – A reporter in Iran’s Kurdistan Province, hit by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake on November 12, 2017, told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) that aid had not reached some of the most devastated villages and towns almost a full day after the earthquake had hit. “The Kouyek villages were completely leveled and no one had gone …

CHRI – Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and the chief prosecutor of Kurdistan Province have refused to accept a medical examiner’s recommendation to hospitalize imprisoned labor activist Mahmoud Salehi, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. Salehi, who has no kidneys, was rushed to a local hospital on November 3, 2017, from Saqqez Central Prison, 371 miles west of …

Al-Monitor – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s second term in office, which began in August, has been accompanied by much criticism from the Reformists, so much so that some have even reported rifts emerging within the Cabinet. Rouhani entered Iran’s presidential election scene in 2013 and 2017 as a candidate for the Reform movement, which allowed him to defeat his conservative …