Al-Monitor – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s recent landmark trip to Iraq was closely monitored and discussed from various aspects by the media and analysts around the world. Some observers put their focus on the bilateral aspect, talking about the importance of the visit in terms of Iran’s growing influence in Iraq, while others analyzed it within the context of Iran’s plans to overcome the US …

Radiofarda – In an apparent sign of frustration as a result of his country’s ongoing economic problems, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has heightened anti-U.S. rhetoric in his recent speeches. During the past two days, Rouhani called on Iranians to damn “those who created the current situation in Iran,” and urged the Iranian Judiciary to prosecute the US officials involved in …

Radiofarda – Turkey and Iran on Monday started a joint military operation against Kurdish rebels on Turkey’s eastern border, state-run Anadolu news agency quoted the interior minister as saying. Turkey has recently talked about a possible joint operation with neighbor Iran to counter outlawed militants from the the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), but this is the first time Turkish authorities …

Radiofarda – Iran’s military involvement in Syria and Iraq and assistance to Hezbollah are among the Islamic Republic’s “unique achievements”, according to Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari. “The Islamic Republic has organized a 100,000-strong people’s force in Syria fighting the Islamic State (IS), Al-Nusra Front and other opponents of Bashar al-Assad,” Jafari …

Radiofarda – A conservative politician in Iran, who was minister of culture in the first administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has proposed to eliminate the presidency in the Islamic Republic. Speaking in a television program on March 17, Mohammad Saffar Harandi who is now a member of Iran’s Expediency Council proposed to replace the president with a prime minister. Harandi is …

Radiofarda – Argentinian security officials say that an Iranian couple was arrested in Buenos Aires for travelling on fake Israeli passports. Local reports say a 27-year old man and a 30-year old woman were arrested on March 12, travelling on forged Israeli passports under the fake names of Netanel and Rivka Toledano. The couple travelled from Spain to Argentina. Police …

Radiofarda – Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, Mohsen Rezaei, says the EU needs to Guarantee oil purchase from Iran if it wants Iran to ratify the bills required by FATF, the Financial Action Task Force. Two of the four bills that would join Iran to international conventions against money laundering and funding terrorism and ensure transparency of the Islamic …

Al-Arabia – Last December, Yemen’s government and Houthi rebels signed a UN deal in Sweden known as the Stockholm Agreement. The deal called for the withdrawal of troops on both sides from the major port city of Hodeidah in order to admit humanitarian aid to Yemenis afflicted by famine due to four years of civil war. But the Houthis have …

Al-Arabia – Iran recalled its ambassador to Kenya because of a court decision upholding sentences for two Iranians in jail, foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said Sunday, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency. File photo of Sayed Mansour Mousavi (L) and Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammed during their trial in Nairobi. (AFP) Iran also lodged a formal complaint with the Kenyan …

Iran-HRM – The Iranian Judiciary sentenced 23 members of Iran’s Gonabadi Dervish minority to hefty prison terms and lashes. The dervishes have been sentenced to overall 190 years of prison, 46 years of exile, 1,776 lashes, a 46 year travel ban and a 46 year ban on involvement in social and political activities. All the dervishes are currently detained in …