Al-Monitor – For now, dialogue with the Trump administration is not on Iran’s agenda. The Islamic Republic is instead implementing a policy of “resistance” by focusing on improving its economy and mobilizing public support. In parallel, it is engaged in active diplomacy to boost trade and circumvent US sanctions. As part of the diplomatic frenzy, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif …

Al-Monitor – “Although I personally support dialog and diplomacy, I flatly reject it under the current circumstances,” said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a clear message that the Islamic Republic’s stance toward the idea of talks with the administration of US President Donald Trump remained unchanged. Rouhani said “five world leaders” had approached him to help defuse Tehran-Washington tensions during his …

Radiofarda – A commander of Iranian Army’s Ground Force says the force has changed its mission to become “a mobile assault force,” reported Tasnim news agency on Monday May 20. Tasnim quoted Brigadier Ali Hajilou, the commander of the northwestern headquarters of the Iranian army’s ground forces as having said that the army’s ground force has left behind its traditional …

Radiofarda – Yemen’s Houthi group allied with Iran said targeting Saudi Aramco’s installations last week was the beginning of military operations against 300 vital military targets, Houthi-controlled SABA news agency said on Sunday May 19, citing a source in the movement’s military. Targets included vital military headquarters and facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, as well as their …

Radiofarda – An influential pro-Iranian Iraqi politician has offered to mediate between Iran and the United States in a meeting with Joey Hood, Chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Mission in Iraq. Ammar al-Hakim in Baghdad met with Hood on May 19, Iran’s government news agency IRNA reported on Monday. The two discussed current tensions between the United States and Iran, …

Radiofarda – A court in Tehran on Sunday sentenced Yasin Ramin a well-connected businessman and an importer of medicine and medical equipment to seven years in jail, Fars news agency reported. Yassin Ramin is the son of former culture minister Mohammad Ali Ramin, an ultraconservative who banned several publications in Iran under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and held an international conference …

Radiofarda – Israeli media have given extensive coverage to the rising tension in the Persian Gulf area, fearing wider implications for the region and Israel. Reactions by officials on the other hand have been limited, perhaps deliberately trying not to appear as inflaming existing tensions. Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz was the first Israeli official who reacted to the events …

Al-Arabia – Britain told Iran on Monday not to underestimate the resolve of the United States, warning that if American interests were attacked then the administration of President Donald Trump would retaliate.“I would say to the Iranians: Do not underestimate the resolve on the US side,” Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told reporters on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly …

Al-Arabia – Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday the “genocidal taunts” of US President Donald Trump will not “end Iran”, amid a spike in tensions between the two countries. “Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors all gone. Economic terrorism and genocidal taunts won’t ‘end Iran’,” Zarif wrote on Twitter.Last Update: Monday, 20 May 2019 KSA 13:52 – …

Iran-HRM – Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on Sunday sentenced four men affiliated with the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK) to prison and death. The branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court headed by notorious judge, Mohammad Moghiseh, have sentenced 34-year-old Abdullah Ghasempour to death and eight years behind bars after being convicted of charges including “waging war on God,” “assembly and …