gatestoneinstitute.org – That leaves the remaining members of the P5+1 with a clear choice: either pronounce the Obama [Iran] “deal” dead and seek a framework for new talks on how to solve the perennial “Iran problem” which, paradoxically, all say they are concerned about, or to unite to neutralize the United States and help Iran carry on as usual. The …

PayvandNews – Iran’s national volleyball team have kicked off week three of the 2019 FIVB Nations League with a straight-sets win over Canada, in front of the home crowd in the northwestern Iranian city of Urmia. See more photos by IRNA Iran set the pace of the match after crushing the visiting Canada in the opener with a commanding 25-15 victory.The Canadians …

Radiofarda — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, emphasizing “our shared desire for a strong, free, and sovereign Iraq,” the State Department said.Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said on June 14 that Pompeo thanked the prime minister for Iraq’s continued efforts to counter threats to Iraq’s sovereignty from Iran-backed militias.Pompeo reiterated the U.S. commitment …

Radiofarda – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Friday for an independent investigation to establish the facts and who was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers this week in the Gulf of Oman. The United States blamed Iran for the attacks on Thursday, a charge Tehran rejected. Amid the rising tensions, Guterres said he was available to mediate …

Radiofarda – Former Deputy President of Iran Shahindokht Molaverdi has criticized the intelligence and judiciary authorities over the imprisonment of a U.S. permanent resident who was set free on June 11 after almost four years behinds bars. Lebanese citizen and U.S. permanent resident Nizar Zakka had attended a 2015 conference in Tehran on the invitation of Molaverdi, who was deputy …

Al-Arabia – Calling Iran “a nation of terror,” President Donald Trump confirmed the assessment of his top advisers and publicly accused Tehran of responsibility for recent attacks on tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Trump said on Friday that Iran’s culpability was “exposed” by the United States. While calling into Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” he said of …

RFL/RE – The Iraqi military says three mortar shells have hit an Iraqi Air Force base just north of Baghdad where U.S. soldiers are training Iraqi forces.In a statement, Iraq’s military said the shelling early on June 15 ignited a small fire at Balad Air Base but did not result in any casualties.The attack occurred amid rising tension in the …

RFL/RE – A British-Iranian charity worker who is being held at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on sedition charges has begun another hunger strike in protest at her detention.Forty-year-old Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was refusing food as she marked her daughter’s fifth birthday, her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said in a statement on June 15.“She had informed the judiciary that she has begun a …

RFL/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani says his country will continue scaling back on compliance of its nuclear deal with world powers unless other signatories to the agreement show “positive signals.” Speaking on June 15 at a summit of Asian leaders in Dushanbe, Rohani said his country “has made a decision to terminate the implementation of some of its obligations” …

RFL/RE – Iranians have found a new platform to fuel fresh debate over one of their society’s most sensitive topics: the so-called hijab laws that oblige women to cover their bodies and hair in conservative Islamic fashion.Reactions have come fast and furious since a Tehrani driver for the country’s largest Uber-like ride-sharing enterprise, Snapp, refused to drive a woman to …