Radiofarda – An ultraconservative politician in Iran says it was the regular Iranian Army that shot down an American drone on June 20, 2019, but the “credit” was given to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). A pro-reform website, Jamaran cited Abolfazl Tavakkoli Bina a member of the central council of Islamic Coalition Party (ICP) , as saying in a …

Reuters – Iran is prepared to hold talks with regional rival Saudi Arabia with or without the help of a mediator, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, ahead of a visit by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. Asked about reports that Khan, due to arrive in Iran on Sunday, may try to mediate between Tehran and Riyadh, Foreign Ministry …

Radiofarda – Protest in front of the Turkish embassy in Tehran. October 12, 2019. Following protests in Kurdish-populated regions of western Iran on Friday, hundreds of people gathered at the Turkish embassy in Tehran Saturday afternoon to voice their anger at Turkey’s attack on Kurdish areas in Syria. جلوی سفارت ترکیه همین الان pic.twitter.com/0MCIFebeSj— parisa (@Parisa991) October 12, 2019 A …

Radiofarda – Thousands of disappointed Iranians have been forced to return to the country before completing the Arbaeen pilgrimage, an annual ritual that brings millions of Shiites from across the world to the city of Karbala in Iraq. More than two million Iranian Shi’ites have already crossed the into Iraq, the Islamic Republic authorities have maintained. Nevertheless, thousands of them …

Radiofarda – In one of his rare media appearances Iranian revolutionary guard IRGC’s Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani claimed in a late September interview aired on Iranian state TV that Israel had planned to assassinate him. Soleimani said that Israel was going to shoot down an aircraft carrying him and Lebanese Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrollah during the 33-day war between …

Al-Arabia – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Sunday to develop more advanced and modern weapons, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, amid rising regional tensions.“The Guards should have advanced and modern weapons … It should be developed at home. You need to develop and produce your weapons,” Khamenei said in a speech at Imam …

Iran-HRM Security forces in southwest Iran have made widespread arrests following large protests over the HIV infection of more than 300 villagers by a local health clinic. The arrests in the village of Chenar Mahmoud in the town of Lordegan, Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari Province, started on Tuesday, October 8, three days after hundreds of Iranians in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari …

RFL/RE – Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is visiting Shi’ite-led Iran amid reports that he will attempt to mediate a decades-long dispute between Iran and Saudi Arabia.Khan arrived in Tehran on October 13 and then will move on to Riyadh, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on October 12.U.S. President Donald Trump has asked Khan to play a role in reducing …

Radiofarda – Days after President Hassan Rouhani’s caustic comments against the Islamic Republic’s ultraconservative Guardians Council (GC), a hardliner Friday Prayer Imam has implicitly accused him of polarizing Iranian society. On October 9, Rouhani had warned the country’s powerful Guardian Council (GC) to avoid stricter vetting of candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections next February. “We should not believe that …

Radiofarda – On Thursday October 10, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif penned an op-ed in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-rai. While calling for dialog between all the countries of the Persian Gulf, he also threatened all the regional foes saying that either everybody will enjoy security “or they will all be deprived of it.” In the early morning of October 11, …