Al-Arabia – Outgoing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to provide new evidence that shows ties between Iran and al-Qaeda, political sources familiar with the top American diplomat’s plans to speak later Tuesday have said. For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Pompeo and the Trump administration, soon entering their …

Iranwire – Unexpected news surfaced on Saturday, January 9: During a televised speech, the Supreme Leader Khamenei ordered a ban on American and British coronavirus vaccines. The Americans and the English, he said, “are not trustworthy or reliable. I don’t know, perhaps they wish to test a vaccine on other nations to see if it works or not. And of course, I …

Iranwire – Health workers are the front line in our defense against the coronavirus pandemic – including hundreds of Iranian Baha’i doctors and nurses. But they are not in Iran; instead, they live in countries around the world, treating their patients, where they are admired and praised by the people and governments of the countries where they live. The one country …

RFL/RE – U.S. President-elect Joe Biden says he has chosen veteran diplomat William Burns, who once served as ambassador to Russia, to be the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). “Bill Burns is an exemplary diplomat with decades of experience on the world stage keeping our people and our country safe and secure,” Biden said in a statement …

Radiofarda – Hamed Esmaeeilion, an Iranian-Canadian who works as a dentist in Toronto, has spent the past year grappling with the tragic deaths of his wife Parisa, 42, and daughter Reera, 9, in the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on January 8, 2020, outside Tehran. Radio Farda: On the eve of the anniversary of the tragedy, the Iranian …

Iran Human Rights (IHR)- A prisoner sentenced to death on “drug-related” charges, has been executed in Zahedan Central Prison. According to Iran Human Rights, a male prisoner was executed on the morning of Saturday, January 9, in Zahedan Central Prison. His identity has been established as 37-year-old Majid Rigi, who had been sentenced to death on “drug-related” charges. According to …

Al-Monitor – After Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated publicly that Iran would ban any Western vaccine for the coronavirus, a number of officials have come to his defense over the decision. On Jan. 8, Khamenei said he had already informed Iranian officials that vaccines from the United States and the United Kingdom have been banned. He said he has “no …

Al-Arabia – The United States will designate the Iran-backed Houthi militia as a terrorist organization, and three of its leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an official statement on Monday. “The Department of State will notify Congress of my intent to designate Ansarallah – sometimes referred to as the Houthis – as a …

A-Arabia – Reviving Iran’s nuclear deal must happen within the coming weeks, UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday after Tehran resumed 20 percent uranium enrichment and its parliament threatened to reduce access for inspectors in February. “It is clear that we don’t have many months ahead of us. We have rather weeks,” Grossi said in an interview …

Iranwire – A top South Korean diplomat was in Iran on January 10 to negotiate the release of a vessel and its crew seized by Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf amid a deepening financial dispute.South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun met with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, to discuss the seizure by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) …