Social and Political

Radiofarda – In a strange turn of events, a Norwegian oil tanker sabotaged on May 12 in Fujairah territorial waters in the Persian Gulf region is on its way to Iran. Product tanker Andrea Victory suffered a gash in aft tank after an unknown object hit it on May 12, said tanker’s management company Thome Ship Management in a May …

Radiofarda – While U.S. warned Sunday of more sanctions hitting Iran, the country’s oil minister expressed hope crude exports will increase without offering any details. The United States has toughened its oil sanctions on Iran since May 2, aiming for “zero” exports. Various industry reports speak of less than 500,000 barrels of oil exported daily. Prior to the imposition of …

Al-Arabia – Enriching uranium to 20 percent is an option for Iran’s third step in reducing its commitments to nuclear deal, an Iranian nuclear agency spokesman said on Monday. Increasing the number of centrifuges is another option, the spokesman said, adding that restarting IR-2 and IR-2 m type centrifuges is also an option. Iran warns Europe Iran warned European countries …

Al-Arabia – Britain’s seizure of an Iranian tanker last week is “maritime piracy” that Iran will not leave without a response, Iran’s Defense Minister Amir Hatami said on Monday in a speech broadcast live on state television. Hatami added that Britain’s detention of the Iranian tanker was a “threatening and incorrect action.”“This action is a violation of international regulations and …

Al-Arabia – US President Donald Trump on Sunday said Iran “better be careful,” hours after Tehran announced it would shortly boost its uranium enrichment above a cap set by a landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Speaking to reporters as he departed Morristown, New Jersey, Trump warned Tehran. “Iran better be careful. If you enrich for one reason and I won’t tell you …

Al-Arabia – Iran will face further sanctions in response to its expected breach Sunday of a uranium enrichment cap, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. “Iran’s latest expansion of its nuclear program will lead to further isolation and sanctions,” the top US diplomat said on Twitter. Iran said earlier it was hours away from breaching the cap set by …

RFL/RE – Iran says a magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit a town in the country’s southwest on July 8, damaging several buildings.The report by the official IRNA news agency said that the quake hit near the town of Masjid Soleiman in Khuzestan Province, some 450 kilometers southwest of Tehran.It said at least four people have been reported injured.Witnesses told Western news …

RFL/RE – Iran on July 8 called on European signatories of a landmark nuclear agreement to abstain from any rash move in response to Tehran’s breaching the uranium-enrichment cap set by the 2015 deal.If European parties to the agreement “do certain strange acts then we would skip all the next steps [in the plan to scale back commitments] and implement …

Radiofarda – Iran’s deputy foreign minister has revealed that UK ambassador in Tehran visited the foreign ministry Saturday evening for a second time in recent days to discuss the issue of an Iranian oil tanker impounded at Gibraltar. Abbas Araqchi (Araghchi) told the media on Sunday, July 7, “We are continuously in touch with the British government and yesterday once …

Radiofarda – One of the signatories of a statement demanding the resignation of Iran’s Supreme Leader published a month ago says he was attacked by three unidentified assailants. Reza Mehregan, one of the 14 civic-political activists who in June demanded the resignation of Ayatollah Khamenei and the overhaul of Iran’s constitution, has told Radio Farda in an interview that he …