Social and Political

Head of the Iranian National Carpet Center has announced the resumption of Iran’s hand-woven carpet export to the US during post-sanctions era. Hamid Karegar, speaking in a meeting with Qazvin Governor General Fereidoun Hemmati on Sunday, said that Iran resumed carpet exports to the US in the wake of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). file photo by Yunes …

RFL/E – Iran has said it will only pay half of the price announced for 80 new planes from U.S. firm Boeing. Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan as saying the country will only pay half of the $16.6 billion deal because of reduced purchasing options. “Boeing has announced that its IranAir contract is …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin welcomed the “Syrian army’s victory against the terrorists in Aleppo” during a late-night phone call, Iranian media reported on Sunday. “The Syrian army’s victory sends a message that the terrorists cannot achieve their objectives. We must stop terrorists using the ceasefire to rebuild their forces and create new bases …

PayvandNews – The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) says it has authorized banks to deal in foreign exchange trading at a free-market rate – a move which is expected to help control the rising rates of the dollar. A statement on CBI’s website called on merchants and traders to refer to the authorized banks and purchase their required dollars, adding …

Al-Arabia – President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had all agreed that the Kazakh capital of Astana should be the venue for new Syrian peace negotiations. Russia, Iran and Turkey held talks in Moscow on Tuesday after which they said they were ready to help broker a Syrian peace deal. Putin …

VOA – The International Atomic Energy Agency has published on its website a number of documents, previously restricted, about the international nuclear deal with Iran reached in 2015. The documents released Friday are accompanied by a letter from the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, who authorized the publication, but gave no details about why the documents were being …

PayvandNews – The US Treasury Department has loosened exports of authorized medical devices as well as agricultural goods to Iran as well as the training of Iranian health professionals by Americans. The US Treasury Department says it has amended transactions restrictions on Iran to allow the exports of authorized medical devices and agricultural commodities to the country. A statement by …

Al-Arabia – Earlier this week, Iran, Russia and Turkey met in Moscow in order to discuss Syria’s nearly six-year war. Iranian leaders appeared determined to exclude other regional and global powers from the gathering. This highlights Iran’s intention to direct the Syrian conflict into a direction that precisely meets their geopolitical, strategic and regional hegemonic ambitions. It also shows that …

RFL/RE  — Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev says his country supports Iran’s full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Atambaev made the statement on December 23 in Bishkek after holding talks with visiting Iranian President Hassan Rohani. SCO member states are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, while Iran has observer status. Tehran applied for full SCO membership in …

Al-Arabia – Javad Karimi Kaddosi, the member of the National Security Committee in the Iranian parliament, revealed that the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, admitted in a private and confidential hearing before the committee that he made a lapse in judgement in the nuclear talks with the West. As reported by Fares News, an ardent to the Iranian Revolutionary …