Social and Political

PayvandNews – The administration of US President Barack Obama is planning to take measures in its last months in office to “strengthen” a multi-lateral nuclear deal with Iran, amid the probability that an incoming American president and his hawkish possible appointees may act to undermine the international agreement and the US stature as a result, American officials say. Senior Obama …

IBTimes – Iran is building two large naval zones and three bases on the coasts of Makran along the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, a strategic military region for world leaders. Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced Monday the navy construction projects under Iran’s ongoing efforts to secure naval routes and protect merchant vessels against pirates. The construction comes after …

RFL/RE – An Iranian nuclear official says the country has transferred stocks of so-called heavy water to Oman. A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency last week showed that Iran’s stocks of heavy water — a key component in nuclear reactors — had reached above the 130-ton level set out in the nuclear deal signed by Tehran and world …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh says it is “highly likely” that oil producers will reach an agreement to cut production and boost flagging prices later this month. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is meeting on November 30 in Vienna to finalize a deal to rein in production. “There is a high possibility of OPEC’s petroleum and …

Al-arabia – The website of Iran’s Supreme Leader is reporting that he has appointed a new chief for the national army’s ground forces. The Saturday report says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, has appointed Gen. Kiumars Heidari to the post. The 52-year-old Heidari was formerly the acting commander of the ground forces. He is …

AlArabiya.net  – Former US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, and one of the top contenders for Foreign Secretary in the new Cabinet, called for a regime change in Iran. He has repeatedly urged the overthrow of the existing regime in Tehran. In an interview published by the Huffington Post on Thursday, Bolton said that the US face the challenges …

alarabiya -The United States and Iran on Thursday clashed openly at the UN atomic watchdog for the first time since they signed a landmark nuclear deal last year, differing over Tehran’s repeated testing of one of the deal’s less strictly defined limits. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is policing the deal, said Iran’s overstepping of the limit on …

Al-monitor – Ever since the fall of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, Shiites have begun once again openly marking the annual mourning holiday of Arbaeen, with the number of people taking part in the ceremony surging each year. AUTHOR Rohollah Faghihi Arbaeen, described as the world’s largest annual pilgrimage, is a ritual that occurs 40 days after the day …

Reuters – OPEC is moving closer toward finalizing this month its first deal since 2008 to limit oil output, with most members prepared to offer Iran significant flexibility on production volumes, ministers and sources said on Friday. Iran has been the main stumbling block for such a deal because Tehran wants exemptions as it tries to regain oil market share …

VOA – Republicans and other long-time opponents of an international nuclear agreement with Iran have walked back calls to scrap the deal and are now urging the incoming Trump administration to stiffen it rather than unravel what President-elect Donald Trump once termed as “the worst deal ever negotiated.” With Iran and European allies imploring the new administration to honor the …