Uncategorized

RFL/RE – Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has withdrawn from Iran’s presidential race to back hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi. In a May 15 statement published by Iranian media, Qalibaf said the decision was vital for the “preservation of the interests of the people, the revolution, and the country.” Qalibaf called on his supporters to vote for Raisi on May 19. …

VOA – A 5.7-magnitude earthquake has hit the Iranian city of Pishqaleh in North Khorasan province, killing two people and injuring at least 225 more, according to IRNA, Iran’s official news agency. The Red Crescent Society said 37 search and rescue teams were sent to the quake-hit region Saturday, immediately after the earthquake struck. Eighty percent of the injured and …

AL-Arabia – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani launched a scathing attack on his conservative election rivals on Monday, saying their era of “violence and extremism” was over. “The people of Iran shall once again announce that they don’t approve of those who only called for executions and jail throughout the last 38 years,” he told a packed stadium in the western …

RFL/RE – Iran says it would hit back at nearly all of regional rival Saudi Arabia’s territory with the exception of Islam’s holiest places if the Saudis do anything “ignorant.” Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan’s comments on May 7 came after the Saudi deputy crown prince made what Tehran said were “unlawful and inflammatory” remarks accusing Tehran of attempting to …

RFL/RE – A London court has ordered Iran’s state-run Press TV to pay 338,000 pounds ($435,000) in libel damages to a member of the British Parliament. The court ruled the Iran TV channel had falsely accused Conservative lawmaker Nadhim Zahawi in a July 2015 report of facilitating oil trades for the Islamic State (IS) militant group with Israel and European …

RFL/RE – Rescuers searched a damaged Iranian coal mine for a second day on May 4 as hopes of finding survivors faded following a blast, with the labor minister saying the death toll had risen to 35. The explosion tore through the Zemestanyurt mine in Golestan Province on May 3, reportedly trapping up to 80 miners underground at a depth …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has criticized President Hassan Rohani for saying his rapprochement policy toward the West had caused the threat of war to fade.

RFL/RE – The United States has cut by nearly half the number of visas it has issued to citizens of Iran and other countries targeted by President Donald Trump’s travel ban even though courts have prevented that ban from taking effect. Iranians hoping to visit family in the United States or conduct other business there received only 393 immigrants visas …

RFL/RE – Ten Iranian border guards were killed by Sunni militants in a cross-border attack on the frontier with Pakistan on April 26, Iranian media reported. The militant group called Jaish al Adl, or the Army of Justice, has claimed responsibility for the attack in Sistan-Baluchestan province, reports said. Iranian police said the guards were killed by long-range guns and …

Telegraph – UK firms are cautiously eying opportunities in Iran ahead of an expected $600bn boom in trade and infrastructure investment over the next ten years.