Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.

PayvandNews – More than 5,700 Iranian artists issued an appeal to President Hassan Rouhani urging him to take serious measures to address air pollution in the country. A view of the capital city Tehran covered in tick smog The supreme council of the Iranian Artists Forum, comprising photographers, graphic designers, painters, sculptors, calligraphers, potters, and actors signed a letter to …

VOA – Iran’s Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday became the first foreign minister to meet Lebanon’s new president, a move that underscored Tehran’s tussle for influence in Beirut with its regional arch rival Saudi Arabia. A Christian leader and close ally of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah who was elected president last week, Aoun also met an envoy sent …

dailystar – Iran will sign a deal with France’s Total Tuesday for the development of gas production at a major offshore field in the Gulf, the Iranian oil ministry said. The Heads of Agreement (HOA) for the development of Phase 11 of the important South Pars field is worth $6 billion, a ministry spokesman told AFP.

Al-monitor – Saudi Arabia is losing influence throughout the Fertile Crescent to its rival Iran. While Riyadh’s position versus Tehran has been in decline for some time, the trend is accelerating. Saudi setbacks are partly due to factors outside its control, but also due to inherent weaknesses in Saudi capacities. AUTHOR Bruce Riedel The kingdom has had a friendly regime …

Reuters – Iran has reached a deal with a foreign leasing company to finance the first 17 jets it plans to buy from Airbus (AIR.PA), breaking a logjam in efforts to import aircraft following the lifting of sanctions, people familiar with the move said. The deal removes a significant hurdle to securing the first tranche of jets, following uncertainty over …