Tehran, Iran - Iran began counting ballots on Saturday after a vote for parliament and a key clerical body, with local media estimating a low turnout and conservatives expected to dominate. Friday's elections were the first since widespread protests triggered by the September 2022 death in police custody of Mahsa Amini,...

"The presence of US forces in our region has no justification," Raisi said in a Tehran ceremony ahead of the 45th anniversary of Iran's Islamic revolution on February 12.

Tehran, Iran--Iran and Turkey will join hands to set up a free trade zone at the border crossing in Khoy city. Head of the Iranian-Turkish parliamentary friendship group in the Iranian shura council Adel Najafzadeh said during the recent visit of the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Turkey, Raisi and...

Planned talks in Ankara in early January were called off when twin blasts claimed by IS group jihadists killed 89 people at the shrine of assassinated Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general Qasem Soleimani. A trip he had planned for November was cancelled because of conflicting schedules of diplomats involved in...

Raisi will meet Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara, making a visit that was postponed twice -- once in November and once earlier this month -- because of spiraling tensions across the Middle East.

The two explosions -- labelled a "terrorist attack" by state media and regional authorities -- came amid high Middle East tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the killing of a Hamas senior leader in Lebanon on Tuesday. The unclaimed attacks, which sparked fears of a widening conflict in...

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi slammed the "inefficacy" of international bodies to halt fighting between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas which has ravaged the Gaza Strip. Raisi's remarks came a day after the United Nations Security Council approved a much-delayed resolution demanding aid be allowed into the besieged Hamas-run territory "at...

Tehran, Iran--Iran’s export to African countries in the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year registered a 185 percent hike compared to the same period in 2020, an official said. Iran’s direct and indirect exports to the African continent in the administration of President Ebrahim Raeisi have significantly...

The Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit, held in Riyadh calls for an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of a just and lasting peace based on a two-state solution.

President Ebrahim Raisi has said Iran sees it as "its duty to support the resistance groups" but insisted that they act independently.

The upcoming summit is being organised by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a 57-member bloc of majority Muslim countries. It will be Raisi's first visit to the kingdom since the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations after seven years of estrangement, a deal brokered by China in March.

Tehran, Iran--Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday accused the United States of "encouraging" Israel to kill and carry out "cruel acts" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Gunmen from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas stormed across Gaza's border with Israel on October 7, killing about 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and...

Tehran, Iran-- Iran has ramped up its oil production to 3.4 million barrels per day (bpd), up from about 2.9 bpd. This was stated by Iranian Oil Minister, Javad Owji, according to whom it is part of the government strategy to boost production. The minister made the remarks on the sidelines...

Tehran, Iran--Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi believes the expansion of ties between Tehran and Riyadh will be effective in strengthening regional cooperation and solving the problem of the region and the Islamic world. The president made the remarks in a meeting with Abdullah bin Saud Al-Anzi, the newly appointed Saudi Arabian...

"A united and unified position in the Muslim world could have prevented the oppression and aggression of the Zionist regime and the excesses of its Western supporters in a more effective way," he said, quoted by state news agency IRNA. Raisi also called for "strengthening co-operation" between countries in the...

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned in a live broadcast to state TV of the possibility of pre-emptive action by the resistance axis in "in the coming hours" while Israel prepares to invade the Gaza Strip. Tehran has repeatedly warned that invasion of Gaza would be met with a response...

Tehran, Iran-- President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, has warned of an escalation in the war in Palestine if in his worlds the Zionist regime of Israel doesn't stop the killing of the people of Gaza and end the blockade of the enclave. He made the remarks in a phone call...

Hamas's weekend onslaught saw hundreds of fighters cross into the Israeli border in vehicles, by air and by sea, killing 1,200 people and seizing 150 hostages under the cover of a deluge of rockets. About another 1,200 people have been killed in thousands of Israeli strikes on Gaza, while a...

Analysts say the war has dealt a heavy blow to a possible landmark normalisation deal between Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, and Israel. That process has been driven by US President Joe Biden's administration, with Riyadh bargaining hard for benefits from Washington including security guarantees and...

Defending his country's enrichment of uranium to 60 percent purity level, noting that it was a response to European states failing to live up to the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has categorically rejected the Western states' claim that Tehran intends to build nuclear weapons, in an interview...

Tehran, Iran--Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has termed Saudi Arabia and Iran as the two most influential countries in the region and the Islamic world as he lay emphasis on the need for strengthening relations between the two. The president made the remarks In a meeting with Iran's newly-appointed ambassador to...

Tehran, Iran-- Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi expects cooperation between his country and Turkey to grow during the "new term" of Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The president made the remarks during a meeting with with the visiting Turkish foreign minister and his accompanying delegation in Tehran on Sunday. Referring to...

"Given our numerous capabilities, we consider Iran’s membership in BRICS and the SCO as well as participation in other regional alliances very effective," Raisi stressed.

Tehran, Iran - Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has expressed his eagerness to expedite the completion of the port at Chabahar, a strategic port city in Iran's southeastern region. Talking to Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi on the phone, Modi hailed the bilateral cooperation between the two nations and emphasized the...

Moscow, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Thursday, in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, the possibility of Iran joining the BRICS group in the future and issues of expanding cooperation in international and regional affairs. The talks also included Iran's participation as a full member...

Fars province governor Mohamed Hadi Imanieh told state TV the attack occurred around 7:00 pm (1530 GMT). Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has ordered an investigation and vowed in a statement to bring those responsible to justice, according to IRNA.

Tehran, Iran--Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has claimed that health tourism in the country has attracted patients from neighboring countries and even Central Asian states who prefer to get medical care in Iran rather than in Europe. Raisi made the remarks on Friday as he inaugurated Ghadir Major Hospital in the...

Tehran, Iran-- Qatar has renewed its willingness to boost economic cooperation with Iran, ramping up investment in order to strengthen the overall relations between the two countries. In a phone call on Tuesday with the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani voiced...

In Venezuela, Raisi and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro announced that they signed 25 accords, across sectors ranging from education and health to mining. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said he and Raisi signed a "basic memorandum of these steps that we are going to continue developing" to increase exchange between the...

Tehran, Iran-- Urging OPEC member countries to preserve cohesion and unity among them, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said that several Western countries were seeking to divide OPEC member states. The Iranian president made the remark in a meeting with the Secretary-General of OPEC Haitham al-Ghais in Tehran on Saturday. Considering the...

Oman has close ties with Iran and played a mediating role between Tehran and Washington in the build-up to a nuclear deal reached in 2015. Stop-start talks began in April last year to restore the deal, after the US unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, prompting Tehran to roll back...

Indonesia and Iran signed a trade agreement in Jakarta where President Joko Widodo hosted his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi. Tehran is aiming to boost its international trade. Raisi's two-day visit to Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, comes in the shadow of fresh European Union sanctions this week on Iran's Revolutionary...

Tehran, Iran-- Less than a year after signing a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with the UAE, Indonesia will sign a similar treaty with Iran during the ongoing visit of the Islamic Republic's President Ebrahim Raisi to the country. The deal is intended to improve trade relations and boost the trade...

TEHRAN, IRAN- Iran has summoned Iraq's ambassador to protest over the presence of Iranian opposition groups at an official ceremony in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, media reported on Sunday. Quoting the foreign ministry, ISNA news agency said that during Saturday's meeting Tehran expressed its "strong objection" to the invitation of members...

During late-night talks Thursday, Raisi and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad discussed "ways to develop and strengthen bilateral relations" and "emphasized existing cooperation in the field of reconstruction", according to a joint statement.

Iran's president hailed his visit to Damascus as a "turning point", after Tehran's support helped Syria retake most of the territory it lost in 12 years of war. Ebrahim Raisi's two-day trip is the first such visit to Tehran's close ally since 2010. "This trip will be a turning point...

Preparations for Raisi's visit have been underway for days in the Damascus district housing Iran's embassy, with concrete barriers in front of the mission removed, an AFP correspondent said. Iran's president leads a senior "economic-political delegation" for his two-day trip at Assad's invitation, Iranian state media reported.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi slammed the United States' presence in the Middle East, as he hosted his counterpart from neighboring Iraq for wide-ranging talks. Decades-old arch enemies the United States and Iran have vied for influence in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Both helped Iraq...

Raisi's planned trip comes against the backdrop of a rapprochement between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, and increased Arab engagement with Damascus. Amir-Abdollahian said the Riyadh-Tehran detente would have "positive repercussions on the whole region and in Lebanon in particular".

Iran and the United Arab Emirates have long had close economic ties which continued even during the diplomatic chill. A veteran diplomat who served most recently as director general of the foreign ministry's diaspora affairs department, Reza Ameri's career had previously taken him to Algeria, Sudan and Eritrea.

Iranian authorities ordered the arrest of two women, the judiciary said after a viral video appeared to show them being attacked by a man for not wearing the hijab. Video footage widely shared on social media in Iran appeared to show the two women customers, who were not wearing hijab...

Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said those behind the poisoning of schoolgirls in recent months should face "severe punishment", according to his website. In total, several hundred cases of gas poisoning have been reported in more than 52 schools across Iran since the end of November, according to an...

Grossi was greeted Friday at Mehrabad International Airport by Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and later met with its head Mohammad Eslami. They were to hold a joint press conference Saturday morning. During the visit, the IAEA director general will try to secure "more access...

Raisi is expected to hold private talks with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping in the capital Beijing, with the pair expected to sign a number of "cooperation documents". The two met for the first time last September in Uzbekistan at a summit for the SCO, where the Iranian president...

President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran has vowed to avenge the killing of a top Iranian general three years ago in a US drone strike. General Qassem Soleimani was ordered to be killed by then US President Donald Trump. The Iranian general commanded the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of...

The Union of Islamic Iran People Party, formed by relatives of former reformist president Mohammad Khatami, on Saturday demanded the authorities "prepare the legal elements paving the way for the cancellation of the mandatory hijab law".

Accusing the US President Joe Biden of "inciting chaos" after he expressed support for protests in Iran, President Ebrahim Raisi said that "the enemy's plot" should be countered by effective measure to resolve people's problems. The country has been rocked by protests since Mahsa Amini's death in custody.

Hundreds of demonstrators, reformist activists and journalists have been arrested amid the mostly night-time demonstrations that have spread to scores of cities since unrest first broke out after Amini's death on September 16.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi is the target of the complaint for his role as a judge in the 1980s when thousands of people were sentenced to death in the country. A group of Iranian dissidents and ex-prisoners filed a civil suit in New York against Raisi while he attended the...

The Iran nuclear deal with world powers still appears to be far from certain as President Raisi now says that the deal is pointless unless the UN nuclear watchdog put an end to its probe of undeclared sites. Iran has repeatedly urged the agency to end the issue before any...