TEHRAN/ JOHANNESBURG, IRAN/ SOUTH AFRICA - The Iranian and Chinese presidents stressed the need to bolster bilateral cooperation and the trend of multilateralism especially within the framework of BRICS.Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi held talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS+ Summit on Thursday to discuss...

Argentina, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia are the four other member countries joining BRICS, underscoring its commitment to a more inclusive global stance, effective from January 2024.

Tehran, Iran -- The trade exchanges between Iran and China in the first seven months of the current year reached $8.540 billion, with China’s export of products to Iran accounting for $6 billion of it.The trade declined by 11 percent compared to the same period last year, China’s Customs Office...

Tehran, Iran - The World Steel Association (WSA) has reported a significant 4.1% increase in Iran's steel production during the first seven months of 2023 (January-July), compared to the same period last year.Iran's crude steel production for this period totaled 18.1 million tons, showcasing strong growth.In July 2023, Iran's crude...

Tehran, Iran-- Iran will boost military cooperation with Russia as the two countries look to strengthen strategic partnership.According to the commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Force Brigadier General Kioumars Heidari, "the Iranian army is ready to boost military cooperation with Russia."Heidari made the remark in a meeting with the...

South Africa has revealed potential BRICS expansion plans at the Johannesburg summit, with keen interest shown by Middle Eastern nations, notably UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Tehran, Iran -- Iran exported $2.9 billion worth of non-oil products to Iraq in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year, an official with the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) said, adding that the country’s export to Iraq will reach $10.5 billion by the yearend.Iran’s export...

Israel, during more than a decade of civil war in Syria, has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions. Israel rarely comments on the strikes, but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its...

"Reports that a meeting between Iranian and American officials will be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting are not true. Iran is not holding direct talks with the United States and is not planning to do so either on the margins of the General Assembly or...

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 significance...

Tehran, Iran--Iran-China bilateral relations and the 25-year strategic cooperation program between the two countries are moving forward in the right direction, according to the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.In a telephone conversation between the foreign ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the People's Republic of China, the latest...

Tehran, Iran -- Trade between Iran and the European Union member states reached 2.3 billion euros ($2.5 billion) in the first half of 2023, according to Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat).Trade between Iran and Germany accounted for half the value, Tasnim News Agency reported, adding the Iran-EU trade...

Tehran, Iran-- China's ambassador to Iran has affirmed that his country's cooperation with Iran is at its best in various fields, voicing hope that both sides will further improve ties.Chang Hua made the remarks in a Saturday meeting with the governor of the northwestern Iranian province of West Azarbaijan Mohammad...

As Middle Eastern countries rise economically and their populations grow, Malaysia sees a bigger role in fulfilling the region's growing demand for edible oils and fats.

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has met with diplomat Assadollah Assadi, recently freed by Belgium in a high-profile prisoner swap case in May, the presidency site said on Saturday."The claimants of human rights have shown once again that they do not adhere to any law," Raisi said in reference...

TEHRAN, IRAN – Iran is the first Islamic country to possess a very modern observatory, the head of the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences Mohammad Javad Larijani said.“We started the construction process (of the observatory) concurrent with Turkey (starting its own); they had the resources, like the cash, so they collaborated...

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 of...

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also took the opportunity to reiterate the Islamic republic's support for the Palestinian cause at a time when Riyadh is in discussions with the United States about potentially normalizing ties with Israel.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - The 11th Moscow Conference on International Security, held at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center here, saw high-level discussions between Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin and military representatives from Saudi Arabia and Iran.In a meeting with Talal Abdullah Al-Otaibi, military adviser to the Saudi defense minister,...

Three thousand additional US personnel on troop-landing warships have already passed through the Red Sea, and US-led maritime forces are warning ships against approaching Iranian waters. The moves follow a spate of capture and attempted capture of ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the U-shaped gateway to the...

The film-makers will only serve one-twentieth of their sentence, about nine days, while the remainder "will be suspended over five years," according to Etemad, which added the verdict can be appealed. During the suspension period, the defendants will be required to take a film-making course while "preserving national and ethical...

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.

"Vessels are being advised to transit as far away from Iranian territorial waters as possible" to minimize the risk of seizure, US Fifth Fleet spokesperson Commander Tim Hawkins told AFP. The International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), led by Washington, is "notifying regional mariners of appropriate precautions to minimize the risk...

TEHRAN, IRAN – Pretoria fully supports Tehran joining BRICS, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said at a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian."South Africa is interested in Iran being accepted as a friendly country by the BRICS," Ramaphosa said as quoted by Mehr News.The South African president also...

Based on the agreement, five Iranian prisoners in the US and five American prisoners in Iran will be exchanged," the official IRNA news agency reported, quoting an informed source. It reported that the deal with the US includes releasing an amount of $6 billion of Iranian money frozen in South...

BEIRUT, LEBANON - Lebanon's culture minister said on Wednesday he had asked authorities to ban hit movie "Barbie" for purportedly "promoting homosexuality", as anti-LGBTQ rhetoric soars in one of the Middle East's more liberal countries."It was decided... to send a request to Lebanon's General Security agency... to take all necessary measures...

Tehran, Iran -- Oman has said it has been making efforts to facilitate regional and international cooperation by with the active participation of Iran.In a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart on Tuesday, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi referred to the recent talks between Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and...

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen their respective embassies following a China-brokered deal announced in March.

Tehran, Iran-- In a defiant posture toward the West, Russia has declared that it will continue to enhance military cooperation with Iran, despite what it termed as enemies' opposition to the ties between the two countries.Deputy Foreign Minister of Russian Federation Sergei Alexeyevich Ryabkov said that the military cooperation between...

Tokyo, Japan - Iran's foreign minister visited Japan on Monday for the first time since 2019, in a rare trip to a G7 member country by the Islamic republic's top diplomat.The purpose of the visit by Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to the current chair of the G7 was not announced, but reports said...

Drastic government measures have restricted water use for some purposes, including crop irrigation, and authorities have cracked down on illegal practices they long ignored.

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran on Sunday appointed Mohammed Jafar Montazeri, who is under US and British sanctions, to head the Islamic republic's top court.Montazeri was named the supreme court chief after the "opinions of all the court judges" were taken into consideration, the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.The 75-year-old, who had...

"The economies of Iran and Pakistan are inherently complementary. For example, Pakistan can be a supplier of Iran's needs in the agricultural sector, and Iran can cover Pakistan's need for energy. The total bilateral trade between Iran and Pakistan has been going up in recent years and reached more than...

The dispute over the field -- known as Arash in Iran and Dorra in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia -- dates back to the 1960s when Iran and Kuwait awarded overlapping offshore concessions. Last year Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to develop the field, despite objections from Iran which...

The main activist group representing families of those killed has called for a protest march on Friday afternoon, converging on the port. On Thursday, 300 individuals and organisations including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International renewed a call for the United Nations to establish a fact-finding mission, a demand...

The US military says Iran has either seized or attempted to take control of nearly 20 internationally flagged ships in the region over the past two years. Washington said its forces blocked two attempts by Iran to seize commercial tankers in international waters off Oman on July 5, while Tehran...

Both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait renewed "their previous and repeated calls to the Islamic Republic of Iran to negotiate" the demarcation of their maritime borders to settle the issue, according to the statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Recent attempts to revive negotiations have failed.

Tehran, Iran - Iran's Revolutionary Guards launched naval drills on Wednesday near strategic Gulf islands controlled by Iran but claimed by the United Arab Emirates, state media said.The manoeuvres, which were being held mainly near Abu Musa island but also around Greater and Lesser Tunb, came two weeks after the United...

On July 11, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that Iraq would start paying for Iranian gas with oil, as a way of circumventing the complicated mechanism. "Work is continuing with the American side concerning unpaid bills, which have fallen to 9.2 billion" euros ($10 billion), Sudani told reporters at...

Earlier this month, Kuwait had invited Iran for another round of maritime border talks after Tehran said it was ready to start drilling in the field. On Thursday, Sky News Arabia quoted Kuwait's Oil Minister Saad Al-Barrak as saying his country would begin "drilling and production" at the gas field...

Tehran, Iran--Iranian authorities have banned the editor-in-chief of reformist daily Etemad "from any press activity for a year" over coverage of last year's nationwide protests, the newspaper reported on Saturday.The journalist, Behrooz Behzadi, was "accused of publishing false content", Etemad said, citing a decision by the prosecutor's office following a complaint...

Tehran, Iran – Iran's second-largest carmaker, Saipa, has successfully delivered another batch of cars to Venezuela as part of an automotive export and joint manufacturing deal signed during a visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi to Caracas in early June.According to a statement released by Saipa on Wednesday, the shipment...

The Arab world's most impoverished country, locked in an eight-year conflict between Houthi rebels and forces supporting the internationally recognized government, has deep ties to coffee.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - Internet privacy company Proton announced Wednesday a new VPN Observatory, tracking demand for its services to detect attacks on free speech in countries like Russia and Iran before they hit the headlines.Switzerland-based Proton said its new observatory would document spikes in sign-ups to its virtual private networks (VPNs),...

Amnesty International expressed concern over the crackdown launched by Iran against women deemed to have violated the Islamic republic's dress rules. Iran was roiled by months of unprecedented protests triggered by custody death of Mahsa Amini in September last year, who had been arrested by the morality police for breaking...

Tehran, Iran - Iranian authorities have arrested several followers of the Bahai faith accused of spying for Tehran's arch-foe Israel, local media in the Islamic republic reported on Tuesday.The Bahais, Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority, are not recognised by the state and often targeted over alleged ties to Israel -- home...

Tehran, Iran – The clothing industry in Iran which employs around two million people grew by 17 percent last year compared to the previous year, a senior Iranian official said on Monday. “Currently, at least 100,000 production units have been registered in the garment industry,” the Director General of the Office...

They venerate fire as a supreme form of purity. Alongside water, air and earth, the elements must not be contaminated by human activity.

Baghdad, Iraq -- Demonstrators marched in the Iraqi and Iranian capitals Friday to denounce Sweden's permission for protests that desecrate the Quran, as Stockholm withdrew staff from its Baghdad embassy.Hundreds of people gathered in Baghdad's Sadr City after Friday prayers, chanting "Yes, yes to Islam, yes, yes to the Quran", an...

The wind catchers, called badgirs in Persian, are just one of the engineering marvels inhabitants have developed in this ancient city in central Iran -- where temperatures reach well over 40 degrees celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in the summer. And, unlike energy-guzzling air-conditioners, they're cost and carbon-free.