The task force announced by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday initially included Britain, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. The Iran-backed Houthis say their missile and drone strikes on passing container ships are in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war raging between Israel...

Oil prices shot up three percent as more companies suspended shipping through the Red Sea following attacks on vessels by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels. US stocks sought to continue last week's rally on expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next year, though it appears to have lost steam...

According to human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Iran executes more people per year than any other nation except China. In a November report, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said the Islamic republic had executed more than 600 people so far this year, marking the highest figure in eight...

Tehran, Iran — Iran has waived visa requirements for passport holders from 33 nations, signaling a significant step in opening its doors to global visitors. “The government intends to open the country's doors to the world,” Iranian Minister of Tourism Ezzatollah Zarghami, said on Wednesday as reported by Saudi Gazzete....

Tehran, Iran-- Saudi Arabia and Iran's foreign ministers have stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and sending humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan discussed bilateral relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the latest developments...

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, the strikes had targeted "Hizbollah sites" in the Sayeda Zeinab district and near Damascus airport. Strong explosions were reported in the suburbs of Damascus, which have been previously targeted by strikes that Syrian authorities have blamed on Israel.

Tehran, Iran - Iran said on Saturday that attempting to revive its landmark nuclear deal with world powers that was effectively scrapped by former US president Donald Trump was increasingly "useless". "Today, the more we advance, the more the JCPOA becomes useless," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a speech to...

PARIS, FRANCE - The family of Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody, have been banned from traveling to France to collect a top rights prize awarded posthumously, their lawyer said on Saturday. Amini died aged 22 on September 16, 2022, while being held by Iran's religious police...

Tehran, Iran - Iran warned Saturday of the threat of an "uncontrollable explosion" of the situation in the Middle East, after the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the top diplomat of the Islamic republic, also appealed for the...

Tehran, Iran - Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a phone conversation with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on Friday night to discuss the latest developments in the Gaza Strip. During the call, Amir-Abdollahian praised the invocation of Article 99 of the UN Charter by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' as...

Tehran, Iran – Iran and Oman have signed two memoranda of understanding to boost bilateral cooperation and using their national currencies in mutual trade instead of the dollar, mehrnews reported on Thursday. The MoUs were signed between Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Abbas Aliabadi, and Oman’s Minister of...

Tehran, Iran--Trade between Iran and Russia has climbed 18 percent to US$1.7 billion in the first eight months of 2023. This was stated by the chairman of the Iranian Customs Administration Mohammad Rezvani, noting that the Iran Iran-Russia trade recorded $1.7 billion in the first eight months of this year...

Tehran, Iran - The UN cultural agency on Wednesday recognized iftar, the meal that breaks the daytime fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on its list of intangible cultural heritage. The application for the sociocultural tradition was jointly submitted by Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to the UN Educational,...

Vienna, Austria - Major producer Brazil will join OPEC+ from next year, the oil cartel announced on Thursday. Brazil is among the world's top 10 producers and has been the largest oil producer in Latin America since 2016. Its crude production hit a record 3.7 million barrels per day in September,...

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...

Antwerp, Belgium - As European capitals prepare to implement long-awaited sanctions on Russia's diamond exports, Belgian traders are bracing for new scrutiny of their industry. In Antwerp's renowned diamond district -- which handles an estimated 86 percent of the world's rough diamonds -- polishing "labs" are turning to blockchain technology to...

An Israeli-owned cargo ship was damaged in a suspected drone attack by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Indian Ocean, a US defense official said. "We are aware of reports that there was a suspected IRGC-initiated Shahed-136 UAV (that) struck a civilian motor vessel in the Indian Ocean," the...

Dubai, UAE--Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has called the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip a political victory at a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Doha. "The ceasefire is a political victory achieved as a result of the success of the resistance forces on the ground. Our enemy...

Beirut, Lebanon - Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has met with Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbollah, which has traded cross-border fire with Israel since the start of the Gaza war, the Lebanese movement said on Thursday. Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, the border between Lebanon and Israel...

Paris, France -- The emirate of Qatar has further boosted its status as a specialist power in resolving delicate hostage situations by using its influence to help secure the release of hostages by Palestinian militant group Hamas. Analysts say Qatar has honed a careful balancing act, allowing it to marry warm...

Tehran, Iran--Iran will begin construction work on joint railway projects with Russia as part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). "The preliminary steps and obtaining the necessary permits for the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway have been carried out by the Iranian side, and we hope that with the...

The Iran-backed rebels in Yemen seized the Galaxy Leader on Sunday, days after they threatened to target Israeli vessels in the waterway over Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ship "was hijacked with Iran guidance by the Yemenite...

Moscow, Russia-- Iran and Russia have held talks over the ongoing Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, expressing "concern over the continuing armed confrontation" there. The deliberations were conducted in talks over telephone between the Russian and Iranian foreign ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Russian foreign ministry said...

Speaking at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace force centre in the capital Tehran, Khamenei said "the defeat of the Zionist regime in Gaza is a fact." Israel has relentlessly been pounding the Gaza Strip since Hamas's attack, killing more than 12,300 people in the narrow Palestinian territory, including more...

Tehran, Iran-- Expressing deep concern over Israel's possession of nuclear weapons, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has warned of a spurt in the nuclear arms race, leading to an unfavorable situation. "The ongoing possession of nuclear weapons by Israel, coupled with the failure to denuclearize the region, will escalate the...

Tehran, Iran--Senior Iranian and Russian diplomats held talks in Tehran to discuss the BRICS group and its fields of activities in the spheres of trade, finance and economy. Mahdi Safari, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy hosted the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the country's special envoy for BRICS affairs...

"The amount of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza is very small and almost zero, and it is necessary for the United Nations to take immediate and serious action in this regard," Amir-Abdollahian said in a meeting in Geneva with UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths.

Due to US sanctions against Iran, Baghdad cannot pay Tehran directly for its gas. Baghdad's unpaid bills to Tehran for past gas imports amount to some $10 billion, according to the senior official.

Tehran, Iran-- Iran is linking up its electricity grids with Russia via Azerbaijan in order to make up for its power shortfall. The Islamic republic's minister of energy said the electricity grids of Iran and Russia would be connected, adding that feasibility studies for the connection via the Republic of...

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that his country's forces carried out precision strikes on facilities in Syria used by Iran's IRGC and Iran-affiliated groups in response to continued attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria. It is the third time in three weeks that the US targeted locations...

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

Washington, United States - Over the last three weeks, Iran-backed militia groups have attacked US bases and facilities in Iraq and Syria 41 times. The US has defended itself against those attacks and will continue to do so, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East said. Following...

The emergency meetings of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation come after over one month of Israeli bombardment has killed more than 10,000 people in Gaza, many of them children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. With Israel's leaders rebuffing talk of a ceasefire until the captives...

Tashkent will host the Iranian and Turkish presidents, as well as Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and Central Asian leaders. The war between Israel and Hamas is not on the agenda, Uzbekistan said.

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...

Global outcry mounts as thousands protest in the US, UK, France, and Germany, defying their governments' support for Israeli aggression and demanding ceasefire in Gaza.

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...

Chevron's Tamar gas field halt, rising global oil prices, and jeopardized gas supplies to Egypt and Jordan underscore the impact of geopolitics on energy security.

The bombing campaign by Israel in Gaza has killed more than 8,500 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Dubai, UAE - The Houthi movement, which is part of the "Axis of Resistance" supported by Iran, has expressed its support for the Palestinians since the start of the conflic on October 7, and even launched missiles towards Israel despite being 1,000 miles away. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced...

The US tightening sanctions on Iranian oil could have a negative impact on individual and institutional investment portfolios by disrupting the energy sector, contributing to inflationary pressures, and intensifying geopolitical risks. You need to be aware of the risks – but also the opportunities, he adds.

As relentless bombardment of Gaza continues, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Palestinian Authority should retake control of the Gaza Strip from Hamas, with international players potentially filling a role in an interim.

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday said Israel's ongoing bombardment of Gaza "may force everyone" to act in the latest warning issued by the Islamic republic since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Israel has been pounding the tiny Palestinian territory since Hamas fighters stormed across the border...

TEHRAN, IRAN – The Iranian head of Solyanka Port in Russia said that the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a key element of the transportation network in Eurasia. Speaking in a specialized meeting of INSTC- New Concept, which was held in Astrakhan Port of Russia, Dariush Jamali pointed to the...

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...

Tehran, Iran--A treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Iran is about 85 percent ready, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. "The work on a new big treaty is at an advanced stage. I would say that it is 85 percent agreed. Several specific issues are yet...

There have also been increasing cross-border exchanges of fire along Israel's northern border with Lebanon, between Israeli troops and Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas.

Iran and Russia have bolstered ties in many fields over the last few years and Moscow has turned to Tehran for military support and economic partnerships as both countries face a raft of Western sanctions. The West has accused Tehran of supporting Russia's offensive in Ukraine by providing it with...