Iran's UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, retorted that the Islamic republic was exercising its "inherent right to self-defence" and "had no choice" but to act. He insisted his country did "not seek escalation or war", but would respond to any "threat or aggression".

Iran's attack came in retaliation for an April 1 strike that levelled the five-storey consular annexe of the Iranian embassy in Damascus and killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals. Tehran has since vowed to avenge the strike which was widely blamed on Israel.

As expected, Iran retaliated early Sunday by firing more than 200 drones and missiles toward Israel in response to Israel's covert attack of Iran's diplomatic office in Damascus that killed nine people.

Fears of regional escalation grew after a strike on Iran's consular annex at its embassy in Damascus. Tehran blames the attack on Israel. Airlines said they are avoiding Iranian airspace, nearly two weeks after a strike.

The latest bombardments in Gaza came after Israel said it had strengthened air defences and paused leave for combat units, following a deadly April 1 air strike that destroyed Iran's consulate building in Damascus. Iran blamed its arch foe Israel, which has stepped up strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria...

"Our enemies think that they can pull apart Israel and the United States, but the opposite is true -- they are bringing us together," Gallant said, after the two discussed Iran's threats of retaliation for a deadly air strike on its consulate in Syria.

London, United Kingdom -- Wall Street stocks slid on Friday despite banks beating expectations at the start of earnings season as oil and gold prices shot up amid worries about the conflict in the Middle East widening. "Geopolitical worries have triggered some risk aversion, but worries about a growth slowdown have...

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Wednesday that Israel "must be punished and will be punished", days after one of his advisers said Israeli embassies are "no longer safe". Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz swiftly replied on social media site X that "if Iran attacks from its territory, Israel...

Amir-Abdollahian is set to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad during the visit, while Syria's information ministry said he was to inaugurate a new Iranian consular section. Syria's pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said the officials' talks would be "mainly focused" on repercussions of last week's strike.

The Damascus airstrike targeted the Iranian consulate, resulting in the death of IRGC commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and several other IRGC officers. Since then, Iran has issued threats of a "harsh response" against Israel.

TEHRAN, IRAN – Iran and Iraq will launch the first maritime passenger transport line within the next two months, an official at Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) said. The chief executive of the organization noted that an expert-level meeting was held by the Iraqi side with a focus on...

Tehran, Iran - Iran on Saturday again threatened retaliation for the deaths of seven Revolutionary Guards in a strike on Damascus, with the army chief saying his country's enemies will "regret" the killings. Tehran has vowed to avenge Monday's air strike on the Syrian capital it blamed on its arch-enemy Israel,...

Monday's strike in the Syrian capital levelled the five-storey consular annex of the Iranian embassy and killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals. Nasrallah, whose fighters have been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since the Gaza war began in October, said the strike on the Iran consulate...

The threat of regional war compounded fears that the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates as much as previously expected, with the focus now on the release of key US jobs data later in the day. The sell-off followed a plunge across the board on Wall Street.

Tehran, Iran--Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mourned Thursday the seven Revolutionary Guards killed in a strike in Syria, which he has blamed on Israel and has vowed to "punish", state media reported. The Guards, including two generals, were killed in the air strike on Monday which levelled the Iranian...

Israel has declined to comment on the Damascus strike but analysts saw it as an escalation of Israel's campaign against Iran's regional proxies that runs the risk of triggering a wider war. Among the dead were seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.

Tehran, Iran - Iran has repatriated the bodies of seven Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike on the country's consular annex in Damascus, which Tehran blamed on Israel, local media reported. The Guards, including two generals, were killed in the air strike on Monday which levelled the Iranian embassy's...

Jerusalem - The Israeli army has suspended leave for its combat units, it said on Thursday, amid the Gaza war and as tensions with Iran grew after a strike on Tehran's consulate in Damascus. Israeli media reported that the military was also calling up more reservist soldiers "against the background...

The Supreme leader said in a speech to officials in Tehran that the defeat of "the Zionist regime in Gaza will continue and this regime will be close to decline and dissolution." He said "desperate efforts" like the one committed in Syria will not save them and they will be...

Tehran, Iran -- The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has said that shale oil deposits have been discovered in 10 different locations across the country. The director of exploration at the NIOC, Mehdi Fakour, announced that the company's specially designed model will enable the extraction of oil from these resources....

Tehran, Iran--The trade exchanges between Iran and Turkey in the first two months of 2024 reached $930 million, showing a one percent increase compared to the same month last year. According to the latest figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), Iran’s trade with the neighboring country stood at...

In a statement, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani "strongly condemned" the attack and said that Iran "reserves the right to carry out a reaction and will decide on the type of response and the punishment of the aggressor." Iran's ambassador in Damascus, Hossein Akbari, said, "the five-storey consulate building...

Beirut, Lebanon--Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbollah group warned Tuesday that Israel will pay for killing high-level Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in a strike on the country's consulate in Damascus, Syria, the day before. Hizbollah has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the Gaza war erupted in...

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq said Friday a power line would soon bring electricity from Jordan to the border area as authorities aim to diversify energy sources to ease the country's chronic outages. With its generating capacity ravaged by decades of conflict and underinvestment, Iraq has long relied on imports of both...

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, an Iranian Revolutionary Guards adviser, his two Iranian security escorts, and four Syrian and nine Iraqi fighters with pro-Iran groups were killed in strikes on a villa in Deir Ezzor city and on the town of Albu Kamal on the Iraqi...

Haniyeh's visit comes after a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council on Monday called for an "immediate ceasefire" for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan, leading to a "lasting" truce. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani described Monday's resolution as a "positive but insufficient step".

Washington, US – President Joe Biden will welcome Iraq's prime minister on April 15 for talks on the US troop presence, the White House announced on Friday, as tensions subside following US clashes with pro-Iran militias. It will mark the first trip to Washington by Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, who...

The oil ministry and Iranian businesses signed deals worth $13 billion to increase daily oil production in six major fields. The deals have been labelled as Iran's "biggest oil contracts in the past decade" that are aimed to add 350,000 barrels per day to the Islamic republic's daily production.

Iran sealed contracts worth billions of dollars with domestic companies to boost its oil production in the face of Western sanctions. In a ceremony broadcast on state TV, the oil ministry and Iranian businesses signed deals worth $13 billion to increase daily oil production in six major fields.

US Treasury sanctioned a number of alleged ISC subsidiaries and front companies based in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, and three individuals allegedly linked to them including Pouria Mirdamadi, a French-Iranian dual national. "The United States will continue to use all available means to disrupt the Iranian regime's illicit...

Washington, US - G7 countries warned Iran on Friday that they will impose "significant" new sanctions if Tehran transfers ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine. "We reiterate our call on third parties to immediately cease providing material support to Russia's illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine or...

Tehran, Iran -  Iran’s production of aluminum ingot in the country registered a 7% growth in the first 11th month of this Iranian year, the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO).  Iran’s four major aluminum production companies produced 54,893 tons of aluminum ingots in February 2024,...

Tehran, Iran - Baghdad and Tehran are currently engaged in negotiations to facilitate the import of gas from Turkmenistan, with the Iraqi Minister of Electricity Luay Al-Khatteeb revealing that discussions are underway to utilize Iran's extensive network for the transportation of Turkmenistan's gas. Highlighting the challenges in establishing direct lines...

Beijing, China - The navies of China, Russia and Iran are staging joint drills in the Gulf of Oman this week, Beijing said Monday. The military activities -- to be conducted from Monday through Friday -- are aimed at "jointly maintaining regional maritime security", according to a statement published on social...

TEHRAN, IRAN – The Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade said that Iran exported fisheries, livestock, agricultural and food products worth US$5.5 billion to over 130 countries during the first eleven months of the year. Rouhollah Latifi, the spokesperson for the Trade Development Commission at the Iranian Ministry of Industry,...

TEHRAN, IRAN – Tehran on Saturday strongly condemned a UN report on the Islamic republic's response to mass protests in 2022, denouncing Western countries' "Iranophobia". The report was built on "baseless claims" and "false and biased information, without a legal basis", foreign affairs ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement. International experts...

Other parts of the Islamic world may be grappling with their own challenges, from conflicts to high inflation. But many Muslims say their thoughts are with Palestinians this year.

The Houthi rebels have been defiantly hitting ships in vital commercial waters in professed solidarity with the Palestinians as Israel pounds Hamas-ruled Gaza in response to the October 7 attack. Asked if the latest attack showed a failure of the US and UK strikes on the Houthis, Miller said, "We...

Tehran, Iran - Iran on Monday announced a turnout of 41 percent in last week's elections for parliament and a key clerical body -- a record low since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to voting records. Conservatives were reported to have secured the bulk of seats in Friday's elections for the...

Western powers will not censure Iran over its lack of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog at its Board of Governors meeting for fear of aggravating geopolitical tensions, diplomats said. Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in confidential quarterly reports that Tehran's cooperation with the agency remained poor...

Tehran, Iran-- Iran and Russia have agreed to sign new contracts on developing oil and gas fields, according to the oil ministers of the two countries. Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji held talks with Nikolay Shulginov, the Minister of Energy of Russia, on the sidelines of the GECF Summit in Algeria...

Authorities were still counting ballots two days after Friday's vote for members of parliament and for the Assembly of Experts, which selects the Islamic republic's supreme leader. The official IRNA news agency put the turnout at around "41 percent" among 61 million eligible voters. No official figure had yet been announced.

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,...

An Israeli strike on a car in south Lebanon killed three Hizbollah fighters, a security source said, the latest in almost five-months of escalating cross-border fire between the Iran-backed group and Israel. Since war erupted between Israel and Hamas on October 7, Hizbollah has been launching near-daily attacks from Lebanon...

Global condemnation flowed after Israeli forces in war-ravaged Gaza opened fire as Palestinian civilians scrambled for food aid during a chaotic incident which the Hamas-run territory's health ministry said killed over 100 people. The Israeli military said a "stampede" occurred when thousands of desperate Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38...

Iran announced the launch of a remote sensing and imaging satellite into orbit from Russia, according to state media. The launch of "Pars-I" with the Russian Soyuz-2.1b launcher was broadcast live by state television in Iran. The satellite was launched "from Russia's Vostochny launch base", some 8,000 kilometers east of...

Conservative daily Vatan-e-Emrouz hailed what it called the population's "interest in the candidates' electoral campaigns", which began on February 22. In Tehran, where less than 20 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in 2020, election banners are visibly less prevalent than the previous elections.

The US special envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, told a Senate subcommittee that Iran was "equipping and facilitating" the Huthi attacks, which have triggered retaliatory US and British strikes on Yemen. He said many Iranian and Hizbollah operatives support Houthi attacks from inside Yemen.

TEHRAN, IRAN – The Middle Eastern country has improved its global standing in steel production, becoming the ninth largest producer in January 2024, according to new data released by the World Steel Association (WSA). In the first month of 2024, Iranian steel mills produced a total of 2.6 million tons...

Tehran, Iran -- In a significant step towards enhancing energy cooperation between Pakistan and Iran, Islamabad has given the green signal for advancing much-delayed work on gas pipelines within its territory. This marked considerable progress in the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project, Mehr News Agency reported. The approval comes as Pakistan...