Tehran, Iran - Iran urged on Monday the United States and Britain to "stop the war against Yemen" following their recent strikes on targets of the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels.US and British forces have hit scores of targets in Yemen after weeks of Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, claiming...

Loud cries went up for the Palestinian anthem before the game and the team's players put their arms around each other's shoulders. A brief moment's silence was held before kick-off, the quiet punctuated by cries of "free Palestine".

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting over the strikes carried out by the United States and Britain against Houthi rebels in Yemen, the chamber's presidency said. France, which holds the rotating presidency for the month of January, said the emergency meeting had been requested by Russia.

The announcement came hours after a British-navy maritime security agency said armed men boarded the Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas off Oman and changed course towards Bandar-e-Jask in Iran. Four or five "unauthorized boarders are reported to be wearing military-style black uniforms with black masks", the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations...

Berlin has loosened its stance on weapons exports to the kingdom recently, with the government praising Saudi Arabia's "constructive approach" in the Israel-Hamas war. Saudi Arabia had not renounced plans to normalize relations with Israel since the beginning of its war with Hamas, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock noted Sunday.

"We have repeatedly expressed our views to the authorities of the countries of the region, including Iraq, and declared that the presence of American forces in any form whatsoever... would not help to maintain stability and peace," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani.

On his fourth regional trip since the war began, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia after talks in Abu Dhabi. Blinken "emphasized the importance of preventing further spread of the conflict", during talks with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a US...

The European Union foreign policy chief warned against a regional conflict that would involve Lebanon, as border clashes intensified nearly three months into Israel's war with Hizbollah ally Hamas. “It is absolutely necessary to avoid Lebanon being dragged into a regional conflict," Josep Borrell said during a press conference in...

Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanon's Hizbollah fired on Saturday over 60 rockets at an Israeli military base, the group said, describing the barrage as a response to the killing of Hamas's deputy leader in Beirut."As part of the initial response to the crime of assassinating the great leader Sheikh Saleh al-Aruri... the...

TEHRAN, IRAN - A bombing attack in southern Iran claimed by the Islamic State group has killed 91 people, state media said on Saturday, raising an earlier toll after two victims had succumbed to wounds.The two blasts in Kerman on Wednesday hit crowds at a memorial ceremony near the tomb of...

Sudani, whose government relies on support from Tehran-aligned parties, has repeatedly said in recent weeks he would like to see foreign troops leave Iraq. But the latest remarks came amid soaring regional tensions, with the repercussions of the Israel-Hamas war, raging for nearly three months, increasingly felt in Iraq and...

BEIRUT, LEBANON - The head of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbollah group warned Israel on Friday that it will respond swiftly "on the battlefield" to the killing of Hamas's deputy leader in its south Beirut stronghold."The response is inevitably coming. We cannot remain silent on a violation of this magnitude because it means...

Washington, United States - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna agreed to seek steps to avoid a wider Middle East war following strikes in Lebanon and Iran, the State Department said on Thursday.In a telephone call the day before, the two top diplomats "discussed the...

Baghdad, Iraq - A "US strike" in Baghdad on Thursday killed a military commander of the Hashed al-Shaabi, the ex-paramilitary force said, with an Iraq security official reporting two deaths in a drone attack."A drone targeted the logistical support headquarters of Hashed al-Shaabi," mainly pro-Iranian former paramilitary units integrated into the...

Beirut, Lebanon - Four Hizbollah fighters were killed overnight in southern Lebanon, the Iran-backed movement announced on Thursday, in what Lebanese state media said were Israeli strikes on the border town of Naqura.The deaths, which according to a source close to the powerful group include a local Hizbollah leader, follow a...

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...

At least 103 people were killed and another 140 injured when two blasts 10 minutes apart struck Iranian mourners commemorating slain Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani on the fourth anniversary of his killing, Iran's state media reported. Iran's Tasnim news agency, quoting what it called informed sources, said "two bags...

Following record highs in 2023 for the likes of Paris, Frankfurt and Tokyo, investors are predicting more gains as central banks prepare a series of interest-rate cuts as inflation cools. Oil prices rallied 2.5 percent on supply concerns after Iran dispatched a warship to the Red Sea in response to...

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran's Alborz warship has entered the Red Sea through the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, at a time of heightened tensions over the globally important waterway.The agency did not give specific reasons for its deployment, but noted that Iranian military vessels had operated...

Tehran, Iran-- Trade between Iran and Azerbaijan has registered a 46 percent jump in 2022, according to the deputy prime minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan.Shahin Mustafayev, who is also the Azeri head of the Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Cooperation Commission, stated that the relations between the two countries are on...

Air strikes in eastern Syria "likely" launched by Israel killed at least 19 pro-Iran fighters, a war monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "19 pro-Iranian fighters, including four Syrians, and six Iraqis, were killed and more than 18 were wounded" in at least nine air strikes overnight...

Tehran, Iran - Iran's nuclear program remains peaceful, said Nasser Kanani, the spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Friday in response to a joint statement from the United States and three European countries. In a press release on Friday, Kanani suggested that these countries should reconsider their...

Iran hanged four people convicted of spying for arch foe Israel, the judiciary said, less than two weeks executing a man on similar grounds. "Four members of a sabotage group related to the Zionist regime (Israel)... were hanged this morning" in Iran's northwestern province of West Azerbaijan, the judiciary's Mizan...

Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling Hamas. The attacks are endangering a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade, prompting the United States to set...

"My country, always at the request of the Iraqi authorities, will support the unity, sovereignty and stability of Iraq," said Sanchez during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani. Spain has deployed more than 300 soldiers as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition and NATO's mission in...

Israel again pounded Gaza with air strikes and shelling after its military chief warned the war raging with Hamas since the Palestinian group's October 7 attacks will last "many more months". A strike hit a house near Al-Amal hospital in Khan Yunis, killing 22 people and wounding 34, the Gaza...

"It runs counter to the pursuit of enduring mutual interests in establishing security and stability, and it opposes the declared intention of the American side to enhance relations with Iraq," Baghdad said.

Razi Moussavi "was killed during an attack by the Zionist regime a few hours ago in Zeinabiyah district in the suburbs of Damascus," Tehran's official IRNA news agency reported. The general was "active in the field of providing logistical support to the axis of resistance in Syria," IRNA said, referring...

It was the first time the Pentagon has accused Iran of directly targeting ships since the start of Israel's war on the fighters group Hamas. The attack came amid a flurry of new drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on the vital Red Sea shipping lane since the...

UN special envoy Hans Grundberg's announcement marks the latest step to end the nine-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. It follows recent meetings by Grundberg with head of Yemen's Saudi-backed presidential council and the chief negotiator of...

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...

Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan - On the Caspian Sea coast in Turkmenistan, Batyr Yusupov can no longer ferry his passengers between two ports. There is not enough water."I used to go between Turkmenbashi and Hazar," the 36-year-old ferry worker said of the ports separated by a small gulf on Turkmenistan's coast."But we haven't...

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 in...

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 students...

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 for...

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 immediate...

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 a...

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 Commerce,...

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 of...

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, Scientific...

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, a near...

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 increased...

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 prove...

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 killed...