Iran

31 July 2019; DW: Iran is planning to remove four zeroes from its national currency, the rial, as the country struggles with soaring inflation. The oil-rich nation's economy has been hit hard by unilateral sanctions imposed by the US.

The Iranian government has approved a plan to ax four zeroes from the rial in a bid to tackle high inflation in the country. The measure was announced by an Iranian government spokesperson, Ali Rabiei, following a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.  

Tehran, July 31, IRNA - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday welcomed shift in regional stance of the United Arab Emirates and hoped to see members of B-Team to decrease.

Speaking to reporters, Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran has always made clear that it is interested in cooperation with neighbors.

Like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, UAE is also Iran's neighbor, he said.

31 July 2019; MEMO: An Iranian military delegation arrived at Tehran on Tuesday to discuss border issues between the two countries, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

The meeting takes place six years after the last visit, despite the ongoing tensions between the two countries, exacerbated by the crisis of carriers in the Persian Gulf.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has dismissed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s offer to visit and address the Iranian people as a “hypocritical gesture.”

“You don’t need to come to Iran,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, in remarks directed at Pompeo. He suggested Pompeo instead grant visas for Iranian reporters to travel to the U.S. and interview him, accusing him of having rejected their requests.

On Monday, Pompeo tweeted: “We aren’t afraid of (Zarif) coming to America where he enjoys the right to speak freely.”

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Taha Shakouri keeps finding remote corners to play in at a Tehran children’s charity hospital, unaware that his doctors are running out of chemo medicine needed to treat the eight-year-old boy’s liver cancer.

TEHRAN, Iran, July 29 (NNN-IRNA) – “European plan to potentially deploy its naval forces to the Gulf bears a hostile message,” Iran’s government spokesman, Ali Rabiei, said on Sunday.

“The security of the region should be provided by the regional states, and Iran has a pivotal role in providing this security,” Rabiei said, at his weekly press conference.

29 July 2019; MEMO: A second UK navy vessel arrived in the Persian Gulf to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz after a British oil tanker was seized by Tehran last week, London announced on Sunday, Anadolu reports.

The UK’s National Defense Ministry said in a statement that the HMS Duncan joined the HMS Montrose to “support the safe passage of British-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz.”

29 July 2019; MEMO: Spokesman of the Iranian Government Ali Rabiei announced yesterday that his country is ready to send journalist Marzieh Hashemi to interview US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Al-Khaleej Online reported.

In a press conference, Rabiei said that Pompeo had requested to be interviewed by Iranian news sites.

“We have no problem,” Rabiei said, “we can send Marzieh Hashemi to interview him.”

28 July 2019; AFP: The remaining signatories to the Iran nuclear deal will meet in Vienna on Sunday to try again to find a way of saving the accord after the US pulled out, amid mounting tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Envoys from Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and Iran will take part in the meeting which comes a month after a similar gathering failed to achieve a breakthrough.

27 July 2019; MEMO: Oman’s minister responsible for foreign affairs held talks with Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday, Iranian state media reported, as tensions mount in the Gulf after Tehran detained a British-flagged oil tanker, reports Reuters.