Iran

26 July 2019; MEMO: The Iranian supreme leader’s advisor for defence affairs, Hossein Dehghan, yesterday announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had sent a number of delegates to Tehran for peace talks, in the wake of the ongoing tensions in the Gulf region.

“The UAE has become a US base for striking Iran’s national security,” Dehghan told Al-Jazeera, pointing out that Abu Dhabi had sent official envoys to Tehran to discuss peace in the region.

New Delhi, Jul 25 (PTI) Iran has released nine out of 12 Indians who were on board the ship MT Riah that was detained in early July, official sources said Thursday.

However, 21 Indians are still in detention in Iran -- three from MT Riah and 18 from British oil tanker Stena Impero which was seized last week by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the Strait of Hormuz for alleged violation of international maritime rules.

Indian Embassy on Thursday got consular access to the 18 Indians who were on board Impero.

TEHRAN, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader said on Tuesday that the U.S. Middle East peace plan for the Palestinian issue is "doomed to failure," official IRNA news agency reported.

Ali Akbar Velayati made the remark at his meeting with Saleh al-Arouri, visiting deputy chief of Hamas.

The visit to Tehran comes at an important time when the U.S. "Deal of the Century" has been set out for discussions, "but it is doomed to failure," said Velayati.

23 July 2019; AFP: Iran said it will attend a meeting in Vienna on Sunday of diplomats from countries still party to the 2015 nuclear deal, as they try to salvage the landmark agreement.

The hard-won deal has been threatened with collapse since the United States withdrew from it last year and reimposed biting sanctions against Iran as part of a "maximum pressure" campaign.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Stay-at-home mom Maryam Alidadi used to lead a comfortable middle-class life. The 35-year-old and her husband, a mechanic, could afford a spacious rental apartment in a central neighborhood of Tehran, along with a car, occasional restaurant meals and holidays abroad.

Now they are barely hanging on, even after drastically cutting spending.

Like most Iranians, the family was hit hard by the collapse of the national currency, accelerating inflation and eroding wages — fallout from unprecedented U.S. sanctions.

22 July 2019; DW: The UK's COBRA emergency committee is discussing a response to Iran's seizure of a British tanker. After talks with France and Germany, the UK said safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz was "a top priority."

British Prime Minister Theresa May attended an emergency meeting of the country's top government and security leaders on Monday, as London mulls its reaction to Iran's seizure of a British oil tanker.

22 July 2019; DW: The Intelligence Ministry in Tehran said it had detained 17 agents it suspected of being US spies. An official said that the suspects were Iranian nationals recruited by US intelligence.

The Iranian government said on Monday that it had broken up a CIA spy ring, in the latest sign of  increased tensions between Iran, the US and other NATO powers.

Tehran, July 21, IRNA – Iran Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami said on Sunday the Iranian oil tanker which had been seized by Saudi Arabia after it sought help from the Saudi border guards, was released and is now being towed toward the Persian Gulf.

Speaking to reporters, Eslami said that Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization took legal action with the Saudi government seeking its release, so that the Iranian oil tanker was released from Jeddah port.

21 July 2019; DW: The US is sending troops to Saudi Arabia amid concerns that it is preparing for a war with Iran. It will be the first deployment of American forces in the kingdom since the US toppling of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime.

Statements from Riyadh and the US Central Command (CENTCOM) have confirmed the deployment of US forces in Saudi Arabia amid a looming threat of war with Iran.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s seizure of a British oil tanker was a response to Britain’s role in impounding an Iranian supertanker first, senior officials said Saturday, as newly released video of the incident showed Iranian commandos in black ski masks and fatigues rappelling from a helicopter onto the vessel in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The seizure prompted condemnation from the U.K. and its European allies as they continue to call for a de-escalation of tensions in the critical waterway.