Iran

29 June 2019; MEMO: Progress was made at talks on Friday aimed at saving the Iran nuclear deal but probably not enough to convince the Islamic Republic to change its decision to go over the deal’s core atomic restrictions one by one, Iran’s envoy to the talks said, Reuters reported.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was speaking after almost four hours of talks with senior diplomats from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

27 June 2019; DW: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that the United States should drop sanctions against Iran and return to a 2015 nuclear deal to de-escalate soaring tensions between the two countries.

"The return to the nuclear deal would be the shortest way to secure the interests of all sides ... and also good for the world, the region and especially the international [nuclear] non-proliferation treaty," he said.

26 June 2019; AFP: Iran said Tuesday it will further free itself from the 2015 nuclear deal in defiance of new American sanctions as US President Donald Trump warned the Islamic republic of "overwhelming" retaliation for any attacks.

Tensions between Iran and the US have spiralled since last year when Trump withdrew the United States from the deal under which Tehran was to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran warned Tuesday that new U.S. sanctions targeting its supreme leader and other top officials meant “closing the doors of diplomacy” between Tehran and Washington amid heightened tensions, even as President Hassan Rouhani derided the White House as being “afflicted by mental retardation.”

25 June 2019; MEMO: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the White House was “afflicted by a mental retardation” in a live televised address today.

In the latest trade of blows between Washington and Tehran, Rouhani slammed US President Donald Trump’s latest sanctions on senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as “outrageous and idiotic.”

Rouhani said: “You sanction the foreign minister simultaneously with a request for talks?”

25 June 2019; AFP: Iran said Tuesday new US sanctions against its leaders marked the end of diplomacy with Washington, after President Donald Trump threatened the country with "obliteration".

Trump imposed new sanctions Monday against Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military chiefs, further raising the stakes in an escalating regional standoff.

TEHRAN, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday that the Europeans lack resolve and power to implement their commitments pertaining to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Press TV has reported.

"Repeated delays with regard to the (implementation) of INSTEX (Europe's Instrument In Support Of Trade Exchanges) shows that Europeans neither have the power nor determination to implement their commitments" under the JCPOA to secure Iran's economic interests, Zarif said.

Tehran, Jun 24; AFP/GANASHAKTI: Iran said Monday that no cyber attack against the Islamic republic has ever succeeded, after American media reported the US launched one last week amid a standoff between the two countries.

"The media are asking about the veracity of the alleged cyber attack against Iran. No successful attack has been carried out by them, although they are making a lot of effort," telecommunications minister Mohammad Javad Azarari Jahromi said on Twitter without referring to any US attack.

TEHRAN, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The recent U.S. cyber attacks against Iranian missile control systems were failed to cause problems for Iran, Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi tweeted on Monday.

"They (the American) try hard, but they haven't yet carried out a successful attack," Jahromi said.

Western media reported on Saturday that the Pentagon launched a cyber attack on Iranian rocket launch systems which disabled the military machinery.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — As the U.S. piles sanction after sanction on Iran, it’s the average person who feels it the most.

From a subway performer’s battered leather hat devoid of tips, to a bride-to-be’s empty purse, the lack of cash from the economic pressure facing Iran’s 80 million people can be seen everywhere.

Many blame President Donald Trump and his maximalist policy on Iran, which has seen him pull out of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and levy punishing U.S. sanctions on the country.