Iran

6 October 2022; MEMO: Iranian State television aired a video, on Thursday, in which two French citizens detained for "spying" in Iran in May appeared to confess to acting on behalf of a French security service, amid weeks of unrest that Tehran has linked to foreign foes, Reuters reports.

France's Foreign Ministry accused Iran of the practices of the "worst dictatorial regimes" over the video confessions and categorically denied that the two were members of the French intelligence services.

TEHRAN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The transit and trade of oil and gas with Russia will make Iran a regional energy hub, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said on Thursday.

Owji made the remarks on the sidelines of the ongoing Caspian Economic Forum held in the Russian capital of Moscow, according to the official IRNA news agency.

He said that as two gas exporting countries, Iran and Russia have a lot of cooperation in the field of energy swaps.

5 October 2022; MEMO: Iran will establish a joint Maritime Security Centre with Oman and Pakistan, Chief Commander of the Iranian Army's Navy, Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, said in a statement.

Expressing pride in the progress made by his country's naval industry, Irani said that three Iranian-made destroyers were carrying out security missions in the Indian Ocean, as he spoke at the World Navigation Day ceremony on Monday.

TEHRAN, Oct 4 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran is expected to receive its frozen assets from the Republic of Korea (ROK), via the central bank of a third regional country, the Nour News, affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported yesterday.

With the continuation of the indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States, relevant parties agreed upon transferring the Iranian assets frozen in ROK via the designated central bank, it reported, without revealing the name of the third country.

The only obstacle now was the lack of a bank account, said Nour News.

3 October 2022; MEMO: Iranian airliner, Mahan Air's Tehran to Guangzhou flight arrived safely and on time at its Chinese destination, Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency said on Monday, after a report of a bomb scare on board, Reuters reports.

India's Air Force (IAF) said it had scrambled fighter jets after receiving information of a bomb scare on an airline bearing Iranian registration passing through Indian airspace.

4 October 2022; MEMO: Iran believes it is still possible to revive the nuclear deal, despite weeks of stalled talks and Western countries' belief that Tehran's position on the draft settlement proposal is "unconstructive", an Iranian official said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters yesterday "there is still possibility and a chance to resume the implementation of the nuclear deal."

TEHRAN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least five security troops were killed in Friday's "terrorist" attack in southeastern Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported Sunday, citing a statement by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

In addition, 32 members of IRGC and Basij voluntary were injured in the incident in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, according to the IRGC statement.

So far, eight suspects in the attack have been arrested, according to Mehdi Shamsabadi, prosecutor general of Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

30 Sep 2022; MEMO: Iran has threatened to "take action" against celebrities who have in recent days supported the demonstrations sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.

Iran has been shaken by a wave of protests, which have claimed the lives of scores of people, following the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman on 16 September days after her arrest for violating the country's strict dress code.

28 Sep 2022; MEMO: The Iranian parliament is divided over the judicial and security forces' crackdown on anti-government protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in prison last week.

The Iranian news agency IRNA said conservative lawmaker, Zohreh Lajevardi, said the recent protests had been organised by Iran's enemies and demanded severe punishments for participants.

TEHRAN, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking Iranian military commander said a homegrown over-the-horizon (OTH) radar with a range of 3,000 km will soon become operational in the country, semi-official Mehr news agency reported Tuesday.

Dubbed Sepehr (Sky), the radar is capable of monitoring all kinds of commercial, fighter and command and control military aircraft as well as airplanes fitted with radio relay stations and unmanned aerial vehicles, Deputy Commander of the Iranian Army's Air Defense Force Alireza Elhami was quoted as saying.