Iran

TEHRAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran's parliament speaker said on Sunday that the United States seeks to cause insecurity in Afghanistan and to push the country into an unprecedented crisis.

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf made the remarks in an address to the parliament in reaction to recent developments in Afghanistan, according to the legislative body's website.

He accused Washington of using the Islamic State (IS) militant group to compromise Afghanistan's security and create an "ethnic-religious sedition" in the country.

30 April 2022; MEMO: Chief Commander of the Quds Brigade in the Iran Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani revealed on Friday that Iran had carried out a successful drone mission in Israel, Arabic Post reported.

According to Arabic Post, Iranian media reported Ghaani stating that 41 Israeli fighter aircraft failed to intercept the two Iranian drones that carried out the mission.

TEHRAN, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Friday displayed two new ballistic missiles at the Quds Day rally held in Tehran, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

One of the missiles, called "Emad-3," is a new version of Iran's surface-to-surface ballistic missiles Emad.

Developed by the IRGC's Aerospace Force, Emad-3 is Iran's first fully homegrown long-range missile with the ability to be guided and controlled until it hits the target, said the report.

28 April 2022; MEMO: China and Iran have agreed to expand their military cooperation following the visit by Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe to Tehran yesterday, where he held talks with senior Iranian officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi.

25 April 2022; MEMO: Spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian parliament, Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, has described the fifth round of talks between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia as "very positive and constructive".

Tehran, Apr 25 (AP) Iran's state television said authorities have foiled massive cyberattacks that sought to target public services, both government and privately owned.

The report late on Sunday said Iran thwarted the attacks that planned to target the infrastructure of more than 100 public sector agencies. It did not elaborate or name specific examples of public sector agencies, organizations or services but said the incidents happened in recent days.

TEHRAN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has seized a vessel allegedly smuggling 150,000 liters of fuel in the waters off the country's southeastern coast, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.

A number of Iranian and foreign nationals were arrested, Mohammad Nozari, the commander of the IRGC Navy's Imam Ali Base in Chabahar city, was quoted as saying.

The vessel plans to deliver the fuel to a neighboring country, he said, without giving further details.

This is at least the third such seizure this month.

TEHRAN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Embassy in Iran announced on Sunday that news about sending Iranian weapons to Russia is "fake," Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported.

The embassy said in a statement availed to the Iranian media that "the information published in some media about sending Iranian weapons to Russia is false and does not correspond to reality."

On April 12, British daily the Guardian reported that "Russia using weapons smuggled by Iran from Iraq against Ukraine."

24 April 2022; MEMO: Rival regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed talks in the Iraqi capital after they were suspended in March, Iran's semi-official Nour News reported on Saturday.

Reuters reported there was no confirmation from Saudi Arabia or Iraq on the resumption of the talks.

24 April 2022; MEMO: The main border crossing between Iran and Afghanistan was closed on Saturday following skirmishes between Iranian border guards and the Taliban forces, Anadolu Agency reported.

According to official sources, Taliban authorities in the Islam Qala district of western Afghanistan's Herat province were paving a road in the border zone with Iran, which was obstructed by Iranian border guards.