Iran

25 May 2020; MEMO: Iran ignored warnings of retaliation from the US as the first of five Iranian tankers entered Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone on Saturday.

The tanker, named Fortune, reached the Venezuela’s territorial waters at around 7:40 pm after passing north of  Trinidad and Tobago in the Carribean, according to vessel-tracking data.

TEHRAN, May 24 (NNN-IRNA) — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan following a telephone discussion on Sunday, have called for air and land borders of the two neighboring countries to be reopened to resume trade ties and sharing experience on fighting coronavirus.

Referring to the problems that coronavirus outbreak has brought about for the economy of the world, the two presidents stressed that the borders of Iran and Turkey should reopen to resume trade.

(Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 struck the province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad in western Iran on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

State TV gave no immediate information about possible casualties or damage.

24 May 2020; MEMO: A flotilla of five tankers carrying Iranian fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela is approaching the Caribbean, with the first vessel expected to reach the South American country’s waters on Sunday, according to Refinitiv Eikon tracking data.

24 May 2020; MEMO: A 107-year-old Iranian woman who was infected with the new coronavirus has recovered, Reuters reported Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency saying on Sunday.

The woman, Saltanat Akbari, was admitted to the Khansari hospital in the central city of Arak. She was released from the hospital after spending “some time” in isolation.

“She defeated the virus with the help of doctors and nurses at the hospital,” Fars said.

22 May 2020; MEMO: Iran on Saturday moved to open businesses, religious and cultural sites as it eases restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Museums and historical sites are to reopen on Sunday to coincide with the Eid el-Fitr celebrations that end the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, President Hassan Rouhani said on state television.

TEHRAN, May 23 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Friday, called for “resistance” against Israeli pressures on occupied Palestinian territories, according to the leader’s official website.

“My main advice is to continue this struggle” against occupation, and to better organise the resistant groups inside Palestinian territories, Khamenei said, on the occasion of the International Quds (Jerusalem) Day.

He added, Iran will not hesitate in its duty to assist the Palestinians.

22 May 2020; MEMO: Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said the planned US Deal of the Century and Israel’s annexation of large areas in the occupied West Bank would hasten Israel’s demise.

21 May 2020; AFP: Venezuela on Wednesday said its navy and air force would escort Iranian tankers arriving with much needed fuel, after Tehran warned of "consequences" if the US stopped the ships from reaching their destination.

"We're ready for whatever, whenever," President Nicolas Maduro told state-run media, thanking "all the support" from its Middle East ally in its confrontation with the United States.

Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, but its capacity to refine crude into gasoline is limited.

TEHRAN, May 20 (NNN-IRNA) – Iranian top security official, said on Tuesday that, the United States has failed to gather support, to renew a UN Security Council’s arms embargo against Iran.

“Fruitless efforts of the U.S., to continue the Iran weapon sanction, have provoked a strong reaction from Russia … and the confusion of U.S.’s allies,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, tweeted.

“The world is not tolerating bullying … The end of this path is collapse of unilateralism,” said Shamkhani.