Iran

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader praised paramilitary volunteers tasked with quashing dissent on Saturday in a televised address as dozens of eye doctors warned that a rising number of demonstrators have been blinded by security forces during anti-government protests.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed members of the Basij, the volunteer paramilitary wing of the elite Revolutionary Guard, and reiterated unsupported claims that protesters demonstrating countrywide are “tools” of the U.S. and its “mercenaries.”

TEHRAN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said here Wednesday that the exchange of messages between his country and the United States for the removal of anti-Iran sanctions still continues.

"Despite the behavior of the Westerners in recent weeks, talks with the American side to lift the sanctions through the European Union and some intermediaries were on the agenda, while we did not cross our red lines," said Amir-Abdollahian in a press conference.

23 Nov 2022; MEMO: The Iranian news agency, Tasnim, reported on Wednesday that Israeli agents assassinated an Iranian Revolutionary Guards officer, Davoud Jafari, near the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Tuesday.

According to the agency, "a serviceman of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force working as a military adviser in Syria has been martyred at the hands of the Zionist regime's elements after a roadside bomb blast near Damascus, the IRGC announced".

TEHRAN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior advisor from Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has been killed in Syria, the IRGC said in a statement on Wednesday.

Davood Jafari, an officer of IRGC's Air Force, was killed by a roadside bomb near the Syrian capital of Damascus on Tuesday, it read.

The statement blamed Israel for killing Jafari, saying that Israel will receive a response for "the crime."

Iran has confirmed the presence of its military advisors in Syria at the request of the Syrian government since 2011. 

22 Nov 2022; MEMO: Iran said Tuesday, 40 foreigners had been arrested for their role in the ongoing protests over the death of an Iranian woman in police custody, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"So far, 40 foreign nationals have been arrested for their involvement in the protests," Iran's judiciary spokesman, Masoud Setayeshi, told a televised news conference cited by the state news agency, IRNA.

He, however, did not provide details about their nationalities.

TEHRAN, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Monday that any plan to increase U.S. military presence in the international waters south of the country is "unacceptable," as it would threaten stability and peace in the region.

"We believe that the best way to strengthen peace and stability in the region, especially in international waters, is to strengthen the cooperation among coastal and regional countries," Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted Kanaani as saying during his weekly press conference.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has begun producing enriched uranium at 60% purity at the country’s underground Fordo nuclear plant, official media reported Tuesday, describing it as a response to a resolution by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.

The increased enrichment, reported by the official news agency IRNA, was seen as a significant addition to the country’s nuclear program.

TEHRAN, Nov 21 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran is exporting 250 tonnes of foodstuffs and agricultural products per day to Qatar, during the FIFA World Cup, said Iran’s Trade Promotion Organisation (TPO) head, yesterday.

Iran already started some of the shipments to Qatar, according to the agreement between the two countries, Iran’s IRIB news agency quoted TPO President, Alireza Peymanpak, as saying.

Peymanpak stressed that, boosting trade with neighbours, including Qatar, is among the main approaches of the current Iranian government.

TEHRAN, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has decided to strengthen its ground forces in the northwest of the country against "separatist terrorists" there, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Sunday.

The "separatist terrorists" in the region have caused insecurity in some areas, a statement by the IRGC Ground Force's Hamzeh Seyyed Al-Shohada Base was quoted by Tasnim as saying.

The IRGC will also cooperate with local people in its decisive actions in the region, it added.

TEHRAN, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday slammed the United States, France and a number of other European countries for "flagrantly" supporting "terrorists and rioters" in Iran, warning that backing terrorism is definitely not going to be in their interests.

Making the remarks at a cabinet meeting, Raisi said "the enemy" attempted to disrupt Iran's advancements by dealing blows to the country's security and economy as well as education and production sectors, according to the website of the Iranian president's office.