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☆ Iran's Raisi: five US citizens detained in Iran 'in full health'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi meets with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa (not pictured) during his official visit at the State House in Harare, Zimbabwe, on July 13, 2023. Iran's Presidency/Mohammad Javad Ostad/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Five U.S. citizens detained in Iran, who are expected to be swapped for five Iranians imprisoned in the United States as early as next week, are "in full health," Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in a television interview on Tuesday. One source familiar with the talks has previously said the Swiss embassy, which represents U.S. interests in Iran, had visited the five Americans and said they were in good health. While Raisi appeared to acknowledge the $6 billion may only be used for humanitarian purposes, he said Iran would decide how the money would be spent. "This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money," Raisi said in the interview, speaking through an Iranian government translator.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mohammad Javad Ostad, Raisi, Lester Holt, Morad Tahbaz, Arshad Mohammed, Samia Nakhoul, Timothy Gardner Organizations: State House, Iran's, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, U.S, NBC Nightly, U.S ., British, NBC, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: Harare, Zimbabwe, Iran, United States, Tehran, U.S, Emad Sharqi, South Korean, Washington, Qatar, Swiss, Islamic Republic of Iran, South Korea, Dubai

☆ VTB CEO sees 2023 profit at around 420 bln roubles -news agencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The logo of VTB bank is seen on the bank's headquarters in Tehran, Iran, May 23, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Russia's second largest bank VTB (VTBR.MM) could make a profit of around 420 billion roubles ($4.46 billion) in 2023, news agencies quoted CEO Andrei Kostin as saying on Tuesday. Kostin said the bank, which plunged to a sanctions-induced loss in 2022, planned to use the profits to replenish its capital. Kostin said the bank was ready to invest up to 1 trillion roubles in floating-rate government debt. ($1 = 94.2500 roubles)Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Majid Asgaripour, Andrei Kostin, Kostin, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Jason Neely Organizations: West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran

☆ Events in Iran since Mahsa Amini's death in custody
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. Security forces and demonstrators clash in some cities in Kurdistan province. Oct. 3 - Khamenei backs the security forces. March 7 - Iran says at least 53 members of security forces were killed during the protests. July 16 - Iran's morality police resume hijab street patrolsCompiled by Tom Perry and Parisa Hafezi, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mahsa, Mahsa Amini, Amini, Ebrahim Raisi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Amini's, Khamenei, Emmanuel Macron, Raisi, Tom Perry, Parisa, William Maclean Organizations: West Asia News Agency, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Security, Authorities, Revolutionary Guards, Amnesty International, TV, Guards, Bushehr Petrochemical Project, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran, WANA, Rights DUBAI, Iranian Kurdish, Iran's Kurdistan, Saqez, Kurdistan province, Kurdish, Iraq, Zahedan, Abadan, Bushehr

☆ Gorongosa National Park: How coffee is helping to restore an ecosystem
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Kayla Smith | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Mozambique’s efforts to become a coffee powerhouse are thanks in part to the Gorongosa Coffee Project. Gorongosa coffee is exported mainly within Africa, with South Africa its biggest market. Gorongosa MediaJuliasse Sabao, supervisor of the Gorongosa Coffee Project, says that before coffee came to the national park, many people there were subsistence farmers growing just enough maize, beans, and peas to feed their family, with little surplus to sell. Vasco Galante, the national park’s director of communications, believes the revival of Gorongosa National Park is one of Africa’s greatest wildlife restoration success stories. Wana Chipoya, a Zambian agronomist working with coffee, recently visited the national park and was very impressed.

Persons: Juliasse Sabao, ” Sabao, Sabao, Sofia Molina, Molina, ”, ’, they’ll, “, Vasco Galante, Wana, “ I’ve Organizations: CNN, International Coffee Organization, Gorongosa Locations: Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, –, South Africa, ”, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambian

☆ First Saudi ambassador arrives in Tehran after rapprochement
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view of the flags of Iran and Saudi Arabia before the meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in Tehran, Iran June 17, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCAIRO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's first ambassador to Iran since the resumption of diplomatic relations arrived in Tehran on Tuesday to start his new mission there, the Saudi state news agency said. The agency quoted Ambassador Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi as saying the Saudi leadership stresses the importance of strengthening relations with Iran with more communication and meetings between the two countries. Last March, China brokered a rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran, leading to a resumption of full diplomatic relations. Saudi Arabia broke off relations in 2016 when protesters attacked its embassy in Tehran over Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric.

Persons: Hossein Amir, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Majid Asgaripour, Abdullah bin Saud, Omar Abdel, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Iranian, Saudi Arabia's Foreign, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, Rights, Saudi Arabia's, Thomson Locations: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Tehran, Rights CAIRO, China, Riyadh

☆ Iran's Raisi urges Japan to release frozen funds, then wavers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends a joint press conference with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa (not pictured) at the State House in Harare, Zimbabwe, on July 13, 2023. "Japan should act independently from the U.S. by releasing our blocked funds," Raisi said when asked by a Japanese reporter about $1.5 billion of blocked funds in Japan. "I must clarify that our Central Bank earlier said we only had unjustly frozen funds in South Korea. All other assets abroad are at the disposal of Iran's Central Bank," Raisi said. Tehran and Washington have reached an agreement in which five U.S. citizens held in Iran will be freed in exchange for $6 billion of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mohammad Javad Ostad, Raisi, Tehran's, Andrew Cawthorne, Nick Macfie Organizations: Zimbabwean, State House, Iran's, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, Rights, Central Bank, Iran's Central Bank, U.S, Dubai Newsroom, Thomson Locations: Harare, Zimbabwe, Japan, Washington, South Korea, U.S, Tehran, Iran, Qatar

☆ Iran says uranium enrichment continues based on domestic law
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami looks on during a news conference with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi as they meet in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Iran's enrichment of uranium continues based on a framework established by the country's parliament, nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said on Sunday when asked about reports regarding Tehran slowing down its 60% enrichment. "Our nuclear enrichment continues based on the strategic framework law," Eslami said, referring to a related legislation. In 2020, Iran's hardline parliament passed a law requiring the government to take measures such as stepping up uranium enrichment beyond the limit set under Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal if other parties did not fully comply with the deal. After Washington ditched the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, Tehran began to violate the nuclear curbs set out in the pact.

Persons: Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami, Rafael Grossi, Majid Asgaripour, Mohammad Eslami, Eslami, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Wall Street Journal, U.S, Washington, Dubai Newsroom, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran

☆ Saudi crown prince meets Iran's foreign minister as relations thaw
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Footage of the meeting on Iranian state media showed MbS and Amirabdollahian smiling as they spoke, while Prince Faisal and the Iranian delegation looked on. Saudi state news agency SPA said they discussed international and regional developments. [1/3]Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia August 18, 2023. Prince Faisal visited Tehran in June and said he hoped Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi would visit the kingdom at the "appropriate time". Saudi Arabia had meanwhile lost confidence in U.S. commitment to shared regional security concerns and wanted to bolster ties with China, which has retained good relations with Iran.

Persons: Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Amirabdollahian, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Mohammed bin Salman, Prince Faisal, Saudi Crown Prince, Hossein Amir, Ebrahim Raisi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, General Antony Blinken, Angus McDowall, Mark Potter, Conor Humphries Organizations: Saudi Arabian Crown, Saudi, MbS, Saudi Crown, Iranian, Iran's Foreign, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS Acquire, Iran's, U.S, Dubai Newsroom, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Saudi, Jeddah, United States, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, Abdollahian, Saudi Arabia, China, Tehran, Iran, Ukraine, Beijing, East

☆ A fierce naval battle 35 years ago shows how destructive another US showdown with Iran could get
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

More than 50 IRGCN and Iranian Navy personnel were killed, while the US lost one SeaCobra helicopter and its two crew members. After all, Iran has made significant changes to its naval forces and tactics over the past 35 years, becoming "much more asymmetric," according to Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and expert on naval operations. Iran's naval force now consists of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, known as the IRGCN, and the regular Iranian Navy, Clark told Insider. The Iranian Navy still primarily consists of frigates and corvettes, which operate outside the Gulf, and is much more like other conventional navies. Iranian Navy warship Sahand in Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz in April 2019.

Persons: Biden, Earnest Will, Chance, Samuel B, Roberts, Bryan Clark, Clark, Nadimi, Abu Musa Island, IRGC, Morteza, Kyle Jia Iran's, weren't, Paul Iddon Organizations: Service, US Navy, US, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, US Naval Forces Central Command, Fleet, SS, Iranian Navy, Hudson Institute, Washington Institute for Near East, Iran's Navy, REUTERS, Getty, US Marines, US Marine Corps Locations: Persian, Iran, Wall, Silicon, China, Marshall, Iranian, Gulf, Strait, Hormuz, Tehran, Iraq, SS Bridgeton, Abu Musa, Handout, Persian Gulf, Soviet Union, Lebanon, Bataan

☆ Attack on Iran's shrine kills at least one, injures several people - official
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Rescuers transport an injured person after an attack in Shah Cheragh Shrine in Shiraz, Iran August 13, 2023. Iranian state media earlier reported that at least four people had been killed in the attack. "It happened around 19:00 local time (15:30 GMT) ... an armed terrorist entered the Shrine area and started shooting ... he was arrested," said Mohammad Hadi Imaniyeh, the governor of Fars province. State TV said the shrine area had been cordoned off by security forces. Videos on Iranian state media showed panicked worshippers running to find their relatives and bloodied clothes left in the aftermath of the attack.

Persons: Mohammadreza, Mohammad Hadi Imaniyeh, Shah, IRNA, Ruhollah Khomeini, Parisa Hafezi, Nick Macfie, Ros Russell Organizations: Rescuers, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, State TV, Islamic, Dubai Newsroom, Thomson Locations: Shah Cheragh, Shiraz, Iran, REUTERS DUBAI, Iran's, Fars province

☆ Attack on Iran's shrine kills at least one, injures several people, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Iran says unblocked S.Korea funds to be used for 'non-sanctioned goods'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The sign of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran is seen in Tehran, Iran January 25, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File PhotoAug 12 (Reuters) - Iran's central bank chief said on Saturday that all of Iran's frozen funds in South Korea had been unblocked and would be used for "non-sanctioned goods". White House spokesperson John Kirby said Iran could only access the funds "to buy food, medicine, medical equipment that would not have a dual military use." The five Americans will be allowed to leave Iran once the funds are unfrozen, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. He added that the costs of converting the funds from South Korea's won currency to euros would be accepted by the "third country" where the money would be deposited to buy "non-sanctioned goods".

Persons: Majid Asgaripour, Mohammad Reza Farzin's, John Kirby, Farzin, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Central Bank of, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, Reuters, South Korea's, Dubai, Thomson Locations: Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, Iran, South Korea, Washington, Tehran ., Qatar

☆ Iran's drones could reach a new South American market as Bolivia expresses interest
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here's what's ahead for defense stocks "Latin American countries are of special significance in Iran's foreign and defense policy based on the importance of [the] very sensitive South American region," Iran's Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani was quoted as saying. Iran's drones have made "considerable impact on any battlefield they have appeared in," according to Farzin Nadimi, an arms expert at The Washington Institute said. The U.S.' concerns center on Iran's deepening foreign alliances and dissemination of its lethal drones, analysts say. It added that a former Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, "boasted in October 2022 that 22 countries — including Algeria, Armenia, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Venezuela — had submitted formal requests for Iranian drones." Iran has previously provided drones to African countries including Sudan and Ethiopia, which the latter used against Tigrayan rebels.

Persons: Oleksii Samsonov, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, Edmundo Novillo, Novillo, Farzin, Nadimi, Novillo's, John Kirby, Biden, Ebrahim Raisi, Kirby, Annika Ganzeveld, Asad, Khomeini, Majid Asgaripour, Venezuela —, Raisi, ISW Organizations: Kyiv, Getty, Iran's, Bolivian, Bolivia's, CNBC, U.S . Defense Intelligence Agency, The Washington Institute, U.S . Institute for Peace, The U.S, U.S . National Security Council, Sepah, Anadolu Agency, American Enterprise Institute, Associated Press, U.S, Missiles, WANA, REUTERS, for, Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: Russia, Kyiv, Ukraine, Iran, Washington, South America, Tehran, Fars, Bolivia, The, U.S, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, America, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, U.S Ayn, REUTERS Washington, Algeria, Armenia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Iranian, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Ethiopia

☆ Risking revival of unrest, Iran rulers tighten curbs on dissent
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Police on Sunday announced that the morality police force has intensified its crackdown on women flouting the compulsory dress code. Security forces crushed months of unrest during which protesters from all walks of life called for the downfall of the Islamic Republic and women took off and burned the compulsory headscarves in fury. "The Islamic Republic feels threatened. By redeploying the morality police, the regime is fuelling the people's revolution," said Atena Daemi, a prominent human rights activist in Iran. "People are very angry due to repression, rights violations and worsening economic problems.

Persons: Mahsa, Amini, Atena Daemi, Mohammad Khatami, Parisa, Michael Georgy, Angus MacSwan Organizations: West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, Islamic, Police, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran, WANA, DUBAI, Islamic Republic, Republic

☆ Kenya's Ruto says further tax-hike protests will not be allowed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, July 14 (Reuters) - Kenyan President William Ruto vowed on Friday that protests planned next week would not be allowed following two rounds of demonstrations that have left at least 15 people dead. Opposition leader Raila Odinga's party called earlier in the day for three more days of protests from next Wednesday against tax hikes that Ruto signed into law last month. You cannot look for the leadership of this country using the blood of the citizens, the death of the citizens and the destruction of property," Ruto said at the opening of a road in the town of Naivasha. Kenya's President William Ruto attends a joint press conference with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya, July 12, 2023. The most recent demonstrations took place despite bans by the police, and Ruto did not say how he planned to stop the upcoming protests.

Persons: William Ruto, Raila, Ruto, Odinga, Ebrahim Raisi, Jeremy Laurence, Humphrey Malalo, Thomas Mukoya, Hereward Holland, Aaron Ross, Alex Richardson Organizations: Kenyan, Iran's, State, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: NAIROBI, Naivasha, Nairobi, Kenya

☆ Iran's Khamenei says 'nothing wrong' with a nuclear deal with West
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visits the Iranian centrifuges in Tehran, Iran June 11, 2023. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File PhotoDUBAI, June 11 (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader said on Sunday that a deal with the West over Tehran's nuclear work was possible if the country's nuclear infrastructure remained intact, amid a stalemate between Tehran and Washington to revive a 2015 nuclear pact. "There is nothing wrong with the agreement (with the West), but the infrastructure of our nuclear industry should not be touched," Khamenei said, according to state media. Echoing Iran's official stance for years, Khamenei said the Islamic Republic has never sought to build a nuclear bomb. Khamenei, who has the last say on all state matters such as Iran's nuclear programme, said the country's nuclear authorities should continue working with the U.N. nuclear watchdog "under the framework of safeguards".

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's, Khamenei, Donald Trump, Parisa Hafezi, Alex Richardson, David Holmes, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Iranian, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, West, International Atomic Energy, IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran, DUBAI, Washington, Islamic Republic

☆ One of America's richest self-made women quit her job to cook edibles—now her net worth is $225 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Recreational cannabis was still illegal when Nancy Whiteman left her high-paying consulting job to cook edibles in Boulder, Colorado, in 2010. The 64-year-old founder of edible cannabis company Wana is now one of the richest self-made women in the U.S., with a net worth of $225 million, according to Forbes. "I like to say I went from the most traditional industry to the least traditional industry," Whiteman told CNBC Make It in 2018. Much of Whiteman's fortune comes from selling Wana for $350 million in 2021 to Canopy Growth, an Ontario, Canada-based cannabis company. That "got my undivided attention," Whiteman told Forbes.

Persons: Nancy Whiteman, Forbes, Whiteman Organizations: CNBC Locations: Boulder , Colorado, U.S, Ontario, Canada, Wana

☆ Iran's Khamenei welcomes better ties with Egypt - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in Tehran, Iran May 29, 2023. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERSDUBAI, May 29 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a meeting with Oman's Sultan that Tehran welcomes better diplomatic relations with Egypt, Iranian state media reported on Monday. Relations between Egypt and Iran have often been fraught in recent decades although the two countries have maintained diplomatic contacts. Khamenei's comments came as Middle Eastern countries including Egypt are taking steps to ease regional tensions. In March, regional rivals Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Muslim Iran ended years of hostility and agreed to restore diplomatic relations under a China-mediated deal.

☆ Iran resorts to security cameras, ostracism to deter unveiled women
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

For decades women who refused to wear the hijab were accosted by morality police operating from vans that patrolled busy public spaces. NOVEL TACTICSIn place of the vans, authorities are installing cameras on streets to identify unveiled women, providing a more discreet method of detecting breaches of Iran's conservative dress code. Now women show up frequently unveiled in malls, airports, restaurants and streets in a display of civil disobedience. Several lawmakers and politicians have warned that the protests could resume if authorities continue to focus on penalising women who discard the hijab. "My grocery shop was closed down for a few days by authorities for serving unveiled women," said Asghar, 45, in the central city of Isfahan.

☆ Iran installs cameras in public places to identify, penalise unveiled women
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Iranian women walk through rain in a flower market, ahead of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, in Tehran, Iran March 16, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERSApril 8 (Reuters) - In a further attempt to rein in increasing numbers of women defying the compulsory dress code, Iranian authorities are installing cameras in public places and thoroughfares to identify and penalise unveiled women, the police announced on Saturday. Videos of unveiled women resisting the morality police have flooded social media. It urged citizens to confront unveiled women. Last week a viral video showed a man throwing yoghurt at two unveiled women in a shop.

☆ Asia's 'best restaurants' list is out — and it's no surprise which country made the list 17 times
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

William Drew, director of content for Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, said Japan's strong performance is "no surprise." The top 50 restaurants in AsiaThis year commemorates the 10th anniversary of the "Asia's 50 Best Restaurants" list. Asia's top 50 restaurantsThe list of "Asia's 50 Best Restaurants" for 2023 are: 1. Ten restaurants that ranked among Asia's best 50 restaurants last year fell into the 51-100 ranking this year. Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2023Labyrinth also rose 29 spots to No.11, winning the "Highest Climber" award.

☆ Iran isn't worried about the US attacking it, but Biden has other ways to cut a deal with Tehran
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( John Reid Wilcox | Defense Priorities | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

While the Iran nuclear deal may never be revived, there are still ways to engage and avoid conflict. Sanctions relief and good-faith engagement can go a long way to ease tensions and avoid a nuclear Iran. Faced with unrelenting US pressure, Iran's leaders are regularly meeting with Russian and Chinese officials and pledging unprecedented levels of cooperation. American policymakers today face a key inflection point in the bilateral relationship, and the "no nuclear deal, no crisis" dynamic appears increasingly unsustainable. Donald Trump with a copy of the memorandum withdrawing the US from the Iran nuclear deal.

☆ Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers to meet to pave way to re-open embassies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A newspaper with a cover picture of the flag of Iran and Saudi Arabia, is seen in Tehran, Iran March 11, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERSDUBAI, March 23 (Reuters) - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, have agreed to meet soon and pave the way for the re-opening of embassies under a deal to re-establish ties, Saudi state news agency SPA said on Thursday. Earlier this month, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to revive relations after years of hostility that had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria. Amirabdollahian emphasized during the call Iran's readiness to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported. The deal between the regional powers, Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and long-time rival Shi'ite Iran, brokered by China, was announced after previously undisclosed talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two countries.

☆ Iran proposes locations to Saudi Arabia for foreign minister meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran March 19, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERSDUBAI, March 19 (Reuters) - The Iranian government has proposed to Saudi Arabia three locations for a meeting at foreign minister level, Iran's foreign minister said on Sunday, citing the latest messages with Riyadh since the countries agreed to re-establish ties. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told a news conference in Tehran his country had agreed to such a meeting, although he did not list the three locations or say when such a meeting might take place. Iran and Saudi Arabia, the region's Shi'ite Muslim and Sunni powers, agreed on March 10 to re-establish relations and re-open embassies within two months after years of hostility. Amirabdollahian signalled Iran was also hoping for steps towards normalising ties with Bahrain, a close Saudi ally.

☆ China, Russia, Iran conduct four-day naval exercises in Gulf of Oman
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A Russian warship is seen during a joint naval military drill between Iran, Russia, and China in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, in this picture obtained on March 15, 2023. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERSBEIJING/MOSCOW, March 15 (Reuters) - China, Iran and Russia are conducting joint naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman from March 15-19, the Chinese and Russian defence ministries said on Wednesday. The drills, the 2023 edition of the "Marine Security Belt" exercises, will help "deepen practical cooperation among the navies of participating countries", China's defence ministry said. Russia's defence ministry said the active phase of the exercises would be on March 16-17, involving various joint manoeuvres including daytime and night-time artillery firing. Reporting by Beijing and Moscow newsrooms; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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