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☆ 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

☆ Azerbaijan says Armenian forces fired on its troops
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Azerbaijan reports exchange of fire, no word of casualtiesArmenian PM calls Blinken, Macron, Scholz and RaisiAzerbaijan condemns vote in Karabakh, calls it puppet regimeSept 9 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's defence ministry said on Saturday that Armenian forces had fired on its troops overnight, and that Azerbaijan army units took "retaliatory measures". It said Armenian units opened small arms fire on Azerbaijani soldiers in Sadarak in the north of Nakhchivan, an exclave of Azerbaijan that borders Armenia, Turkey and Iran. Reuters could not independently verify the reported incident, which came against the background of rising tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent days. The government said Pashinyan told Blinken and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi that tensions were rising on the border and Azerbaijan was concentrating troops around the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. In a statement, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry called the ethnic Armenian leadership of Karabakh a "puppet separatist regime" and said the vote was illegal.

Persons: Blinken, Macron, Scholz, Nikol Pashinyan, Antony Blinken, Pashinyan, Ebrahim Raisi, Ilham Aliyev, Armenpress, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Nailia Bagirova, Mark Trevelyan, Felix, Peter Graff Organizations: Raisi, Armenian, U.S, Karabakh, Thomson Locations: Azerbaijan, Raisi Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Sadarak, Nakhchivan, Armenia, Turkey, Iran, France, Germany, Nagorno, Baku, State, Soviet Union, Republic of Azerbaijan

☆ 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

☆ Russia's military ties with Iran will withstand geopolitical pressure -RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sputnik/Sergei Savostyanov/Pool via REUTERS \File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 26 (Reuters) - Russia's military cooperation with Iran will not succumb to geopolitical pressure, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, following reports that Washington has asked Teheran to stop selling drones to Moscow. "There are no changes, and cooperation with Iran will continue," Ryabkov said, according to a report on Saturday from Russian state news agency RIA. Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia but said in the past they were sent before Russia's February 2022 invasion in Ukraine. Moscow has denied its forces used Iranian drones in Ukraine. A White House official said in June that Iran had transferred several hundred drones to Russia since August 2022.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Ebrahim Raisi, Sergei Savostyanov, Sergei Ryabkov, Washington, Ryabkov, Lidia Kelly, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: Sputnik, Financial Times, Iranian, White, Thomson Locations: Astana, Tehran, Iran, Russian, Teheran, Moscow, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Warsaw

☆ Another one of America's adversaries just unveiled a new drone that closely resembles the US military's combat-proven MQ-9 Reaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Another US foe just revealed a drone that looks very similar to the American MQ-9 Reaper. One of the missiles is named after Qasem Soleimani, the former chief of the IRGC's elite Quds Force who was killed in a 2020 US military Reaper drone strike. AdvertisementAdvertisementWell-armed and tested in combat, the powerful Reaper drone has operational experience around the world. An MQ-9 Reaper drone on San Clemente Island in California on June 23. Iran and North Korea have cooperated in the past on various military issues, including the development of long-range missiles.

Persons: Israel —, —, IRNA, Ebrahim Raisi, Qasem Soleimani, Joseph Pagan Iran's, Kim Jong Un, Vann Van Diepen, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: American, Service, Islamic Republic News Agency, country's, Industry, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Quds Force, — IRNA News Agency, Islamic, Kremlin, US, US Air National Guard, Staff, North, North Korean, Korean Central News Agency, Korea News Service, US State Department, Stimson Locations: Iran, Korean, Wall, Silicon, Tehran, Russia, Ukraine, American, Russian, Islamic State, Clemente Island, California, North Korea, Pyongyang, Korea, Moscow

☆ Japan, Iran leaders to meet in Sept in New York - Kyodo
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will meet in New York in September to discuss Iran's nuclear programme among other issues, Kyodo news agency said on Sunday, quoting unnamed Iranian diplomatic sources. Iran aims to promote relations with Japan, traditionally a friendly nation, to avoid international isolation as Iran's talks with the United States and Europe over their nuclear deal have stalled, Kyodo said. Kishida and Raisi also met last September when they visited New York for the U.N. General Assembly. Raisi will ask Kishida to visit Iran and seek to unfreeze Iranian assets in Japan, estimated to be worth around $3 billion, that were frozen in line with U.S. sanctions, Kyodo said. The Japanese side is also expected to emphasise safety in the Strait of Hormuz, the main artery for crude oil transportation and the route for most of the crude oil coming to Japan, Kyodo said.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Ebrahim Raisi, Raisi, Antony Blinken, Kishida, Kyodo, Yuka Obayashi, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Kyodo, General Assembly, Reuters, U.S, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, New York, Iran, Japan, United States, Europe, Washington, Tehran, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Strait, Hormuz

☆ 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

☆ 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

Now, the man who had been tasked with reviving a nuclear deal to constrain that program has been sidelined. Progress on nuclear talks, as well as the fate of detained Americans in Iran, is likely to boost the incumbents in the polls, analysts have said. Malley was one of the architects of the 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran under the Obama administration. The administration began negotiations to re-enter an Iran nuclear agreement later that year. “US policy is informed by the administration’s national security calculations, and not any one person in the national security apparatus,” Vaez said.

Persons: Biden, Rob Malley, Malley, Abram Paley, Paley, Jake Sullivan, sidelining, Obama, Donald Trump, Obama’s, Israel, Malley’s sidelining, Nasser Kanani, Javed Gurban Oghli, Israel ”, Gabriel Noronha, Trump, “, ” Noronha, ”, Ali Vaez, Vaez, ” Vaez, Foad Izadi, Ebrahim Raisi, Brett McGurk, McGurk, ” McGurk Organizations: CNN — United, CNN, State Department, Representative, US National, Crisis Group, ICG, Islamic, Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iranian, Jewish Institute for National Security of, Iran, US State Department, “, University of Tehran’s Faculty of World Studies, US National Security Council, Middle, National Security Council Locations: Iran, Tehran, Republic, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Islamic Republic, Iranian, Middle East, Oman, Syria

☆ 4 major fighter-jet deals could reshape the Middle East's biggest militaries for decades to come
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Middle Eastern countries have for decades been major buyers of advanced fighter jets. Four potential deals involving Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Egypt show that the trend will continue. Four looming acquisitions by Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Egypt show that this trend will not change any time soon. Egypt's EaglesEgyptian Air Force MiG-29s during an exercise in Sudan in May 2021. While the Russian jets couldn't exchange data with Egypt's US-made aircraft, Cairo hoped they could operate as an "air force within an air force" and partially redress its limited air-to-air capabilities.

Persons: Cuneyt, MURAD, Erdogan, Mehmet Kaman, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's, Biden, Sen, Bob Menendez, hasn't, Iran's, Vladimir Putin, Ebrahim Raisi, ALEXANDR DEMYANCHUK, it's, —, Iran hasn't, ATTA KENARE, Mohammed Reza Ashtiani, Iraq's, KARIM SAHIB, Saddam Hussein's, Ali Mohammed, KARI, ASHRAF SHAZLY, Derek Seifert, Frank McKenzie, Israel, Paul Iddon Organizations: Service, United Arab Emirates, Dassault Rafales, Dassault, Vipers, NATO Air Policing, Anadolu Agency, Getty, US, Turkish Aerospace Industries, Getty Images, NATO, Senate Foreign Relations, SPUTNIK, Army Day, Iranian Parliament's National Security, Foreign, Iranian Defense, Rafale, ISIS, Getty Images Iraq, Thales Ground, AIM, Meteor, Egypt's Eagles Egyptian Air Force, Eagles, US Air Force, US Central Command Locations: Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Wall, Silicon, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Poland, Ankara, Syria, Greece, Samarkand, Getty Images Iran, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Soviet, US, Tehran, AFP, Iranian, Persian, Baghdad, France, South Korea, Czech, Iraqi, Balad, Sudan, Qatar, Cairo, Derek Seifert Egypt

☆ 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 President Raisi embarks on Africa tour to boost trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters —Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi received a red-carpet welcome from Kenyan counterpart William Ruto on Wednesday as he began a three-country tour of Africa that Tehran has touted as a “new beginning” in relations with the continent. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (C) inspects the guard of honour during his state visit at the State House in Nairobi on July 12, 2023. Raisi is expected to next fly to Uganda to discuss trade and bilateral relations with President Yoweri Museveni, and then to Zimbabwe. In June, Raisi visited three Latin American countries to shore up support with allies also saddled with US sanctions. Iran’s trade with African countries will increase to more than $2 billion this year, its foreign ministry said on Saturday, without providing a comparative figure for 2022.

Persons: Reuters —, Ebrahim Raisi, William Ruto, Simon Maina, Ruto, Raisi, Kenya’s, Yoweri Museveni, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Shoring, Donald Trump Organizations: Reuters, Kenyan, State, Getty, Ruto Locations: Africa, Tehran, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nairobi, AFP, Iran, Kenya, Central, East

☆ Iranian President Raisi begins Africa trip with visit to Kenya
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Raisi's trip to Africa, which will also take him to Uganda and Zimbabwe, is the first by an Iranian president in more than a decade, and represents a bid to diversify economic ties in the face of crippling U.S. sanctions. Iran stepped up its diplomatic outreach to developing world countries after then-U.S. President Donald Trump ditched a nuclear pact in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. In June, Raisi visited three Latin American countries to shore up support with allies also saddled with U.S. sanctions. Raisi is expected to next fly to Uganda to discuss trade and bilateral relations with President Yoweri Museveni, and then to Zimbabwe. The last Iranian leader to visit Africa was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2013.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, William Ruto, Donald Trump, Raisi, Kenya's, Yoweri Museveni, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bhargav Acharya, Hereward, Aaron Ross, Jason Neely Organizations: Kenyan, Ruto, Thomson Locations: NAIROBI, Africa, Tehran, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Iran, Kenya, East, Hereward Holland

☆ A darling of US conservatives, Iran’s top opposition group may face an uncertain future
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But recent setbacks for the most powerful Iranian opposition group have some observers wondering whether its glory days are numbered. The MeK believes these actions were part of a “policy of appeasement” of the regime in Tehran, a top representative from the group told CNN in an email interview. Gobadi told CNN the raid “was carried out at the behest or under pressure” from Iran. ‘Illegal and subversive activity’An Albanian foreign ministry coordinator told CNN by email that the country has not provided any seized material to Iran. Gobadi told CNN that that speakers or attendees have never received payments from the MeK.

Persons: Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, Mike Pence, Saddam Hussein, bode, ” Shahin Gobadi, Ashraf, Gobadi, “, ” Gobadi, cyberattack, Albania “, Saud, Maryam Rajavi, Bryan Olin Dozier, Prince Turki al, Faisal, Al Faisal, ’ “, Emanuel Macron, Ebrahim Raisi, Trita Parsi, ”, Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Liz Truss, Ali Ahmadi, ” Ahmadi, Alex Vatanka, ” Vatanka Organizations: CNN, United States National Security, Foreign Affairs, National Council of Resistance, Paris, Washington Summit, Organization of Iranian, Communities, Hyatt, Quincy Institute, British, Geneva Centre, Security, Middle East Institute Locations: Iran, Islamic Republic, Albania, France, Tehran, Paris, Tirana, Albanian, Saud Arabia, Washington ,, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, al, Riyadh

☆ Opinion: Putin faces a challenging task that threatens his power
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Russian president needs to restore his image of a man in full command of his country to audiences at home and abroad. Speaking at the summit, Putin tried to reinforce the message he had delivered to the Russian people, the claim that all Russians had stood with him. It wasn’t just his use of “alternative facts” that undermined Putin’s effort to leverage the SCO summit into a place to restore his standing as Russia’s czar for the foreseeable future. In fact, in the aftermath of the Prigozhin uprising, Putin has echoed the traditional strongman’s playbook of buying loyalty. Putin now faces a triple task: reclaiming the mantle of invincibility in Russia, rebuilding that image abroad and winning his calamitous war in Ukraine.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, —, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Putin, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, ”, “, Modi, Ebrahim Raisi, Xi, Dmitry Peskov, India’s Modi, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO, Frida Ghitis CNN, Wagner Group, Belarussian, Indian, Biological Safety, Twitter, Financial Times, Russian Locations: Russia, China, India, Russian, Moscow, St . Petersburg, Belarus, Ukraine, Iran, Rostov, New Delhi, Iranian, Republic, Dagestan, Kremlin, Asia, Washington, Beijing

Putin used his moment to speak at the one-day summit to give his answer to that question. That event stretched over two in-person days in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and featured a number of sideline meetings between attending leaders. India announced last month that its leaders’ summit would be held virtually, without specifying why. At last year’s SCO summit, Modi told Putin in “today’s era is not an era of war.”And India has its own friction with neighboring China. In May, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari became the most senior-level official to visit India in seven years, when he joined a SCO foreign ministers meeting.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, Putin, Wagner, ”, ” Putin, China’s Xi, Belarus ’ Alexander Lukashenko, Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi, ” Modi, Modi, Joe Biden, Xi, ” Xi, Biden, “, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO, Indian, India, China’s Foreign Ministry, India’s Ministry, External, CNN, Pakistani, Belarus Locations: Hong Kong, Moscow, Russian, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, spreadheaded, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Eurasia, Tuesday’s, Iran, Beijing, Samarkand, New Delhi, Pacific, ”

☆ Water wars: Afghanistan and Iran's deadly border flare-up spotlights scarcity crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Kajaki Hydroelectric Dam in Kajaki, Afghanistan in the Helmand province on June 4, 2018 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Iranian and Afghan border guards clashed on May 27, exchanging heavy gunfire that killed two Iranian guards and one Taliban soldier and wounded several others. A dangerous borderThe 580-mile border between Afghanistan and Iran is porous and crawling with crime, predominantly coming from the Afghan side into Iran. "Iran's Afghan border has always been its most vulnerable," said Kamal Alam, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center. In the 1950s, Afghanistan built two major dams that limited the flow of water from the Helmand river into Iran.

Persons: Maplecroft, Wakil Kohsar, Soltvedt, Kamal Alam, Alam, Ryan Bohl, Rane, Ebrahim Raisi, Yamil Lage Organizations: Orbital, Copernicus Sentinel, Getty Images, CNBC, Taliban, Afp, Getty, Asia Center, East Locations: Kajaki, Afghanistan, Helmand, Getty Images Iran, Iran, Tehran, destabilization, East, North Africa, Afghan, Zaranj, Iran's, Khuzestan, Nimruz, Helmand Province, Sistan, Baluchistan, Havana, Cuba

French President Emmanuel Macron held a 90-minute call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on June 10. Thousands of supportive rallies have been held around the world since her death September, although the nationwide unrest has subsided after Iranian security police clamped down on it. ABORTIVE PLOTNunez's letter put the July 1 NCRI rally in the context of the abortive plot led by Vienna-based Iranian diplomat Assadolah Assadi in October 2018 and three others. "Partner countries have in this regard recently mentioned many planned violent attacks, potentially targeting Iranian opposition figures." The letter said there was also an elevated risk of conflict between the NCRI and rival Iranian opposition groups at the rally, although there had been no incidents at past rallies.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Ban, Emmanuel Macron, Ebrahim Raisi, Laurent Nunez, Shahin Gobadi, Assadolah Assadi, Assadi, Nunez, John Irish, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Paris, Reuters, Council of Resistance, People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, Foreign Affairs, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Iran PARIS, Iran, Tehran, Islamic Republic, IRAN, United States, Israel, Vienna, Belgium, Europe, Iranian, Paris , Washington, Saudi, Riyadh

☆ Saudi foreign minister arrives in Tehran amid rapprochement -Iran TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 17 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Iran on Saturday amid a rapprochement between the two Middle East arch-foes, Iranian state TV said. The kingdom broke ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran in retaliation for Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Iran has recently been trying to mend its strained ties with several Gulf Arab states. Saudi Arabia’s rapprochement with Iran has left Israel largely alone as it has sought to isolate Iran diplomatically. The United Arab Emirates, which was the first Gulf Arab country to sign a normalisation agreement with Israel in 2020, resumed formal relations with Iran last year.

Persons: Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Bin Farhan, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Mark Heinrich, Louise Heavens Organizations: Saudi Arabia's Foreign, United, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Tehran, Israel, United Arab, Arab, Bahrain, Morocco, UAE

☆ Saudi Arabia urges improved maritime security in Gulf as ties with Iran resume
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 17 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia wants enhanced maritime security in the crucial Gulf region as part of its rapprochement with long-time rival Iran, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Saturday. The kingdom broke ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran in retaliation for Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Iran has recently been trying to mend its strained ties with several Gulf Arab states. Saudi Arabia's rapprochement with Iran has left Israel largely alone as it has sought to isolate Iran diplomatically. The United Arab Emirates, which was the first Gulf Arab country to sign a normalisation agreement with Israel in 2020, resumed formal relations with Iran last year.

Persons: Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Prince Faisal, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Ebrahim Raisi, Amirabdollahian, Hatem Maher, Aziz El Yaakoubi, Mark Heinrich, Louise Heavens, Mike Harrison Organizations: Foreign, United, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, Gulf, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Tehran, Saudi, Hormuz, United States, Israel, United Arab, Arab, Bahrain, Morocco, UAE, Cairo, Riyadh, Dubai

☆ Cuba, Iran presidents meet in Havana, vow to confront 'Yankee imperialism'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Nelson Acosta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HAVANA, June 15 (Reuters) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel on Thursday, his last stop on a three-nation Latin American tour aimed at shoring up support among Latin American allies saddled, like Iran, by U.S. sanctions. Raisi told reporters at a trade forum in Havana early on Thursday that Cuba and Iran would seek opportunities to work together in electricity generation, biotechnology, and mining, among other areas. "The conditions and circumstances in which Cuba and Iran find themselves today have many things in common," Raisi said in a conversation with Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel. Prior to arriving in Cuba, the Iranian president also met with Nicaragua´s Daniel Ortega in the Central American country. Raisi called his visit with Iran´s key Latin American allies a "turning point" in relations.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Miguel Diaz, Canel, Raisi, Nicaragua ´, Daniel Ortega, Diaz, John Kirby, Kirby, We’re, Hurricane Ian, Fidel Castro ´, Donald Trump, Nelson Acosta, Dave Sherwood, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Cuban, U.S, Central American, Yankee, White House, Communist, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, Iran, Havana, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, America, Iranian, Russia, China, Hurricane

☆ France warns Iran on drone deliveries to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, June 10 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron warned Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday about the consequences of delivering drones to Russia, Macron's office said on Saturday. In a phone call, Macron urged Iran to "immediately cease" the support it is giving Russia in the war against Ukraine. Macron also expressed concerns about the trajectory of the Iranian nuclear programme, the statement said. Britain, France, Germany, the United States and Ukraine say the supply of Iranian-made drones to Russia violates a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution enshrining the Iran nuclear deal. Reporting by Michel Rose, Writing by Dominique Vidalon, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Clelia OzielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Ebrahim Raisi, Macron, Michel Rose, Dominique Vidalon, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Ukraine, Security, Thomson Locations: Russia, Iran, Britain, France, Germany, United States, Ukraine

☆ Factbox: What have OPEC+ producers said ahead of June oil policy meeting?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - Mixed signals by major OPEC producers and their main allies have sparked volatility in oil prices ahead of an OPEC+ oil policy meeting set to take place this weekend. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday he expected no new steps from OPEC+ in Vienna, Russian media reported. Novak later added in a statement that OPEC+ would make a decision on what is best for the oil market. Three sources with knowledge of current Russian thinking told Reuters last week Russia is leaning towards leaving oil production volumes unchanged. IRANIranian President Ebrahim Raisi told the secretary general of OPEC on Saturday that he hopes oil producers can calm the market, calling for the unity of OPEC members, Iranian media reported.

☆ At least three killed in clash on Iran-Afghan border
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, May 27 (Reuters) - Two Iranian border guards and one Taliban fighter were killed after shooting broke out near a border post between Iran and Afghanistan, a Taliban spokesman and Iran's state media said on Saturday. "Today, in Nimroz province, Iranian border forces fired toward Afghanistan, which was met with a counter-reaction," spokesman for the Taliban-run interior ministry, Abdul Nafi Takor, said in a statement. He said one person had been killed on each side and several injured, though Iran's official IRNA news agency later said two Iranian border guards had been killed and two Iranian civilians injured. Following the clash, Iranian authorities closed the Milak – Zaranj border post, a major commercial crossing - and not the site of the clash - until further notice, IRNA said. Iran's border guards said in a statement they had "used their superior heavy fire to inflict casualties and serious damage", IRNA reported, without giving details.

☆ Russia's Putin and Iran's Raisi oversee railway deal signing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW, May 17 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday oversaw, via video-link, the signing of a deal on financing and construction of an Iranian railway line to facilitate regional trade. The Rasht-Astara railway is seen as an important link in the broader international North–South Transport Corridor, connecting India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan and other countries via railways and sea. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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