Iran

TEHRAN, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Friday that the launch of space rockets does not breach UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

"Iran's launch of space vehicles, missile tests are NOT in violation of Resolution 2231. The U.S. is in material breach of the same as such it is in no position to lecture anyone on it", Zarif tweeted.

The Iranian minister's reaction followed the remark of the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, on Thursday about Iran's planned imminent launch of Space Launch Vehicles (SLV).

Tehran, Dec 31, IRNA – The US President Donald Trump's secret trip to Iraq is tantamount to breaching the country's sovereignty and insulting the Iraqi people, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

31 Dec 2018; DW: Fresh peace talks have taken place between representatives of the Afghan Taliban and Iranian officials. The Tehran meeting happened amid reports that the US plans to pull nearly 7,000 US troops from Afghanistan.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that lengthy negotiations were held between a Taliban delegation and Iran's deputy foreign minister.

TEHRAN, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- "The United States is only fueling insecurity in the Gulf through its presence in the strategic region," said Chairman of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri on Sunday.

"The Americans have always sowed insecurity wherever they had a presence," Baqeri told reporters in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, according to Press TV.

He emphasized that the Gulf countries are capable of ensuring security on their own and the U.S. presence in the region has only created insecurity.

TEHRAN, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the U.S. sanctions have failed to change Iran's policies, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

"Sanctions have never worked," Zarif was quoted as saying.

"They hurt Iranians but don't change (Iran's) policy," he added.

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iranian international nuclear deal, calling it "the worst deal ever."

TEHRAN, December 8. /TASS/. Washington uses terrorists as an instrument of pressure and a pretext to intervene in the affairs of sovereign states, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin said on Saturday at the second conference of Parliament speakers from Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey on fight against terrorism and strengthen regional cooperation.

Tehran, Dec 8 (AFP) Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said US sanctions were "economic terrorism", as he sought to foster a united front from visiting regional officials on Saturday.

"America's unjust and illegal sanctions against the honourable nation of Iran have targeted our nation as a clear instance of terrorism," Rouhani told a conference in Tehran attended by officials from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey.

TEHRAN, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Iran is ready to export indigenous fighter jets, a senior Iranian army commander said Monday.

"We have already taken necessary steps to export (our) products," Abdoklarim Banitarafi, head of Iran Aviation Industries Organization, was quoted as saying by Press TV.

Iran plans to sell its trainer jets as well, he added.

Banitarafi made the remarks ahead of the opening ceremony of an air show in Iran's southern Kish Island on Monday.

Iran unveiled its first indigenous fighter jet, Kowsar, in August.

TEHRAN, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 634 people were injured in the magnitude-6.4 earthquake that hit Kermanshah province in western Iran on Sunday, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

There has been no death report in the quake so far, the report quoted Mahamoud Reza, president of Medical Science University of Kermanshah province, as saying.

TEHRAN, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran has begun to issue electronic visas for attracting more foreign tourists, Press TV reported on Saturday.

The plan has been implemented since Thursday, Nov. 22, Head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Ali Asghar Mounesan, was quoted as saying.

The plan is mainly aimed at facilitating travels to Iran by foreign tourists, Mounesan said.

He expressed hope that the move could play a leading role in attracting more foreign tourists to the country.