Iran
Archive
Iran's Deputy Health Minister tested positive for Coronavirus
Iran's Deputy Health Minister, Iraj Harirchi was tested positive for Coronavirus and is kept under quarantine, a Health Ministry spokesperson has confirmed.
The test results...
Archive
Iran announces record low turnout in parliamentary election
Iran's interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has announced that the voter turnout in the recent parliamentary elections was about 42%, the lowest since the...
Archive
Iran announces 50 dead from coronavirus in city of Qom
50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the new coronavirus this month, local media reported on Monday.
Just a few hours...
Archive
International fears grow with rise of coronavirus deaths outside China
New cases and fatalities from the new coronavirus outbreak outside China have seen a major spike, days after the World Health Organization has warned...
Archive
Iran votes to elect new parliament amid economic crisis
Iranians voted today in the country’s 11th parliamentary election which conservatives are expected to dominate. Iranians headed to polls amid public anger against moderate...
Archive
German citizen freed in Iran prisoner swap
Iran's judiciary said the country has released a German national sentenced to three years in jailfor taking photos in sensitive areas.
The man was freed...
Archive
US Senate votes to limit Trump’s war powers on Iran
The US Senate voted on Thursday to restrain president Donald Trump from attacking Iran, rejecting his foreign policy.
Eight Republican senators joined Democrats in the...
Archive
US Navy seizes Iranian-made weapons in Arabian Sea raid
US troops seized Iranian-manufactured weapons from a sailboat in the Arabian Sea.The US Central Command said the shipment was likely headed to Yemen, and...
Afghanistan
Top politicians gather in Munich for security summit
Heads of state and government, security leaders and diplomats gathered for the 56th annual Munich Security Conference, which runs from 14-16 February. This year’s...
Archive
Iran satellite launch fails to reach orbit, causes massive explosion
Iran's space program suffered a setback, when the nation launched a communications satellite called Zafar 1 atop a Simorgh rocket at Imam Khomeini Space...
Archive
Syrian government forces nearly shoot down passenger plane, Russia blames Israel
Russia on Friday said its ally Syria nearly shot down a civilian plane on Friday while trying to repel an Israeli airstrike near Syria’s...
Archive
Coronavirus hits oil too, worries plunge prices
Oil prices fell more than 2% on 3 February, as traders were concerned over demand in China following the deadly coronavirus breakout but prices...
Archive
EU's top diplomat in Iran to de-escalate tensions
Josep Borrell, EU's top diplomat visited Iran's capital Tehran on Monday with the aim of conveying the EU’s strong commitment to preserve the nuclear deal.
Borrell’s mission...
Analysis
Does Trump’s peace plan make the EU less relevant?
The Peace to Prosperity plan that the Trump administration rolled out as a “Deal of the Century” on January 28 offers the prospect of a future Palestinian...
Archive
Leaked recording shows Iran knew it shot down Ukrainian plane
Iran’s government knew their military had shot down a passenger jet and lied about it for days, Ukraine said Sunday.
A leaked audio recording surfaced...
Archive
EU begins patrol mission in the Strait of Hormuz
France has announced the beginning of the European Maritime Awareness Mission in the Strait of Hormuz after one of the French Navy's frigates started...
Archive
US embassy in Iraq hit by rocket attack
At least one person was injured when the United States’ embassy in Iraq’s capital, Bagdhad, was hit by three rockets on Sunday. There was...
Archive
US sanctions Iranian general for 'gross violations of human rights'
The US’ State Department said it has designated Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Brigadier General Hassan Shahvarpour, Khuzestan Province's Vali Asr Commander, for his involvement...
Archive
France, UK reaffirm commitment to Iran nuclear deal
UK prime minister Boris Johnson and French president Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed their commitment to the Iran nuclear during a meeting on the sidelines of...
Archive
IEA: Global oil supply tumbles in December
Global oil supply tumbled 780,000 barrels per day in December as biofuels production declined seasonally and Saudi Arabia reduced output, the International Energy Agency...
Archive
US military says 11 troops were injured in Iranian strike
The United States' Central Command said that 11 American soldiers were injured last week when Iran fired dozens of missiles on two bases in...
Archive
Protests grow after Iran admits to downing airliner
Nationwide protests in Iran escalated over the accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane, that killed all 176 people on board.
Earlier, Iran’s president...
Archive
Canada, US believe Iran accidentally shot down Ukraine plane
A Ukraine airliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people on board, was most likely brought down accidentally by Iranian air defences, US...
Archive
EU vows to try to save nuke deal as Iran steps away after Soleimani killing
The European Union said it will "spare no efforts” to keep the 2015 nuclear deal preventing Iran from developing atomic weapons.
The head of the...
Archive
Trump says Iran is ‘standing down’ after strike
Speaking from the White House, US President Donald Trump has said Iran "appears to be standing down" after it fired missiles at air bases...
Iran
Kazakhstan airlines divert flights over Iran and Iraq airspace
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - Two Kazakh airlines, Air Astana and SCAT, decided to change routes in connection with the situation in Iran, the press services...
Archive
Iran attacks bases in Iraq housing US troops
Iran has launched more than a dozen missiles at multiple Iraqi bases hosting US and coalition troops, Pentagon officials confirmed.
The move is seen as...
Archive
Boeing 737 crashes near Iran’s capital, kills all 176 on board
A Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people crashed minutes after takeoff from Tehran on 7 January, killing all on board, Iran state media reported.
The...
Archive
Chevron pulls staff from northern Iraq over security concerns
Following the killing of Iranian Quds Force leader , US oil giant Chevron said on 6 January the company removed its expatriate staff operating...
Archive
Iran abandons 2015 nuclear deal after Soleimani killing
Iran will no longer abide by any of the limits of its 2015 nuclear deal, its state television has announced on 5 January.
The move...
Archive
Oil price jump: an inevitable knee-jerk reaction to the killing of Soleimani
Oil prices spiked on 3 January on news that Qassem Suleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force and architect of its growing military influence...
Afghanistan
Iran’s top commander Soleimani killed in US drone strike
Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force and the mastermind behind the Islamic Republic’s military and foreign policy in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon,...
Archive
Drone strikes on Saudi oil fields spike prices
Geopolitical tensions and fears of longer-than-expected supply shortfalls led to Brent crude oil prices rising more than 1% on 19 September following the drone...
Archive
Iran escalates tensions in the Persian Gulf after seizing UK tanker
In the latest escalation in the Persian Gulf region, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard reportedly captured a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz...
Archive
The big question mark for OPEC and Russia confab: Extend production cuts
MOSCOW – The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major oil producers led by Russia plan to meet on 1-2 July in...
Archive
Saudi-Iran spat over drone attacks fuel oil prices
Increased tensions in the Middle East have fuelled oil prices this week. On 16 May, crude oil prices increased more than 1% as a...
Archive
OPEC+ oil production cuts, possible US-China trade deal boost oil prices
Supply cuts led by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), US sanctions against Iran and Venezuela and the possibility of a US-China trade...
Archive
Slower global economic growth can lead to lower oil and gas prices in 2019
Oil prices are unlikely to rise significantly this year because of fears of an oil supply glut caused by over production and reduced oil...
Archive
Putin voices support for OPEC, sees no need to cut production
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly said on November 15 that Moscow is committed to continuing its cooperation with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries...
Archive
Despite EU measures, US sanctions against Iran to drive oil prices higher
Oil prices are likely to rise as traders worry that US sanctions against major oil producer Iran will lead to a tighter market towards...
Archive
Trump-Erdogan spat, Iran sanctions, Maduro’s Venezuela could spike oil prices
Growing tensions between the United States and Turkey, fresh US sanctions against Iran, and falling oil production in Venezuela have increased the possibility of...
Archive
Oil prices likely to rise as US plans to officially pull out of Iran deal
US President Donald J. Trump has said the United States will pull out of a nuclear agreement with Iran and any company dealing with...
Archive
Russia, Saudi push for OPEC oil supply increase while demand is strong
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers are seeking a compromise as Saudi Arabia and Russia are pushing the oil cartel...
Archive
Putin in Austria as OMV and Gazprom extend deal, push Nord Stream-2
Amid the buzz of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Austrian capital of Vienna, OMV and Russia’s Gazprom signed an agreement to extend...
Archive
Strange bedfellows: Iran sanctions, EU posturing and volatile oil markets
Oil prices remained near three and a half year highs on May 11 as the United States plans to reintroduce sanctions against Iran after...
Archive
Trump pulling out of Iran nuclear deal risks fuel oil prices
As the US Administration of President Donald J. Trump mulls new sanctions against Iran, world oil prices remained high on May 4.“Iran is exactly...
Archive
Saudi Arabia, Russia may extend OPEC, non-OPEC oil output deal
Plans of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other supplies, especially Russia, to possibly continue curbing oil production for the rest...
Archive
Oil markets nervous after Tillerson sacked, McMaster on his way out
The firing of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and if President Donald Trump removes H.R. McMaster as national security adviser could impact major...
Archive
Potential European market rivals, Russia’s Gazprom, Iran’s NIOC sign gas cooperation deals
Gazprom said that the Russian gas giant has signed a deal with Iran to implement integrated projects for hydrocarbon production, transmission and processing in...
Archive
Saudi Arabia, Putin’s Russia lead OPEC oil output cut extension deal through end of 2018
In an effort to boost oil prices, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC members, including Russia, reached an agreement on November...
Must read