Iran

31 July 2020; MEMO: Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused the United States on Friday of trying to stir anti-government protests by imposing sanctions that he said are aimed at bankrupting the country, Reuters reports.

31 July 2020; MEMO: A cyber cold war is raging between Iran and Israel as another Iranian group early Friday claimed to have launched a series of cyberattacks on Israel’s rail infrastructure since July 14, Anadolu Agency reports.

A group that goes by the name Cyber Avengers said in a statement it targeted more than 150 industrial servers of Israel’s railways, affecting operations at 28 train and subway stations.

30 July 2020; MEMO: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said yesterday it launched ballistic missiles from “the depths of the Earth” for the first time, international news agencies reported local media saying.

The launch took place, Al Jazeera reported, during the last day of military exercises near Gulf waters.

29 July 2020; MEMO: For the fifth consecutive year, Iran achieves self-sufficiency in wheat production, the New Khaleej reported President Hassan Rouhani saying on Monday.

During a meeting with a group of activists in the field of steel and petrochemical industries, Rouhani said: “We achieved self-sufficiency in wheat production this year,” adding: “We also achieved self-sufficiency in the past four years.”

“This is unprecedented!” he continued.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched underground ballistic missiles as part of an exercise involving a fake aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz, state television reported Wednesday, the latest barrage in a drill that saw two American bases temporarily go on alert over the launches.

Drones separately targeted the bridge of the fake aircraft carrier, according to the state TV report. The TV did not immediately air footage of the launches or the drone attack, nor did it identify the missiles used in the drill.

28 July 2020; MEMO: With little regard for normal diplomatic protocol, Iran’s former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reached out to arch-rival Mohammad Bin Salman in a letter dismissed by officials and experts.

Ahmadinejad has apparently urged the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince to join hands in ending war and conflict in the Middle East.

Dubai, Jul 27 (AP/PTI) Iran has moved a mock aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the US, satellite photographs released on Monday show, likely signalling the Islamic Republic soon plans to use it for live-fire drills.

An image from Maxar Technologies taken Sunday shows an Iranian fast boat speed toward the carrier, sending waves up in its wake, after a tugboat pulled her out into the strait from the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.

TEHRAN, July 27 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran’s non-oil exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), during the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year, starting Mar 20, rose by eight percent in value year on year, Eghtesadonline reported Sunday.

From Mar 20 to June 20, Iran exported around 3.8 million tonnes of non-oil commodities worth 967 million U.S. dollars to the UAE, said Farzad Piltan, director general of Trade Promotion Organisation of Iran’s Arab-African Affairs Office.

TEHRAN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday that the Islamic republic supports peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Mohammad Ebrahim Taheri, special representative of the Iranian foreign minister for Afghan affairs, dismissed the recent remarks by Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, who blamed Iran for "insufficient support" for the Afghan peace process.

TEHRAN, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian ambassador to Tehran said Saturday that the "harassment" against the Iranian passenger plane in the Syrian sky by the United States was a "terrorist act," Tehran Times daily reported.

"Harassment against the Iranian passenger plane of Mahan airline by the U.S. fighter jets in Syria's sky is a symbol of the U.S. terrorist actions against civilians," Adnan Hassan Mahmoud said in a statement on Saturday.

Mahmoud said that "it is a violation of law and international agreements on non-military flights."