Iran

TEHRAN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday that President Hassan Rouhani has urged world countries not to follow U.S. anti-Iran sanctions.

In letters to his counterparts, Rouhani has informed how efforts to fight COVID-19 pandemic in Iran have been hampered by U.S. sanctions, Zarif tweeted.

Rouhani has urged the world states to cease observing the U.S. anti-Iran sanction, Zarif said.

Earlier, Zarif asked the UN chief to pressure Washington to lift sanctions against Tehran.

TEHRAN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Saturday summoned the Swiss ambassador, whose country represents the U.S. interests in Iran, over the U.S. president's allegations against the Islamic Republic after a recent attack on a military base used by the coalition forces in Iraq.

14 Mar 2020; MEMO: The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in Iran rose to 611, state TV reported on Friday, Reuters reports.

Authorities said 97 people died in the last 24 hours, while 1,365 new cases emerged, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 12,729, Iran’s state TV quoted Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour as saying.

A total of 4,339 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus, Jahanpour added.

Tehran, Mar 13 (AFP/PTI) Iran on Friday warned US President Donald Trump against taking "dangerous actions" after American forces launched air strikes that they said targeted a pro-Iranian armed group in neighbouring Iraq.

"The United States cannot blame others... for the consequences of its illegal presence in Iraq and the nation's reaction to the assassination and killing of Iraqi commanders and fighters," foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said.

TEHRAN, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Friday said that the United States should end its "illegal" presence in the region.

"The U.S. cannot blame others for the consequences of its illegal presence in Iraq," Mousavi made the remarks in a reaction to the U.S. claims blaming others for a recent attack on its military base in Iraq.

"Instead of making dangerous moves and baseless accusations, Mr. (Donald) Trump should thoroughly review the presence and behavior of his forces in the region," he said.

13 Mar 2020; MEMO: Iran, asked today, Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for immediate financial assistance to tackle the novel Coronavirus, in conjunction with the authorities’ announcement of 75 new deaths, in the highest daily death toll since the virus began spreading in the country. Thus, the number of casualties officially exceeded 10,000.

MONTREAL, March 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Iran pledged at a meeting of UN civil aviation agency to hand over black boxes from downed Flight 752 to Ukraine or France for analysis – a move welcomed by Canada and Ukraine.

Iran’s representative at the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal, Farhad Parvaresh, said the devices would be sent to Kiev.

TEHRAN, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that the test of a domestically-made medicine has resulted in the treatment of symptoms in severe cases of COVID-19, Tehran Times daily reported.

The test of an immunomodulatory drug, called Actemra, in patients infected by the coronavirus has resulted in the partial recovery of the patients, said Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education.

11 Mar 2020; MEMO: Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mines and Business Reza Rahmani recovered from the novel coronavirus Tuesday after receiving treatment at a hospital, according to media reports.

He was transferred to the intensive care unit after his health deteriorated, and the doctors’ efforts improved his condition and he was discharged from the hospital, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, which cited the Rahmani’s advisor Ali Akbar Rezaei, who said the minister is convalescing at home.

10 Mar 2020; MEMO: Iran has “temporarily” released approximately 70,000 prisoners because of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, Iran has issued about 70,000 prisoners due to the coronavirus outbreak across the country, Iranian judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi announced yesterday.

“The release of the prisoners, to the point where it doesn’t create insecurity in society, will continue,” Iran’s Mizan quoted Raisi as saying.