Iran

31 July 2021; MEMO: Iran's foreign minister on Friday extended condolences for the deaths caused by forest fires raging across Turkey over the past few days, Anadolu Agency reported.

"I was very affected by the forest fire that broke out in some parts of Turkey. We share the pain of the government and people of Turkey and we will stand by them," Javad Zarif said in a message written in Turkish on Twitter.

TEHRAN, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran's foreign ministry urged on Thursday neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia to overcome tensions and conflicts, and vowed to offer "any kind of assistance" to broker a lasting peace between the two countries.

In a statement published on the ministry's official website, spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh expressed Iran's concern over continuing border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

TEHRAN, July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Demonstrators gathered in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in response to renewed power outages, local media reported.

Power cuts in recent weeks have temporarily paralyzed many business centers across the country, and on Monday it happened at the Alaeddin Passage, where electronic devices are mainly sold.

According to the Isna news agency, the situation has calmed meanwhile.

The Fars news agency published a video of the demonstration on Twitter that shows protesters chanting slogans critical of the government.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran recorded over 34,900 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, setting the nation’s single-day record for cases as vaccinations lag, public complacency deepens and the country’s outbreak spirals further out of control.

The previous record of 31,814 infections had been set only a day earlier, providing a sense of how quickly Iran’s latest surge, fueled by the contagious delta variant, is mounting. Health authorities recorded 357 COVID-19 fatalities on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to 89,479 — the highest in the Middle East.

TEHRAN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has met with his visiting Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani over cooperation on diverse issues, Tasnim News Agency reported Monday.

During the meeting in the capital Tehran on Sunday, the two ministers discussed the relations between Iran and Qatar and "the most pressing" regional and international issues, Tasnim said, without providing the details of the meeting.

Al Thani's visit to Tehran came just days after his visit to Washington.

25 July 2021; MEMO: Iran on Saturday dismissed as meddling in its internal affairs criticism by the United Nations' human rights boss of the shooting deaths of protesters during demonstrations over water shortages, reports Reuters.

Meanwhile, rallies in support of the protests in the southwestern province of Khuzestan spread to the northwest of the country on Saturday, according to videos posted on social media.

TEHRAN, Jul 21 (NNN-IRNA) – The strategic ties between Iran and Iraq will help guarantee the security and stability of the entire region, Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, said yesterday.

“The stability, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq are of special importance for Iran, and we consider the security of Iraq and Iran are interrelated,” Rouhani made the remarks, in a telephone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, on the occasion of celebrating the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha.

20 July 2021; MEMO: Iran imposed a one-week lockdown in the capital and a nearby province on Tuesday as daily COVID-19 caseloads hit a record high amid a fifth wave of the pandemic, state television reported, says Reuters.

The lockdown affects Tehran and Alborz provinces, with only essential businesses allowed to stay open. Most offices, theatres and sports facilities must shut down in an effort to prevent the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, the TV said.

TEHRAN, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran will continue to attend the Vienna talks to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement after President-elect Ebrahim Raisi and his cabinet take office in August, official news agency IRNA quoting Iran's Foreign Ministry as saying on Monday.

The spokesman for the ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said during an online press conference that Iran has announced its intention to continue the talks with its partners in the Joint Commission of the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

18 July 2021; MEMO: Iran insisted on Sunday that a prisoner swap deal has been agreed with the United States, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said, a day after Washington denied such an agreement had been reached, reports Reuters.

"'Outrageous' = the US denying the simple fact that there IS an agreed deal on the matter of the detainees. Even on how to announce it," Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a tweet.