Iran

TEHRAN, Jun 1 (NNN-IRNA) – The spokesman of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that, the talks between Tehran and Riyadh, to settle issues, continue in a “constructive” climate.

Saeed Khatibzadeh refrained from commenting on the details of the talks, saying, “it is not common for the details of the negotiations to be reported in the media before an agreement is reached.”

However, “the talks are taking place in a constructive atmosphere, and we hope to reach a conclusion,” he said.

31 May 2021; MEMO: Iran's oil output can easily reach 6.5 million barrels per day (bpd) when U.S. sanctions are lifted, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Monday, according to the Ministry's SHANA website, Reuters reports.

Zanganeh also said an increase in Iranian oil output would boost the country's political power, as Tehran and world powers pursue talks to lift the U.S. sanctions that have stopped it from pumping anywhere near capacity since 2018.

(Reuters) --- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has dismissed the central bank governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, one of the few moderates running in a June 18 presidential election, who said he accepted the decision that he must step aside at the bank in order to stand for president.

Hemmati, a technocrat appointed central bank governor in 2018, is one of seven candidates for president, with the others mostly staunch hardliners after a vetting body, the Guardian Council, barred leading reformists and conservatives from standing.

30 May 2021; MEMO: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has dismissed central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, who is running in the presidential election in June, the Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday, says Reuters.

Hemmati in a Saturday night meeting on the Clubhouse social media app said:

Rouhani told me that if you stand in the election, you cannot remain the central bank chief because it affects monetary and exchange rate policies.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian authorities indicted a French tourist on charges of spying and spreading propaganda against the system, his lawyer said Sunday. It was the latest in a series of cases against foreigners amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West.

Benjamin Berier was arrested in May last year after taking pictures in a desert area where photography is prohibited and asking questions “in the media” about Iran’s obligatory Islamic headscarf for women.

(Reuters) --- An Iranian-flagged tanker seized by Indonesia in January over the suspected illegal transfer of oil has been released, an Indonesian official and Iranian state media said on Saturday.

Wisnu Pramandita, a spokesman for the Indonesian coastguard, said the Iranian-flagged tanker, the MT Horse, was released on Friday after a court decision earlier in the week.

The court ruled the vessel could leave Indonesia, while the captain would be subject to a two-year probation without any fine, the spokesman said.

28 May 2021; MEMO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday that "an agreement has been reached to lift the main sanctions on our country, but there are still other penalties that must be lifted to fully implement the nuclear deal."

"The sanctions could have been lifted, but it should have been done unanimously, and we are the ones who requested the full lifting of the sanctions, and in the form of steps," added Rouhani.

(Reuters) --- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei supported a hardline watchdog body's disqualification of leading moderate and conservative candidates seeking to run in the June presidential election, state TV reported on Thursday.

The Guardian Council, which vets candidates, has approved seven out of 592 hopefuls including hardline judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, while excluding his high-profile rivals from the race.

(Reuters) --- Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Tuesday he was optimistic over Tehran reaching an agreement soon at talks with world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, although Iran's top negotiator cautioned that serious issues remained.

Iran and global powers have held several rounds of negotiations since April in Vienna, working on steps that Tehran and Washington must take on sanctions and nuclear activities to return to full compliance with the nuclear pact.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran named seven candidates Tuesday for its June 18 presidential election, approving the candidacy of the hard-line cleric running the country’s judiciary while barring a former parliament speaker allied to the country’s current president.

The decision by Iran’s Guardian Council puts judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, who ran against President Hassan Rouhani in 2017, in a dominant position for the upcoming vote. He’s the most-known candidate of the seven hopefuls, with opinion polling previously showing his anti-corruption campaign drew Iranian support.