Iran

TEHRAN, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will embark on a five-nation tour for talks on bilateral as well as regional issues, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh announced Saturday.

Zarif's tour will start on Monday and cover Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey, said Khatibzadeh, according to the Ministry's website.

23 Jan 2021; MEMO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the country's vaccination campaign against the coronavirus pandemic is likely to roll out in February with imported vaccines, Anadolu Agency reports.

Speaking at a meeting in the capital Tehran, Rouhani said it is "necessary" to use foreign-manufactured vaccines until the homegrown vaccines are ready for mass usage.

19 Jan 2021; MEMO: The Iranian parliament announced yesterday that it is preparing a draft resolution on a "defence and security treaty for the Axis of Resistance" which it will sign with its allies, states and non-state actors alike.

Although an informal alliance already exists, the aim of the "NATO-style" treaty is to oblige members to respond collectively to any attack on any members by Israel or other hostile states.

19 Jan 2021; MEMO: Chief of Staff of the Iranian president's office Mahmoud Vaezi denied on Monday media reports claiming that his country has been in contact with the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported.

18 Jan 2021; MEMO: Iran has accused the US of harassing Iranian representatives of international organisations based in the US, including the United Nations (UN).

18 Jan 2021; MEMO: Iran has lifted the last remaining limitation imposed on its nuclear program, announcing that its nuclear facilities have begun the process of producing uranium metal, Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper reported.

The paper disclosed that Iranian Permanent Envoy to International Organisations in Vienna Kazem Gharibabadi has recently announced that Tehran is beginning the process of improving fuel for the production of uranium metal.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran urged the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog to avoid publishing “unnecessary” details on Tehran’s nuclear program, state TV reported Sunday, a day after Germany, France and Britain said Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for its development of uranium metal.

The report quoted a statement from Iran’s nuclear department that asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to avoid publishing details on Iran’s nuclear program that may cause confusion.

TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iran has warned the United States to stop "illegal actions" taken against its diplomats on U.S. soil, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh declared on Saturday.

"Iran has officially warned the U.S. that it will sue it before the International Court of Justice if it does not stop its illegal actions against Iranian diplomats in international organizations," Khatibzadeh said, as quoted by news agency IRNA.

16 Jan 2021; MEMO: Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday fired long-range ballistic missiles into the Indian Ocean on the second day of a military exercise, state media reported, reports Reuters.

The drill, which comes in the waning days of high tensions with US President Donald Trump's administration, was conducted in the country's central desert region.

It followed Friday's testing of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and locally manufactured new drones in the same area.

TEHRAN, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations, said that the Islamic Republic has started research and development to upgrade fuel for its Tehran Research Reactor, Iranian Tasnim News Agency reported on Thursday.

Gharibabadi said on Wednesday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report informing member states of the agency that Iran has started upgrading fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor.