Iran

28 Sep 2022; MEMO: The Iranian parliament is divided over the judicial and security forces' crackdown on anti-government protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in prison last week.

The Iranian news agency IRNA said conservative lawmaker, Zohreh Lajevardi, said the recent protests had been organised by Iran's enemies and demanded severe punishments for participants.

TEHRAN, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking Iranian military commander said a homegrown over-the-horizon (OTH) radar with a range of 3,000 km will soon become operational in the country, semi-official Mehr news agency reported Tuesday.

Dubbed Sepehr (Sky), the radar is capable of monitoring all kinds of commercial, fighter and command and control military aircraft as well as airplanes fitted with radio relay stations and unmanned aerial vehicles, Deputy Commander of the Iranian Army's Air Defense Force Alireza Elhami was quoted as saying.

26 Sep 2022; MEMO: Iran accused the United States, on Monday, of using unrest triggered by the death of a woman in police custody to try to destabilise the country, and warned it would not go unanswered, as the biggest protests since 2019 showed no signs of abating, Reuters reports.

TEHRAN, Sept 26 (NNN-TASNIM) – Ali Salehi, chief prosecutor of Tehran, said yesterday, his office has filed criminal charges against 14 individuals, for involvement in the assassination of the country’s high-ranking nuclear physicist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

The prosecutor said, the individuals have been accused of “corruption on earth,” intelligence and espionage cooperation with Israel, collusion with the aim of compromising Iran’s security, and acting against national security.

TEHRAN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday slammed the "interventionist" remarks of American and other Western politicians against Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"The enemies' approach against the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation has always been accompanied by hypocrisy and double standards," Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, said in reference to the remarks made by Western officials over the protests that followed the death of a young girl in the police custody in Iran.

TEHRAN, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian foreign minister urged Washington to prove its determination and goodwill to reach an agreement on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal with realism, the official news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in an address to Iranian reporters in New York after meeting with other countries' foreign ministers following the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

TEHRAN, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani on Saturday expressed regret for the decision of the Ukrainian government to downgrade diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic.

On Friday, Ukraine announced to downgrade ties with Iran and remove the Iranian ambassador's accreditation over what it called Tehran's "unfriendly" decision to supply Russia with drones "used against its forces and citizens," the Iranian Foreign Ministry website reported.

Sept 24 (Reuters) - Iran is planning "proportional action" in response to Ukraine's decision to downgrade diplomatic ties over the reported supply of Iranian drones to Russia, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.

Nasser Kanaani said Ukraine should "refrain from being influenced by third parties who seek to destroy relations between the two countries", a ministry statement said.

TEHRAN, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani on Saturday expressed regret for the decision of the Ukrainian government to downgrade diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic.

On Friday, Ukraine announced to downgrade ties with Iran and remove the Iranian ambassador's accreditation over what it called Tehran's "unfriendly" decision to supply Russia with drones "used against its forces and citizens," the Iranian Foreign Ministry website reported.

23 Sep 2022; MEMO: Iran, Russia and China will hold joint naval exercises in the northern Indian Ocean "this autumn", Iranian semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

Mehr quoted Iranian Chief of Staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, as saying that other countries, including Oman and Pakistan, will join the drill, without giving further details.

The northern Indian Ocean extends to the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and is a major waterway for oil exports to world markets.