Iran

01 August 2022; MEMO: Iran's Intelligence Ministry said on Monday it had arrested a number of adherents of the banned Baha'i faith for links to a centre in Israel, and for proselytising in schools and kindergartens, Reuters reports.

The Ministry statement, carried by State media, did not say how many people were arrested or when the arrests were made.

TEHRAN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran's nuclear chief on Monday said although Iran has the technical capability to build an atomic bomb, it is not on the agenda.

"Iran has the technical ability to build an atomic bomb, but such a program is not on the agenda of the Islamic republic," Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told semi-official Fars News Agency.

Some Western countries have been making "false accusations" to "deceive the public," he added.

Tehran, IRNA – Farajollah Cha'ab, the ringleader of the terrorist and separatist grouplet of Harakat al-Nazal, admitted on Sunday that he has been receiving support from Swedish government and intelligence agency.

Cha'ab, who was arrested by Iranian security forces some two and a half years ago, made the confession during a court hearing in the Iranian capital of Tehran.

He is responsible for a terrorist attack in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, southwestern Iran, on September 22, 2018.  

Tehran, IRNA - Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in a message on Saturday thanked the authorities for their rapid presence in the flood-hit areas and called for the efforts of aid groups to help the flood victims and compensate for the damages.

In a condolence message to the victims in the wake of the flood damage in many parts of the country, Ayatollah Khamenei called for the efforts of aid groups to help the flood victims.

TEHRAN, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian military commander said on Sunday that the reach of U.S. global political influence is shrinking, semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami made the remarks in an address to a conference attended by the IRGC's political directors.

All U.S. attempts to form governments in regional countries are ending in failure "in a domino fashion" as is manifest in Washington's escape from Afghanistan and other defeats, Salami said.

TEHRAN, July 31 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian lawmaker said on Sunday that new round of talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal will probably be held soon, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported.

Given the European sides' efforts to resume the talks, Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, has hinted that the new round of the negotiations will probably be held in the coming days, Yaqoub Reza-Zadeh, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told ISNA.

30 July 2022; MEMO: Iran has confirmed its arrest of a Swedish citizen on charges of espionage, two months after it was first reported by foreign media.

According to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), a statement by Iran's intelligence ministry "announced that a citizen of the Kingdom of Sweden was arrested on espionage charges."

July 29 (Reuters) - Rescuers searched for the missing in Iran on Friday after landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains killed at least 53 people, officials said.

Mehdi Valipour, head of emergency operations at the Red Crescent Society, told state TV that 16 people were still missing after two days of floods that have affected 400 towns and villages in 18 of Iran’s 31 provinces. Many highways were closed.

29 July 2022; MEMO: Iran will, in the next few weeks, begin to build a nuclear research reactor at the Isfahan nuclear facility, the head of the country's Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEO) said yesterday.

Speaking during a visit to the site, Mohammad Eslami said: "Iran plans to build research nuclear reactors to test fuel for the rest of the nuclear reactors which will complete the cycle of research, evaluation, testing and verification of nuclear electricity production in the country."

29 July 2022; MEMO: The death toll as a result of the floods caused by heavy rains in villages around Iran's capital Tehran has risen to 18, officials said today.

Hasan Nami, head of the National Crisis Center, said: "One person died due to the flood in the village of Veskare, east of Tehran, and 14 vehicles were submerged."

He added: "The situation is more serious in the village of Merzdaran, Tehran, where six people have lost their lives so far, and rescue efforts are continuing."