Iran

31 August 2023; MEMO: A veteran Iranian weightlifter has been banned for life for shaking hands with an Israeli opponent at the 2023 World Master Weightlifting Championships in Poland after winning a silver medal, Anadolu Agency reports.

Mostafa Rajaei, who is in his early 40s, was seen shaking hands and posing for photographs with Israeli weightlifter, Maksim Svirsky, during the competition after they both had a podium finish.

31 August 2023; MEMO: The Iranian authorities revealed details of the dismantling of a cell affiliated with Israel’s Mossad spy agency yesterday. The cell is said to have been operating in four provinces. According to the Ministry of Security and Intelligence in Tehran, it included 14 people and was shut down in mid-August.

31 August 2023; MEMO: Iran has accused Israel of being behind a failed plot to sabotage its defence industry and the production of missiles, state media reported on Thursday, Reuters reports.

The two foes have been locked in a shadow war for decades, with mutual allegations of sabotage and assassination plots.

29 August 2023; MEMO: Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said yesterday that the Islamic Republic’s “enemy” has “failed” in its attempts to isolate it, stressing Tehran’s readiness to resume negotiations on its nuclear file.

“The enemy tried to follow two strategies of isolating Iran in the world and disappointing the people inside, which it failed in both,” Raisi told a press conference in Tehran, referring to the Western sanctions imposed on Iran.

28 August 2023; MEMO: The first Russian train carrying commercial goods has arrived in Iran, on its way to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on a journey that is the first of its kind through Iranian territory, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. 

TEHRAN, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Monday officially started gas production at Phase 11 of the South Pars field located in its southern waters, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The announcement was made in an inauguration ceremony held in the southern port city of Asaluyeh in the presence of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, said the report.

At the ceremony, Raisi said the development project of Phase 11 is being fully implemented by domestic experts, according to a statement published on the website of his office.

TEHRAN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Friday that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS have been formed to promote cooperation among countries to help them progress while respecting their independence.

Raisi made the remarks upon arrival in Tehran from Johannesburg, South Africa, where he took part in the 15th BRICS Summit, according to a statement released by the president's office.

He elaborated on the capacities of the two blocs, saying that they are newly emerging groups that are "completely against unilateralism."

TEHRAN, Aug 24 (NNN-IRNA) – A senior Iranian military commander, said yesterday that, Tehran and Moscow were determined to expand their cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Force, Kioumars Heidari, made the remarks in Moscow, at the end of his official visit to the Russian capital, commenting on the agreements reached between the two countries during the trip.

17 August 2023; MEMO: The United States (US) granted authorisation for the sale of Israel’s Arrow 3 missile defence system to Germany, in a deal worth $3.5 billion, reported Reuters.

The ministry said in a statement today that senior officials from the Israeli and German defence ministries would sign a letter of commitment to the deal with a preliminary payment of $600 million.

18 August 2023; MEMO: Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, discussed Iran’s possible future membership of the BRICS grouping during a phone call on Thursday, Russian state news agency, TASS reported, citing the Kremlin, Reuters reports.