Iran

[Aeneas]

A Boeing 707 military cargo plane crashed in bad weather

It is instructive to look at the pictures above of the crash. What stands out is the fact that the plane has not evaporated, there are many parts of the plane, the ground bears evidence of having being burned and the entry hole is not cylindrical. Most people would make these observations and say "of course, what else would you expect?"

Well, the Pentagon crash was by a Boeing 757, which shares a number of similarities with the 707. Yet, people were told to ask no questions and to believe the MSM which told you what happened. The results were a neat lawn in front of the Pentagon where it had been hit, a nice cylindrical hole of entry, no visible signs of the plane whatsoever. A couple of guys carried what was left away under a tarpaulin. It was indeed the day when the laws of physics were suspended and the start of brains turning to mush.

 

[Oxajil]

A Boeing 707 military cargo plane crashed in bad weather on Monday west of the Iranian capital, killing 15 out of the 16 people on board, the Iranian army said.

Very sad. May they rest in peace. Hoping the flight engineer will recover from his injuries.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

One person killed, and five were injured in the terrorist attack in southeastern Iran.

Deadly Terrorist Attack Hits Basij Base in SE Iran
February 02, 2019

 

[angelburst29]

The 40th Anniversary of the triumph of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

On Feb 11, 1979, Iran’s army declared its neutrality, paving the way for the collapse of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East.

Iranian people gather during a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran February 11, 2019. Masoud Shahrestani/Tasnim News Agency/via REUTERS

February 11, 2019 - Timeline of the Iranian Revolution
Timeline of the Iranian revolution

These are key dates of the revolution and the rise of the Islamic Republic.

1978
Jan. 9 - Several thousand people protest in the city of Qom, a center of religious scholarship, and security forces attack, killing at least five people.

Feb. 18 - Protests are held in a number of cities to commemorate the fortieth day after the death of the Qom protesters. A number of protesters are killed in Tabriz.

Jun. 7 - The Shah replaces the head of the SAVAK secret police in an attempt to appease protesters.

Aug. 19 - Hundreds are killed in an arson fire at the Cinema Rex in Abadan in southern Iran. Protesters and officials blame each other, kicking off another round of violence.

Sept. 8 - Martial law is imposed and security forces fire on protesters in Jaleh Square in Tehran, killing at least 100 people, a day which is named “Black Friday.”

Oct. 3 - Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein deports influential senior opposition cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from Najaf and he settles in the Neauphle-le-Chateau suburb of Paris.

Nov. 6 - After days of protests, the Shah broadcasts the message “I heard the voice of your revolution.”

Dec. 10-11 - Timed with a religious holiday, millions of Iranians protest around the country calling for the ousting of the Shah.

Dec. 29 - Shapour Bakhtiar, a long time opposition leader, is appointed prime minister by the Shah.

1979
Jan. 4 - Bakhtiar officially becomes prime minister.

Jan. 12 - Khomeini forms a Revolutionary Council to oversee the Shah’s exit and transition to a new government.

Jan. 16 - The Shah and his wife, Empress Farah Pahlavi, leave Tehran and fly to Aswan, Egypt.

Jan. 22 - The Shah arrives in Morocco with his entourage. He spends three weeks in a palace in Marrakesh before going to the Bahamas.

Feb. 1 - Khomeini returns to Iran and is greeted by millions in Tehran.

Feb. 11 - Iran’s general staff declares the neutrality of the armed forces and troops are ordered back to their barracks, guaranteeing the Islamic Revolution’s success. Bakhtiar flees Tehran.

Feb. 14 - The U.S. embassy in Tehran is attacked and overrun but the crowds eventually leave the embassy grounds.

Feb. 16 - Iran’s revolutionary authorities start executions of leading supporters of the Shah and kill four top generals on the rooftop of a school housing Khomeini.

Mar. 5 - Iran resumes oil exports.

Mar. 30 - A referendum is held and approximately 99 percent of voters support the formation of an Islamic Republic.

Aug. 3 - Iranians elect members of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution to write a new constitution for the Islamic Republic.

Oct. 22 - The Shah arrives in the United States for medical treatment of lymphatic cancer, a disease he has secretly battled for several years.

Nov. 4 - Iranian students storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran and take 52 Americans hostage, demanding the extradition of the Shah in return for their release.

Dec. 15 - The Shah leaves the United States and travels to Panama.

1980
Jan. 25 - Abolhasan Bani-Sadr is elected the first president of the Islamic Republic.

Mar. 23 - The Shah leaves Panama and goes to Egypt where he is granted asylum by President Anwar al-Sadat. He receives urgent medical treatment.

Jul 27 - The Shah dies in Cairo from lymphoma, aged 60. Sadat gives him a state funeral and he is buried in the Al-Rifa’i Mosque in Cairo.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched and some burned U.S. flags on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the triumph of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shi’ite cleric who toppled the Shah in an Islamic Revolution that rattles the West to this day.

February 11, 2019 - Iran vaults military, exults at US 'dismay' as revolution turns 40
Iran vaunts military, taunts U.S. as revolution turns 40

State TV showed large crowds defying frigid weather and carrying Iranian flags while chanting “Death to Israel, Death to America,” trademark chants of the revolution which ousted the United States’ most important ally in the Middle East.

Slideshow (8 Images)
Iran vaunts military, taunts U.S. as revolution turns 40

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Twenty members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed, and twenty others were injured in a suicide attack in southeastern Iran.

Suicide Attack in S Iran Kills 20 Members of Revolutionary Guards (VIDEO)
13.02.2019

 

[Oxajil]

Twenty members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed, and twenty others were injured in a suicide attack in southeastern Iran.

Suicide Attack in S Iran Kills 20 Members of Revolutionary Guards (VIDEO)
13.02.2019

On the same day, warmonger Netanyahu tweets:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1095753664243761152

Iran's Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, responds:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1095763850086006786

Regarding the Middle East Summit in Poland: Apparently there was a MEK (anti-Iran terror group) rally in Warsaw. Someone observed:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1095648284822159360

Meanwhile, Iran is making some progress when it comes to settings things up to make trading with Europe a possibility, as Pepe Escobar writes about here. This is nice:

China, Russia, Iran and Turkey – the four key vectors of ongoing Eurasia integration – are investing in bypassing the US dollar on trade by any mechanism necessary. The Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) is also working on a common system for “boosting economic sovereignty”, as defined by President Putin. It has free-trade agreements with an array of partners, including China and Iran.

He also writes:

Arab NATO roll-call

This is the background in the run-up towards what is essentially an anti-Iran conference convened by the Trump administration in Warsaw this Wednesday.

No one in Europe that really matters wants to be publicly associated with Iranian demonization. Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief, is not going. EU-wide businesses increasingly tell their puny political leaders that the way to go is Greater Eurasia – from Lisbon to Vladivostok, from Murmansk to Mumbai, with Tehran in between, and everything linked to the China-driven Belt and Road Initiative.

Poland is an exception. Ruled by hardcore nationalists, it has been lobbying for a permanent US military base, which President Andrzej Duda wants to call “Fort Trump”.

Unable to force France, the UK, Germany and Italy out of doing business with Iran, what’s left for Washington is to have Persian Gulf governors plus Israel assembled in the same room, pledging their efforts towards an ill-defined, anti-Iran Arab NATO.

What this will certainly accomplish inside Iran is to promote even more hardliners and “Principlists” who are lobbying for a return to former President Ahmadinejad’s “Look East” strategy.

Iran is already looking East – considering its top Asian energy clients and the close ties with the Belt and Road Initiative and the EAEU. Team Rouhani now knows, in realpolitik terms, they cannot trust the US; and the EU is an immensely problematic partner. The next major step would be for Iran to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. China wants it. And Russia wants it.

Venezuela looks to have been targeted for regime change essentially because it’s trying to bypass the US dollar on trade. That should not be a problem for Iran, which has been a target for regime change for decades.

I don't think a war with Iran is likely, because it is somewhat militarily strong and has good allies. I'm guessing terrorist attacks won't stop, but I'm hoping that they will all fail.

 

[angelburst29]

Twenty members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed, and twenty others were injured in a suicide attack in southeastern Iran.

Suicide Attack in S Iran Kills 20 Members of Revolutionary Guards (VIDEO)
13.02.2019

"27 IRGC members have been martyred and 13 others wounded in the terrorist attack so far," the statement said, and further blamed "the intelligence services of hegemonic system - a phrase used normally to refer to the United States and its allies - and Zionism for supporting the attack".

Farsnews

A car is seen at the site of the suicide attack on a Revolutionary Guards on the road between the cities of Zahedan and Khash, Iran, February 13, 2019. Fars News/Handout

Meantime, Jeish Al-Adl, a Pakistan-based radical Wahhabi terrorist group staging cross border attacks into Southeastern Iran from South-West Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

The group has bases in Southwestern Pakistan and started operations nearly 6 years ago after recruiting the remnants of Jundullah notorious terrorist group and reorganizing them. Iran had captured leaders of Jundullah notorious Wahhabi terrorist group and dismantled the terrorist organization years earlier.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed the administration of US President Donald Trump for leading an anti-Iran meeting to push Washington's isolation out of sight, while Tehran and its allies try to bring calm to war-torn Syria.

Thu Feb 14, 2019 - Iran: US Trying to Hide "Global Isolation" by Staging Warsaw Circus
Farsnews

As Iran, Russia and Turkey ready a summit in Sochi to work for peace in Syria and UN Court rejects US excuses and readies to rule on US theft of Iranian people’s assets, flip-flopping Trump officials try to hide their perpetual lawlessness and global isolation behind a charade in Warsaw," Zarif wrote on his Twitter page on Wednesday.

"Is it no coincidence that Iran is hit by terror on the very day that #WarsawCircus begins? Especially when cohorts of same terrorists cheer it from Warsaw streets and support it with twitter bots? US seems to always make the same wrong choices, but expect different results," Zarif added.

UN Court Says Iran Bid to Recover Funds Frozen in US Can Proceed http://fna.ir/brgd3t pic.twitter.com/hH9jyLBov1

Former U.S. Air Force officer faces spy charges after defecting to Iran
U.S. authorities on Wednesday charged former Air Force intelligence officer Monica Witt with helping Iran launch a cyber-spying operation that targeted her former colleagues after she defected from the United States.

France, Iran close to restoring ambassadors: foreign minister
France and Iran are close to exchanging ambassadors after Paris suspended nominating an envoy to Tehran last year over claims Iranian intelligence officials had planned an attack on an opposition group in Paris, France's foreign minister said.

 

[mrtn]

"to advance the common interest of war"
what on earth?

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Trump’s fastest way to Iran might be through Lebanon
Written by Darius Shahtahmasebi on 13 Feb, 2019

The US is keeping itself busy in the regime-change department during the first two months of 2019. While a lot of recent focus has been on Venezuela, the US still maintains a strong anti-Iran stance which cannot go unnoticed.

On December 26, 2018, the National Interest ran an article entitled“Navy Nightmare: Could Iran Sink a US Aircraft Carrier?” It is unclear if the editors of the magazine are suffering from amnesia, or are just worried that their earlier work had been ignored, but just over a week ago the outlet ran a separate article with a suspiciously similarly worded title: “Could Iran’s Missiles Do the Unthinkable: Sink a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier?”

U.S. DELIVERS LASER-GUIDED ROCKETS TO LEBANESE ARMY (PHOTOS)
13.02.2019

On February 13, the U.S. delivered a shipment of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rockets, valued at more than $16 million, to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

The rockets, which are a part of the U.S. military aid for Lebanon, will be used to arm the A-29 Super Tucano warplanes of the Lebanese Air Force (LAF). The warplanes were also purchased through the U.S. aid program. The LAF received the first two Super Tucanos on October 31 of 2017.

 

[angelburst29]

Iran on Saturday rejected accusations of anti-Semitism leveled against it by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, saying it respected Judaism but opposed Israel, which Tehran said was acting like a "killing machine against the Palestinians".

February 16, 2019 - Iran rejects anti-Semitism allegation by Pence
Iran rejects anti-Semitism allegation by Pence

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence walks outside Hotel Bayerischer Hof during Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany February 16, 2019. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

Pence accused Iran of Nazi-like anti-Semitism on Friday after visiting the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, maintaining his harsh rhetoric just a day after attacking European powers for trying to undermine U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

“Iran’s historic and cultural record of coexistence and respect for divine religions, particularly Judaism, is recorded in reliable historic documents of various nations,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.

“The principle that underlies our foreign policy is the aggressive and occupying nature of the Zionist regime (Israel)..., which is a killing machine against the Palestinian people,” Qasemi said, according the ministry’s website.

Speaking to Germany’s Der Spiegel Online, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described Pence’s accusation as “laughable”, adding: “Iran has always supported the Jews. We are just against Zionists. The Holocaust was a disaster.”

Iran’s ancient Jewish community has slumped to an estimated 10,000-20,000 from 85,000 at the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but it is believed to be the biggest in the Middle East outside Israel.

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander in January threatened Israel, which Iran does not recognize, with destruction if it attacks Iran, state media reported.


After Auschwitz visit, Pence accuses Iran of Nazi-like anti-Semitism
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence accused Iran of Nazi-like anti-Semitism on Friday, maintaining his harsh rhetoric against Tehran just a day he attacked European powers for trying to undermine U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Iran's Zarif says risk of war with Israel is great
Iran's foreign minister accused Israel of looking for war and warned that its behavior and that of the United States was increasing the chances of a clash in the region.

Rouhani says Iran ready to improve ties with Gulf states
Iran is ready to work with all of its neighbors to secure peace in the Middle East in the face of U.S. and Israeli aggression, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, in his latest attempt to weaken ties between regional rival Saudi Arabia and America.

Pence says time has come for EU to withdraw from Iran nuclear deal
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence pressed European countries on Saturday to withdraw from a nuclear deal between Iran and major powers, and urged them to be wary of using telecoms equipment supplied by Chinese provider Huawei.

Iran confirms second failed satellite launch: NBC News
Iran bid to launch a second satellite in the past two months has failed, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with NBC News published on Friday.

 

[angelburst29]

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the urbane, U.S.-educated architect of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, announced his resignation unexpectedly on Monday on Instagram.

February 25, 2019 - Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif, Architect of Nuclear Deal, Resigns
Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif, architect of nuclear deal, resigns


“Many thanks for the generosity of the dear and brave people of Iran and its authorities over the past 67 months. I sincerely apologize for the inability to continue serving and for all the shortcomings during my service. Be happy and worthy”, he wrote on his Instagram page jzarif_ir.

He gave no specific reasons for his decision. Unconfirmed media reports indicated he resigned over Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s visit to Tehran on Monday. Noting that Zarif was not pictured in any of the coverage of the visit, one online website said “the foreign minister was not informed”.

Zarif played the lead role in striking the deal under which Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international financial sanctions.

He came under attack from anti-Western hardliners in Iran after the United States pulled out of the agreement last May and re-imposed sanctions on Iran’s economy and its lifeblood oil industry that were lifted under the deal.

A foreign ministry spokesman and spokesman for the Iranian mission to the United Nations, Alireza Miryousefi, confirmed the announcement of the resignation. There was no immediate word, however, on whether Rouhani would accept it.

Born in 1960, Zarif lived in the United States from the age of 17 as a student in San Francisco and Denver, and subsequently as a diplomat to the United Nations in New York, where he served as Iranian ambassador from 2002-07.

He was appointed minister of foreign affairs in August 2013 after Rouhani won the presidency in a landslide on a promise to open up Iran to the outside world.

Although Rouhani, as the president, is responsible for choosing ministers, Iran’s top authority Khamenei traditionally has the last say over appointment of key ministers, including the foreign minister.

Since taking charge of Iran’s nuclear talks with major powers in late 2013, Zarif has been summoned to parliament several times by hardline lawmakers to explain the negotiations.

Some hardliners even threatened Zarif with bodily harm after the nuclear deal was signed. Khamenei guardedly backed the deal, under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear work.

In February 2014 he caused an uproar with public comments condemning the Holocaust and was subsequently summoned to parliament. Holocaust denial has been a staple of public speeches in Iran for decades.

A former commander of Iran’s hardline Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hassan Abbasi, said in a speech earlier this month he believed Iranian people would spit on Zarif and those officials who supported the nuclear pact with powers.

“Rouhani, Zarif and (parliament speaker Ali) Larijani, go to hell,” Abbasi said in the central city of Karaj, Iranian media reported.

Fighting between parties and factions in Iran is a "deadly poison" undermining foreign policy, Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying in an interview published on Tuesday, a day after he resigned as Iranian foreign minister.

February 25, 2019 - Iran infighting 'deadly poison' for Foreign Policy: Zarif
Iran infighting 'deadly poison' for foreign policy: Zarif


Zarif’s comments suggest he may have quit over pressure from hardline elements who have long criticized his role in negotiating a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

“We first have to remove our foreign policy from the issue of party and factional fighting,” Zarif told the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper. “The deadly poison for foreign policy is for foreign policy to become an issue of party and factional fighting,” he added.

The Fars news agency reported that the interview had taken place last week, before the resignation.

President Hassan Rouhani has not formally accepted the resignation which Zarif announced on Monday on Instagram.

A majority of Iran’s parliamentarians signed a letter to Rouhani on Tuesday, asking for Zarif to continue his job, Ali Najafi Khoshroodi, the spokesman for the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy commission told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Zarif told the newspaper he had followed the guidance of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic, during the nuclear negotiations.

He said U.S. President Donald Trump and his national security adviser John Bolton, rather than Rouhani, were to blame for the U.S. withdrawal from the deal.

Mounting pressure by Iran's hardliners behind Zarif's resignation: ally
Political infighting in Iran after Washington last year quit a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers forced Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to announce his resignation, a close ally stated.

Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif at frontline of battle against America: Rouhani
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who announced his resignation on Monday, is at the frontline of the battle against America, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Iran foreign minister urges diplomats not to quit after he resigns: IRNA
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday urged diplomats and other employees at the foreign ministry not to quit, a day after he announced his resignation, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad thanked Iran's Foreign Ministry during his visit to Tehran on Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

February 25, 2019 - Syrian President thanked Iran's Foreign Ministry during visit to Tehran: Rouhani
Syrian president thanked Iran's Foreign Ministry during visit to...

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al Assad, in Tehran, Iran, February 25, 2019. Official President website/Handout via REUTERS

Rouhani’s comments come a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced his resignation on Instagram.

President al-Assad pays a work visit to Tehran

Published on Feb 25, 2019 (0:45 min.)

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the urbane, U.S.-educated architect of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, announced his resignation unexpectedly on Monday on Instagram.

February 25, 2019 - Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif, Architect of Nuclear Deal, Resigns
Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif, architect of nuclear deal, resigns

A majority of Iranian lawmakers have signed a letter to President Rouhani calling on him not to accept Zarif's resignation - The President has not accepted Zarif's resignation.

Most Iranian MPs Sign Letter Asking for Zarif to Remain Foreign Minister - MP
26.02.2019

Iran's President Hasn't Accepted Foreign Minister Zarif's Resignation Request
26.02.2019

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Zarif will keep serving as a foreign minister.

Zarif Remains in Cabinet, Iranian Official Says
February 27, 2019

 

[goyacobol]

This is a recent article that I thought was interesting as far as Iran wanting closer ties with Armenia.

Rouhani Stresses Good Opportunities for Closer Iran-Armenia Ties
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated his administration’s policy to boost ties with neighboring countries and said there are good opportunities for closer ties between Tehran and Yerevan in diverse fields, economy in particular.

• February, 27, 2019 - 15:48

In a post on his Twitter account on Wednesday, Mahmoud Vaezi said he is delighted to announce that Zarif will keep serving as the foreign minister.

Despite the jubilation of Iran’s archenemies, the administration will continue to benefit from the “influential and lively” presence of Zarif in the cabinet of ministers after President Rouhani rejected his resignation, Vaezi added.

In a letter on Wednesday morning, Rouhani turned down Zarif’s resignation, saying that accepting it would be against the country’s interests.

On Monday night, Zarif had announced his resignation from the cabinet in a post on his Instagram account.

“Many thanks for the generosity of the dear and brave people of Iran and its authorities over the past 67 months. I sincerely apologize for the inability to continue serving and for all the shortcomings during my service. Be happy and worthy,” Zarif wrote on his Instagram page.

 

[angelburst29]

Zarif played the lead role in striking the deal under which Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international financial sanctions.

Born in 1960, Zarif lived in the United States from the age of 17 as a student in San Francisco and Denver, and subsequently as a diplomat to the United Nations in New York, where he served as Iranian ambassador from 2002-07.

He was appointed minister of foreign affairs in August 2013 after Rouhani won the presidency in a landslide on a promise to open up Iran to the outside world.

I consider Zarif as a true Statesman and Diplomat and he has a proven tract record, especially in the role he played in the Iranian Nuclear Deal. His background in studying in the US and learning the language, then his further work at the UN in New York, he has worked his way up the ranks to where he is now. If there is to be any work forward on the Iranian Deal with the US, Zarif is in a position to work with both sides. I reason, Zarif was upset for not being informed of President Assad's visit and not invited with the meeting with Rouhani - which was a careless misjudgment on Rouhani part. Basically, it was like a personal snub to Zarif - and turning a blind eye to formal protocol with a visiting dignitary? I noticed a report that President Assad has invited Zarif to visit Syria.

Iran's Rouhani stands by moderate ally Zarif after surprise resignation

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held back from accepting the resignation of his foreign minister on Tuesday, standing by a moderate ally long targeted by hardliners in internal factional struggles over a 2015 nuclear deal with the West.

Iran’s Rouhani rejects resignation of foreign minister Zarif: IRNA

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected on Wednesday the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, as it was against national interests of the Islamic Republic.

Iran's Zarif spoke on the phone with Syrian counterpart: Fars news
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke on the phone on Wednesday with his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Moualem, Fars news agency reported, quoting state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

Assad invites Iran's Zarif to visit Damascus: IRNA
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to visit Damascus, state news agency IRNA reported, without specifying a date for the trip.

Iran's Zarif derides Trump over North Korea summit failure

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif mocked U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday over the collapse of a summit on North Korean denuclearization, vowing Washington would not get a better Iran nuclear deal than the one it exited last year.

Iran condemns Britain for listing ally Hezbollah as 'terrorist' group

Iran criticized Britain for its decision to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, saying on Saturday it ignored both the will of a large portion of the Lebanese people and the Tehran-backed group's role in fighting Islamic State.