Meta removes Instagram and Facebook accounts for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Meta has removed Instagram and Facebook accounts run on behalf of Iranโs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after criticism over his support for Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the monthslong war still raging in the Gaza Strip.
Iran unlawfully detaining human rights activists, including new Nobel peace laureate, UN expert says
A U.N. independent investigator says Iranian authorities are cracking down on protesters, unlawfully detaining human rights activists, including new Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, and carrying out an โalarmingโ number of executions.
Microsoft: Iran unit behind Charlie Hebdo hack-and-leak op
After the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdoโs launched a cartoon contest to mock Iranโs ruling cleric, a state-backed Iranian cyber unit struck back in early January with a hack-and-leak campaign intent on striking fear with the claimed pilfering of a big subscriber database.
Protests galvanize Iranians abroad in hope, worry and unity
As anti-government protests roil cities and towns in Iran for a fourth week, tens of thousands of Iranians living abroad have marched on the streets of Europe, North America and beyond in support of what many believe to be a watershed moment for their home country.
Iran holds mass funeral for '80s war dead amid nuclear talks
Thousands of mourners have poured into the streets of Iranian cities for the mass funeral of 250 victims of the Iran-Iraq war โ remains recently recovered in a testament to the brutal conflictโs scale and enduring legacy after 35 years.
Israeli PM and Biden postpone meeting because of Afghanistan
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett have postponed their White House meeting as Biden focused his attention on dealing with the aftermath of deadly explosions near the Kabul airport that targeted U.S. troops and Afghans seeking to flee their country after the Taliban takeover.
US: Putin approved operations to help Trump against Biden
The document makes clear that even while Trump has cried foul about the legitimacy of the election, intelligence officials believe Russia sought to influence people close to Trump as a way to tip the election in his favor. The primary threats instead came from Russia and Iran, albeit with different intentions and through different means, according to intelligence officials. The report also says Putin authorized influence operations aimed at denigrating Biden, boosting Trump, undermining confidence in the election and exacerbating social divisions in the U.S. Intelligence officials did not single out any Trump ally in that effort. U.S. officials have said they regard Derkach as an โactive Russian agent,โ and Tuesday's report said Putin is believed to have โpurviewโ over his activities.
Iran starts trial of new homegrown vaccine as campaign lags
Iran says that its third homegrown vaccine has reached the phase of clinical trials, even as details about its production remained slim. AdBut details are scant about the Islamic Republic's vaccine production efforts. Two other Iranian vaccines are also in the phase of clinical trials, with the most advanced, called Barekat, tested on 300 people so far. Earlier this week, the government launched a vaccine production factory it claims can make 3 million doses a day. Iran formally launched its limited vaccination campaign last month, doling out Russia's Sputnik V vaccine to health workers and those with chronic health conditions.
Israeli-owned ship docked in Dubai after mysterious blast
The Israeli-owned cargo ship, Helios Ray, sits docked in port after arriving earlier in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. The ship has been damaged by an unexplained blast at the gulf of Oman on Thursday. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)DUBAI โ An Israeli-owned cargo ship that suffered a mysterious explosion in the Gulf of Oman came to Dubai's port for repairs Sunday, days after the blast that revived security concerns in Mideast waterways amid heightened tensions with Iran. Associated Press journalists saw the hulking Israeli-owned MV Helios Ray sitting at dry dock facilities at Dubai's Port Rashid. An Emirati coast guard vessel was seen sailing behind the ship, with Dubai police and Emirati armed forces vehicles parked nearby.
Iran officially imposes curbs on UN nuclear inspections
(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)TEHRAN โ Iran officially started restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities Tuesday, a bid to pressure European countries and President Joe Biden's administration to lift crippling economic sanctions and restore the 2015 nuclear deal. AdIn a show of defiance, Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei outlined further developments in Iran's nuclear program on Tuesday. On Monday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also signaled Iran would refuse to capitulate to U.S. pressure over its nuclear program. Tehran has long insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, such as power generation and medical research. Before Iran implemented its new restrictions on IAEA inspections, the agency's director-general, Rafael Grossi, negotiated a temporary deal during an emergency weekend trip to Tehran.
EXPLAINER: Iran restricts UN atomic agency to pressure West
Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi from Argentina, speaks to the media after returning from Iran at the Vienna International Airport, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)DUBAI โ Iran will begin restricting the ability of United Nations nuclear inspectors to monitor Tehran's nuclear program. Restricting IAEA inspections, a cornerstone of ensuring Iran's nuclear program is peaceful, provides Iran a way to grab the West's attention. Without success at the negotiating table, Iran could bar IAEA inspectors or withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. ___Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report.
The superspreaders behind top COVID-19 conspiracy theories
Legitimate questions about the virus created perfect conditions for conspiracy theories. COVID CLAIM: Boyle says the coronavirus is a genetically engineered bioweapon that escaped from a high-level lab in Wuhan, China. COVID CLAIM: Nikulin argues the U.S. created the virus and used it to attack China. He first voiced the belief in a Jan. 20, 2020, story by Zvezda, a state media outlet tied to the Russian military. EVIDENCE: There is no evidence that the U.S. created the virus or used it as a weapon to attack Iran.
Iran may pursue nuclear weapon, intel minister warns West
Iran's supreme leader said the U.S. must lift all sanctions if it wants Iran to return to its commitments to the nuclear deal with Western powers. The remarks by Mahmoud Alavi mark a rare occasion that a government official says Iran could reverse its course on the nuclear program. A 1990s fatwa, or religious edict, by the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei states that nuclear weapons are forbidden. AdIsrael has long accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons, and the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers put strict limits on Iranian nuclear activities to prevent it from reaching weapons capabilities. Israel, which has been suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the last decade, has repeatedly declined to comment on the attack.
Iran starts limited COVID vaccinations with Russian shots
Parsa Namaki son of Health Minister Saeed Namaki receives a Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in a staged event at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. At a ceremony marking the start of the campaign, Parsa Namaki, son of Health Minister Saeed Namaki, received his first dose. Last Thursday, Iran received its first batch of foreign-made coronavirus vaccines from Russia. Iranian media have reported that a total of 2 million Russian vaccines will arrive in Iran in February and March. Iran is also planning to import some 17 million doses of vaccine from COVAX and millions from other countries.
Iranโs leader: US must lift sanctions before return to deal
FILE - In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses the nation in a televised speech in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. in Tehran, Iran. Twitter says on Friday, Jan. 22, it has permanently banned an account connected to the office of Irans supreme leader. Other accounts thought to be tied to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis office remained active. He was asked if the US will lift sanctions first in order to get Iran back to the bargaining table. The supreme leader, 81, has the final say on all matters of state in Iran and approved the efforts at reaching the nuclear deal in 2015.
Iran receives its first batch of foreign coronavirus vaccine
Iran on Thursday received its first batch of foreign-made coronavirus vaccines as the country struggles to stem the worst outbreak of the pandemic in the Middle East. (Saeed Kaari/IKAC via AP)TEHRAN โ Iran on Thursday received its first batch of foreign-made coronavirus vaccines as the country struggles to stem the worst outbreak of the pandemic in the Middle East. Also Iranian state TV quoted Tehranโs ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, as saying that Iran has ordered 5 million doses from Russia. ISNA quoted Mohammadreza Shanehsaz, head of Iranโs food and drug organization, as saying Thursdayโs shipment included only 10,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine. It is also planning to import some 17 million doses of vaccine from COVAX and millions from other countries.
Twitter bans suspect Iran account after post threatens Trump
FILE - In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses the nation in a televised speech in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. in Tehran, Iran. Twitter says on Friday, Jan. 22, it has permanently banned an account connected to the office of Irans supreme leader. Other accounts thought to be tied to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis office remained active. Other accounts tied to Khamenei's office that did not tweet the golf-drone photo, including his main English language account, remained active. In his speech, Khamenei did not call out Trump by name, but reiterated a vow for vengeance against those who ordered and executed the attack on Soleimani.