Tehran Times

2025-08-16 20:36
By Shahrokh Saei

Alaska’s show over but Ukraine’s war not

No concrete outcomes from Trump-Putin summit as uncertainty looms

TEHRAN — Friday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska has dominated headlines across the globe.
- Trump, Putin agree to negotiate Ukraine ceasefire
- Trump blames Ukraine over war with Russia

By staff writer

Greater Israel: A ‘spiritual mission’ or ‘evil mission’?

Netanyahu’s ‘Greater Israel’ vision resembles ISIS’s ideological mission to establish Islamic caliphate

TEHRAN - Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shocked the world by saying that he is backing a “Greater Israel” vision.
By Muhammad Akmal Khan

Famine as a weapon: How Israel’s siege is starving Gaza into silence

ISLAMABAD - Gaza’s suffering has never been so extended, so intentional. Airstrikes take lives in moments; hunger erases them slowly, without sound. This is not the work of failed rains. It is the result of a calculated policy.
By Wesam Bahrani

Gaza City puts up fierce resistance

TEHRAN – Palestinian resistance forces have carried out multiple attacks and ambushes against Israeli occupation forces trying to advance in Gaza City.
By Sondoss Al Asaad

Hezbollah chief denounces sedition fueled by Nawaf Salam cabinet

BEIRUT — Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, for the first time, adopted a notably stern tone, issuing a direct warning to anti-Resistance factions about the consequences of aligning with the Israeli project.
By Peiman Salehi

Sanctions kill like bombs

The human toll of Washington’s economic warfare is huge, and must be addressed

TEHRAN – In early 2023, a nurse in a pediatric ward in Caracas described how a nine-year-old leukemia patient was wasting away. His chemotherapy drugs had vanished from hospital shelves, while his family had neither the money nor the visas to seek treatment abroad. Black-market alternatives were either unsafe or unaffordable.

Politics

Iran envoy discusses bilateral ties between Tehran and Ankara, emphasizes peaceful nuclear rights

TEHRAN – In a diplomatic visit to Ankara on Friday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and Head of the Center for Political and International Studies, Saeed Khatibzadeh, held high-level meetings with Turkish officials to reaffirm the importance of close coordination on key regional issues.
SAVAK’s chief torturer Parviz Sabeti to stand trial in Florida

TEHRAN – A U.S. federal court in Florida has agreed to proceed with a landmark case against Parviz Sabeti, a senior official of Iran’s notorious pre-Islamic Revolution security organization, SAVAK, accused of overseeing systematic torture of political prisoners.
Iran and Arbaeen: Memory, resistance, and legitimacy in motion

MADRID – Arbaeen, the pilgrimage that each year brings together millions of people on the road to Karbala, has transcended any reading reduced to mere ritual to become the core of a political and historical-discursive pedagogy central to 21st-century Islam.

Sports

Iran win bronze at 2025 FIBA Asia Cup

TEHRAN - Iran held off a furious late charge from New Zealand to secure a 79-73 win in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Third-Place Game on Sunday at King Abdullah Sports City, reclaiming a spot on the podium after missing out in 2022.
New season, new hopes: PGPL 2025 begins

TEHRAN - After nearly two months of hiatus, the 25th season of the Persian Gulf Pro League (PGPL) is set to start on Monday, Aug. 18, reigniting the passion for top-flight football across Iran.
Iranian tennis player Yazdani runner-up in M15 Pirot

TEHRAN – Ali Yazdani of Iran finished in second place at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) M15 Pirot on Sunday.

Culture

TMoCA to show documentaries on Farah Ossouli, Gizella Varga-Sinai, Farzaneh Asadi

TEHRAN – The cinematheque of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA) will screen three short documentaries about Iranian women artists on Sunday.
“The Bald Soprano” on stage at Tehran theater

TEHRAN- The debut play of Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco, "The Bald Soprano," is currently being staged at Tehran's City Theater Complex.
Iranian artworks sold at Bonhams' online auction of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art

TEHRAN – Two works by Iranian artists were sold at the Bonhams London online auction of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, which took place on August 14.

Economy

ICCIMA head sees direct FATF talks as lifeline for business community

TEHRAN – The head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) said the resumption of direct talks between Iran and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) after six years offers a ray of hope for the country’s business community, stressing that economic diplomacy led by the private sector is the best path to navigate current challenges.
Tax revenues rise 24% in 4 months year on year

TEHRAN – Iran collected 3.96 quadrillion rials ($79.2 billion) in tax revenues during the first four months of the current fiscal year (March 21 – July 22), up 24.2 percent from the same period last year, according to official data.
Non-oil export from Iran to Iraq stands at $3b in 4 months

TEHRAN- Iran exported non-oil commodities valued at $3 billion to Iraq during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-July 22), according to the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

Society

Iranians shine at FIRA RoboWorld Cup, IESO 2025 contests

TEHRAN – The robotics and earth science teams of Iran have won different awards at the Federation of International RoboSports Association (FIRA) and the International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) competitions, which were held in South Korea and China, respectively.
‘We remain fully committed to protecting, assisting people of Gaza’: ICRC assures IRCS

TEHRAN – In a letter to the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), Pirhossein Kolivand, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, has reaffirmed the organization’s unwavering commitment to doing its utmost to assist civilians in Gaza.
Earthquakes decline week by week

TEHRAN – The number of earthquakes recorded across the country in the current Iranian calendar month (July 23 -August 22) has been in a downward trend, decreasing from 163 in the first week to 117 and 87 in the second and third weeks, respectively.

Tourism

Iran to open five new ‘sacred defense’ museums dedicated to 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War

TEHRAN – Iran plans to open five new museums dedicated to the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, known domestically as the “sacred defense,” by late this year or by May 2026 at the latest, an official said on Saturday.
Fars province, cradle of the Achaemenid Empire, seeks tourism rise

TEHRAN – Iran’s Fars province, home to ancient Achaemenid sites including Persepolis and Pasargadae, recorded 7.4 million tourist visits last year, officials said, as the government steps up efforts to position the region as a leading cultural tourism hub.
Mashhad is to host over 6.5 million pilgrims, governor-general says

TEHRAN – Mashhad, Iran’s holiest city, is expected to host between 6.5 million and 7 million pilgrims during the last ten days of the Islamic lunar month of Safar, the governor-general of Khorasan Razavi province said.

International

Greater Israel: A ‘spiritual mission’ or ‘evil mission’?

TEHRAN - Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shocked the world by saying that he is backing a “Greater Israel” vision.
Hezbollah chief denounces sedition fueled by Nawaf Salam cabinet

BEIRUT — Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, for the first time, adopted a notably stern tone, issuing a direct warning to anti-Resistance factions about the consequences of aligning with the Israeli project.
Gaza City puts up fierce resistance

TEHRAN – Palestinian resistance forces have carried out multiple attacks and ambushes against Israeli occupation forces trying to advance in Gaza City.