Biden pursues Trump’s policy against Iran: Foreign Ministry 

TEHRAN – The new U.S. administration of Joe Biden pursues the same policy that the Trump administration pursued against Iran, Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday. 

Araqchi: U.S. should show honesty by lifting sanctions

TEHRAN - Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, says the U.S. should lift all sanctions illegally imposed on Iran to prove it is honest and serious about returning to the 2015 nuclear deal, according to Fars news agency.

Zarif: JCPOA opponents’ purpose is to securitize Iran

TEHRAN - Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, says opponents of the 2015 nuclear deal – JCPOA – are seeking to make Iran a security issue.

Blinken proposes to include Iran among others in Afghan peace talks

TEHRAN - Secretary of State Antony Blinken is proposing a series of steps to restart Afghanistan’s stalled peace process between the government and Taliban, according to a letter from Blinken to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani published Sunday by Afghanistan’s TOLONews, Politico reported.

Ex-U.S. intelligence officer advises Biden to rejoin JCPOA with no preconditions

‘Biden has boxed himself into a corner on Iran’

TEHRAN- Iran will not accept the Biden administration’s unrealistic and unreasonable demands for the U.S. to rejoin the nuclear agreement, former U.S Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter wrote in Russia Today on March 5.

Iran to unveil hovercraft in next calendar year

TEHRAN - Iran’s first homegrown hovercraft will come into operation within the next year, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi announced on Monday, says according to Tasnim news agency.

Defense Minister Hatami shows locally-made modern shooting gun

TEHRAN -- Defense Minister Amir Hatami is showing a locally-made modern shooting gun. The unveiling of the gun took place at a ceremony named “the young soldier”. At the ceremony on Sunday morning, five models of the gun were also put on show. A number of families whose sons have been martyred during the military service were also honored.

Putin replies to Leader’s message

TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has received a reply from Russian President Vladimir Putin to a message the Leader had sent through Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

Zarif: Iran to take compensatory measures if U.S. lifts sanctions

TEHRAN - In a meeting with his Irish counterpart Simon Coveney in Tehran on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said it is necessary that all U.S. illegal sanctions against Iran are lifted and in that situation Iran will take “compensatory measures” to fully abide by its commitments to the JCPOA.

IRGC commander says Iran continues to resist pressure

TEHRAN - Major General Hossein Salami, the Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), says Iran will not bow to the pressure and sanctions imposed by the enemies and will continue increasing its power.

Iran has reasons to refuse Biden’s invitation to negotiate: National Interest

TEHRAN - It makes little sense for Iran to unilaterally comply with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for a limited amount of actual economic sanction relief only to then engage in a years-long negotiation where it has little leverage and is being called on to surrender its regional interests and deterrence capacities, according to National Interest.

Rouhani meets Irish FM, says JCPOA revival dependent on lifting sanctions

JCPOA revival dependent on lifting sanctions, Rouhani tells Irish FM

TEHRAN - The 2015 nuclear deal will be back on track only if the U.S. lifts the sanctions on Iran and all parties to the multilateral agreement, including Europeans, meet their commitments, President Hassan Rouhani said in a meeting with visiting Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney.

Iran will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground if Israel makes mistake: defense minister

TEHRAN – Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami on Sunday strongly responded to Israeli threats against Iran by saying that Tehran will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground if Israel makes a mistake against Iran.

Funeral procession held for martyr pilot Birjand Bik-Mohammadi

Lion and rhino fossils discovered in Neanderthal cave western Iran

TEHRAN – Fossils of a rhino and a lion as well as remnants of Neanderthal tools have been discovered in Wezmeh cave, western Iran.

Iran seeking UNESCO tag for exquisite mountain lake

TEHRAN – Iran is preparing a comprehensive dossier for Lake Gahar to be submitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in near future, ISNA reported Saturday.

Iranian politician: General Soleimani made Iraq safe for Pope visit

TEHRAN - Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the special advisor to the Iranian Parliament speaker for international affairs, says Pope Francis would not have been able to visit Iraq safely if it had not been for the sacrifices of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and his companions in the fight against ISIS, according to Press TV.

Ulyanov describes U.S. readiness to rejoin JCPOA as a pragmatic move

TEHRAN - Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations, including the IAEA, in Vienna, has said the United States’ willingness to return to the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, known as the Iran nuclear deal), is a pragmatic and right approach, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported on Friday.

Tehran dismisses Arab League’s allegations regarding Iranian islands

TEHRAN - Saeed Khatibzadeh, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, on Friday rejected as groundless the accusations that four Arab League states have raised against the Iranian-owned islands in the Persian Gulf.

Irish foreign minister set to meet Iranian president to discuss JCPOA

TEHRAN - Simon Coveney, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, is travelling to Tehran on Saturday to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for discussions on the stalled nuclear deal between Iran and the EU and the countries of the UN Security Council, according to the Irish Times.

Things moving in right direction, French diplomat says of JCPOA

TEHRAN - Iran has given encouraging signs in recent days about opening informal talks with world powers and the United States, two European diplomats said on Thursday after European powers scrapped plans to criticize Tehran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to Reuters agency.

Moscow expresses hope for JCPOA revival in its original form

Lavrov urges all parties to fully implement their commitments

TEHRAN - Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has urged all parties to the 2015 nuclear deal -JCPOA- to fully implement their commitments, hoping for a revival of the deal in its original form, according to Tasnim news agency.

Iran will ‘reciprocate action by action,’ Rouhani tells U.S.

TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani of Iran on Thursday urged the U.S. to return to its commitments under the JCPOA, the official name for the 2015 nuclear deal, reiterating Tehran’s position that the Islamic Republic will “reciprocate action by action”.

Judiciary says to sue European firms for aiding Saddam’s gas attacks on Iranians

TEHRAN - Ali Baqeri-Kani, the head of the Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights, says Iran has filed lawsuits in international courts against European companies that provided chemical materials to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime, who used chemical weapons against Iranians in the 1980s, according to Press TV.

Nuclear official says Iran will never surrender to pressure or threat

TEHRAN - Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), says Tehran will never forego its nuclear rights under pressure or threats by the West, warning that pressure on Iran will only destroy what has remained from the nuclear deal.

Iran’s IRGC foils hijack attempt on Ahvaz-Mashhad flight

TEHRAN - The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has declared it has thwarted a plot to hijack a plane en route from the southwestern city of Ahvaz to Mashhad in northeast Iran, according to Press TV.

Ayatollah Khamenei urges all to prevent ‘great blight’ to environment

TEHRAN – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday warned against “the great blight” to the ongoing process of environmental degradation, urging both people and officials to resist natural resource destruction.