Some 350,000 iPhones turned off in Iran in past five days: minister

TEHRAN -- About 70,000 iPhones were turned off in Iran per day during the past five days, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi announced, Mehr reported on Tuesday.

Rouhani’s trip to Iraq garners international media attention

President Hassan Rouhani’s 3-day trip to Iraq, which began on Monday, has drawn international media attention, with many outlets describing it an act of defiance of U.S. sanctions.

Italy looking into INSTEX membership

TEHRAN – An Italian Foreign Ministry official says his country is reviewing details about the newly developed financial mechanism with Iran known as Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) and is considering joining it.

Iranian medical scientists write to UN on U.S. sanctions against Iran

TEHRAN — Scientific Societies for Medical Sciences in Iran have written a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres condemning the U.S. sanctions against Iran, urging the international community to resist sanctions targeting “medical needs” and “humanitarian aid”, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif revealed on Wednesday.

Iranian gamers launch campaign against sanctions targeting Apex Legends 

TEHRAN – Iranian gamers who have been having problems with playing Apex Legends have launched a campaign against the U.S. sanctions targeting web services for the free-to-play Battle Royale game.

Apple's enterprise program block is not limited to Iran: official

TEHRAN – Apple Inc. has blocked enterprise programs due to its rule for app distribution policy, which is worldwide and is not limited to Iran, head of the Information Technology Organization of Iran, Amir Nazemi, told Mehr on Thursday.

Rouhani: Iran happy with Armenia’s stance on illegal sanctions

TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani has said Iran is satisfied with Armenia’s stance on the irrational and illegal sanctions imposed against Iran by the United States.

WHO set to help Iran in supplying medical devices

TEHRAN- World Health Organization (WHO) has established a separate team for providing Iran healthcare system with required medical devices. 

Rouhani pushes for better intl. banking ties

Rouhani to opponents: ‘Let the government do its job’

TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani has asked his political opponents to “let his administration do its job” and avoid building walls around the government, because “it won’t benefit the people.”

Rouhani: Technology can weather sanctions pressure

TEHRAN – In remarks on Saturday, President Hassan Rouhani suggested that development of technology can lessen the effects of sanctions pressure on Iran.

Pro-diplomacy groups urge Congress to check Trump’s anti-Iran policy

Over 50 pro-diplomacy organizations in the United States have slammed President Donald Trump’s aggressive anti-Iran policy, calling on congressmen to stand against Washington’s sanctions and press it to return to the 2015 multinational nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

FATF gives Iran until June to strengthen anti-money laundering rules

TEHRAN – Iran has until June to fix its anti-money laundering and terrorism financing rules or face increased international scrutiny of its banks, a global watchdog said on Friday.

Iraq says close to strike deal with Iran to trade in euro

TEHRAN – Iraq is close to finalizing a deal that will allow it to import Iranian energy despite American sanctions by avoiding the U.S. dollar, an Iraqi official said on Tuesday, BNN Bloomberg reported.

Iranian startups, knowledge-based companies to provide commodities impeded by sanctions: VP

TEHRAN – Iran’s science and technology vice presidency plan to supply commodities, which are impeded by Iran’s sanctions, with the productions of Iranian startups and knowledge-based companies, the VP Sourena Sattari announced, Tasnim reported on Thursday.

Rouhani: Rallies are a decisive response to exorbitant demands of ill-wishers

TEHRAN - President Rouhani issued a statement on Monday thanking people for their massive turnout in the Bahman 22 rallies, saying their “magnificent”, “meaningful” and “timely” participation in the great festivities celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution marked a “durable” show of “solidarity” and the “greatness” of the Iranian nation.

U.S. is lying that sanctions don’t target people, Iran’s VP Jahangiri says

TEHRAN - Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said on Monday that the U.S. officials are lying when they say that their sanctions target Iran’s government and system and not the people, IRNA reported.

Iraq rebuffs U.S. demands to stop buying energy from Iran

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi has reiterated his country’s opposition to sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran.

Iran has ‘many options on table’ if EU delays its commitments, Salehi says

TEHRAN - Iran’s nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, has said Iran has “many options on the table” if Europeans delay their commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official name for the 2015 nuclear deal.

INSTEX should not be tied to FATF, Tehran tells EU

TEHRAN - Iran has said European countries should not link a payment mechanism that they have announced to safeguard trade with the Islamic Republic to an approval of the FATF by Tehran.

U.S.’ attempt to halt Iran’s trade with world futile

TEHRAN- “The U.S. sought to impede Iran’s international trade by imposing cruel and unilateral sanctions on the country but our trade with the world is being done easily and we are not in lack of any type of basic goods,” Mehdi Mirashrafi, the recently appointed head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), announced in a news conference, IRIB reported on Sunday.

BY Haniyeh Sadat Jafariyeh

SPV: A European mechanism to struggle U.S., gain economic autonomy

In their joint statement on that last day of January, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, and British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt introduced the SPV (a special purpose vehicle) also called INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges), the financial mechanism which enables Iran to keep doing business with the rest of the world despite the draconian financial sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.

Iranian deputy FM: U.S. does not get it about Mideast situation

Araqchi says if JCPOA falls out of balance grave fallouts will ensue

TEHRAN – Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has said the United States does not understand the situation in the Middle East, warning if the Iran nuclear deal falls flat, it will cause severe consequences.

Araqchi meets Amano in Vienna

TEHRAN – Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi met with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano in Vienna on Monday.

Salehi: EU better launch SPV before it is too late

Iran’s nuclear chief says the European Union (EU) had better launch a promised payment mechanism meant to maintain trade with Iran and bypass unilateral sanctions by the United States “before it is too late.”

Tehran hits back at French sanctions threats

TEHRAN – Iran has strongly criticized France for threatening Tehran with new sanctions over its missile program, vowing to reconsider its relations with European countries if such sanctions are imposed.

U.S. imposes sanctions on entities linked with IRGC

TEHRAN – U.S. Treasury Department has issued a new batch of sanctions against four entities that it says have ties to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and airlines that are already on Washington’s black list, Russia Today reported.

By: Haniyeh Sadat Jafariyeh

Will phoenix rise from the ashes?

Iran has experienced an unprecedented devaluation of its currency, rial, during the current Iranian calendar year 1397, which is going to end on March 20, 2019.

JCPOA became ideological target for conservatives in U.S., Israel, and S. Arabia: Michigan professor 

TEHRAN - The Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), became an ideological target for conservatives in the U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia, and that is the reason Washington walked out of it, Ronald Grigor Suny, professor of social and political history at the University of Michigan, has told ILNA.

Health profiles soon available on mobile phones

TEHRAN- By the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20), all Iranians can see their health profiles on their mobile phones, said the deputy health minister for planning.