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Iran urges UN watchdog not to publish 'unnecessary' details on nuclear program
AP
PUBLISHED ON JAN 17, 2021 02:57 PM IST
The report quoted a statement from Iran’s nuclear department that asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to avoid publishing details on Iran’s nuclear program that may cause confusion.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard holds ballistic missile drill amid tensions
AP
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 03:38 PM IST
In the first phase of the drill Friday morning, the Guard’s aerospace division launched several surface-to-surface ballistic missiles against simulated enemy bases, state TV reported. It said the drill included Zolfaghar and Dezful solid-fuel ballistic missiles.

UN watchdog confirms another Iranian breach of nuclear deal
AP, Berlin
UPDATED ON JAN 14, 2021 06:36 PM IST
Iran maintains its plans to conduct research and development on uranium metal production are part of its “declared aim to design an improved type of fuel,” the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said.

Iran holds missile drill in Gulf of Oman amid tensions
AP
PUBLISHED ON JAN 13, 2021 12:30 PM IST
In recent weeks, Iran has increased its military drills. On Saturday, the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard held a naval parade in the Persian Gulf and a week earlier Iran held a massive drone maneuver across half the country.

Iran must undo uranium enrichment, help nuclear diplomacy, EU says
Reuters, Brussels
PUBLISHED ON JAN 12, 2021 03:11 PM IST
Iran started pressing ahead with plans to enrich uranium to 20% fissile strength at its underground Fordow nuclear plant last week.

Pompeo to use declassified intelligence to accuse Iran of al Qaeda links: Report
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON JAN 12, 2021 02:52 PM IST
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has accused Iran of links to al Qaeda in the past but has not provided concrete evidence.

IAEA chief says matter of weeks left to revive Iran nuclear diplomacy
Reuters
UPDATED ON JAN 11, 2021 08:09 PM IST
Iran resumed enriching uranium to 20% fissile strength at the underground Fordow nuclear plant earlier this month in a further breach of the nuclear pact.

Twitter removes Khamenei vaccine tweet for 'violating' rules
By Harshit Sabarwal | AFP
UPDATED ON JAN 09, 2021 07:51 PM IST
"Importing vaccines made in the US or the UK is prohibited. They're completely untrustworthy. It's not unlikely they would want to contaminate other nations," said a tweet posted Friday on Khamenei's English-language Twitter account.

Iran holds navy drills in Persian Gulf amid standoff over tanker
By Bloomberg | Posted by Mallika Soni
UPDATED ON JAN 07, 2021 11:05 PM IST
Iran has used its influence over the Persian Gulf to push back against US-led attempts to isolate it economically. A government spokesman this week linked the seizure of the tanker to billions of dollars trapped in South Korea by US sanctions.

Soleimani death: Iraq court issues arrest warrant against Donald Trump
By Associated Press | Posted by Shankhyaneel Sarkar | Baghdad
UPDATED ON JAN 07, 2021 05:24 PM IST
Soleimani headed the expeditionary Quds force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Arab leaders agree to end Qatar standoff
By Agencies | AL-ULA, Saudi Arabia, Al-ula, Saudi Arabia
PUBLISHED ON JAN 07, 2021 12:39 AM IST
The Saudi decision to open its airspace and borders to Qatar was the first major step towards ending the diplomatic crisis that began in 2017, just as the Trump administration was raising pressure on Iran.

Covid-19 vaccines in US lie unused
By Agencies | New York
PUBLISHED ON JAN 07, 2021 12:27 AM IST
As the virus continues to rage, Germany is set to extend its nationwide lockdown until the end of the month and introduce tougher restrictions.

Iran tests ‘suicide’ drones amid its tense standoff with Donald Trump
By Bloomberg | Posted by Deepali Sharma
PUBLISHED ON JAN 06, 2021 08:29 PM IST
The two-day drills started on Tuesday and also involved successful tests of quadcopter drones capable of dropping small cluster munitions.

‘Deeply concerned’: UK on Iran resuming 20% uranium enrichment
By Reuters | Posted by Kunal Gaurav | London
UPDATED ON JAN 06, 2021 07:39 PM IST
Iran has resumed 20% uranium enrichment at an underground nuclear facility, breaching a 2015 nuclear pact with major powers.

Oil rises to 11-month high after Saudi Arabia pledges unilateral output cut
By Reuters| Posted by: Harshit Sabarwal | Tokyo
PUBLISHED ON JAN 06, 2021 02:33 PM IST
Brent crude rose as much as 0.9% to $54.09 a barrel, the highest since Feb. 26, 2020. It was at $53.82 a barrel at 0757 GMT after jumping 4.9% on Tuesday.

US hits Iran with fresh sanctions as Trump term nears end
By Reuters | Posted by Kunal Gaurav | Washington
PUBLISHED ON JAN 05, 2021 10:23 PM IST
Among the 12 Iranian companies blacklisted are the Pasargad Steel Complex and the Gilan Steel Complex Co, both of which were designated under Executive Order 13871 for operating in the Iranian steel sector.

EU says it will redouble efforts to save Iran nuclear deal
By Associated Press| Posted by: Harshit Sabarwal | Brussels
PUBLISHED ON JAN 05, 2021 07:19 PM IST
EU spokesman Peter Stano said that Iran’s actions “will have serious implications when it comes to nuclear nonproliferation.” Stano said it was in everyone’s interest to rescue the deal and said the 27-nation bloc “will strengthen” its attempts to make sure all adhere to the commitments made in the landmark deal.

Joe Biden’s Iran problem is getting worse by the day. Here’s why
By Associated Press | Posted by Kunal Gaurav | Washington
UPDATED ON JAN 05, 2021 06:52 PM IST
In the past week alone, President Donald Trump’s team has dispatched B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf in response to alleged Iranian attack planning and reversed an order to bring home the USS Nimitz, the only US aircraft carrier in the region.

Iran says South Korea holding $7 billion Iran funds ‘hostage’
By Reuters | Posted by Ayshee Bhaduri | Tehran
UPDATED ON JAN 05, 2021 05:16 PM IST
“We’ve become used to such allegations ... but if there is any hostage-taking, it is Korea’s government that is holding $7 billion which belongs to us hostage on baseless grounds,” spokesman Ali Rabiei told reporters at a news conference streamed live online.

Saudi Arabia reopens borders with Qatar in US-backed deal
By Bloomberg | Posted by Deepali Sharma
PUBLISHED ON JAN 05, 2021 02:29 PM IST
The dispute stretched beyond the Gulf region, with the countries lining up on opposite sides of conflicts and geopolitical squabbles in the wider Middle East and in Africa.

Iran seizes ship, ramps up enrichment as Gulf tensions mount
By Bloomberg | Posted by Arpan Rai
PUBLISHED ON JAN 05, 2021 10:41 AM IST
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it detained the Hankuk Chemi vessel at 10 a.m. local time Monday “due to repeated violations of marine environmental laws.”

Explained: How close is Iran to producing a nuclear bomb?
By Reuters | Posted by Kunal Gaurav | Vienna
PUBLISHED ON JAN 04, 2021 06:41 PM IST
Tehran began breaching the deal’s curbs in 2019 in a step-by-step response to President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the deal in May 2018 and the reimposition of US sanctions.

Iran acknowledges it seized South Korean-flagged oil tanker
By Associated Press | Posted by Kunal Gaurav | Dubai
PUBLISHED ON JAN 04, 2021 05:36 PM IST
The report on Monday alleged that the MT Hankuk Chemi had been stopped by Iranian authorities over alleged “oil pollution” in the Persian Gulf and the strait.

Iran says it resumed 20% enrichment at Fordow in latest nuclear deal breach
By Reuters | Posted by Kunal Gaurav | Dubai
PUBLISHED ON JAN 04, 2021 05:20 PM IST
On January 1, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had told the watchdog it planned to resume enrichment up to 20% at Fordow site, which is buried inside a mountain.

‘Be careful’: Iran’s foreign minister urges Trump to avoid Israel ‘trap’ to provoke war
By Reuters | Posted by Prashasti Singh | Dubai
PUBLISHED ON JAN 04, 2021 06:05 AM IST
Mohammad Javad Zarif issued the warning on the anniversary of the US killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani by a drone strike in Iraq. There was no immediate comment by Israel.

Iraqis chanting anti-US slogans mark year since Soleimani killing
By Reuters | Posted by Kunal Gaurav | Baghdad
UPDATED ON JAN 03, 2021 10:10 PM IST
The gathering coincided with increasing tensions between Iran and the United States in the last days of President Donald Trump’s administration, and many in the crowd demanded revenge.

Israel dismisses Iran’s charge of tricking US into war as ‘nonsense’
By Reuters | Posted by Ayshee Bhaduri | Jerusalem
UPDATED ON JAN 03, 2021 03:47 PM IST
It was Israel that needed to be on alert for possible Iranian strikes on the one-year anniversary on Sunday of the assassination of Tehran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, in a US drone strike in Iraq, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Kan public radio.

Iranian officials warn against ‘hostile moves’ in anniversary of Soleimani’s killing
By Asian News International| Posted by: Harshit Sabarwal | Tehran
UPDATED ON JAN 03, 2021 08:18 AM IST
“New intelligence from Iraq indicates that Israeli agent-provocateurs are plotting attacks against Americans-putting an outgoing Trump in a bind with a fake casus belli,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on social media, as quoted by official news agency IRNA.

Iran points finger at Israel as it warns Donald Trump against war
By Bloomberg | Posted by Deepali Sharma
UPDATED ON JAN 02, 2021 10:56 PM IST
Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran had new intelligence from Iraqi sources showing that “Israeli agent-provocateurs” were staging attacks on US targets.

Iran plans 20% uranium enrichment ‘as soon as possible’
By Associated Press | Posted by Arpan Rai | Dubai, UAE
UPDATED ON JAN 02, 2021 03:38 PM IST
The move comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US in the waning days of the administration of President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal in 2018.