Iran has freed a well-known dissident actress from prison following heightened criticism of its crackdown on artists and rights activists. Pegah Ahangarani, an outspoken supporter of Iran’s opposition Green Movement, was released Wednesday from Tehran’s Evin Prison on $84,000 bail. The popular 27-year-old actress was arrested earlier this month when she was about to leave […]
Iran Says 23 Dead in Clash with Kurdish Rebels
Posted July 27th, 2011 at 12:30 pm (UTC-5)
Iran says a clash near the Iraqi border between its forces and Kurdish rebels has killed two Iranian Revolutionary Guards and 21 rebels. Iran’s state-run PressTV reported on Wednesday that the fighting in the city of Sardasht injured two other Revolutionary Guards. It alleged that rebels of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan have […]
Iranian President Nominates Guards Commander for Oil Ministry Chief
Posted July 27th, 2011 at 6:00 am (UTC-5)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has nominated a Revolutionary Guards commander to head the nation’s oil ministry. Mr. Ahmadinejad on Wednesday named Rostam Qasemi to the lead the ministry, which has had a caretaker minister since June. The United States last year placed sanctions on Qasemi and four subsidiaries of a construction company he oversees for […]
US General Warns Iran on Iraq Militia Attacks
Posted July 26th, 2011 at 6:50 pm (UTC-5)
President Barack Obama’s pick to become the top United States military officer has warned Tehran not to underestimate American resolve in responding to Iranian-sponsored attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. General Martin Dempsey said Tuesday that Iran’s increased arming of Shi’ite militiamen in southern Iraq who are targeting U.S. troops may be designed to trigger […]
Deaths Reported in Fighting Between Iran, Kurd Rebels
Posted July 26th, 2011 at 10:10 am (UTC-5)
Iran says an unspecified number of militants with the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan have been killed, following clashes along the Iraqi border. The state-run IRNA news agency said Tuesday that the militants were trapped by Iranian Kurdish volunteer forces Monday night in several towns in West Azarbaijan province. The news agency says the […]
Iran Shelling Kills 2 in Iraq’s Kurdish Region
Posted July 25th, 2011 at 10:35 am (UTC-5)
Cross-border shelling by Iranian forces has killed two people and wounded at least two others in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Iraqi Kurdish officials said Monday the artillery fire hit the town of Sidkan, about 20 kilometers from the border. Iran began an offensive against Kurdish rebels in the border region earlier this month and routinely […]
Iran Inks $10 Billion Gas Deal with Iraq, Syria
Posted July 25th, 2011 at 8:25 am (UTC-5)
Iran has signed a $10 billion deal with Iraq and Syria to export Iranian natural gas to Europe. Iran’s state-run Press TV says oil ministers from the three countries inked the deal Monday to build a 5,000-kilometer pipeline to carry natural gas from Iran’s South Pars gas field. The proposed pipeline will take three to […]
Iran Denies Nuclear Scientist Slain
Posted July 23rd, 2011 at 5:40 pm (UTC-5)
Iran said the victim of a deadly shooting Saturday was a university student — not a nuclear physicist as first reported by the state media. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency and English-language Press TV said the confusion was caused by the similarity in the names of the victim and the scientist. Initial reports said a […]
Iranian Nuclear Scientist ‘Assassinated’
Posted July 23rd, 2011 at 12:00 pm (UTC-5)
Iran says one of its nuclear scientists has been “assassinated” in Tehran. State media reports say the scientist was killed in front of his house on Saturday by unidentified assailants who were riding motorcycles. The ISNA news agency has identified the scientist as Daryoushi Rezaie. The report says his wife was injured in the attack. […]
Iran’s Guard Denies Spy Plane Downing Report
Posted July 22nd, 2011 at 3:50 pm (UTC-5)
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has refuted a report from state media earlier this week that it shot down an unmanned U.S. spy plane . Instead, the Guard said in a statement Friday that its air defenses hit a test target flying over a uranium enrichment site. The Guard statement contradicts a claim by an Iranian lawmaker […]
