KYIV, Ukraine — A leaked recording of an exchange between an Iranian air-traffic controller and an Iranian pilot purports to show that authorities immediately knew a missile had downed a Ukrainian jetliner after takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard, despite days of denials by the Islamic Republic. Ukraine's...
Anti-Headscarf Law Activist Sues Iran in US Over Harassment
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian-American activist famous for her campaign against the Islamic Republic’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, for women has sued Iran in U.S. federal court, alleging a government-led harassment campaign targets her and her family. Masih Alinejad’s lawsuit seeking monetary damages comes in the aftermath of...
Iran Supreme Leader Claims Protests a US-Backed ‘Conspiracy’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday claimed without evidence that recent protests across the Islamic Republic over government-set gasoline prices rising were part of a “conspiracy” involving the U.S., as authorities began to acknowledge the scale of the demonstrations. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the...
EU Labors to Keep Nuclear Deal Alive After New Iran Moves
BRUSSELS — European Union foreign ministers on Monday affirmed their support for the nuclear deal with Iran, after the Islamic Republic began enrichment work at its Fordo site in a fresh act of defiance that seems likely to spell the end of the painstakingly crafted international agreement. At talks in...
Iran’s Supreme Leader: No Talks With the US at Any Level
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran's supreme leader said Tuesday "there will be no talks with the U.S. at any level"— remarks apparently meant to end all speculation about a possible U.S.-Iran meeting between the two countries' presidents at the U.N. later this month. Iranian state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali...
Iran Moves to Strike 4 Zeroes From Its Battered Currency
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's president sent a bill to parliament Wednesday that would cut four zeroes from the value of the Islamic Republic's sanctions-battered currency, the rial, as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington. By sending the bill to lawmakers, President Hassan Rouhani's government shows it is serious about...
Iran President: US Sanctions on Foreign Minister 'Childish'
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's president lambasted new U.S. sanctions by the Trump administration targeting the country's foreign minister, describing the move on Thursday as "childish" and a barrier to diplomacy. Hassan Rouhani's remarks came after the Trump administration announced Wednesday it had imposed financial sanctions on Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad...
Iran Breaches Uranium Stockpile Limit Set by Nuclear Deal
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has broken the limit set on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, international inspectors and Tehran said Monday, marking its first major departure from the unraveling agreement a year after the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the accord. The announcement...
In UAE, Bolton Warns Iran of ‘Very Strong Response’
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump's national security adviser warned Iran on Wednesday that any attacks in the Persian Gulf will draw a "very strong response" from the U.S., taking a hard-line approach with Tehran after his boss only two days earlier said America wasn't "looking to...
Iran Satellite Fails to Reach Orbit in US Criticized Launch
TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian satellite-carrying rocket blasted off into space on Tuesday, but scientists failed to put the device into orbit in a launch previously criticized by the United States as helping the Islamic Republic further develop its ballistic missile program. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has alleged that...