No image available
/ 27 November 2005

Powerful quake hits southern Iran island

Nine people were killed and scores more injured on Sunday when a powerful earthquake measuring close to six on the Richter scale struck an island off Iran’s southern coast, officials said. Five villages were damaged when the quake hit Qeshm island at 1.53pm local time and was felt for more than 10 seconds.

No image available
/ 7 November 2005

Iran in new talks with SA on nuclear deal

Iran is talking to South Africa about assistance with its nuclear programme in a bid to solve a prolonged international dispute over its atomic ambitions, a senior official said on Monday. ”We are in the process of negotiating on the modalities of this participation,” said Javad Vaidi, an official from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

No image available
/ 28 October 2005

Iranian leader defends anti-Israeli remarks

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday defended his inflammatory anti-Israeli remarks earlier this week, saying that Israel does not want to hear any criticism. The president was among thousands of people who took part in state-organised anti-Israel rallies on Friday in Tehran and other cities around the country.

No image available
/ 26 October 2005

‘Israel must be wiped off the map’

Iran’s hard-line president has called for Israel to be ”wiped off the map” and said a new wave of Palestinian attacks would destroy the Jewish state, state-run media reported on Wednesday. In a swipe at some Arab states, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also denounced attempts to recognise Israel or normalise relations with it.

No image available
/ 16 October 2005

Britain condemns market bombing in Iran

Britain moved quickly on Sunday to condemn a deadly bomb attack in an ethnic-Arab dominated city in south-west Iran and repeated its denial of any link to a wave of unrest in the oil-rich region. Two bombs blamed on ”terrorists” killed four people and wounded 90 on Saturday in a market in Ahvaz.

No image available
/ 5 October 2005

Iran says MTN poised for telecoms deal

Iran is finalising a new contract with South African firm Mobile Telephones Network (MTN) after throwing Turkish company Turkcell out of a venture to set up the Islamic republic’s second cellphone network. Ebrahim Mahmoudzadeh, the head of the Irancell consortium set up to manage the multibillion-dollar project, said MTN had deposited the â,¬290-million licence fee required to take the 49% stake originally awarded to Turkcell.

No image available
/ 3 October 2005

Nuclear tunes praise ‘powerful’ Iran

Nuclear science may not be considered ideal subject matter for a popular song, but the musical boffins in Iran’s state media apparatus think differently. Iran’s airwaves have been buzzing with two new tunes apparently designed to rally public support for the country’s tense stand-off with the West over its nuclear ambitions.

No image available
/ 21 September 2005

Iran raises nuclear stakes

Iran has yet again raised the stakes in its long stand-off with the West over its nuclear programme and the risk of being referred to the United Nations Security Council, but this time the hardline regime does not appear to be bluffing. The Islamic republic’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, vowed on Tuesday to respond to being hauled to New York by resuming uranium enrichment work.

No image available
/ 11 August 2005

At least 43 dead in Iranian flash floods

At least 43 people have drowned and another 15 are missing in flash floods caused by torrential rains in Golestan province in north-eastern Iran, the official news agency Irna reported on Thursday. About 350 families have lost their homes as a result of the deluge of heavy rain, which began on Tuesday.

No image available
/ 4 August 2005

Iran to resume nuclear work

Iran said on Thursday it will resume sensitive uranium-conversion work within one or two days, defying warnings from the international community over its nuclear programme. Iran agreed in November to suspend its enrichment and conversion work while negotiations with the Europeans were going on.

No image available
/ 31 July 2005

Iran sets deadline for EU nuclear offer

Iran has given European Union negotiators a deadline of 12.30pm GMT on Sunday to submit proposals aimed at ending a crisis over Tehran’s nuclear programme, Iran’s negotiator said. Ali Agha Mohammadi also warned that Iran will partially resume uranium-conversion activities if the EU proposals fail to recognise its right to do so.

No image available
/ 4 July 2005

Treat us well, asks Iranian leader

Iranian President-elect Mahmood Ahmadinejad said on Monday he wants to develop ties with all countries, especially in Europe, provided they respect Iran’s ”democratic choice”, the student-run news agency Isna reported. ”We advise Western countries to treat us in a way that does not show prejudice,” he said.

No image available
/ 23 May 2005

‘Last chance’ for Iran nuclear deal

A senior Iranian official said on Monday that this week’s crisis talks with Britain, France and Germany are likely to be the last chance for the two sides to reach a deal on the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme. ”Nothing special would happen” if the talks fail, national security official Ali Agha Mohammadi said.

No image available
/ 3 May 2005

Iran still eyes bankrupt Rover

Iran is still considering buying up the bankrupt British car manufacturer MG Rover, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. ”Negotiations are under way by the industry ministry to see if a deal is in our economic interests. Nothing is definite,” foreign ministry spokesperson Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.

No image available
/ 7 April 2005

Gunman, depressed over wedding, takes hostages

An Iranian man, depressed about losing his job and his imminent wedding, held a group of young schoolboys hostage at gunpoint for more than two hours on Thursday before being overpowered. Iranian special forces and police surrounded Razi boys’ primary school after the man armed with an AK-47 seized about 25 youngsters and their teachers.

No image available
/ 4 April 2005

Too soon for celebrations, says Iran soccer coach

Iran may be on a high after leaping to the top of their World Cup qualifying group, but their Croatian coach has cautioned that it is too early for celebrations. In Asia’s Group B, they are in prime position for a World Cup finals berth — after an away win against North Korea, a home win against Japan and a goalless away draw with Bahrain.

No image available
/ 22 February 2005

Toll rises in Iran quake

More than 270 people were killed when a huge earthquake struck Iran before dawn on Tuesday, leaving distraught villagers to claw through the rubble of their homes in search of missing family and friends. Officials warned that the casualty toll could rise further as rain and blocked roads made it difficult to reach stricken mountain villages in the south-eastern province of Kerman.

No image available
/ 16 February 2005

Blast in Iran possibly from missile

A powerful blast occurred near Iran’s Gulf port of Daylam on Wednesday, Iranian television reported, as witnesses said they saw a missile being fired from an unidentified plane. Local officials have been dispatched to the site to identify the cause of the blast in an uninhabited area in the south of the country.

No image available
/ 15 February 2005

Fire sweeps through Tehran mosque

Nearly 60 people perished and more than 200 others suffered burns on Monday when a fire swept through a Tehran mosque crammed with worshippers, police said. Media reports said the fire was probably caused by a heater, brought into the mosque to protect worshippers from the bitter cold.

No image available
/ 7 February 2005

Iran nuclear talks enter crucial phase

Negotiations with the European Union on Iran’s nuclear programme are entering a crucial phase but Tehran will continue to reject calls for it to abandon sensitive fuel-cycle work, Iranian officials said on Monday. ”We are expecting the negotiations to be serious and meaningful,” said Iran’s Vice-President and atomic energy head Gholamreza Aghazadeh.

No image available
/ 31 January 2005

Iran enrichment freeze to be short-lived

Iran said on Monday that its current freeze on uranium enrichment will be short-lived but insisted that its nuclear activities pose no risk to the region, as claimed by arch-enemy the United States. Enrichment is a key process that makes what can be fuel for nuclear reactors but also the explosive core of atomic bombs.

No image available
/ 24 January 2005

Iran considers talks with US

A government spokesperson said on Monday that Iran will be ready to talk to the United States about its nuclear programme but without preconditions, Isna students’ news agency reported. The US has accused Iran of developing weapons of mass destruction and of trying to undermine its efforts in Iraq.

No image available
/ 5 January 2005

Toothless cadet tries to escape army’s bite

A young Iranian conscript has had 15 of his teeth pulled out by a dentist in the false belief that the drastic move would get him out of his military service, the Iran newspaper reported on Wednesday. According to his father, the young man was led to believe that a quick ticket back to civilian life was the loss of 15 teeth.

No image available
/ 3 December 2004

Iran’s nuclear freeze is temporary, says cleric

Iran will resume enriching uranium after a maximum of six months, powerful former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani vowed on Friday, reaffirming that Tehran’s freeze on nuclear fuel cycle work is only temporary. The United States accuses Iran of running a covert nuclear weapons programme, but the Islamic republic insists it only wants to enrich uranium to low levels to produce fuel for a series of atomic power stations.

No image available
/ 30 November 2004

Iran boasts ‘nuclear’ victory over US

Iran boasted on Tuesday that it had humiliated the United States at a board meeting of the UN atomic watchdog by agreeing to what it reiterated was only a temporary freeze of its suspect nuclear programme. ”The Islamic republic has not renounced the nuclear fuel cycle, will never renounce it and will use it,” top national security official and nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani told a news conference.