Page 4 - Tehran

Mourners begin funerals for Iran's prez, others killed in chopper crash

Mourners in black began gathering Tuesday for days of funerals and processions for Iran's late president, foreign minister and others killed in a helicopter crash, a government-led series of ceremonies aimed at both honouring the dead and projecting strength in an unsettled Middle East. For Iran's Shiite theocracy, mass demonstrations have been crucial since millions thronged the streets of Tehran to welcome Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution. An estimated 1 million turned out in 2020 for processions for the late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was slain in a US drone strike in Baghdad. Whether President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others draw the same crowd remains in question, particularly as Raisi died in a helicopter crash, won his office in the lowest-turnout election in the country's history and presided over sweeping crackdowns on all dissent. Prosecutors already have warned people over showi

President Ebrahim Raisi declared dead: What's next for Iran's leadership

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others, were confirmed dead on Monday, a day after their helicopter crashed in the mountainous northwest

India to sign 10-year agreement with Iran to manage Chabahar Port

Chabahar Port will serve as a vital link connecting India to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the broader Eurasian region

Khamenei tacitly acknowledges that Tehran hit little in attack on Israel

Iran's supreme leader on Sunday dismissed any discussion of whether Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel hit anything there, a tacit acknowledgment that despite launching a major assault, few projectiles actually made it through to their targets. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments before senior military leaders didn't touch on the apparent Israeli retaliatory strike on Friday on the central city of Isfahan, even though air defenses opened fire and Iran grounded commercial flights across much of the country. Analysts believe both Iran and Israel, regional archrivals locked in a shadow war for years, are trying to dial back tensions following a series of escalatory attacks between them as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on and inflames the wider region. Khamenei, 85, made the comments in a meeting attended by the top ranks of Iran's regular military, police and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a powerful force within its Shiite theocracy. Debates by

Oil, LNG prices to shoot up if Iran blocks Strait of Hormuz amid conflict

Oil and LNG prices are likely to shoot up if Iran is to block Strait of Hormuz, through which countries like India import crude oil from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and UAE, leading to a spike in inflation, analysts said on the Iran-Israel conflict. The Iran and Israel conflict has escalated over the last few days. Iran first launched drone and rocket attacks on Israel, which retaliated by firing a missile. Crude oil prices have hovered around USD 90 per barrel since the conflict. In a note, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said while de-escalation efforts will likely control the crisis, oil and LNG prices will spike in case Iran completely or partially blocks the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow sea passage between Oman and Iran. It is about 40 km wide at the narrowest point, with 2 km of navigable channels for incoming and outgoing ships. It is the key route through which crude oil is exported by Saudi Arabia (6.3 million barrels per day), the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq (3

Israel used GPS spoofing against Iran: Did US do it to India in Kargil war?

Ahead of Iran's first-ever direct attack on Israel, Israeli intelligence reportedly jammed the country's GPS navigation system signals to confuse Tehran's missile targeting teams

Russia, Germany, UK urge restraint as Iranian threat puts W Asia on edge

The German airline Lufthansa, one of only two Western carriers flying to Tehran, extended a suspension of its flights to the Iranian capital and Russia warned against travel to West Asia

Israeli strike on Iran's Syria consulate killed two generals, says Iran

An Israeli airstrike that demolished Iran's consulate in Syria killed two Iranian generals and five officers, according to Iranian officials. The strike appeared to signify an escalation of Israel's targeting of military officials from Iran, which supports militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza, and along its border with Lebanon. Since the war in Gaza began nearly six months ago, clashes have increased between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon. Hamas, which rules Gaza and attacked Israel on Oct. 7, is also backed by Iran. Israel, which rarely acknowledges strikes against Iranian targets, said it had no comment on the latest attack in Syria, although a military spokesman blamed Iran for a drone attack early Monday against a naval base in southern Israel. Israel has grown increasingly impatient with the daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah, which have escalated in recent days, and warned of the possibility of a full-fledged war. Iranian-backed Houthi rebel

Pakistan expels Iran ambassador, recalls envoy in response to airstrikes

Earlier, Iran attacked the headquarters of a terrorist group opposed to Tehran with drones and missiles in Pakistan on late hours of Tuesday, Al Arabiya News reported citing Tasnim news agency

LIVE: Understand action taken in self-defence, says govt on Iran's strikes

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Gunmen kill 11 people, injure others in attack on Iranian police station

Suspected members of a separatist group killed 11 people and injured several others in a nighttime attack on a police station in southeastern Iran, state TV said Friday. The deputy governor of Sistan and Baluchistan province, Ali Reza Marhemati, said senior police officers and soldiers were killed in the 2 am attack in Rask town, about 1,400 kilometers (875 miles) southwest of Tehran. He said police killed several of the attackers in a shootout. State TV blamed the attack on Jaish al-Adl, a separatist group. In 2019, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a bus that killed 27 members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard force. In recent months, militants and small separatist groups in the predominantly Sunni region have attacked police stations as part of a low-level insurgency against the government.

Tanker believed to hold sanctioned Iran oil begins offloading near Texas

An American-owned oil tanker long suspected of carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil began offloading its cargo near Texas late Saturday, tracking data showed, even as Tehran has threatened to target shipping in the Persian Gulf over it. The fate of the cargo aboard the Suez Rajan has become mired in the wider tensions between the US and the Islamic Republic, even as Tehran and Washington work toward a trade of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets in South Korea for the release of five Iranian-Americans held in Tehran. Already, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has warned that those involved in offloading the cargo should expect to be struck back. The US Navy has increased its presence steadily in recent weeks in the Mideast, deploying the troop-and-aircraft-carrying USS Bataan and considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz to stop Iran from seizing additional ships. Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press

Would welcome steps that Iran takes to de-escalate nuclear threats: Blinken

He, however, also clarified that the process of bringing back US citizens detained in Iran is a "completely different" matter

West clashes with Russia, Iran at UN over Tehran''s uranium enrichment

The United States and its Western allies clashed with Russia and Iran at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday over Tehran's advancing uranium enrichment and its reported supply of combat drones to Moscow being used to attack Ukraine. The sharp exchanges came at the council's semi-annual meeting on implementation of its resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major countries known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the U.S. under then-President Donald Trump left in 2018. At the start of the meeting, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Britain, which hold the council presidency, of seeking to hold an openly politicized show by inviting Ukraine to take part in the meeting when it is not part of the JCPOA. He demanded a procedural vote on its participation. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood countered, accusing both Iran and Russia of participating in the transfer of drones used in Ukraine without prior Security Council approval in ..

Iran reportedly unveils new radar system for detecting low-altitude drones

The radar system also boasts features such as 3D target detection, tactical capability for rapid reaction operations, long endurance, and utilisation of modern techniques

We will resume talks soon to normalise ties with Saudi Arabia: Iranian FM

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks on Sunday at a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani following their meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran

Centre seeks info from embassy on Iran's bar on rice, tea imports

'As of now, there has been no confirmation from the authorities and the response from the embassy in Tehran is also taking time'

Iran summons German envoy over officials' 'meddlesome' anti-Tehran remarks

The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the German ambassador to protest the repeated "baseless and meddlesome" anti-Tehran remarks by the European country's officials

Drone hits Israeli-linked tanker; Iran frees 2 Greek tankers

An oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, officials said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Greece said Iran freed two Greek oil tankers held by Tehran since May. The drone attack on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon happened on Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, one Mideast-based defence official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorised to discuss the attack publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Pacific Zircon is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer. In a statement, Eastern Pacific Shipping said the Pacific Zircon, carrying gas oil, had been hit by a projectile some 150 miles (240 kilometres) off the coast of Oman. We are in communication with the vessel and there is no reports of injuries or pollution. All crew are safe and accounted for, the company

Shops in Iran, including Tehran's Grand Bazaar, close over protests

Iranian shops in Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar and elsewhere across the country closed their doors Tuesday amid protests gripping the nation, as two prominent soccer stars also announced they would not be attending the upcoming World Cup over the demonstrations. The shop closures came amid calls for a three-day national strike to mark earlier protests in 2019 against Iran's theocracy that ended in a violent crackdown by authorities. However, this round of demonstrations after the September death of a 22-year-old woman earlier detained by the country's morality police have continued despite activists recording at least 344 deaths and 15,820 arrests so far. The protests have seen prominent former players Ali Daei and Javad Nekounam both say they've declined a FIFA invitation to attend the World Cup in Qatar, where Iran will play. Shuttered storefronts could be seen across Tehran, Iran's capital, on Tuesday. Several shops did remain open, however, as a heavy security presence could be