• Irans Ahmadinejad denounces election decision

  TEHRAN, Iran -; Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says a decision by election overseers to disqualify his top aide from an upcoming presidential race is an act of "oppression" and he will take the case to the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali ...

• Washington Criticizes Iran After Two Key Presidential Candidates Barred

  The United States has criticized Iran after authorities there barred two potentially key candidates from running in next month's presidential election. Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie -- a close aide to outgoing President Mahmud Ahmadinejad -- were denied a place on the ballot by the Guardians Council of clerics and jurists. Only eight of nearly ...

• AP condemns Irans interference in Bahrains internal affairs

  Cairo, May 22 (BNA) - The Arab Parliament denounced the remarks said by Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hussain Amir Abdullahyan on the Kingdom of Bahrain, considering the same as unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and uncharacteristic behavior in international relations and contrary to all international laws and ...

• Duo barred from Iran election

  Ex-president Akbar Hachemi Rafsanjani and former chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei barred from running in June's presidential ...

• Rafsanjani Ahmadineajd aide barred from Iranian elections US weighs in

  A selection of Iranian newspapers showing the buzz around the former president Rafsanjani. AFP Photo Following the disqualification of hundreds of would-be presidential candidates in Iran, including two top figures from the ballot, the United States slammed the Islamic Republic's electoral body on Tuesday for "vague" decision-making."It appears that Iran's unelected ...

• Syria crisis Iranian troops join battle for Qusair

  o US says Iranians fighting alongside Syria and Hezbollah o Friends of Syria set to discuss arming rebelso Kidnapped Egyptian police freed in ...

• Rafsanjani Ahmadinejad aide cut from Iran presidential race

  Out: Two-term former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (left) and incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's top aide, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have been disqualified from Iran's June 14 presidential election. | ...

• US slams disqualification of Iranian poll candidates

  Following the disqualification of hundreds of would-be presidential candidates in Iran, including two top figures from the ballot, the United States slammed the Islamic Republic's electoral body on Tuesday for "vague" decision-making. "It appears that Iran's unelected Guardian Council, which is unaccountable to the Iranian people, has disqualified hundreds of potential ...

• Iran bans two election candidates

  Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili. Mr Jalili is one of eight approved candidates in the upcoming election. Photograph: Osman ...

• Iranian spy ring 10 more nabbed

  Ten more people involved in an Iranian espionage cell that was dismantled in March have been arrested in Saudi Arabia. The new cell comprised eight Saudis, one Lebanese and one Turkish national. Meanwhile, a Lebanese citizen held in connection with the first cell was released due to lack of evidence linking him with other suspects. A total of 27 suspects -- all residents of the Kingdom -- are ...

• UPDATE 1-Irans Ahmadinejad says will challenge allys ban from election

  Wed May 22, 2013 3:12am EDT (Adds quotes, context) DUBAI May 22 (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday he would take up the ban of his close aide from the June 14 presidential election with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian media reported. Iran's electoral watchdog on Tuesday disqualified Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, Ahmadinejad's former chief of ...

• Top figures barred from Irans presidential ballot

  Iran's election overseers removed potential wild-card candidates from the presidential race Tuesday, blocking a top aide of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a former president who revived hopes of ...

• Irans presidential election registration wraps up

  BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhuanet) -- The five-day candidate registration period of Iran's June 14th presidential election has wrapped up. Over 680 candidates, including Iran's former President Akbar Hashemi-Raf-san-jani, close aide to the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Es-fan-diar Rahim Masha-ei and Iran's top nuclear negotiator and the secretary of the country's Supreme ...

• Iran bars Rafsanjani from standing for president

  Iran said Tuesday the moderate ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was among those barred from standing in next month's presidential election, provoking a sharp reaction from Washington. Rafsanjani and a controversial aide of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been ruled unsuitable, the interior ministry said Tuesday. The Guardians Council, a conservative-dominated vetting body, omitted ...

• UPDATE 1-S.Koreas Iran crude imports for April down 44.4 pct yy

  Wed May 22, 2013 1:41am EDT * Crude imports from Iran in April at 4.18 mln bbls -data * Iranian imports for month below expectations * Total April crude imports at 69.12 mln bbls, down 5.6 pct y/y * Dec 2012-April 2013 Iran crude imports at 157,596 bpd (Adds details) By Meeyoung Cho SEOUL, May 22 (Reuters) - South Korea's imports of Iranian crude in April fell nearly 45 percent from a year ...

• Iran Hezbollah role in Syria complicates peace strategy

  As evidence grows of increased Iranian support for the Syrian government, the Obama administration's strategy to bring the bitter fighting there to a close faces more challenges than ever. With White House support, Secretary of State John Kerry has pushed for an international conference in Geneva in June that would bring representatives of the Syria government together with the ...

• Ten more arrested in Iranian espionage case

  An official spokesman from the Saudi government has confirmed the arrest of 10 people involved in an Iranian espionage cell who were allegedly associated with the same spy network that was dismantled in March of this year by Saudi security officials. A security spokesman confirmed that the latest cell had eight Saudis, one Lebanese and one Turkish national. "Initial investigations carried ...

• Iranian presidential candidates announced Rafsanjani disqualified

  TEHRAN - The final list of candidates approved to run in Iran’s June 14 presidential election was announced Tuesday, generating surprise and tension with the omission of a former president considered one of the founding members of the Islamic ...

• Iranian man extradited to U.S. tried to buy plane parts reports

  The Iranian man extradited by Cyprus to the United States on suspicion of violating U.N. sanctions on Iran had tried to purchase F4 and F5 plane parts in the United States and send them illegally to Iran, according to reports in two Cypriot newspapers on Saturday. The extradition of the man has caused diplomatic tension, with Iran recalling its ambassador in Nicosia for consultations and the ...

• Iran Unveils New Weapons and Combat Equipment

  Tehran, 22 May (PL) The Iranian Defense Ministry announced the presentation today of what he described as "five new successes in defense" at the ceremony on the anniversary of the liberation of the province of Khorramshahr from Iraqi occupation. The new products include personal weapons and personal combat equipment and will be exhibited to the public at a ceremony to be attended by ...

• Iran Unveils List of Eight Presidential Candidates - Report

  MOSCOW, May 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Iranian Interior Ministry published on Tuesday a list of eight candidates permitted to run in June 14 presidential election, FARS news agency reported. The candidates were selected by the Guardian Council, the group that supervises the election. The list of presidential hopefuls is dominated by conservatives, who are Tehran’s mayor, Mohammad Bagher ...

• Saudis arrest more suspects in Iranian espionage case

  AFPRIYADH--Saudi authorities have arrested 10 more suspects in an alleged Iranian spy ring unveiled two months ago, an interior ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. The eight Saudis, a Lebanese and a Turk bring the number of people arrested to 28, the official SPA news agency quoted the spokesman as ...

• Irans Hashemi-Rafsanjani Rahim-Mashaei barred from competing for presidency

  In a statement issued by Iranian Interior Ministry on Tuesday, the presidential hopefuls Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, former moderate president, and Esfandiar Rahim- Mashaei, top aide of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, were not qualified for the country's upcoming presidential ...

• 10 alleged Iranian spies arrested in Saudi

  Saudi security forces (AFP) Saudi Arabia's interior minister Major General Mansour Al Turki released a statement of Tuesday announcing that 10 members of an alleged Iranian spy ring had ...

• Iranian officials bar prominent candidates from election

  In this picture taken on Saturday, May 11, 2013, former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani waves to media as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election. (Ebrahim Noroozi/The Associated ...

• Iran and Hezbollah’s Support for Syria Complicates U.S. Strategy on Peace Talks

  MUSCAT, Oman -- As evidence grows of increased Iranian support for the Syrian government, the Obama administration's strategy to bring the bitter fighting there to a close faces more challenges than ...

• Iranian soldiers fighting for Syria State contends

  Iran has sent soldiers to Syria to fight alongside forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and those of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia, a senior State Department official said on ...

• RPT-India leads Asian cuts in Iran oil imports ahead of waiver review

  Tue May 21, 2013 9:55pm EDT (Repeats earlier story with no change in text) * India cuts Iranian crude imports 17 pct Dec-April vs previous 6 months * China may reduce Iranian imports 5-10 percent in 2013 * U.S. due to review Asia's waiver extensions on Iran sanctions 3rd time By Nidhi Verma and Meeyoung Cho NEW DELHI/SEOUL, May 21 (Reuters) - India has slashed Iranian oil imports by almost a ...

• Iran bars Rafsanjani Mashaei from election

  This combination of eight pictures shows eight candidates approved Tuesday, May 21, 2013 for Iran's June 14 presidential election to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who cannot run again because of term limits, clockwise from left: Mohammad Gharazi, Mohsen Rezaei, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, Saeed Jalili, Ali Akbar Velayati, and Hasan Rowhani, taken between May 9 and May ...

• Iran blocks ex-President Rafsanjani from election race report

  Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (C) arrives to register his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election at the interior ministry in Tehran on May 11, 2013. Reports say Rafsanjani has been blocked from running in the next election. (Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty ...

• Rafsanjani a Founder of Irans Revolution Is Rejected as Candidate

  TEHRAN ...

• Key omissions on final Iranian candidate list put riot police on guard in Tehran

  TEHRAN -- The final list of candidates approved to run in Iran's June 14 presidential election was announced on Tuesday, generating surprise and tension with the omission of a former president considered one of the founding members of the Islamic ...

• New Evidence of Iran Support to Assad

  May 21, 2013 7:43pm The United States has new evidence that Iran and Hezbollah have direct involvement with the Syrian regime, a senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry in Oman. The official said that, according to the Free Syrian Army, Hezbollah and Iranian fighters have been helping the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad in Qusayr, ...

• Carney says U.S. condemns Hezbollah support of Assad regime

  Hezbollah 's efforts to help the Assad regime win the civil war in Syria is a concern to the United States and its allies, a White House spokesman said Tuesday. Press ...

• Saudis Arrest Ten More Members Of Iranian ‘Spy Ring’

  Saudi Arabian officials have arrested 10 more members of an alleged Iranian-linked spy ring, according to the interior ministry, following the detention of 18 other such "spies" in ...

• Two Portraits Of Post-Revolutionary Life In Iran

  Credit: rlygur Hnefill/ flickr ByMaryam Elika Ansari In recent years, there has been a surge in Iranian women's diaspora writing about life in post-revolutionary Iran. I will draw your attention to two such accounts, which portray two very different activities with distinct results, both taking place in Tehran. One entails a private book club with predominantly female students who get ...

• Iran bars candidates for presidential election

  DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian authorities on Tuesday barred former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a relative moderate, from running in the June 14 election, along with a protg of the current president, leaving mainly hardliners left to contest the ...

• Iran Bars Two Contenders From Presidential Race

  Two well-known candidates who had submitted their registration papers for Iran’s June presidential election won’t be on the ballot. That includes former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s former Chief of Staff, Rahim Mashai. Iranian journalist Shirin Jafaari says the decision might mean that some Iranians stay away from the ...

• Disqualification Of Rafsanjani Paves Way For Khamenei To Install Loyalist

  The decision by Iran’s powerful Guardians Council to bar former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani from running in next month's presidential election paves the way for the country’s establishment to bring a loyalist to power. It also deals another blow to the credibility of the June 14 poll, analysts say. With his potential appeal to both reformists and conservatives, ...

• Former President Rafsanjani Ahmadinejad ally barred from Iran election

  Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani , a relative moderate, from running in the June 14 election, along with a protege of the current president, leaving mainly hardliners left to contest the vote. Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a close aide to current ...

• Iran bans Hashemi Rafsanjani from running in presidential election

  Two key challengers in the race to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of Iran have been banned from taking part in next month's elections, it emerged on Tuesday ...

• Iran Bars Mashaei and Rafsanjani as Candidates

  TEHRAN ...

• Reformist blocked from running for Iranian presidency

  The country's former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was expected to win votes from the centre ground and among Iran's moderates, was blocked along 678 other candidates who had initially put their names forward. Among the others to be told that they cannot stand is Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei - an ally of the current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is barred from taking part in ...

• Irans presidential election clearing the path

  Iran 's presidential election in 2009 still hangs heavily over the country. Even though the leaders of the Green movement are today under house arrest, and its membership divided over whether to boycott the presidential elections next month, much of what is happening is a result of the lessons the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, learned then. In preparation for the announcement of ...

• Iran candidate list for presidential race

  COMBO - This combination of eight pictures shows eight candidates approved Tuesday, May 21, 2013 for Iran's June 14 presidential election to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who cannot run again because of term limits, clockwise from left: Mohammad Gharazi, Mohsen Rezaei, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, Saeed Jalili, Ali Akbar Velayati, and Hasan Rowhani, taken between May 9 ...

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