Middle East

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei slammed human rights organizations and other countries for choosing to remain silent over the deaths of pilgrims during last year’s Hajj rituals in Saudi Arabia

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani underscored on Wednesday that his administration will press ahead with legal and political measures to restore the country’s rights in connection with a fatal crush of Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia that killed hundreds of Iranians last year.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry took a swipe at Saudi Arabia’s crown prince for accusing the Islamic Republic of politicizing the Hajj pilgrimage, slamming the recurring allegations as an attempt to whitewash Riyadh’s failure to ensure the security of pilgrims.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed that there is “no resemblance” between the religion of most of the Muslim world, including Iran, and what Saudi and Wahhabi clerics preach.

Saudi Arabia's controversial contract with an Israeli company for providing pilgrims with electronic bracelets in this year's Hajj has sparked protests in the Muslim world.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned recent terrorist attacks in the capitals of Iraq and Afghanistan, warning that Takfiri terrorist groups have targeted the region’s stability and security.

One of the most renowned female Kurdish fighters, known as the Kurdish Angelina Jolie, was killed in fierce clashes with ISIS in Syrian border town of Jarabulus.

The Saudi government has announced that more than 3 million Saudi women, aged 15 and above, do not have national Identification Cards.

The Iranian ambassador to Baghdad says the Islamic Republic is prepared to further strengthen cooperation with Iraq in the fight against the Takfiri ISIS terrorist group.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution strongly slammed “murderous” Saudi rulers for refusing to allow an international probe into last year’s deadly Mina crush, urging Muslims to “correctly understand their (Saudis’) blasphemous, faithless, dependent and materialistic nature".

Oman’s interior minister pointed to the growing enthusiasm from the regional countries for closer relations with Iran, saying Muscat sees no barrier to the expansion of ties with Tehran.

Although the ISIS terrorist group had earlier made it obligatory for women to wear burqa [full face veiling], it has now banned its use for the women who are getting into security centres in the ISIS-held Iraqi city of Mosul.

An Iranian oil official said the country is ready to help restore balance to the oil market but did not hold out much hope given that some producers are pumping crude at record levels.

The ISIS terrorist group has reportedly banned football referees in one of its Syrian strongholds and set new football rules as the previous ones were not in line with Islam’s Sharia.

Although Yemen has been gripped by war, bombing, and bloodshed for the past one year and a half, the country is replete with secrets and wonders that are not known to many.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi rejected the recent anti-Iran allegations raised by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir as “too boring and repetitive”, calling on the Saudi regime to change its “unconstructive” regional policies.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry categorically condemned recent remarks by Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister against Tehran, describing them as “baseless” and “repetitive”.

A major agreement on settling the situation in Syria’s Aleppo is at hand, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the continued military presence of Turkey in the Syrian territories without the Damascus government’s consent will aggravate the situation in the region, and called for an immediate halt to the Turkish military operations in the Arab country.

The three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs are indispensable parts of Iran, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman underlined, dismissing recent anti-Iran claims about the islands raised by the Arab League chief.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says atrocities by Saudi Arabia and Israel have worked to even alienate their own allies.

Several ISIS elements have been killed and wounded in an armed infighting in the Iraqi town of Hawija.

Statistics released by Turkey indicate a huge number of marriages between Turkish men and Syrian girls, mostly refugees.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday strongly condemned the attack carried out by terrorist groups in the Iraqi province of Karbala, expressing the hope that terrorism would be eradicated in the region.

A senior Iranian lawmaker says the terrorists arrested by Iranian security forces have revealed “invaluable” information as to the patronage they received from Saudi Arabia.