By: Saeed Kamali Dehghan Iran
Rafsanjani, founding member of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and president for two consecutive terms, dies in Tehran
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran’s greatest political survivor who served as president for two consecutive terms, has died aged 82. Read More »
By: Saeed Kamali Dehghan Iran Monday 9 January 2017 12.53 EST
Many believe the custodian of the Islamic Republic’s holiest shrine is being groomed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s inner circle
A 56-year-old conservative cleric relatively unknown to the outside world is quietly emerging as a frontrunner to be Iran’s next supreme leader. Read More »
By JAMES KITFIELD
Who are Trump’s generals? Yesterday, James Kitfield told us what these retired soldiers have in common as products of our post-9/11 wars. Now we’ll go deep into the formative experiences and geopolitical worldview of each man, starting today with the prospective Secretary of Defense, Gen. Jim Mattis. He’s been nicknamed both “Mad Dog” and “Warrior Monk,” but which one is the real Jim Mattis? Read More »
Tehran officials say Boeing accord is now more difficult to undo; threaten clawbacks if Trump administration scuttles it
By ARESU EQBALI in Tehran and
Iranian officials publicly hardened their resolve to proceed with a multibillion-dollar deal to buy dozens of Boeing Co. jets, threatening to claw back any lost money if the deal is scuttled after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
The officials touted the timing of the agreement to buy 80 aircraft with a $16.6 billion list price from Boeing—ahead of the start of Mr. Trump’s administration—as possibly making it more difficult to thwart the agreement. Read More »
By Tim Hepher | PARIS 19 DECEMBER 2016
Iran expects to get its first new jet within weeks under a multi-billion-dollar deal with Airbus for 100 planes, a senior official said on Monday, as Tehran and Western firms race to reopen trade almost a year after sanctions were lifted. Read More »
Civilians and armed forces members carry the flag-draped coffins of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Mohsen Ghajarian, foreground, and five soldiers who were killed in fighting in Syria, during their funeral outside the headquarters of the guard’s ground forces, in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 6, 2016.
Analysts and experts are expressing skepticism after an Iranian official said this week that more than 1,000 soldiers deployed by Iran have been killed since 2012 while aiding the Syrian regime in its civil war. Read More »
Scores of Iraqi male residents are rounded up by the Iraqi army in Gogjali neighborhood, in Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Iraqi forces urged them to come out with information of any Islamic State members among them. An Iraqi officer addressed the group, demanding to know the whereabouts of alleged IS militants who opened fire on troops a few days earlier. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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by:Qassim Abdul-Zahra
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi troops on Thursday drove Islamic State militants from three more neighborhoods in the northern city of Mosul, a commander said, as a bomb south of Baghdad killed at least 21 people, including 10 Iranian pilgrims. Read More »
by:Alex Lockie
(Sailors assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) render assistance to a distressed Iranian vessel.US Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Hopkins/Released)
In yet another development in an already eventful deployment, US Navy sailors aboard the USS Nitze rescued three stranded Iranians in the Arabian Gulf on Friday. Read More »
By Robin Wright 19 October 2016
The first season of “House of Cards,” the Netflix series about the demonic American politician Frank Underwood and his duplicitous wife, Claire, recently made its début on Iranian television, just in time for the finale of the American elections. The show has been dubbed in Farsi—as “Khaneh Poushaly,” or “House of Straw”—by a state-run television channel. It ran every night for two weeks. The timing seemed deliberate, and authorized from the top: the Islamic Republic vigorously censors most American programs, and the director of Iran’s broadcasting authority, I.R.I.B., is appointed by the Supreme Leader. Read More »
By Tim Hepher | PARIS 21, September 2016
The United States has begun unblocking deals by Western plane-makers to renew Iran’s ageing passenger fleet in a move likely to ease growing complaints from Tehran over the implementation of last year’s historic sanctions deal.
Europe’s Airbus (AIR.PA) said on Wednesday it had received U.S. Treasury approval to begin exporting jetliners to Iran and its U.S. rival Boeing (BA.N) said it looked forward to receiving similar licenses “shortly”.
The move signals the unfreezing of one of the most high-profile deals between Iran and foreign companies since last year’s agreement between Tehran and world powers to open up trade in exchange for curbs on the country’s nuclear activities.
But complex questions remain over the financing of deals between Iran and Western plane-makers that could still obstruct deliveries of many of the planes, in what is seen as a test case for Western trade and investment following the nuclear deal.
Earlier this year, Airbus and its U.S. rival Boeing each signed deals to supply over 100 jets to flag carrier Iran Air to modernize and expand the country’s elderly fleet, held together by smuggled or improvised parts after years of sanctions.
But nine months after the first deal was signed, Iranian officials have voiced growing concerns about what they see as slow progress in obtaining in the U.S. licenses needed for most modern aircraft because of their ample use of U.S. parts.
An Iranian official told Reuters earlier this week that its deal for 118 Airbus jets was being trimmed by six units following the regulatory delays.
Airbus said on Wednesday it had been granted an initial license to supply 17 A320 or A330 jets that are slated for early delivery, and that it expected a second license covering the remaining aircraft within the next few weeks.
Aviation sources said the U.S. Treasury was expected within “days” to begin unblocking Boeing’s deal to sell or lease over 100 jets.
Iran has also ordered up to 40 Franco-Italian ATR (AIR.PA)SIFI.MI turboprop planes that are awaiting Washington’s green light.
Iran has said it could start receiving a limited number of aircraft this year.
Some airlines are also looking at buying second-hand planes to meet their most urgent needs.
Diplomats say new jets will allow pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani to argue the sanctions deal is working, but the deals are opposed by U.S. Republicans who say the jets could be misused and by conservatives in Iran who oppose the country’s opening and say the purchases will not benefit most Iranians.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-aviation-idUSKCN11R1JH
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