s isolation and says it has no plans to use nuclear technology as weapons Iran's president has urged the rest of the world to stop treating his country as pariah state, and said a deal over its nuclear programme would pave the way for the oil-rich nation to become the next big emerging market. In an olive branch to the international community, Hassan Rouhani told a packed conference hall at the World...
Iranians are known for their love of good hospitality so we would like you to show us around your home. Share your photos and videos of the interior of your house via GuardianWitness Kelly Niknejad Guardian readers ...
s president Hassan Rouhani takes centre stage at the Davos World Economic Forum on Thursday, as he seeks to drum up investment for his sanctions-hit economy amid thawing relations with the west. Rouhani leads a delegation that includes foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and oil minister Bijan Zanganeh to the Swiss ski resort as Iran attempts to come out of the diplomatic cold. The Davos meeting,...
s Channel 1 playing santoor, a trapezoid-shaped Persian dulcimer played by wooden hammers, tar (Iranian lute) and kamancheh, a bowed string instrument. On previous occasions when bands have been invited to perform on state television only the singer would be allowed to go in front of cameras – musicians would play backstage or the screen would cut to flowers and beautiful landscapes. A recent ceremony...
s secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, is "urgently considering his options" in light of the "disappointing conduct of some participants" involved in the Syria peace talks after he invited Iran to attend. Ban's official spokesman, Martin Nesirky, told reporters on Monday that Ban was dismayed at the developments after he announced the invitation on Sunday. Nesirky says Iran, despite assurances, "has made...
major concerns about various aspects of Iranian policy...
dismayed' by failure of attempts to get Tehran to concede on issue Diplomats are trying to save Wednesday's summit on Syria from collapse, with Iran refusing to concede that its last-minute invitation to attend meant it should endorse a transitional Syrian government – a move rejected by Damascus. After spending Monday trying to persuade Iran on the issue, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, released...
s suspension of high-level uranium enrichment as an "unprecedented opportunity", after a long standoff that threatened to ignite yet another conflict in the Middle East. Iranian scientists cut the links feeding centrifuges in the Natanz plant and at Fordow, an underground site near Qom, in the presence of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The halt to the enrichment of uranium...
s foreign minister has described the UN decision to rescind its invitation to Iran to join this week's Syria peace talks in Geneva as a mistake, although not a catastrophe. Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon's decision to withdraw his last-minute offer to Iran to attend the conference would have a negative impact on the UN image. Lavrov, speaking at a news conference,...
s rescinding of invite is deplorable while Moscow says Iran's absence could jeopardise peace talks Bashar al-Assad's key international allies in Moscow and Tehran have reacted angrily to the UN's decision to rescind Iran's invitation to this week's peace talks on the crisis in Syria. The UN hastily withdrew its surprise invitation after pressure from the US and a threat that the Syrian opposition would...
Critics of Iran don't see its detente with the US as an opportunity to ease Shia-Sunni tensions ...
s interests to formulate a comprehensive and up-to-date Iran strategy. After the adoption of the joint action plan on Iran's nuclear programme in Geneva in November 2013, the policy-makers in Tehran have received a growing number of high-level visitors from Europe, including the recent delegation of the British parliamentarians. I have myself led a delegation to Iran from the European parliament in...
s nuclear chief told the official IRNA news agency, referring to a nuclear deal agreed in November between Iran and world powers. State media reports said international inspectors were present on Monday when Iran began implementing its obligations under the historic deal reached in Geneva on 24 November . They left to monitor the suspension at Fordo, another uranium enrichment site in central Iran....
s departure is non-negotiable, while late invitation to Iran threatens entire process International hopes for a resolution to the bloody crisis in Syria will be tested this week as President Bashar al-Assad's government and rebels seeking to overthrow him head for a UN-sponsored peace conference and the first direct talks between the sides since the conflict began nearly three years ago. On Sunday...
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon's invitation to Iran to attend touches off fresh round of uncertainty over fragile talks ...
Congress and other groups had called for details of agreement set to be implemented on 20 January ...
s deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad said several western intelligence services had visited Damascus for discussions. His comments were broadcast a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that French and Spanish spy services had made contact with Assad's government. French media have carried similar reports. "I will not specify [which countries] but many of them have visited Damascus, yes," Mekdad...
t come clean? Deep beneath desert sands, an embattled Middle Eastern state has built a covert nuclear bomb, using technology and materials provided by friendly powers or stolen by a clandestine network of agents. It is the stuff of pulp thrillers and the sort of narrative often used to characterise the worst fears about the Iranian nuclear programme. In reality, though, neither US nor British intelligence...
demand for Bashar al-Assad to step down will be centrepiece of Geneva peace conference Signs that western governments are re-thinking their policy towards the Syrian crisis have been multiplying since last September's chemical weapons deal and the increasingly prominent role being played by al-Qaida-affiliated groups in the war against President Bashar al-Assad. Officially, the position of the US,...
The prospect of improved relations with the US is a litmus test of just how far the Islamic republic is prepared to go to transform itself ...