Iran

Jafar Panahi Honored at Cannes: A Palme d’Or for Freedom

The curtain came down on the 78th Cannes Film Festival Saturday night with a deeply symbolic moment on the Croisette: Iranian director and political dissident Jafar Panahi was awarded the Palme d’Or for his underground film It Was Just an Accident. Shot in secret, the film moved the jury—chaired by Juliette Binoche—who granted it the ...

Nuclear Negotiations in Rome End Without Final Agreement Between Iran and the US

The fifth round of nuclear negotiations between Iranian and US delegations held in Rome on Friday has ended, the Omani foreign minister who mediated the talks said. "The fifth round of Iran US talks have concluded today in Rome with some but not conclusive progress," Badr Albusaidi said on X, adding that he hoped "the remaining issues" will be ...

Palestinian Factions Close to Iran Forced Out of Syria Amid Power Shift

The leaders of pro-Iran Palestinian factions close to former ruler Bashar al-Assad have left Syria under pressure from the new authorities, Palestinian sources said Friday, a key US demand for lifting sanctions. A pro-Iran Palestinian faction leader who left Syria after Assad's December overthrow said on condition of anonymity that "most of the ...

Saeed Roustaee at Cannes: Filming for Iran, Despite the Cost

“It’s very important to me that my films are seen by people in my country,” said Iranian filmmaker Saeed Roustaee in an interview with AFP. Three years after Leila’s Brothers, Roustaee is back in competition at Cannes with a film that received official shooting permits. After his previous visit to the Croisette in 2022, the 35-year-old ...

Iran Says Will Hold US Responsible For Any Israeli Attack On its Nuclear Sites

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would hold the United States responsible for any Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities, after US media reported that Israel was preparing for a strike. The report came even as Iran and the United States were set to meet in Rome on Friday for a fifth round of Omani-mediated nuclear talks. "We ...

Israel Military Says Intercepted Missile Fired From Yemen

Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem, where AFP journalists reported loud booms overhead, as the Israeli military announced it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen Thursday for the second time in less than 12 hours. "Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was ...

Iran-US Nuclear Talks Set for Friday in Rome

Iran and the United States will hold the next round of talks on the Islamic republic's nuclear program in Rome later this week, Tehran and mediator Oman said Wednesday. The arch-foes have held four rounds of nuclear talks since April 12, the highest-level contact between them since US President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal ...

Israel Arrests Two Accused of Spying on Defense Minister for Iran

Israeli authorities said Tuesday that they had arrested two citizens suspected of carrying out "intelligence-gathering missions" at Iran's behest near the defense minister's home. The arrests are the latest in a spate of cases in which Israel has charged its own citizens with spying for the country's arch-foe since the start of the war in Gaza in ...

Iran's Khamenei Says Talks With US Unlikely to 'Lead to Any Autcome'

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that nuclear talks with the United States were unlikely to yield any results, amid a diplomatic standoff over the Islamic republic's enrichment activities. "We don't think it will lead to any outcome. We don't know what will happen," said Khamenei during a speech, adding that denying ...

Iran Says Ready to Rebuild 'Mutual Trust' with Europe

Iran's top diplomat said Sunday his country was ready to rebuild trust with European powers considering whether to reimpose UN sanctions on the Islamic republic under a 2015 nuclear deal. "Iran is ready, should it observe genuine will and an independent approach from the European parties, to begin a new chapter in its relations with ...

Saudi Airline Resumes First Hajj Flights with Iran Since 2015

A Saudi airline has resumed flights for Iranian hajj pilgrims to the kingdom for the first time in a decade, the latest sign of the warming ties between the countries. "Flynas resumed Iranian pilgrim flights from Imam Khomeini (airport) in Tehran on Saturday," a Saudi civil aviation authority official told AFP, speaking on condition of ...

Rushdie's Attacker Sentenced to 25 Years in US Prison

Hadi Matar, the American-Lebanese man who stabbed Salman Rushdie in 2022, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison in the United States. Rushdie, a symbol of freedom of expression, sustained serious injuries in the knife attack. Matar, 27, who grew up in the U.S., was found guilty in February of attempted murder and assault by a jury following ...