Amir Havasi

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran, January 6, 2021. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

May 26, 2021, 5:39 pm

Rouhani urges more ‘competition’ after Iran presidential candidates banned

Iranian president asks supreme leader Khamenei to intervene, warning, ‘The heart of elections is competition. If you take that away it becomes a corpse’

By Amir Havasi

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during talks in Moscow, Russia, January 26, 2021. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)

April 27, 2021, 8:27 pm

Iran orders probe into leaked audio of Zarif bemoaning military’s influence

Rouhani-ordered investigation seeks to identify who released ‘stolen’ three-hour recording that has sparked anger among country’s conservatives

By Amir Havasi

Young Iranians play an online multiplayer game at an internet cafe in Iran's capital Tehran on January 24, 2021. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

February 18, 2021, 1:42 am

Iran gamers battle obstacles of US sanctions: ‘We just want to play’

Iranians find workarounds to buy the newest consoles and play video games online, as many firms refrain from doing business in country due to fear of punishment

By Amir Havasi

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi attends a meeting with head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi, in Tehran, Iran on August 25, 2020. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

August 25, 2020, 1:24 pm

Iran hails ‘constructive’ talks with visiting IAEA chief

Spokesman for Iran’s nuclear body says Tehran may grant UN agency approval to inspect two sites, provided it does not subsequently demand to see more

By Amir Havasi

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wears a protective face mask to help prevent spread of the coronavirus as he gives a press briefing in Tehran, Iran, July 21, 2020. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

August 12, 2020, 6:27 pm

Iran’s Rouhani hopeful US arms embargo push will fail

Iranian president warns UN of ‘consequences’ if it backs Washington’s bid to extend ban

By Amir Havasi

An Iranian man, wearing a protective face mask, walks down a street in the capital Tehran on July 22, 2020. (ATTA KENARE/AFP)

July 23, 2020, 5:00 pm

Confusion and fear as Iran says millions may have coronavirus

After President Rouhani said 25 million could be infected — nearly a third of population — officials downplay figure, saying it refers only to those ‘exposed’ to virus

By Amir Havasi

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, June 10, 2019. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

April 15, 2020, 10:57 pm

Iran says world is learning US ‘kills people,’ after Trump suspends WHO funds

FM Zarif blasts Washington’s ‘bullying, threatening & vainglorious blathering’ amid global pandemic

By Amir Havasi

Iranians gather around a charred police station that was set ablaze by protesters during a demonstration against a rise in gasoline prices in the central city of Isfahan on November 17, 2019. (AFP)

November 18, 2019, 7:08 pm

Iran ‘calmer’ despite more riots over fuel price hikes

Government spokesperson predicts that in the next couple of days there won’t be ‘any issues’ with regard to recent unrest, declines to elaborate on casualty figures

By Amir Havasi

Iranians fill their vehicles at a gas station in Tehran, on November 15, 2019. (STR / AFP)

November 15, 2019, 6:12 pm

Iran starts rationing gas, raises ultra-cheap pump prices

Rouhani denies move based on economic pressure due to US sanctions, says money raised will go to help the needy; last attempt to raise prices sparked mass protests

By Amir Havasi

Iranians walk past a mural painting, partially covered with cement, on the wall of the former US embassy in the capital Tehran on September 29, 2019. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

November 1, 2019, 5:50 am

40 years on, embassy hostage crisis still haunts US-Iran ties

Relationship scarred by protesters storming US mission in November 1979 and ensuing 444 day standoff, leading to decades of mistrust and ill will, but some see room for an opening

By Amir Havasi and Shaun Tandon

Iranian sports journalist Raha Pourbakhsh shows purchased electronic tickets for the Iran - Cambodia World Cup 2022 soccer qualifier match during an interview with AFP in front of Azadi stadium in the capital Tehran on October 8, 2019. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

October 9, 2019, 6:55 pm

Tickets sell out in minutes as Iran lets women into soccer for 1st time in years

After threat of suspension by sport’s governing body, Tehran relents on decades-old ban for Thursday’s World Cup qualifier against Cambodia

By Amir Havasi

A view of the Grace 1 supertanker standing off the British territory of Gibraltar, August 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

August 17, 2019, 4:19 am

US issues warrant for seizure of Iranian tanker in Gibraltar

Justice Department says Grace 1 part of scheme to illegally support Syria, one day after judge approves its release

By Paul Handley and Amir Havasi

Illustrative: The guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George and the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln transit the Strait of Hormuz. (CC-BY SA 3.0/Official US Navy Imagery)

August 5, 2019, 10:54 pm

UK joins US in Gulf mission after Iran taunts American allies

After Tehran says countries too ‘ashamed’ to join US-led naval coalition, British PM deploys ships to Strait of Hormuz to protect vessels from ‘unlawful threats’

By Joe JACKSON and Amir Havasi

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) shakes hands with his British counterpart Boris Johnson during a meeting in Tehran on December 9, 2017. (AFP Photo/Atta Kenare)

July 23, 2019, 7:09 pm

Iran warns incoming British PM it will ‘protect’ Gulf waters

FM Zarif congratulates former counterpart Boris Johnson, says Islamic Republic not backing down from standoff in oil-rich Gulf

By Amir Havasi

This undated photo issued July 19, 2019 shows the British oil tanker Stena Impero, captured by Iran. (Stena Bulk via AP)

July 21, 2019, 4:08 pm

Iran says fate of seized British ship depends on crew ‘cooperation’

While London accuses Tehran of ‘dangerous’ escalation, Islamic Republic says it’s probing Stena Impero’s alleged collision with a fishing boat, failure to respond to distress calls

By Amir Havasi