Foreign Ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey Sergei Lavrov, Javad Zarif and Mevlut Cavusoglu at the talks in Antalya on Sunday have reached agreement on all the key issues, the Russian foreign minister told reporters after the meeting. “We have gathered to discuss certain issues related to preparations for the summit of the three countries’ […]

The World Anti-Doping Agency maintained its suspension of Russia on Thursday, raising the spectre of a possible ban from February’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. WADA’s Foundation Board, meeting in Seoul, came to the decision after its Compliance Review Committee recommended that Russia’s anti-doping body, RUSADA, “should not be reinstated”. The decision had been expected after […]

TEHRAN  – Russia on Friday cast a second veto in as many days at the UN Security Council to block the renewal of an UN-led investigation to identify the perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria. A draft resolution put forward by Japan would have extended the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) for 30 days to […]

The US State Department has authorized the sale of $10.5 billion in Patriot missile systems to Poland, the linchpin of the NATO military alliance’s Eastern frontier against Russia. The proposed sale includes four radar sets, four control stations, sixteen launching stations, and 208 Patriot Advanced Capabilty-3 (PAC-3) missiles, the Pentagon said Friday. The deal now […]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stressed that the presence of  Iranian military advisors in Syria is “legitimate.” On Tuesday,  Lavrov denied any talks between Moscow and Washington over the withdrawal of Iranian advisors, stressing that no such promise had been made. Iran, along with Russia, has a military advisory mission in Syria aimed at […]

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov held talks on Tuesday in Moscow. During the meeting, the head of Iran’s delegation to Astana Talks on Syria and the Russian official, who is President Vladimir Putins special representative for the Middle East, discussed the latest […]

Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years after being held to a 0-0 draw at home to Sweden who booked a place in Russia with a 1-0 aggregate win on Monday. Sweden survived wave after wave of Italian attacks in the second leg of their European playoff […]

TEHRAN  – Russia said North Korea is still two to three years from being able to carry out a long-range strike on the US, offering diplomacy a chance to halt the secretive Communist states nuclear and missile programmes. “Unless we can find a political solution,” it’s “inevitable” that Kim Jong Un’s regime will have intercontinental […]

Iran’s parliamentary official Amir-Abdollahian, while voicing regret over Saudi-led campaign against Qatar, said the Islamic Republic strongly opposes any threat or pressure against regional countries. Iranian Parliamentary Director General for International Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remark in a meeting with Qatari Ambassador to Iran Ali bin Ahmad Ali al-Sulaiti on Tuesday, adding “these arbitrary measures […]

TEHRAN – The head of Russia’s state-controlled oil giant Rosneft said it has signed a road map with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to implement “strategic” projects in Iran, the head of Igor Sechin said on Wednesday that the deal paved the way for legally-binding documents to be signed within a year, according to […]