Islamic Republic of Iran

Babek Zanjani, an Iranian businessman currently imprisoned in Iran on corruption charges and a figure connected to Turkey's massive graft case from 2013, has confessed to having 15 billion euros worth of assets abroad, the case's deputy prosecutor has said.

The deputy prosecutor added that Zanjani made banking and money transactions in Turkey, Iraq, Tajikistan and Malaysia. 

Authorities in Bahrain said they had uncovered a large stash of weapons and arrested a number of people suspected of having links with Iran and Iraq.
 
A statement late Sept.30 published on the interior ministry's website said arms and explosives were discovered in a house in the mainly Shiite town of Nuwaidrat, south of the capital Manama.
 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani denied on Sept. 25 media reports that Iran and Russia would form part of a coalition that would take on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other militant groups.

Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDKK) head Mehmet Ali Akben has said a Chinese lender has shown interest in taking a banking license in Turkey. 

He noted a high-level delegation from the Bank of China will visit officials from Turkey?s banking watchdog on Sept. 10. 

Israeli officials have clearly drawn a line between potential threats posed by Iran and jihadists against their country, putting at Tehran at the top of the list.

The speaker of Iran's parliament hinted in a US radio interview on Sept.3 at the possibility of a prisoner swap to free detained Iranian-American journalist Jason Rezaian.

The deal to curb Iran's nuclear programme will bolster Tehran's ability to fund global terrorism by providing the Islamic state with "billions of dollars" in sanctions relief, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Aug. 29. 

The United States will be isolated on the world stage and its influence diminished if Congress rejects the Iran nuclear deal, the US ambassador to the United Nations has warned.
 

The United States announced Aug. 24 it has "no intention" to reopen an embassy in Tehran, just one day after the United Kingdom reopened its diplomatic mission in the Iranian capital.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Aug. 24 he expected sanctions on Iran could start to be lifted as early as Spring next year. 

Speaking to Reuters on a visit to Tehran to reopen Britain's embassy in the Iranian capital, Hammond said he expected Iran and the United States could endorse the nuclear deal they reached last month by October.