Mir-Hossein Mousavi

Iran's foreign minister said on June 2 that a plane had taken off from arch-foe the United States carrying scientist Sirous Asgari after his apparent release from a U.S. prison.

"Good news, a plane carrying Dr. Sirous Asgari has taken off from America. Congratulations to his wife and family," Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in a post on his Instagram account.

Tehran said on March 26 that a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran 13 years ago had left the country a long time ago, despite his family saying a day earlier that he had died in Iranian custody.   

Robert Levinson went missing on Iran's Kish Island in the Gulf in March 2007. The case is another irritant in the already hostile relationship between Washington and Tehran.   

A member of a council that advises Iran's supreme leader died on March 2 after falling sick from the new coronavirus, state radio reported, becoming the first top official to succumb to the illness that is affecting members of the Islamic Republic's leadership.

Expediency Council member Mohammad Mirmohammadi died at a Tehran hospital of the virus, state radio said. He was 71.

Iran will not withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said, quoted by news agencies. According to him, the EU has no legal basis to trigger the dispute mechanism in Iran's nuclear deal .

Mousavi even accused the conserned European countries that they did not respect their part of the deal. He said the EU's claims were unfounded.

Additional sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States show that Washington's offer of talks is not genuine, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on June 8.

It was a rare night of open-air partying in Iran on May 20 as tens of thousands of supporters of President Hassan Rouhani took to the streets to celebrate his re-election.

For many, it was a chance to breathe easily again after a tense campaign between Rouhani and his hardline opponent Ebrahim Raisi.

"Iran is not Saudi Arabia," Iranians always say. They hold elections and women can vote. Indeed, people turn out from time to time to vote for presidential elections, parliamentary elections and such. People vote, but whether every vote counts is a big question mark. And being "eligible" to be a candidate is a tough job.

Turkish Industry Minister Fikri I??k has called on his counterparts from the D-8 group of developing countries to participate in creating a joint venture car brand.