Sweden frees an Iranian man convicted over 1988 mass executions in exchange for 2 men held by Iran

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and Sweden carried out a prisoner swap Saturday that saw Tehran release a European Union diplomat and another man in exchange for an Iranian convicted in Stockholm of committing war crimes over his part in 1988 mass executions in the Islamic Republic. ...

Iran installing and starting cascades of advanced centrifuges as tensions high over nuclear program

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has started up new cascades of advanced centrifuges and plans to install others in the coming weeks after facing criticism over its nuclear program, the United Nations' atomic watchdog said Friday. The U.S. called the moves “nuclear escalations.” ...

Iranian authorities release a French national who was imprisoned for over 20 months

PARIS (AP) — French national Louis Arnaud arrived in France on Thursday after he was released by Iran, where he was imprisoned for over 20 months for allegedly taking part in nationwide protests. Arnaud was greeted by his family in the presence of French Foreign Affairs Minister...

UN adopts a resolution demanding that Sudan's paramilitary force halt its siege of a Darfur city

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Thursday demanding that Sudan’s paramilitary force immediately halt its siege of the only capital in the vast western region of Darfur that it doesn’t control and where more than a million people are reportedly trapped. ...

Iran imprisons a prominent whistleblower

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A prominent Iranian whistleblower was arrested and sent to prison to serve a 13-month sentence after he was convicted of “spreading lies to disturb the public mind," Iranian media said Sunday. State-run IRNA news agency reported that the Tehran...

Iran approves hard-line parliament speaker, 5 others for June 28 president election; bars former President Ahmadinejad

Iran helicopter crash shows Tehran's reliance on an aging fleet as well as its challenges at home

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — By the time Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi boarded his window seat on a helicopter ferrying him, the foreign minister and six others, thick clouds already had begun forming around the mountaintops along the Azerbaijan-Iran border. Despite the worsening weather,...

Attacks on businesses linked to US brands rattle Baghdad as anger over the war in Gaza surges

BAGHDAD (AP) — A dozen masked men jump out of two SUVs and a white pickup and storm a KFC in Baghdad, smashing everything in sight before fleeing the scene. A few days earlier, similar violence played out at Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken and Chili House — all American brands popular in the Iraqi...

Yemen's Houthi rebels unveil solid-fuel 'Palestine' missile that resembles Iranian hypersonic

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels have unveiled a new, solid-fuel missile in their arsenal that resembles aspects of one earlier displayed by Iran that Tehran described as flying at hypersonic speeds. The rebels fired its new “Palestine” missile, complete...

UN nuclear agency's board votes to censure Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the watchdog

VIENNA (AP) — The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board on Wednesday censured Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency, diplomats said, calling on Tehran to provide answers in a long-running investigation and reverse its decision to bar several experienced U.N. inspectors. ...