The 22nd St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) started work on Thursday in the Russian port city with Iranian representatives in attendance.

Ali Akbar Salehi, director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, announced on Saturday that the European Union had made proposals and also taken initial steps to use euro in transactions with Iran.

Iran’s military chief said on Wednesday that the Armed Forces are prepared more than any other time to defend the country against foreign threats, asserting that Iran doesn’t need anyone’s “smile” or go-ahead with its plans to boost defense power.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday the U.S. has put forward totally unacceptable demands to Iran, criticizing the U.S. government for its policy of “ultimatums” and “threats” towards Iran.

President Hassan Rouhani will visit China within weeks upon an official invitation by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi said on Wednesday. Talking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Vaezi said Rouhani will visit China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

European officials criticized US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for demanding dramatic changes in Iran’s foreign and nuclear policies, with European Union top diplomat rejecting any alternative to the 2015 nuclear agreement. The EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned Monday there was “no alternative” to the Joint Comprehensive Plan …

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that the United States’ foreign policy is “imprisoned by delusions and failed policies”. The remarks by Zarif came after U.S. Secretary of States Mike Pompeo in a detailed speech demanded that Iran halt all uranium enrichment, stop its ballistic-missile program and …

Up to 13 Islamic State (IS) militants were arrested Monday in their former stronghold of Mosul, a police chief was quoted as saying. “Nineveh police arrested the 13 militants upon accurate intelligence data in al-Entisar, Judaydat al-Mufti and al-Nour districts in Mosul’s eastern side,” Baghdad Today website quoted Nineveh Police …

Tension has returned to the Moroccan-Algerian borders after militants from the Polisario Front launched maneuvers and parades, with the participation of Algerian officers and experts, in the Tifariti, region east of Morocco’s defense wall. Tifariti is located on the Moroccan side of the border with Algeria. Morocco withdrew its military …

The tripartite ministerial meeting on Libya kicked off on Monday in Algiers, and foreign ministers of Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt discussed the developments in the conflict-ridden Libya. Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel, his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry and Tunisian counterpart Khemaies Jhinaoui are expected to discuss the holding of a …