Middle East
Publisher: The Guardian
29 Dec 2014
Iran supreme leader uses Twitter to blast US and says #BlackLivesMatter
Publisher: Al Jazeera
26 Nov 2014
Iran will not sink ‘to knees’ on nuclear deal
In his first remarks since the extension of the deadline, Khamenei said: "On the nuclear issue, the United States and European colonialist countries gathered and applied their entire efforts to bring the Islamic Republic to its knees, but they could not and they will not," Khamenei made the remarks to a group of clerics, according to his website. In a nationwide broadcast on Monday, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani told the nation that it "has achieved a significant victory" and "negotiations will lead to a deal, sooner or later".
Publisher: Independent
11 Nov 2014
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei outlines plan to ‘eliminate’ Israel
The Supreme Leader of Iran s official Twitter account has posted a set of answers to what are described as the "key questions", saying that Israel is guilty of a host of "crimes". The first question asked is: "Why should the Zionist regime be eliminated?" To this, the response is given: "During its 66 years of life so far, the fake Zionist regime has tried to realise its goals by means of infanticide, homicide, violence and iron fist while boasts [sic] about it blatantly". However the statement adds that "the elimination of Israel does not mean the massacre of the Jewish people in this region.
Publisher: Business Insider
6 Oct 2014
Supreme Leader’s Health Raises Questions About Iranian Succession
Images of Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appearing frail and in bed have raised questions about the seriousness of his condition, and who might eventually succeed him. In early September, Khamenei made a surprise announcement that he was having surgery and asked people to pray for his health. What followed was unprecedented in the 35-year history of the Islamic Republic.
Publisher: Payvand
22 Sep 2014
Water Shortage Arrives In Tehran Khamenei Authorizes Use of 10 Billion Dollars
While water shortage is not a new phenomenon in Iran, some specialists have said that this issue has a 17 year history. A report last week indicated that this shortage is not confined to Tehran but to a total of 12 large cities in the country. During the last few months a number of reports had warned that various Iranian cities faced a water shortage and were struggling with its consequences. Social networks in Iran had launched a virtual campaign to educate people to conserve on their water usage to avoid an extensive crisis.
Publisher: Reuters
23 Jul 2014
Iran’s supreme leader calls for end to ‘murderous’ Israeli regime
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday called for a referendum canvassing the Arabs and Jews that live in Israel in order to end the "Zionist state", but said until such a vote could be held, armed resistance was necessary. Khamenei and his predecessor the Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini have called repeatedly over the years for an end to the Jewish state, including through a referendum in the region, where Palestinians are in the majority.
Publisher: The Guardian
8 Jul 2014
Iran needs greater uranium enrichment capacity, says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran's supreme leader said on Tuesday that his country would need to significantly increase its capacity to enrich uranium if it was to meet its long-term energy needs, in an unusually detailed speech highlighting the obstacles to a deal on its nuclear programme. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei conceded that Iran would not need to immediately increase its capacity but made clear that his government sought the right to carry out industrial-scale enrichment in order to be self-sufficient in nuclear fuel for its research reactors and a Russian-built power station at Bushehr.
Publisher: The Guardian
22 Jun 2014
Iran opposes US intervention in Iraq, says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran's top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday he is against US intervention in neighboring Iraq, where Islamic extremists and Sunni militants opposed to Tehran have seized a number of towns and cities, the official IRNA news agency reported. "We strongly oppose the intervention of the US and others in the domestic affairs of Iraq," Khamenei was quoted as saying, in his first reaction to the crisis.
Publisher: The Washington Post
18 Feb 2014
Iran’s leader doubts nuclear talks will succeed
"The nuclear issue is an excuse," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast on state TV. "Even if one day, against all the odds it is solved based on the Americans expectations, then Americans will seek another issue to follow it. Just pay attention to the spokespersons of the U.S. government, who have also raised the issue of human rights, missiles and arms." said Khamenei.
Publisher: EA WorldView
25 Jan 2014
Iran Special Rouhani and Supreme Leader Deal – Protecting A Nuclear Agreement, Giving Up Political Prisoners and “Freedom”
President Rouhani has struck a deal with the Supreme Leader to protect the Government against hard-line criticism of the interim nuclear deal and further negotiations with the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, Germany, China, Russia, and France), according to well-placed sources in Iran. In return, Rouhani has pledged to back away from pursuit of measures to open up Iran s political and cultural spheres. He has also agreed not to seek the freedom of high-profile political prisoners, such as 2009 Presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.
Publisher: Huffington Post
24 Jan 2014
Organization That Seizes Properties Of Ordinary Iranians Key To Ayatollah Khamenei’s Power
The organization that has hounded was founded by Khomeini "Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam" - Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam - to manage and sell properties abandoned in the chaotic years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. has become one of the most powerful organizations in Iran, though many Iranians, and the wider world, know very little about it. In the past six years, it has morphed into a business juggernaut that now holds stakes in nearly every sector of Iranian industry, including finance, oil, telecommunications, the production of birth-control pills and even ostrich farming. The organization's total worth is difficult to pinpoint because of the secrecy of its accounts. But Setad's holdings of real estate, corporate stakes and other assets total about $95 billion, Reuters has calculated. That estimate is based on an analysis of statements by Setad officials, data from the Tehran Stock Exchange and company websites, and information from the U.S. Treasury Department.
Publisher: NYTimes
23 Jan 2014
Khamenei’s Business Empire Gains From Iran Sanctions Relief
One of the chief beneficiaries of this week's easing of Iranian sanctions is the country's ruler - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei controls a massive business empire known as Setad that has invested in Iran's petrochemical industry, which is now permitted to resume exports. Under a six-month deal between Iran and world powers, Tehran has promised to scale back its nuclear development program in exchange for the suspension of certain economic sanctions, including curbs on the export of petrochemicals.
Publisher: ibnlive
20 Jan 2014
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei commutes almost 900 sentences
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei agreed on Saturday to pardon or reduce the sentences of 878 people in honour of the Prophet Mohammad's birthday on Sunday, the state news agency IRNA reported. Last September, some 80 political prisoners were released, including prominent human rights activist and lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, just before a trip by President Hassan Rouhani to the UN General Assembly in New York. In October, another 1,241 prisoners were pardoned, according to the Nasim news agency.