The Islamic Republic of Iran today is a Shiite Islamic republic with a Sunni minority under a theocratic regime which is ruled by President Hassan Rouhani since 2013. Historically, it is home to some of the world's oldest civilizations including the Persian empire. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution Iran has become more and more conservative.
The European powers had hoped to convince Iran to begin negotiating new restrictions on its nuclear activities with a view to having a deal by the summer.
Iran's ambassador to Beirut, Mojtaba Amani, told Iran's state television on Friday that Iran would allow the planes to land only if Iranian flights were allowed to travel to Beirut.
"Today, our defensive power is well-known. Our enemies are afraid of this. This is very important for our country," Khamenei said.
Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi had been sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison for their coverage of the death of Mahsa Amini.
“We have never been this vulnerable, and it may be our last chance to obtain one before it’s too late,” an official was cited as saying.
"I would like a deal done with Iran on non-nuclear. I would prefer that to bombing the hell out of it," the president was cited as saying.
Tehran is wary of Trump's new sanctions, and it risks seeing its economy be battered - but does not want to be seen to buckle.
"You defeated the Zionist regime [Israel], which was, in fact, America's defeat," Khamenei, whose country supports Hamas in its war with Israel, told the Palestinian delegation.
"This idea is categorically rejected and condemned due to its clear contradiction with established principles and rules of international law," Baghaei said.
"The addition of this ship to our fleet is an important step in increasing the defense and deterrence capability of Iran."
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