Ali Khamenei

After coming under fire from Iran's supreme leader, the country's foreign minister offered him a direct and extensive apology on May 2 for recorded comments leaked to the public last week.

Iran's Supreme Leader said he was banning the import of coronavirus vaccines made by U.S. and U.K. companies, limiting the country's options as it confronts the worst outbreak in the Middle East.

Iran's parliament on Dec. 1 approved a bill that would suspend U.N. inspections of its nuclear facilities and require the government to boost its uranium enrichment if European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal do not provide relief from oil and banking sanctions.

Iran's top leader will pardon 10,000 more prisoners in an apparent effort to combat the coronavirus, state TV reported on March 19.

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 has started counting votes in its parliamentary election, state TV said on Feb. 22, in which hardline allies of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are likely to gain a seizable majority based on preliminary results.   

Iranian authorities have yet to announce the turnout in Feb. 21 election for the 290-seat parliament - a litmus test of the popularity of hardliners.    

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Jan. 18 that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "should be very careful" about what he says.

Iran said on Jan. 14 it had arrested people accused of a role in shooting down a Ukrainian airliner and had also detained 30 people involved in protests that have swept the nation for four days since the military belatedly admitted its error.

Iranian protesters and newspapers piled pressure on the country's leadership and riot police stepped up their presence in Tehran on Jan. 12 after Iran's military admitted that it had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner.

Turkey's president and the British prime minister on Jan. 8 discussed top international issues in a phone call, said the Turkish Presidential Communications Directorate on Jan. 8.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke about the current tension between the U.S. and Iran and other regional and international issues, particularly Libya and Syria.