Hossein Dehghan

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani put forward a new cabinet line-up on Aug. 8 that again included no women, despite criticism of their absence from his reformist allies.

There were no major changes to Rouhani's government, which is expected to continue his push for greater foreign investment and a technocratic approach to reviving the country's stagnant economy. 

Details of a military base to be built in Qatar, according to an agreement reached between Turkey and Qatar, were discussed at the parliament's foreign affairs committee.

Iran's defense minister on May 8 lashed back at Saudi Arabia, slamming the kingdom's deputy crown prince over belligerent comments last week that underscored the deep rivalries between the Sunni and Shiite power.

Iranian Air Force Grumman F-14A Tomcat - Photo: Shahram Sharifi / Wikipedia

Iran will hit back at most of Saudi Arabia with the exception of Islam's holiest places if the kingdom does anything "ignorant", Tehran's defense minister was quoted as saying on Sunday after a Saudi prince threatened to move the "battle" to Iran.

Russian will start the delivery of S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran in "the nearest time," RIA news agency quoted Russia's Foreign Ministry as saying on Feb. 15. 

The Islamic Republic is also displaying interest in buying more advanced, S-400 missile systems, but no negotiations are being conducted at the moment on this matter, the agency reported.  

Iran will receive the bulk of the S-300 air defense missile systems it ordered from Russia by the end of the year, Tehran's defense minister has said.

"We signed a contract with Russia. It is being done. We will acquire a large portion of the systems by the end of this year," Iranian Minister of Defense Hossein Dehghan told state television late Nov. 10.

Syria?s defense minister started an official visit to its major ally Iran April 28 at the head of a military delegation to discuss cooperation ?in the face of terrorism,? Syria?s state news agency SANA said.

Iran's defence minister has lambasted his US counterpart's comments about military options against Tehran still being on the table despite ongoing nuclear talks, saying they showed America cannot be trusted.