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Rouhani Hits Back after Attacks from Iran Hardliners

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday derided hardliners critical of his style of governance and outreach to the West, saying they do not speak for the country.

After a backlash stemming from rising prices of fuel, utilities and basic foods, Rouhani's administration is increasingly coming under attack from ultra conservative camps.

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IAEA to Visit Iran Nuclear Sites Next Week

A team of IAEA experts is expected to visit two of Iran's nuclear sites within the next week, as part of a monitoring process agreed with the U.N. agency.

Iran's official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday that inspectors would travel to the Ardakan yellow-cake production plant and the Saghand uranium mine, located close together around 450 kilometres (280 miles) from Tehran.

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Iran Says 'Blood Money' Saved 358 from Death Penalty

The payment of "blood money" spared 358 Iranians from execution last year, the country's prosecutor general said on Monday.

The practice, made possible under the Islamic sharia law of diya (restitution), allows a convict to be pardoned by a victim's family if they receive financial recompense.

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Top British Diplomat in Iran for Talks

The most senior British diplomat to visit Iran since the sacking of Britain's embassy in 2011 arrived in Tehran on Monday for talks with Iranian officials, the Foreign Office said.

Political Director Simon Gass would discuss a "range of bilateral and international issues" with Iranian officials, the Foreign Office in London said.

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Netanyahu Says Iran Wants 'Our Destruction'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned anew on Sunday of a nuclear-powered Iran at the annual Holocaust memorial for the victims of the Nazi genocide, saying Tehran wants "our destruction."

"Iran is calling for our destruction, it is building underground bunkers to enrich uranium, producing heavy water for plutonium, acquiring intercontinental missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads that threaten the entire world," Netanyahu said.

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Iran FM Says People Would Support Fair Nuclear Deal

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that the majority of his Iranians would support a comprehensive nuclear deal that "respects Iran's rights and the demands of the people."

"That would be the only agreement that myself and President (Hassan) Rouhani will agree (to)," Zarif said during a joint news conference in Tehran with his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz.

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Regional Strife Hands Iran, Gulf States Role in Iraq Vote

When Iraqis go to the polls in Wednesday's general election, regional strife could make neighboring Iran, former occupier the U.S., Gulf nations and Syria silent voters as well, analysts believe.

The election is the first since American troops withdrew in late 2011, and since then U.S. influence has waned while Iran has acquired more clout inside its Arab neighbor.

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Iran Welcomes 'anti-Zionist' Palestinian Reconciliation

Iran welcomed Saturday a reconciliation deal between the two main Palestinian factions -- the Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas -- which it said was against the "Zionist regime," a reference to Israel.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran salutes the reconciliation of the Palestinian groups against the Zionist regime... and against the excessive demands and aggression of the Qods (Jerusalem) occupation regime," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham.

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Iran Bans Third Reformist Paper

Iran's judiciary banned reformist newspaper Ebtekar on Saturday for "spreading lies", ISNA news agency reported, making it the third such publication to be shut down by authorities in recent months.

"I received a note from media court which said a ban has been imposed on the daily for spreading lies," Mohammad Ali Vakili, managing director of the daily, told ISNA.

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Iran Hangs Three over Prosecutor's Murder

Iran hanged on Saturday in public three men convicted of killing last year a prosecutor in a restive southeastern province near the Afghan border, IRNA state news agency reported.

Public prosecutor Mousa Nouri was gunned down in the city of Zabol, in Sistan-Baluchestan province, along with his driver in November in a murder first claimed by a Sunni extremist group.

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