NASSER KARIMI

Reporter

Karimi reports and writes from Tehran, Iran, on various topics for The Associated Press. He began working for AP in 2003.

As Iran faces a rare runoff presidential election, disenchanted voters are staying away

Iranian voters say they are disenchanted ahead of the country’s runoff presidential election on Friday.

Iran votes in a snap poll for a new president. Here’s what’s at stake

Iranians have voted in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. The race’s sole reformist candidate vowed to seek “friendly relations” with the West in an effort to energize supporters in a vote beset by apathy.

Two candidates drop out of Iran presidential election, due to take place Friday amid voter apathy

Two candidates in Iran’s presidential election have withdrawn from the race. It’s an effort by hard-liners to coalesce around a unity candidate in the vote to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi.

As Iran’s presidential vote looms, tensions boil over renewed headscarf crackdown

Seemingly every afternoon in Iran’s capital, police vans rush to major Tehran squares and intersections to search for women with loose headscarves and those who dare not to wear them at all.

‘Hamster’ crypto craze has taken Iran. It highlights economic malaise ahead of presidential election

Cab drivers and bikers at red lights in June in Tehran tap away furiously on their mobile phones, ignoring police officers. Some pedestrians do the same.

Iran’s presidential candidates debate economic policies ahead of the June 28 vote

Iran’s six presidential candidates have discussed the country’s economic problems in a four-hour live debate on state TV.

Iran’s acting president addresses new parliament after helicopter crash killing president, others

Iran’s acting President Mohammad Mokhber has addressed the country’s new parliament for the first time since last week’s helicopter crash that killed his predecessor and seven others.

Tehran vows response after strike blamed on Israel destroyed Iran’s Consulate in Syria and killed 12

Iran has vowed to respond to a deadly airstrike widely attributed to Israel that demolished Iran’s consulate building in the Syrian capital and killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals.

A brazen iPhone scam in Iran reflects its economic struggles and tensions with the West

A shop in Iran’s capital has been offering consumers in the Islamic Republic one of the hottest products in the country — an iPhone that came out in 2021.

Iran identifies alleged bomb-maker behind last week’s IS twin suicide attack that killed dozens

Iran’s intelligence ministry has identified a top suspect, described as ringleader and bomb-maker, in the twin suicide bombings last week claimed by the Islamic State group.

Bombings target a Qassem Soleimani memorial. Who was the Iranian general killed in a US drone strike?

For Iranians backing the country’s theocracy, Gen. Qassem Soleimani represented a popular figure of national resilience.

Iran charges a Swedish national with spying for Israel

Iran has held the first hearing for a Swedish citizen who was detained last year on charges of spying for Israel.

Iran says it has agreed with Saudis to reschedule Asian Champions League soccer match after walkout

Iran says it has agreed with Saudi Arabia to reschedule an Asian Champions League match after the Saudi team walked out at the last minute.

In Iran, snap checkpoints and university purges mark the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini protests

Iran’s theocracy is trying hard to both ignore the upcoming anniversary of nationwide protests over the country’s mandatory headscarf law and tamp down on any possibility of more unrest.

A CIA-backed 1953 coup in Iran haunts the country with people still trying to make sense of it

Seventy years after a CIA-orchestrated coup toppled Iran’s prime minister, its legacy remains both contentious and complicated for the Islamic Republic as tensions stay high with the United States.

Iran unveils armed drone resembling America’s MQ-9 Reaper and says it could potentially reach Israel

Iran’s Defense Ministry has unveiled a drone resembling America’s armed MQ-9 Reaper, claiming that the aircraft is capable of staying airborne for 24 hours and has the range to reach the country’s archenemy Israel.

Gunman in southern Iran opens fire at prominent Shiite shrine, killing 1 and wounding 8 others

A gunman has opened fire at a prominent shrine in southern Iran, killing one person and wounding eight others.

A year ago, an Iranian woman’s death sparked hijab protests. Now businesses are a new battleground

Iranian authorities have for months done little to enforce the law on women wearing the mandatory headscarf, but now the country’s theocracy is pushing to make businesses the new battleground over the hijab.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard runs drill on disputed islands as US military presence in region grows

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has launched a surprise military drill on disputed islands in the Persian Gulf, just as the U.S. military increase its presence in the region over recent ship seizures by Tehran.

As more women forgo the hijab, Iran’s government pushes back

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Billboards across Iran’s capital proclaim that women should wear their mandatory headscarves to honor their mothers.

Iran renews threats against Israel during Army Day parade

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s president Tuesday reiterated threats against Israel while marking the country’s annual Army Day, though he stayed away from criticizing Saudi Arabia as Tehran seeks a détente with the kingdom.

Iran president: No way back to nuclear deal if probe goes on

Iran’s president is warning that any roadmap to restore Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers must see international inspectors end their probe on man-made uranium particles found at undeclared sites in the country.

Praise, worry in Iran after Rushdie attack; government quiet

Iranians are reacting with praise and worry over the attack on novelist Salman Rushdie — the target of a decades-old fatwa by the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for his death.

Tehran unveils Western art masterpieces hidden for decades

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Some of the world’s most prized works of contemporary Western art have been unveiled for the first time in decades — in Tehran.

Iran holds mass funeral for Guard officers killed in Syria

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Mourners poured out onto the streets of Tehran on Thursday to pay their respects to several Iranian officers killed in Syria, a testament to the human cost of Iran’s involvement in the civil war and a public display of nationalist fervor as nuclear talks resume in Vienna.

Iran, US, EU to send envoys to Vienna for nuclear talks

Iran, the United States and the European Union say they will send representatives to Vienna amid what appears to be a last-ditch effort at reviving talks over Tehran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Putin, in Tehran, gets strong support from Iran over Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin won staunch support from Iran for his country’s military campaign in Ukraine, with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei saying the West opposes an “independent and strong” Russia.

Iran enriches to 20% with new centrifuges at fortified site

Iran says it has begun enriching uranium up to 20% using sophisticated centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear plant, state TV reported, an escalation that comes amid a standoff with the West over its tattered atomic deal.

Iran’s outdoor painters seek to capture, preserve old Tehran

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Tehran residents accustomed to seething at slow-moving traffic, sweltering in summer heat and suffocating in smog may be surprised to find a growing number of outdoor painters reveling in the Iranian capital’s historic charm.

Iranian TV: Revolutionary Guard accuses diplomats of spying

Iranian state TV says the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners of “espionage” and taking soil samples from prohibited military zones.