Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince calls the Supreme Leader of Iran “the new Hitler of the Middle East” in an interview with the New York Times, sharply escalating the war of words between the arch-rivals.

There may be a silver but risky lining for Kurdish nationalists in their devastating loss of Kirkuk and other cities on the periphery of their semi-autonomous region as they lick their wounds and vent anger over deep-seated internal divisions that facilitated the Iranian-backed Iraqi blitzkrieg.

The United States and Iran have rarely agreed on how to proceed with nuclear talks or other elements of their bilateral relations. But synergies and similarities between two factions—Iranian hardliners and the hawks of the current US administration—are as counterintuitive as they are profound.

President Donald Trump is expected to announce soon that he will decertify the landmark international deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program, a senior administration official says, in a step that potentially could cause the 2015 accord to unravel.

Iran has dismissed a US demand for United Nations nuclear inspectors to visit its military bases as “merely a dream”.

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly declared that the Iran nuclear deal, known as “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” (JCPOA), was the worst agreement the US has ever signed, and his first priority as president would be to “tear up” the deal. JCPOA has limited Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for removal of all sanctions imposed by the West and the United Nations.

Carlos Queiroz was once Alex Ferguson's formidable number two at Manchester United, now he carves out a new reputation: the man who can take your team to the World Cup.

Hassan Rouhani has won re-election as Iran's president in a landslide, meaning that it is he who will be dealing with an antagonistic US President Donald Trump.

The head of the Iranian armed forces warns Islamabad that Tehran would hit bases inside Pakistan if the government does not confront Sunni militants who carry out cross-border attacks.

China hold heavyweights Iran to a gritty 0-0 draw to lift their hopes of reaching just their second World Cup in Asian qualifying.

The Bangladesh Under-16 girls team decimate group favourites Iran 3-0 in their Group C Qualifiers of the AFC U-16 Women's Championship.

An Iranian nuclear scientist detained since 2010 has been executed, his family has told the BBC.

A much-feted figure in world cinema, award-winning Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami dies in Paris at 76.

Who can lay claim to Rumi, the Sufi mystic who is one of the world's most beloved poets? A bid by Iran and Turkey to do so has exasperated Afghanistan, country of his birth eight centuries ago.

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has suggested there could be armed resistance in Bahrain after the Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom's top Shia cleric was stripped of his citizenship.

Iranian billionaire businessman Babak Zanjani has been sentenced to death for corruption, justice officials say.

Iranians are voting in elections for their country's parliament and the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that appoints the supreme leader.

Iran says it is cracking down on Valentine's Day celebrations and shops engaging in them will be guilty of a crime.

One should not be surprised if Washington re-establishes diplomatic ties with Tehran before the end of President Barack Obama's term in November 2016. However, what will be the fate of the JCPOA after the November 2016 US presidential elections is anyone's guess, particularly if a Republican is elected to the White House.

As soon as the international sanctions on Iran were lifted on January 16, the US Secretary of State John F Kerry said, “Today marks the start of a safer world.”