Over 50,000 Iranians have died from the coronavirus according to the official count. The real number could be double or triple this figure, according to a senior Health Ministry official and investigations carried out by BBC Persian. Iran’s frontline healthcare workers have been devastated, many of its hospitals are overflowing, and its economy, already squeezed by U.S. sanctions, has been under unprecedented strain. It is no surprise, then, that many Iranians, desperate for better days on the horizon, are beyond outraged that their own government would obstruct the procurement of sorely needed vaccines....

Harirchi can been seen in a video posted to Twitter by FARS News Station, where he admitted that he tested positive for the coronavirus strain known as COVID-19, and that he was isolating himself as he started taking medication. He also noted that Iranian health authorities would be successful in stopping the virus. Harirchi’s video on Tuesday comes just one day after he stood at a press conference to talk about how the virus is being handled in Iran....

Iran’s SCO entry comes as the Institute for Science and International Security, a leading nonproliferation think tank, reported that due to its aggressive nuclear enrichment of recent months, the Islamic Republic now has enough enriched nuclear fuel to produce a single nuclear weapon within no more than about a month—if it chooses to do so. Iran’s entry also comes amid mounting evidence that it continues to impose roadblocks to international monitoring of its nuclear activities....

The expiration of the decade-old U.N. restrictions, set to take place Sunday, would come after a largely unsuccessful U.S. campaign to convince countries to defy the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the accompanying U.N. Security Council resolution 2231 to extend the ban on Iran’s arms industry. With Washington’s calls to the U.N. left unheeded, Iran’s permanent mission to the international body said the lack of support for the U....

Speaking with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega by phone on Wednesday, Raisi urged his counterpart to resist U.S. sanctions in the same way Tehran has done since May 2018, when former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA and embarked on his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. “We are certain that Nicaragua too can overcome the U.S.’s threats and sanctions since today the U.S. is in decline, and is growing weaker day by day,” Raisi told Ortega, according to a readout published by Iran’s state-owned PressTV....

President Donald Trump withdrew last May from the landmark international treaty, which was signed by the Obama administration, Iran, the European Union, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia and China. A year later, in May of this year, Iran announced it would begin stepping back from its commitments under the agreement after signatories failed to adequately counter the sanctions reimposed by the U.S. “Today, we made operational a chain of 30 advanced IR6 centrifuge machines,” Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, explained on Monday, the Tehran Times reported....

Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Monday that the country’s first generation of enhanced uranium enrichment centrifuges were damaged in the Sunday attack, which led to a fire. The head of the country’s civilian nuclear agency, Behrouz Kamalvandi, was reportedly injured after falling through a damaged portion of the facility after the attack he described as a “cyberattack.” Although Iranian officials declined to say whether the “electrical grid” issue was a “technical defect or sabotage,” by Monday, top Tehran officials said they were certain Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, was behind the assault....

Soleimani—a national hero, confidante to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and widely considered the second most powerful figure in the regime—was killed in an American drone strike on January 3 this year. Iran is preparing to mark the anniversary as regime leaders continue to vow revenge against the U.S. Iranian forces responded to the strike in January with ballistic missile attacks on Iraqi military bases housing American troops, wounding more than 100....

Iranian government spokesperson Ali Rabiei said at a press conference Monday that Rouhani has sent letters to Saudi King Salman and Bahrain’s Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Tehran has not had formal relations with either country since 2016, but has repeatedly opened the door for talks in a bid to improve ties as the Persian Gulf witnessed new unrest it blamed on Washington. “The basis of the letters has been regional peace and stability,” Rabiei was officially cited as saying....

Dehghan, who previously served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Air Force and as Iran’s Minister of Defense, made the remarks in an interview with CNN on Sunday morning. His comments came in response to the U.S. strike that killed Iran’s IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in a vehicle near the Baghdad airport after he arrived in Iraq early Friday. The military adviser told CNN that his country would respond by striking U....

Protests have spanned Iran in the last two months after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who was arrested by Iran’s morality police and accused of improperly wearing a hijab, or headscarf. Amini allegedly was severely beaten while in custody and later died from a fatal head injury. Iranian authorities have not taken responsibility for her death. Since protests started, thousands of demonstrators have been arrested. Many protesters are Iranian university students and women protesting by burning their hijabs and cutting their hair in public....

A video shared on Twitter by Iran International shows people in Tehran’s Shahran district celebrating and chanting “death to dictator” after England scored its third goal against Iran in the match at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. England went on to score three more goals against Iran, with the match finishing 6-2. Iran is competing in the tournament as a massive women’s protest movement is roiling the country. The unrest was sparked by the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police....

For months the longtime Bush-family friend and discreet adviser has been privately worried about the direction Bush the Younger was heading on Iraq. His old friend Secretary of State Colin Powell’s message of restraint seemed to be drowned out by hawks inside–and outside–the administration. With Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld heading to Bush’s Crawford ranch on Wednesday to argue his case, Scowcroft went public. “A war fever has built up,” explains Philip Zeli-kow, who sits on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, which Scowcroft chairs....

But not with their hearts. It has always been possible to find a few Iraqis who would criticize Saddam in private, defying the ubiquitous secret police. This time I keep tripping over them. Dissent is as dangerous as ever, but people are fed up. I have met one Iraqi after another courageous enough to express their dissatisfaction with Saddam’s rule–quietly and often indirectly. One told me he has no portrait of the dictator in his house....

Here is what will happen next: Irving will sign the extension. Here is why: Because Kyrie Irving would have to be a raving lunatic not to sign it, and Kyrie Irving is not a raving lunatic. Irving had his dander up on Thursday in the wake of an ESPN report that stated he had been telling people he wanted out of Cleveland. Irving vented about the negativity that has been heaped on him this year as the Cavaliers have struggled, and decried the, “so-called reports, ‘I don’t want to be here....

Driver is no stranger to the SNL stage, as he had hosted the program in 2016 and 2018. He appeared in sketches such as “The Coffee Shop,” “Career Day,” “80s Party” and “Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base,” for which he reprised his role as villain Kylo Ren from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. In the latest SNL promo video ahead of Saturday’s show, Driver appears to be thrilled to arrive at the famous Studio 8H—where SNL is filmed inside of New York City’s Rockefeller Center....

That’s why we’ll be here providing the latest news below about Robinson right up until the active/inactive report is released at around 6:45 p.m. ET on Monday. For all the latest fantasy news, follow us on Twitter @SN_Fantasy. MORE MNF: DK Showdown lineup | FD Single-game lineup Is Allen Robinson playing Monday night? UPDATE: Robinson is officially ACTIVE. Robinson (knee) was limited in practice all week, but despite his “questionable” tag, he’s expected to suit up on Monday night against the Vikings....

A contemptuous sign in the throng in Minsk said it all: PUT CHERNOBLE FOOD ON THE GOVERNMENT’S TABLE. Disgust mingled with anger last week as 100,000 people seized the streets of the capital of Belorussia, protesting this month’s government price hikes and demanding Mikhail Gorbachev’s resignation as Soviet leader. With mass demonstrations spreading to the once docile Belorussian Republic, a vital industrial region of 10 million people, Gorbachev moved to the brink of a crackdown on dissent in the Soviet Union....

We’ll continue to update this article with news on Roethlisberger up until the official active/inactive report comes out on Monday around 6:45 p.m. ET. For all the latest fantasy updates, follow us on Twitter @SN_Fantasy. MORE MNF: FD lineup | DK lineup | Montgomery update Is Ben Roethlisberger playing on Monday night? UPDATE: Roethlisberger is officially ACTIVE. Roethlisberger is a walking injury list, as he’s listed with pectoral, hip, and right shoulder issues....