Barry Rosen, a hostage during the 1979 US embassy takeover in Tehran, told Iran International that the recent deportations of Iranian nationals back to Iran echoes the oppression he faced as a captive.

Leaders from Russia, Iran, Turkey other regional states gathered on Friday in Turkmenistan for a rare international summit marking the country’s 30 years of official neutrality, as diplomatic engagement across the region intensifies amid wider global strains.

Iranian activist Masih Alinejad met Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado in Norway, saying in a post on social media that Tehran menaced the South American country too.

The University of Arkansas has stripped the head of its Middle East Studies program of the position after she praised Iran’s Supreme Leader and allegedly used university letterhead to support a convicted Iranian war criminal, the New York Post reported.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Iran's nuclear program is "gonzo" after air attacks he ordered in June and that it faced "obliteration" if restarted, telling Tehran they could avoid more destruction with a nuclear deal.

Iran is facing growing shortages of vital medicines and could see a sharp deterioration in supplies within months if current conditions persist, an industry official said on Saturday.

Iranians are increasingly discontented with how their country is run but the Islamic Republic persists because of its ability and willingness to crush dissent by force, ex-CIA analyst and National Security Council director Ken Pollack told Eye for Iran.

Air quality deteriorated sharply in parts of Iran despite recent rainfall, pushing pollution levels in three cities in Khuzestan province and southeastern Tehran province into the red and prompting health warnings for all residents.

Iranian authorities said on Saturday they had detained 39 people at a memorial ceremony for a prominent rights lawyer in the holy city of Mashhad, confirming the number of arrests after videos showed anti-government and pro-monarchy slogans at the gathering.

The Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl hailing from Iran's Baluch ethnic minority announced it would change its strategy toward civil disobedience under a new umbrella group gathering like-minded factions, even as it continued deadly attacks on government forces.

Foreign exchange prices in Iran surged to new records, sending the rial to fresh lows and pushing gold higher as demand for hard assets intensified on Saturday.

Iranian authorities have detained 18 crew members of a foreign tanker seized in the Gulf of Oman, state media reported on Saturday, saying the vessel was carrying 6 million liters of smuggled fuel.

Lebanon’s foreign minister has delayed processing the credentials of Iran’s newly appointed ambassador, the Lebanese pro-Hezbollah daily Al-Akhbar reported, marking the latest escalation in diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

A US special operations unit last month boarded a vessel in the Indian Ocean and seized military-related items bound for Iran from China in a rare at-sea interdiction, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday citing US officials.

Israel will not allow Iran to restore its air defense systems, missile infrastructure or nuclear facilities after a 12-day war in June and is prepared to strike again if Tehran moves to rebuild, a former senior Israeli general told Iran International.