Iran unveiled its second homegrown coronavirus vaccine project Monday, the day before the launch of a vaccination campaign to combat the Middle East's deadliest Covid-19 outbreak.

The UN's top court ruled on Wednesday that it can take on Iran's bid to overturn US nuclear sanctions reimposed by the administration of former US president Donald Trump.

Iran's ambassador to Russia said Saturday that Tehran expects to receive the first batch of Moscow's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine by February 4, state news agency IRNA reported.

Russia said Tuesday it was up to Washington to take the first steps if US President Joe Biden wants to salvage the landmark Iran nuclear deal.

Qatar has called for countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to hold talks with Iran, the foreign minister said in an interview aired Tuesday, after Doha reconciled with its neighbors following a rift.

Tehran told the UN nuclear watchdog Wednesday that it was advancing research on uranium metal production, in what would be a fresh breach of the limits in Iran's 2015 deal with world powers.

Iran wants to remove a clause from a 2015 nuclear deal that allows for UN sanctions against it to be reinstated, a senior official has said, hinting Tehran would be open to negotiations on the issue.

Canada and other nations whose citizens died in Iran's downing of a Ukrainian jetliner one year ago on Friday called on Tehran to come clean about the tragedy and "deliver justice" for the victims' families.

Iran said Tuesday it had stepped up its uranium enrichment at a time of heightened tensions with the United States and after it seized a South Korean tanker in strategic Persian Gulf waters.

Iran's Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian met with officials in Baghdad on Tuesday amid a trade dispute that has seen electricity reduced for 40 million Iraqis already facing shortages for decades.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday voiced confidence that President-elect Joe Biden will resume US commitments under the nuclear deal which Donald Trump pulled out of.

An Iranian goods train carrying tonnes of agricultural products chugged into a western Afghan province Thursday as the two countries marked the opening of their first shared railway network.

The governments of France, Germany, and the UK “welcome the statements by President-elect Biden on the JCPOA and a diplomatic path to address wider concerns with Iran,” the trio said in a statement on Monday.

Iran's top security body called Saturday for unity on the country's nuclear policy following a public row between the government and parliament over a controversial bill.

The Iranian parliament's backing on Tuesday of a plan to end nuclear inspections after the assassination of the country's top nuclear scientist has met immediate opposition from the government.

Iran has nothing to gain from ending inspections of its nuclear facilities, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog warned as tensions rise after a top Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated.

Debate raged in Iran on Sunday over how and when to respond to a top nuclear scientist's assassination, blamed on arch-foe Israel, as his body was honoured at Shiite shrines to prepare it for burial.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday invited US President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration to restore the "situation that prevailed" before Donald Trump came to power.

Iran announced Saturday it had shut non-essential businesses in over half its cities and towns for up to two weeks and introduced movement restrictions to rein in its novel coronavirus outbreak.

Iran said Wednesday it would "automatically" return to its nuclear commitments if US President-elect Joe Biden lifts sanctions, as the outgoing administration doubled down with more pressure.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani vowed Wednesday to take "any opportunity" to lift US sanctions against Tehran, following President Donald Trump's defeat by Democratic election rival Joe Biden.

The UN's nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that Iran's explanations over the presence of nuclear material at an undeclared site in the country were "not technically credible.”

Iran's daily novel coronavirus infections crossed the 10,000 mark on Monday, the health ministry announced, setting a new record as fatalities remained close to their all-time high level.

The US presidential election will have "no effect" on Tehran's policies towards Washington, Iran's supreme leader said Tuesday.

Iran on Sunday said it will restrict travel to the cities hit hardest by the novel coronavirus, state TV said, amid a record high of daily COVID-19 deaths.

Iran declared "full-scale war" with coronavirus as it reported a record death toll Wednesday for a second straight day and surging infections overload a health care system struggling with US sanctions.

Iran said Tuesday said it would welcome a US return to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal after its November 3 election provided it "guarantees" not to pull out again.

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday slapped fresh sanctions on Iran's oil sector including over sales to Syria and Venezuela, reducing Joe Biden's room for maneuver if he wins next week's election.

An Iranian police officer allegedly involved in the death of a man during an arrest in the northeastern city of Mashhad has been detained, the judiciary's news agency reported Sunday.