Iran says UN arms embargo lifted, allowing it to buy weapons

Attacks on Iran's parliament and a prominent shrine are carried out by gunmen and suicide bombers.

It’s one of the most dangerous pilgrimages in the world. Every year, despite the deadly menace of the Islamic State group, millions of Shiites make a pilgrimage to southern Iraq, to visit the shrines of Karbala and Najaf.

The family of a jailed British-Iranian woman says she has been taken to the psychiatric ward of a hospital in Tehran. The case has fueled tensions between Iran and the UK amid attempts to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal.

Firefighters and residents inspect the damage at the Sina At'har health centre in the upmarket northern neighbourhood of Tajrish after a powerful explosion erupted at the clinic the night before, killing 19 people and damaging surrounding buildings.

Iran said it would not go on "a buying spree" of weapons while announcing that the UN arms embargo from 2007 has now expired. Tehran also said that "weapons of mass destruction" had no place in their defense.

There have been tentative signs of progress toward salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal, as the UN's atomic energy watchdog reports that Iran has agreed to discuss "outstanding issues."

Reports of an "explosion" on an Iranian cargo ship in busy waters off the Yemeni coast have been confirmed. The ship is suspected of functioning as a military base for the Revolutionary Guard.

Islamic hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi is viewed as the favorite to win the presidential election. But given the nation's dire economic straits, he is expected to continue Tehran's current approach to foreign policy.

European diplomats have called a pause in talks on Iran's nuclear program "disappointing." EU envoy Enrique Mora has said only weeks remain to save the deal, as Iran ramps up uranium enrichment.