Arts & Culture Desk

Iranica Desk

By Farzam Vanaki

As expected, Emmanuel Macron from the Republic on the Move Party, a pro-EU candidate, and Marine Le Pen, who is a member of the National Rally (formerly the National Front) Party, a far-right candidate, reached the second round of the France presidential elections. Macron won 27.85 percent of the votes, while Le Pen scored 23.15 percent. Leading left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who won nearly 22 percent of the vote, has declared his support for Macron in the second round. Only Eric Zemmour, another far-right candidate, has backed Le Pen. We talked about the results of the elections with Rahman Qahremanpour, a senior researcher in strategic issues.

Following weeks of political dispute, Imran Khan was removed from power early on Sunday after losing a no-confidence vote in the parliament, thus extending the country’s unenviable record for prime ministers failing to complete their full terms.

A string of political developments has occurred in Yemen, enhancing prospects for ending a seven-year-old war waged by Saudi Arabia and a number of its allies against the Ansarullah movement. Days after a two-month cease-fire brokered by the United Nations came to force in Yemen, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, the self-proclaimed president, stepped aside on Thursday and handed over all his powers to a newly-formed Presidential Leadership Council. In an exclusive interview with Iran Daily, former Iranian ambassador to Yemen Morteza Rahimi said the temporary truce could be a turning point in bringing the Saudi-led aggression to an end.

French society distances itself from bipolarity of Gaullists, Socialists

By Mohammad Memarian*

U.S. wants to keep Pakistan away from China

An agreement to revitalize the 2015 nuclear deal is in limbo as a key sticking point still remains unresolved. Both Iranian and US officials have pointed to the designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps as a “terror organization” as the stumbling block in efforts to bring back the JCPOA to life. Tehran wants Washington to take the IRGC off its terror list. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Sunday an agreement is “close” in paused negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear deal and that the “ball is in US court” to decide. Abdolreza Faraji-Raad, a former Iranian ambassador and an international affairs expert, is optimistic about a final deal and insists that Amir-Abdollahian and Iran’s negotiating team should be supported at home.