Amir Vahdat, Author at Valley News

Iranian women cheer during a soccer match between their national team and Cambodia in the 2022 World Cup qualifier at the Azadi (Freedom) Stadium in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. Iranian women were freely allowed into the stadium for the first time in decades. The decision follows the death of a young woman who set herself on fire after hearing she could face prison time for sneaking into an Iranian soccer match disguised as a man. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

For 90 minutes, Iranian women get their futbol fix

by Amir Vahdat Associated Press, and Mehdi Fattahi Associated PressOctober 10, 2019

TEHRAN, Iran — They had to sit well apart from the men, and the stadium was practically empty, but thousands of Iranian women in merry jester hats and face paint blew horns and cheered on Thursday at the first FIFA soccer match they were allowed to…

In this May 5, 2019 photo issued by Karatzas Images, showing the British oil tanker Stena Impero at unknown location, which is believed to have been captured by Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced on their website Friday July 19, 2019, it has seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, the latest provocation in a strategic waterway that has become a flashpoint in the tensions between Tehran and the West. (Basil M. Karatzas, Karatzas Images via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Iran seizes British oil tanker

by Gregory Katz Associated Press, Robert Burns Associated Press, and Amir Vahdat Associated PressJuly 19, 2019

In this Monday, June 10, 2019 photo, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas after their talks in Tehran, Iran. Zarif acknowledged Monday, July 1, 2019, Iran had broken the limit set on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by the 2015 nuclear deal, marking its first major departure from the unraveling agreement a year after the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the accord. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Iran breaks nuclear deal

by Jon Gambrell Associated Press, and Amir Vahdat Associated PressJuly 1, 2019

This photo released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Sunday, June 9, 2019, shows the Khordad 15, a new surface-to-air missile battery at an undisclosed location in Iran. The system uses locally made missiles that resemble the HAWK missiles that the U.S. once sold to the shah and later delivered to the Islamic Republic in the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal. (Iranian Defense Ministry via AP)

Iran says U.S. ‘economic war’ to blame for raised tensions

by Amir Vahdat Associated Press, and Jon Gambrell Associated PressJune 10, 2019

FILE - In this June 7, 2017, file photo, police patrol outside Iran's parliament building after an assault by several attackers that was claimed by the Islamic State group, in Tehran, Iran. Iran said Saturday, July 7, 2018, it executed eight people convicted in the 2017 Islamic State group attack on parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Iran Executes 8 Over Attack

by Amir Vahdat Associated Press, and Jon Gambrell Associated PressJuly 7, 2018

Iranian protestors burn the U.S. flags during a gathering after their Friday prayer in Tehran, Iran, Friday, May 11, 2018. Thousands of Iranians took to the streets in cities across the country to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the nuclear deal with world powers. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran Protests Trump Decision, Israel

by Amir Vahdat Associated PressMay 11, 2018

In this photo released by official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani speaks in a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. After a wave of economic protests swept major cities in Iran, President Rouhnai said Sunday that people have the right to protest, but those demonstrations should not make the public "feel concerned about their lives and security." (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Iran Blocks Social Media Apps Amid Protests

by Amir Vahdat Associated Press, and Jon Gambrell Associated PressDecember 31, 2017

Arrests Made in Iran After Hundreds Stage Protests Over Price Increases

by Amir Vahdat Associated PressDecember 29, 2017

Survivors sit in front of buildings damaged by an earthquake, in Sarpol-e-Zahab, western Iran, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the Iraq-Iran border region killed more than three hundred people in both countries, sent people fleeing their homes into the night and was felt as far west as the Mediterranean coast, authorities reported on Monday. (AP Photo/Omid Salehi)

More Than 400 Dead in Quake In the Iraq-Iran Border Area

by Nasser Karimi Associated Press, and Amir Vahdat Associated PressNovember 14, 2017

Police officers direct people in front of the Plasco building engulfed by a fire, in central Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. A high-rise building in Tehran engulfed by a fire collapsed on Thursday as scores of firefighters battled the blaze. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Tehran Shocked by Deadly Fire, Collapse of High-Rise

by Amir Vahdat Associated Press, and Jon Gambrell Associated PressJanuary 19, 2017