![Iranian President Hassan Rouhani talks to journalists after he registered for February's election of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that chooses the supreme leader, at Interior Ministry in Tehran December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX1ZKIQ](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/12/RTX1ZKIQ.jpg/RTX1ZKIQ.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=1b_Ej1QG)
Changiz M. Varzi covers Iranian media for Al-Monitor.
![Iranian President Hassan Rouhani talks to journalists after he registered for February's election of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that chooses the supreme leader, at Interior Ministry in Tehran December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX1ZKIQ](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/12/RTX1ZKIQ.jpg/RTX1ZKIQ.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=1b_Ej1QG)
![Supporters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad carry their national flags as they celebrate what they say is the Syrian army's victory against the rebels, in Aleppo, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RTX2UQKE](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/12/RTX2UQKE.jpg/RTX2UQKE.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=bpjseU_8)
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Changiz M. Varzi
![EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
The IranAir Boeing 747SP aircraft with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad onboard is pictured before leaving Tehran's Mehrabad airport en route to New York September 19, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: TRANSPORT POLITICS) - RTR2RJ5Q](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/12/RTR2RJ5Q.jpg/RTR2RJ5Q.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=oAZvvMcY)
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Changiz M. Varzi
![EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
A money changer holds Iranian rial banknotes as he waits for customers in Tehran's business district January 7, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR2VZCL](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/12/RTR2VZCL.jpg/RTR2VZCL.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=ai8BHyXL)
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Changiz M. Varzi
![US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) speaks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal during the E3/EU+3 and Iran talks in Vienna on January 16, 2016.
The historic nuclear accord between Iran and major powers entered into force as the UN confirmed that Tehran has shrunk its atomic programme and as painful sanctions were lifted on the Islamic republic. / AFP / POOL / KEVIN LAMARQUE](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/12/GettyImages-505282622.jpg/GettyImages-505282622.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=TwPtOP8Y)
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Changiz M. Varzi
![Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (C) speaks with MPs after presenting his budget for 2017-2018 to the parliament on December 4, 2016, in Tehran. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/12/GettyImages-627553928.jpg/GettyImages-627553928.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=Y7ik4ddZ)
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Changiz M. Varzi
![Allahkaram.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/12/Allahkaram.jpg/Allahkaram.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=u9EHju4h)
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Changiz M. Varzi
![Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh talks to journalists during a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader - RTSTYU0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/12/RTSTYU0.jpg/RTSTYU0.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=jjTZXt7-)
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Changiz M. Varzi
![Sadeghi.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/11/Sadeghi.jpg/Sadeghi.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=yfic4CVN)
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Changiz M. Varzi
![Cuba's former President Fidel Castro (R) and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (L) meet in Havana, Cuba, September 19, 2016. Courtesy of Estudios Revolucion/Cubadebate/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSOIH4](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/11/RTSOIH4.jpg/RTSOIH4.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=vkCggEuj)
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Changiz M. Varzi
![Iranian minister of transportation Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi speaks during the CAPA 2016 Iran Aviation Summit in the capital Tehran, on January 24, 2016.
Iran says it will buy 114 Airbus planes to revitalise its ageing fleet, in the first major commercial deal announced since the lifting of sanctions under its nuclear agreement. News of the Airbus deal came as aviation representatives from 85 companies met in Tehran to assess ways to do business in the Islamic republic after sanctions were removed. / AFP / STR](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/11/GettyImages-506538950.jpg/GettyImages-506538950.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=C5pacehE)
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Changiz M. Varzi
![Airbus chief executive Fabrice Bregier (R), Iran Air chief Executive Farhad Parvaresh (L), Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (rear L) and French President Francois Hollande attend a bilateral political, cultural and economic agreements signing ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 28, 2016.REUTERS/Stephane De Sakutin/Pool/Files - RTX2SAMN](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/11/RTX2SAMN.jpg/RTX2SAMN.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=_8DTB6Q9)
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Changiz M. Varzi