An Iranian mother spared the life of her son’s convicted murderer with an emotional slap in the face as he awaited execution with the noose around his neck, a newspaper reported.

An Iranian actress and political reformer has been jailed for 18 months on security charges in another sign of the tension between Iran’s hard-line judiciary and calls for greater openness by new president Hassan Rouhani.

Iranian authorities are reported to be planning to sue Hollywood over the Oscar-winning Argo because of the film’s allegedly “unrealistic portrayal” of the country.

IRAN warned Gulf Arab oil producers against boosting production to offset any potential drop in Tehran’s crude exports in the event of an embargo affecting oil sales, the latest salvo in the dispute between the West and the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme.

IRAN'S Islamic conservatives were poised to tighten their grip on power by winning controversial parliamentary polls and sweeping out a frustrated and largely disqualified reformist majority.