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Iran's "Hercules" withdraws from active sports
July 23 - Iran's two-time heavyweight weightlifting Olympic champion, Hossein Rezazadeh, has withdrawn from active sports, ISNA news agency reported Wednesday.
Less than three weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing on August 8, Rezazadeh, also widely known as "Iran's Hercules" and the strongest man in the world, was told by his medical team to quit, ISNA reported without however giving details about the medical reasons.
Rezazadeh, who won gold at the Games in Sydney in 2000 and Athens four years ago, was also expected to grab a third Olympic gold in Beijing.
In a letter to the Iranian people, carried by ISNA, he hoped that after 15 years in active sports and achieving pride for his country, his fans would understand his decision and not be disappointed of him.
The 30-year-old Rezazadeh was the absolute sports hero in Iran where football and wrestling dominate the local sports scene. In his honour, his hometown Ardebil in north-western Iran has named its sports stadium after him.
Besides his two-time Olympic gold medals, Rezazadeh was four times world champion, three times Asian champion and further won two times gold in the Asian Olympics./-
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AFP's Tehran deputy bureau chief told to leave Iran
July 22 - AFP's deputy bureau chief in Tehran, Stuart Williams, was told Monday by Iranian authorities that he must leave the Islamic republic within days.
Williams, a British citizen who has been in the country for two years, was given no explanation when he was informed of the decision after being summoned to the foreign press service at the Iranian culture ministry.
He held a renewable resident's permit which was valid until August 28.
Williams will have to leave Iran as soon as he gets an exit visa, which is expected to be delivered within a few days.
"This is clearly an unjustified expulsion, which we deeply regret," said AFP director of information Denis Hiault, who said the agency wanted to "continue covering Iranian news with the same objectivity."/-
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US warns Iran of more sanctions
July 23 - The White House said Wednesday it was hopeful Iran would suspend its controversial nuclear activities, but warned of more international sanctions if Tehran does not.
"We hope the Iranians will provide a positive answer," to world powers offering incentives for Iran to halt to sensitive nuclear fuel work, national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
But "if they do not, the international community is united that more sanctions are coming," he said.
Earlier Wednesday Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that Iran would not yield in the crisis.
"The Iranian people are steadfast and will not step back an inch against the oppressive powers," Ahmadinejad told a rally in the southwestern province of Kohgelouyeh-Boyerahmad.
His comments came after world powers warned Iran has only a fortnight to respond to their latest offer seeking to end a five-year crisis that has raised fears of regional conflict and sent oil prices spiraling./-
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Iran opposes OPEC oil output hike
July 22- Iran, the number two oil producer in OPEC, reaffirmed on Tuesday that it was against any hike in the cartel's output quota despite continued high crude prices.
"The market is in a good situation," Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari told reporters in Tehran on the sidelines of a petrochemical conference.
"In the next OPEC meeting we are heading towards winter. I think that preserving the current situation is the most appropriate one," he added./-
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