Iran Vice President Mohammad Dehghan says that without the "symbol" of compulsory hijab for women, the Islamic Republic "would not have much of a meaning".
Iran frees French tourist Benjamin Brière after 3 years in detention and Irish-French tourist operator Bernard Phelan after 7 months in a Tehran prison.
Iran's navy commander Shahram Irani told state television on Thursday that the Iranian navy had forced a US submarine to surface as it entered the Gulf.
Iranian state media has reported that construction has begun on a new nuclear power plant in the country s south western province of Khuzestan. The 300-megawatt plant known as Karun will be situated.