TEHRAN, October 22 -A senior European Union official has warned that the spread of small nations across Europe is a serious threat to the bloc’s integrity.
TEHRAN, October 22 - Catalonians cannot accept the central government’s “illegal” move of imposing direct rule on Barcelona, says regional President Carles Puigdemont.
TEHRAN, October 21 - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has announced Madrid’s decision to dismiss Catalonia's separatist government and hold fresh elections in the region in a bid to prevent Catalan leaders from declaring independence.
TEHRAN, October 16 - Catalonia's President Carles Puigdemont has less than 24 hours to announce whether or not he will declare independence following a secession referendum.
TEHRAN, October 13 - People have taken to the streets of the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona on the Spanish National Day in a sign of unity following a banned referendum on independence for Spain’s autonomous Catalonia region.
TEHRAN, October 13 -Human Rights Watch says Spanish national police used “excessive force towards peaceful Catalans expressing their political opinion.” The group shared accounts of witnesses, including a 70-year-old woman, who said they were dragged, pushed and beaten during rallies.
TEHRAN, October 12 -Russia takes a clear and consistent position on the Catalonian referendum and denies Latvia’s unfounded accusations of Moscow’s involvement in the Spanish events, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at Thursday’s briefing.
TEHRAN, October 11 -The Catalan leader says he "assumes the mandate that Catalonia should become an independent state in the form of a republic." Local leaders signed what they called “a declaration of independence”, suspending it temporarily though to facilitate dialogue with Madrid.
TEHRAN, October 10 -The Catalan referendum on October 1 made headlines around the world as Spanish police physically removed people from polling stations and confiscated ballot boxes.
TEHRAN, October 9 - Around 250,000 anti-independence Catalans, and supporters from the rest of Spain protested against any moves for a breakaway state.
TEHRAN, October 8 - Madrid will use all legal means to stop Catalonia’s secession, PM Mariano Rajoy said, ruling out talks with separatists and vowing to keep federal police in the region, where 800 people were injured in a crackdown on last week’s independence referendum.
TEHRAN, October 5 - Catalan leaders will likely move on Monday to declare independence from Spain, more than a week after the already autonomous Spanish region held a banned referendum on secession.
TEHRAN, October 4 -Nearly 700,000 people in Catalonia have marched through the streets of Barcelona to protest police brutality during a banned independence referendum and Madrid’s policies toward the already-autonomous Spanish region.
TEHRAN, October 2 - Catalonia's regional government has announced that 90 percent of those who participated in an independence referendum banned by Spain’s central government choose to be separated from the country.