Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, in a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki on Friday, welcomed bolstering of economic cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said the United States seeks to keep the region insecure and under critical conditions through sowing discord between Iran and Arab states and forging a fear from Iran.

The top EU foreign policy official urged the United States to engage Iran in direct negotiations about its nuclear program and other issues to try to stabilize the Middle East.

Iran is deporting around 5,000 refugees a day back to Afghanistan, an Afghan official said.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said a possible US attack on Iran would be a “terrible mistake.”

Iran proved to be the sole flashpoint in an otherwise muted debate between US Democratic presidential hopefuls, as contenders weighed what Washington’s response should be to an Iranian nuclear weapons program.

 Brent crude oil slipped further below $68 a barrel on Friday after tension eased between the European Union and Iran over the OPEC member’s nuclear program.

Visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari on Thursday underlined here importance of the upcoming neighboring states’ meeting on Iraq due to be held in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on May 3-4.

Tehran’s Interim Friday Prayers leader Seyyed Ahmad Khatami warned the West that Iran’s nuclear issue would not be resolved through bullying and mischief, and further stressed the need for prerequisite-free talks as the only way to solve the case.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki stressed expansion and broadening of relations between Tehran and New Delhi in all the various areas.