Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said Thursday that talks with a senior EU official had brought them closer to “a united view” of how to break a deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear issue.

Oil eased, but stayed above $68 a barrel on Thursday, after Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said differences with the European Union over its nuclear program were gradually narrowing.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari arrived in Tehran Wednesday afternoon to encourage Tehran to attend the upcoming Iraq security talks in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad voiced his country’s inclination to develop ties with different American and African countries.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said he expected the European Union to float “new ideas” at talks on Wednesday over Tehran’s refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iran’s Accredited Ambassador to Myanmar Mohsen Pak Ayeen called for the expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries, stating that officials of both states are decisive to expand mutual ties.

AFP – Fresh attacks in Afghanistan killed 19 people, including six soldiers in a roadside bombing, officials said Wednesday, as the Taliban stepped up its campaign against the government. The bomb struck an Afghan army vehicle on Wednesday in Paktika province, which is on the border with Pakistan, army commander …

AFP – Afghanistan will use all means to stop Pakistan erecting a fence on their border to stop the movement of Taliban militants, the foreign ministry said. The ministry also denied Afghanistan had apologised for an incident last week in which its troops tore down part of the new fence …

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Reza Sheybani said the Zionist regime had threatened to bomb the embassy complex and kidnap Iranian diplomats in Beirut.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel expressed regret over the European Union’s blind obedience to the United States, saying that it is far from EU’s dignity to follow the US.