HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) – An Afghan army helicopter crashed Thursday in the western province of Herat, killing a top Afghan army general and 12 soldiers, officials said. General Fazl Ahmad Sayar was one of the Afghan army’s key commanders in charge of the western region, the Defense Ministry said in …

KARACHI (Reuters) – Pakistani police arrested more than a dozen Islamist militants in the southern city of Karachi Thursday after a gun battle following a pre-dawn raid on their hideout, officials said. Two policemen were killed and nine wounded before the militants’ resistance was broken after several hours of shooting. …

TEHRAN (FNA)- A top Iranian aviation official said his country is prepared to order passenger planes from Boeing if the United States lifts sanctions against Iran. Iranian Civil Aviation Organization spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh said Thursday that US sanctions are self-defeating because they deny Boeing huge profits. “The United States is …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Consul General Mohammad Eghbal Asghari called on Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to discuss bilateral ties and other issues of mutual interests, including Pakistan’s efforts to release Tehran’s kidnapped diplomat. The commercial attaché of Iranian Consulate in Peshawar, Heshmatollah Attarzadeh Niaki, …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said some of the Arab leaders were standing back in silence and even supporting Israeli attacks on Gaza. “Unfortunately, some regional, Islamic and Arab states for whatever reason and with a smile of satisfaction, are supporting or tolerating this rare genocide in silence,” Ahmadinejad …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s Vice-President for Judicial and Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Reza Rahimi conferred with Tunisian Foreign Minister Abdelwaheb Abdallah over bilateral ties and mutual cooperation in a meeting in Tunis. During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral relations, explored ways to further develop relations and exchanged views over regional …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Etisalat, the United Arab Emirates’ largest telephone company, will be able to earn as much as $1.6 billion in revenue from its Iranian mobile-phone operations in five years, ING Groep NV said. The price of $398 million paid by the company and the local partner “seems too good …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Executive Director of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Dulat Bakishev made a working visit to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Iran from January 8 to 14. The visit aimed at a discussion of the issues of interaction within the CICA, Kazinform …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Switzerland’s newly-appointed ambassador to Tehran, who is believed to be the first female ambassador to Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, said she will observe Iran’s Islamic dress code (Hijab) during her mission in Islamic Republic. Livia Leu Agosti arrived in Iran this week as Berne’s woman in …

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian official on Wednesday voiced dismay at launching British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Persian TV service. “Launching BBC Persian service TV is detrimental to Iranian national security” Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie as said. He warned that Tehran would take “necessary measures” to thwart the plan. …