TEHRAN (FNA) Turkmenistan wants to raise the price of natural gas it sells to Iran while Tehran argues the two countries agreed not to change it in a contract signed last year, a senior Iranian official said.

TEHRAN (FNA) Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called Wednesday for clean campaigning during March parliament elections, urging candidates and their supporters to abstain from smearing rivals’ reputations.

TEHRAN (FNA) Afghanistan’s government called Thursday on Iran to delay its decision to expel more than a million Afghan refugees living there without proper documents.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency) Lieutenant commander of the Iranian army’s ground force here Wednesday reiterated his country’s military power, describing combat capabilities and preparedness of the highly motivated Iranian armed forces as a main deterrent to enemy invasion.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency) Development of ties between Iran and Egypt would increase influence of Muslim world on the international scenes, an Iranian parliament presiding board member said here on Wednesday.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency) Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has called on Iranians to maintain their self-confidence to defuse propaganda of the enemies.

RAMALLAH – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Hamas Islamists on Monday to agree to early elections and to open a “new page” by ceding control of the Gaza Strip and holding reconciliation talks with his Fatah faction.

GAZA – Hamas and Fatah fighters waged gun battles in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday that raised to seven the number of people killed in the deadliest clashes between the rival Palestinian factions in months.

ISMAILIA, Egypt – Israel has agreed to allow 550 Palestinians who have been stranded in Egypt for roughly four months to cross into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday via the Jewish state, Egyptian security and border sources said.

KARACHI – Pakistan’s share market tumbled for a second straight day on Tuesday as investors waited for a clearer picture to emerge of the country’s political crisis.