Iran

Georgia lifted a nine-day state of emergency on Friday and President Mikhail Saakashvili appointed a new prime minister as he prepared to run in a snap presidential election next year.

The head of the Turkish state lottery was shot dead in his office by a former lottery employee on Friday, the state-run Anatolian news agency said.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is scheduled to pay a several-hour visit to Tehran following his attendance in the upcoming summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia early next week.

The Moroccan Foreign Trade Minister discussed future trade and business cooperation with Iranian Commerce Minister Massoud Mir Kazemi on Thursday.

Iran’s new Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari blamed misunderstanding for the fall of the $22 billion deal to export five million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India.

A report from the UN nuclear watchdog agency on Thursday found Iran to be generally truthful about key aspects of its nuclear history.

Chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said on Thursday he would be alone at the next round of talks with the European Union’s top diplomat, Javier Solana, to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iran on Thursday said it will not set any deadline for India to join the gas pipeline that also includes Pakistan and hoped New Delhi will not buckle under US pressure to dump the multi-billion dollar project for a rival pipeline from Turkmenistan.

Iran appears to be pushing ahead with its third major liquefied natural gas project, known as Iran LNG, with the assistance of European companies.

Iran on Thursday said it has arrested more suspects in a nuclear espionage case, a day after a former nuclear official was accused of handing over atomic secrets to Britain.