Iran

Three foreign banks have received the permit to have banking activities in Iran, announced the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) governor here on Monday. 

 An 11-member parliamentary delegation from Britain arrived here in Tehran Monday morning.

An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale jolted the towns of Khonj and Evaz in Iran’s southern province of Fars on Monday.

Iran’s new chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili is set to meet EU foreign policy head Javier Solana later this month in a new bid to resolve the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has called for further strengthening trade ties and economic partnership with Iran and Turkey.

Iran’s central bank governor on Sunday dismissed US sanctions on Iranian banks as “psychological warfare” and said they would not prevent Tehran from finding other routes for meeting its banking needs.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi is scheduled to arrive here in Tehran on Tuesday.

Acclaimed Iranian director Majid Majidi was in India to launch his first Indo-Iranian joint venture. He directed Academy-nominated best foreign film ‘Children of Heaven’ and will be shooting extensively in India for his new film which will have an entire Indian cast.

Pakistan and Iran have finalized a contract for a gas export deal scheduled to be signed within a month.

First Vice-President Parviz Davoudi called on Iranian and Malaysian officials to utilize the existing potentials and possibilities to further expand ties between the two countries.