Iran

The failure of the latest Arab League mission to get Lebanon’s Western-backed government and the Iran- and Syria-supported opposition to talk together shows that outsiders control the country’s destiny, analysts said on Saturday.

Roadside bombs killed seven American troops in Iraq on Saturday, including four in a single strike outside Baghdad, the military said, as U.S. and Iraqi troops captured two senior al-Qaida militants in Diyala province.

The Australian military Friday confirmed Iranian gunboats tried to capture Australian sailors near the sea border between Iran and Iraq, saying the incident occurred more than two years ago.

Smuggled weapons and deadly explosives are still coming into Iraq from neighbouring Iran and continue to kill American soldiers, a top U.S. commander said on Thursday.

The chairman of the United Nations committee monitoring sanctions on Iran in relation to its uranium enrichment activities briefed the Security Council today on Member States’ implementation measures.

Iran’s top nuclear negotiator will meet the EU foreign policy chief in Portugal on Saturday for their third attempt in less than two months to break the deadlock over the Iranian nuclear programme.

Egypt has reinforced its border with the Gaza Strip and accused Iran of threatening its security after Islamist fighters of Hamas violently seized control of the territory.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — The US military said on Thursday it was setting a trap to “eliminate” Al Qaeda gunmen around Baghdad, but also said 12 American soldiers had been killed in the past two days, mostly in roadside bombings.

Egypt’s foreign minister accused Iran of having encouraged Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to seize neighbouring Gaza and said it posed a threat to the Arab world, in remarks published on Wednesday.

An Iranian-French journalism student is being prevented from leaving Iran after spending a month in jail for interviewing opposition members, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday.