Iran

Senior diplomats representing the United Nations Security Council and Germany agreed yesterday to resume negotiations with Iran in a bid to persuade it to stop its uranium enrichment program.

Iranian air force lost an F5 fighter after the jet plane crashed 16 kilometers off the southwestern town of Andimeshk, home to an important air force base of the country near borders with Iraq.

The distinctive feature of the Iranian culture is its influence on other cultures and civilizations and transfer of valuable ethical, scientific and literary values to other cultures while preserving its original and radiant identity, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki met with foreign diplomatic corps in the Danish capital city of Copenhagen and briefed them about Iran’s policies concerning relations with European states, regional issues and its peaceful nuclear programs.

Tehran’s City Council reelected Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as mayor of the Iranian capital Wednesday.

Al-Jazeera news channel said its policy is based on respecting religious leaders, stressing that it did not intend to offend the Shiite Muslim leader, Grand Ayatollah Sistani.

 Iran on Wednesday freed on bail a former nuclear official after holding him on national security-related charges for more than a week, the judiciary said.

Officials from six world powers are expected to meet Thursday for talks on persuading Iran to halt its uranium enrichment work.

An earthquake measuring 4 on the Richter scale jolted the town of Bam in Iran’s southeastern province of Kerman on Wednesday.

The 12 Iranian divers who had been arrested by the coast guard of the United Arab Emirates were released on Wednesday, Iran’s ambassador to the UAE Hamid Reza Asefi said.