Iran

Oil eased, but stayed above $68 a barrel on Thursday, after Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said differences with the European Union over its nuclear program were gradually narrowing.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari arrived in Tehran Wednesday afternoon to encourage Tehran to attend the upcoming Iraq security talks in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad voiced his country’s inclination to develop ties with different American and African countries.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said he expected the European Union to float “new ideas” at talks on Wednesday over Tehran’s refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iran’s Accredited Ambassador to Myanmar Mohsen Pak Ayeen called for the expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries, stating that officials of both states are decisive to expand mutual ties.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Reza Sheybani said the Zionist regime had threatened to bomb the embassy complex and kidnap Iranian diplomats in Beirut.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel expressed regret over the European Union’s blind obedience to the United States, saying that it is far from EU’s dignity to follow the US.

Proposed by Iranian foreign minister and approved by president, Hamid Qomi was assigned as the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

North Ossetia’s prime minister voiced his republic’s enthusiasm for the expansion of relations with Iran.

Iran’s Semnan province and Ivory Coast endorsed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the expansion of economic cooperation.