Iran

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that the proposed gas pipeline along Iran, Pakistan, and India, also referred to as the IPI ‘peace pipeline’, is an important component of his country’s energy plans.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to address the UN Security Council before it votes on a resolution that would impose new sanctions against his country’s nuclear activities.

Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov issued a veiled warning to Washington not to exploit Iran’s nuclear issue and meddle in Tehran’s political affairs.

India’s Essar Group is in talks with Iran to develop the giant Azadegan oilfield, where a deal with a Japanese firm ended last year, to ensure fuel for a planned refinery and steel plant in the Islamic nation.

In Iran 300 has triggered bewilderment and anger. Just off Tehran’s central Haft-e Tir Square, customers cram into a shop selling bootleg DVDs to flip through pirated action and art-house films while an employee keeps a lookout on the street for approaching police.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the complementary role the Iranian and Syrian nations play has established the best type of brotherly ties between the two countries beyond cordial relations or common interests.

Islamic Republic’s Prosecutor General Dorri Najaf-Abadi described the Warner Brothers film ‘300’ as a great insult to the Iranian nation, and reminded that no one can raise doubts about the identity and grandeur of the Iranian nation.

Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-Utri stressed the need for the consolidation of Tehran-Damascus ties under the present sensitive juncture of time, reminding that Iran and Syria are, as always, siding with each other to develop regional stability and security.

While the Bush administration works to stop Iran from having any constructive role in Iraq, Iranian air-conditioners fill Iraqi appliance stores, Iranian tomatoes ripen on the windowsills of kitchens here and legions of white Iranian-made Peugeots sit in Iraqi driveways.

GANDAMAK, Afghanistan — On a dirt road leading into Afghanistan’s White Mountains, there is a sign bearing American and Afghan flags that looks eerily out of place.     “This project has been undertaken by the Islamic Government of Afghanistan with the financial assistance of the people of the United States of …