Iran

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on Saturday that Iran is studying U.S. proposals for talks on Iraq.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s king personally welcomed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad upon his arrival Saturday, a rapprochement many hope will help calm sectarian tensions threatening the Middle East.

As troubles for the United States mount in Iraq, the Bush administration escalates its complaints against Iran: Iran won’t recognize Israel. Worse, it says Israel ought to be wiped off the map. It won’t abandon its nuclear program. It continues to support the Hezbollah insurgents in Lebanon. It is intervening …

Iranian students involved in an angry protest against the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been expelled and earmarked for compulsory military service in an apparent act of official retribution.

Visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised Thursday in Khartoum that his country would stand on the side of Sudan in the latter’s confrontation with what he called the “Western pressures”.

China hopes Iran would address the international community’s concern over its nuclear issue positively, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said yesterday.

Israel has denied seeking permission from the United States to fly warplanes over Iraq as part of its preparations to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities. In a statement to Israel Radio on Sunday, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh denied such arrangements existed and accused “international authorities who prefer to avoid dealing …

By opening the door to a high-level dialogue with Iran and Syria, the US appears to be embracing a diplomatic strategy that its critics have long said was essential to stabilise Iraq.

Leaders of two nations faced with strong international pressure — Iran for its nuclear programme and Sudan because of the conflict in Darfur — closed ranks on Wednesday as Sudan’s Omar Bashir and visiting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran gushed in support of one another.

LONDON  —  World powers agreed on Monday to work on a new UN Security Council resolution to put pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme but remained committed to seeking a negotiated solution, British officials said.