Middle Orient

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday he will use a visit to Russia to expand military ties with Moscow, whose arms sales to the Middle Eastern state have angered Israel and the United States.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces raided the office of a provincial governor and arrested the son of a leading Sunni Arab politician in separate incidents on Tuesday that could stoke sectarian and political tension.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkey’s energy minister on Monday announced plans to visit Tehran to discuss investment in gas fields and a pipeline project in a rebuff to the United States, which opposes energy deals with Iran.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s Minister of Industries and Mines Ali Akbar Mehrabian announced here on Monday that feasibility studies were underway for executing $3 billion worth of projects in different fields in Syria.

TEHRAN, (ISNA)-Turkish foreign and energy ministers will have a trip to Iran within next two weeks to finalize energy agreements with Iran. Turkey’s energy minister Hilmi Guler also rejected claims saying the failure in signing the agreement was due to the US pressures to isolate Iran and declared the agreement …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and Turkey need more time to finalize a major natural gas deal, President Abdullah Gul said Saturday, playing down reports that US pressure on Turkey to abandon the project is behind the delay.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s just-ended visit to Turkey, a NATO ally that is also aspiring to the membership in the European Union (EU), yielded fruits in countering US efforts to set a diplomatic blockade over Tehran, analysts said.

TEHRAN, (ISNA)-Iran and Turkey signed five Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) during Ahmadinejad’s mission in Turkey on curbing terrorism and drug trafficking as well as working on tourism, environment and transportation.

TEHRAN, (ISNA)-Iran’s foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Iraqi deputy prime minister Barham Saleh discussed regional issues and ways to promote bilateral ties.

TEHRAN, (ISNA)-Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi slammed recent deadly attack in the Lebanese city of Tripoli on the army, killing at least 15 people.