Middle Orient

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki slammed calls by the US and its western allies for Iran to give up its nuclear rights, enshrined in Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian and Qatari officials attended a joint meeting in Doha on Thursday to discuss security at the two countries’ borders.

TEHRAN (FNA)- An Iranian provincial official said that if Iranians save up to 10 per cent of their current consumption, the country will not be faced with power cuts.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The construction of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railroad is planned to complete by 2012, reported a source from the Azerbaijan Railway Administration.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, announced that it will launch service to Shiraz, Iran, beginning June 25, 2008.

TEHRAN (FNA)- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday the new game western powers have started in the nuclear standoff with Iran would bring them nothing but humiliation.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and Cuba concluded their 13th joint cooperation commission meeting by signing a memorandum of understanding to bolster cooperation.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Russia’s Gazprom Neft the oil arm of gas monopoly Gazprom plans to acquire new assets and therefore cannot yet predict its dividends in 2008, the firm’s head said on Friday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Major crude oil producer Iran said on Friday that increased oil output would not affect skyrocketing prices after a statement by Saudi Arabia revealed that the kingdom would pump more crude to market.

AMARA, Iraq (Reuters) – Supporters of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr accused Iraqi security forces on Friday of heavy-handed action in a crackdown in the southern city of Amara, calling it a “clear provocation”.