Middle Orient

TEHRAN (FNA) Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili criticized a US drive to impose sanctions over its atomic program, and reiterated support from Beijing ahead of crunch high-level talks next week.

TEHRAN (FNA) Fresh from tackling World War II and the Holocaust in local blockbuster “Zero Degree Turn,” Iran’s state broadcaster is turning to religion as the subject of a pair of big budget skeins.

TEHRAN (FNA) Iran had made progress in the explanation of certain questions concerning its nuclear program, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohammed ElBaradei said in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia on Friday.

TEHRAN (FNA) Tehran’s interim Friday Prayers leader Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani termed the visit to the Middle-East by US President George Bush as unsuccessful and a great failure for Washington, stating that Americans failed in attaining either one of their premeditated goals.

TEHRAN (FNA) The National Iranian Central Oil Co. said the company set a new gas output record in 2007, producing 300 million cubic meters of natural gas.

TEHRAN (FNA) Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem praised Iran’s role in the establishment of peace and security in the region.

TEHRAN (FNA) ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), a unit of India’s largest exploration company Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), and Iranian oil major Petropars have approached National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) about taking a stake in the USD 30bln Kish gas block in Iran.

DUBAI – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that Israel “would not dare attack Iran”, after Israel said it tested a missile and warned against Tehran’s nuclear program.

BERLIN – German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Thursday that Israel should freeze the building of settlements if it wanted to achieve peace with the Palestinians.

OTTAWA – Canada’s foreign ministry has put the United States and Israel on a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured and also classifies some U.S. interrogation techniques as torture, according to a document obtained by Reuters on Thursday.