Middle Orient

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini stressed that Iran’s maneuvers in the Persian Gulf aim to strengthen the country’s deterrent power and that they don’t serve to pose a threat to any country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki here in Tehran on Sunday met with the new envoy of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to Tehran Shahid Najm.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini said that a meeting between Tehran and Washington officials on the sidelines of the upcoming security meeting in Baghdad is not on the agenda.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said coordination between Iran and Saudi Arabia strengthens Muslims’ identity and serves as a source of glory for the world of Islam.

Head of Iran’s judiciary Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi viewed unity and solidarity of Muslim nations as a strategic policy for the world of Islam.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said that the world of Islam today is a serious critique of the western civilization.

Major powers failed to settle all their differences over a second UN sanctions resolution against Iran for its nuclear work but remain committed to passing one soon, the United States said.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday blamed Bush administration failings in Iraq.

Visiting chancellor of Havana University and chairman of the Iranian parliament’s Training and Research Commission in a meeting here in Tehran on Sunday explored avenues for cooperation between the two countries’ scientific and research centers.

Mud roads crisscross green hills between palm groves. Snowcapped mountains rise in the distance across the Iranian border. Donkeys stroll along footpaths, carrying the region’s harvest – land mines.