KUWAIT CITY (AFP) — Iran’s influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Monday he was sure the Islamic republic’s Gulf neighbours would not support any US assault on his country over its nuclear programme. “We are certain that Gulf countries will not back the United States in waging an attack …

TEHRAN — Iran’s president has thrown a new wrinkle into the nuclear debate by claiming his country is testing a more sophisticated type of centrifuge for enriching uranium — a device that could be used to more speedily create fuel for either power plants or for atomic weapons.

BEIRUT (AP) — Prime Minister Fuad Siniora headed to Washington on Monday for a meeting with US President George W. Bush where he was expected to seek American political and economic support for Lebanon’s efforts to extend its authority over all Lebanese territory and revive the war-shattered economy.