RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A senior Saudi official urged French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday to respect Saudi Arabia’s conservative Islamic culture by visiting the country without his girlfriend, former supermodel Carla Bruni. 

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has vowed that there will be no retreat in Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities.

Iran has attacked President Bush’s planned trip to the Middle East and says it has no plans to normalize relations with the United States.