Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili reiterated Friday that Iran will always maintain its principled stance regarding the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and continues to support cooperation over the country’s nuclear programme. 

In a historic ceremony Saturday, President Berdymuhamedov of Turkmenistan used a gold-plated spanner to bolt together two sections of rails, marking the formal start of construction of railway link between Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran.   

The Afghan ministry of defence has announced plans to treble the size of its army. The ministry said this was to dissuade Afghanistan’s neighbours, Iran and Pakistan, from interfering, as well as to provide better internal security.