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.

SLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A 15-year-old detained near the Afghan border has confessed to joining a team of assassins sent to kill Benazir Bhutto, officials said Saturday, announcing the first arrests in the case since the attack that killed the opposition leader.

KABUL, Jan 19 (Reuters) – The war in Afghanistan is only just beginning as NATO forces, far from pursuing remnants of a defeated Taliban, are entering a widening and deepening conflict they may well lose security NGO said on Saturday.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. and Afghan troops killed or wounded more than two dozen Taliban fighters during a 21-hour battle in eastern Afghanistan that ended Saturday, military officials said.

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.