Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Sheikh Attar criticized the performance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Eurasia, saying that the NATO has left a poor record in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tehran said that the US sanctions against Iran are harmful to the region, and stressed that the two sides’ differences should be resolved through negotiations.

Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said that Tehran has documents proving that the US supports terrorist organizations in the Middle East.

Iran’s caretaker oil minister said the market had enough supplies of crude and OPEC was not to blame for the surge in oil prices.

The deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived in Tehran on Monday for a further round of talks on the Iranian nuclear program.

officials said U.S.-led coalition forces killed about 80 Taliban fighters during a six-hour battle outside a Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan, the latest in a series of increasingly bloody engagements in the region.

His Majesty King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday discussed efforts to ensure the success of the US-hosted international peace meeting to take place before the end of this year.

President Abdullah Gul warned Kurdish rebels on Thursday that Turkey’s patience was running out after Turkish forces said they had repelled a guerrilla attack near the Iraqi border.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet on Friday in an effort to bridge gaps over a joint statement being crafted for a US meeting, an official said.

Police in Basra have detained 267 foreign “criminals” as Iraq’s second city witnessed clashes between Shiite militiamen and security forces, officials said on Thursday.