Malaysia and Iran have forged closer understanding on the role of Islamic countries in dealing with groups that are often in conflict with the religion.

Turkey considers Iran a key energy partner as it needs Iranian gas to feed a rapidly growing energy demand, a Turkish energy executive said on Wednesday following US calls on Ankara to cut business ties with Tehran.

Total reiterated on Thursday it was still in talks with Iran to carry out a multibillion dollar gas project but added a decision on investment was not in sight.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini has strongly condemned the US House of Representatives’ decision to declare the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization, calling it an “irresponsible and illegal” act.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is turning to South American nations who are embracing him as an energy and trade partner and counterweight to US influence.

Neighboring countries Iraq and Turkey have finally agreed on details of a counterterrorism agreement to crack down on members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that are holed up in bases in northern Iraq and have also decided to sign the finalized agreement today in the Turkish capital.

New York – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has challenged the United States’ objection to a preliminary deal signed by Turkey and Iran over the summer to deepen their bilateral cooperation in the energy field, saying that the deal concerned solely the two neighboring countries.

  Former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski likened U.S. officials’ saber rattling about Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions to similar statements made before the start of the Iraq war.      

KABUL, Afghanistan – Two foreigners from the International Red Cross who had helped free South Korean captives last month have been kidnapped in Afghanistan after talking with militants about the release of a German hostage, officials said Thursday.The two foreigners were abducted in Salar district, said Ewaz Muslimyar, the police …

KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S.-led forces used artillery and airstrikes to kill more than 165 insurgents and repel massed assaults on coalition troops in two strongholds of Taliban militants and Afghanistan’s rampant drug trade, officials said Wednesday.Meanwhile, two foreigners from the International Red Cross who helped free a group of South …