For some people President Bush's grouping of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as the so-called 'axis of evil' has come as a surprise. However, for those who have been following the debate in Washington ... ... more

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America's allies should stop fretting about President Bush's targeting of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil" and get on with persuading the states to reform, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Sunday. ... more

WASHINGTON –– Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld on Sunday accused Iran of letting some Taliban and al-Qaida members escape from Afghanistan. ... more

One of President George W Bush's key security advisers, Richard Perle, has made it clear that the United States is prepared to act alone to protect itself from terrorist attack. ... more

When President Bush was preparing his State of the Union address, he was adamant about using his now famous phrase, "an axis of evil", to describe some of the world's rogue states. ... more

HERAT, Afghanistan -- The regular Afghan troops know them only as the Army of Mohammed, an elite squad of 320 Iran-sponsored special forces reportedly training in secret on three hillside enclaves with the blessing of the local Afghan warlord. ... more

AT a secretive nuclear research institute in Moscow, a handful of Iranian nuclear scientists were at work last week. The institute, Nikiet, specialises in the development of Chernobyl-type reactors, but according to Russian sources the scientists are acquiring expertise that the Iranian government is using to speed up its nuclear weapons programme. ... more

European security officials expressed alarm at the weekend about what they considered an aggressive, go-it-alone stance staked out by US President George W.Bush in his State of the Union address last week. ... more

US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told an international security conference that Washington would go it alone if necessary to fight terrorism, but Russia and Western allies had reservations about the US hard line. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov renewed at the 43-nation conference in Munich Russia's support for the US-led war on terrorism, but said Russia was not "prepared" to extend the war to Iraq. "No, we are not prepared to do that," he said, adding that "many European states stick to the same approach." Wolfowitz told the 43-nation conference in Munich that the United States did not "need a UN mandate to act" in response to the September 11 attacks on the United States. ... more

Text of report entitled "Kula'i: Bush's comments are the continuation of the recent accusations levelled against Iran" published by Iranian newspaper Norooz web site on 2 February ... more

NEW YORK, 3 February — "What should we do about the Arabs?" This is the question that American officials and policy advisers are asking in private during the current World Economic Forum here. The question is also raised, albeit in a more diplomatic form, in several panels as one of the key themes of this year's exercise. ... more

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A senior Hizbollah leader lashed out against President Bush Sunday, labeling him the ``Great Satan'' and dismissing U.S. accusations that the Lebanese guerrilla group is ``terrorist'' organization. ... more

Iran, plagued by a rift between conservatives and reformists, is finding unity in stepping up ties with the EU following US accusations of trying to export terrorism and acquire banned weapons. ... more

In a statement read out at the Majlis by Ahmad Burqani yesterday [2 February] the 2nd Khordad faction strongly protested against recent remarks by [US President George] Bush against Iran. ... more

NEW YORK (AP) A high-ranking Iranian official in New York for the World Economic Forum said Saturday that Iran was ''shocked and disappointed'' by President Bush's comments earlier this week that it is part of an evil axis of terrorist nations. ... more

Tehran, Feb 3, IRNA -- Four English-language dailies on Sunday gave strong, instantaenous responses to U.S. President George W. Bush's provocative State of the Union address in which he accused Iran, Iraq and N. Korea as constituting an "axis of evil." ... more

ALGIERS, Algeria (Reuters) -- The "Axis of Evil" tag pinned by U.S. President George W. Bush on Iran will not undermine foreign investment prospects in its huge energy sector, already hit by U.S. sanctions, Iran's oil minister said on Saturday. ... more

The historical record of the great Iranian nation, especially during the past 100 years, shows that during critical and decisive periods, and at times when various domestic and foreign conspiracies have threatened the territorial integrity of the country ... ... more

On the second day of the Ten Days of Dawn celebrations the members of the cabinet visited the pure shrine of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the late Imam Khomeyni, to pray and to reinstate their covenant with that eminent imam. ... more

WASHINGTON (February 3) - US President George W. Bush met with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Friday at the White House to consult regarding the ongoing violence in the Middle East, and again called on Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat "to show the world that he is willing to join our fight against terror. ... more

Dutchman Jo Bonfrere found himself again at the helm of action leading the UAE football into another challenge only three days after he finished his task on loan with the UAE national team in Riyadh in the Gulf Cup. ... more

HOLGARA, Afghanistan - They fought together as the Northern Alliance, the US-backed force that drove the Taliban out of Afghanistan and whose leaders formed the backbone of the country's new government. ... more

ANKARA, Turkey (Reuters) -- Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is preparing a letter to Saddam Hussein warning him to allow U.N. weapons inspectors back into Iraq or face the threat of war, a Turkish newspaper said on Saturday. ... more

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Russia laid bare its differences with the United States over the war on terrorism on Sunday, challenging President Bush's attack on the "axis of evil" and accusing the West of double standards. The cracks emerged at a security conference in Munich over the weekend as Washington, ratcheting up its rhetoric against Iraq and Iran, signaled it could take pre-emptive action. U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the meeting Saturday that countries tolerating terrorism would be held to account and referred to the State of the Union address last week in which Bush described Iraq, Iran and North Korea as an "axis of evil" seeking weapons of mass destruction. ... more

MUNICH, Germany (AP) NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson warned the European and Canadian allies Sunday that a failure to improve their ability to respond to military crises could push Washington toward unilateralism. The military gap between the United States and its European allies, an issue during the Kosovo and Bosnian conflicts, has become even more critical in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. Speaking to a conference of defense officials and experts from more than 40 countries, Robertson noted that despite an annual investment of $140 billion by European NATO allies, Europe is ''militarily undersized'' and needs Washington's support for major operations. ... more