No true Iranian patriot can remain indifferent these days when possible use of tactical nuclear weapons against her country is being loudly discussed. What is going on? Is the world going mad? The most peace-loving nation in the region, if not in the world ... more

Peshawar - The arrest of some Iranians in Farah Province of Afghanistan under alleged spying charges has generated fresh debate on Iran's alleged involvement in destabilization of the Hamed Karzai led interim set up. Iranian authorities have denounced the report that the arrested persons were Iranian nationals or members of the country's armed forces. ... more

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee made a dramatic overture on Wednesday to "axis of evil" state Iran, offering to meet Iranian parliamentarians in Washington or elsewhere and urging other conciliatory steps. ... more

Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, Head of the Assembly of Experts, yesterday urged Iranians not to celebrate Norooz, the traditional Iranian new year, to express solidarity with the Palestinians fighting against the Israeli occupation and to mourn Imam Hussein. ... more

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police detained dozens of youngsters in the capital Tehran overnight in rowdy new year celebrations, held a week early to avoid coinciding with the Muslim Shi'ite month of mourning, witnesses said. ... more

Reports from several Iranian cities and especially from the Capital and southern provinces are stating about a brutal crackdown carried against hundreds of young who celebrated, yesterday, an "early" Fire Festival. ... more

The head of the Washington office of the Iranian resistance cheered when he heard President Bush list Iran among the members of an "axis of evil." But then he wondered: if Iran is evil, why is his group still on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations? "How in the world does that make sense now that Iran is on the axis of evil?" asked Alireza Jafarzadeh of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. ... more

Most heroin sold in Europe comes from Afghanistan's poppies. Drugs cross the permeable border with Iran on their way to Turkey and Europe despite Iran's desperate efforts, costing many lives, to combat trafficking at the border. Europe doesn't help Iran with the cost of policing, and does even less to finance Afghan farmers to plant alternative crops. ... more

Staff Writer After 18 months of high-level political negotiations and intense lobbying from shipping and transportation companies, President Vladimir Putin has finally approved an alternative transport corridor from Asia to Europe that is expected to bring Russia a new revenue stream worth billions of dollars a ... more

Iran's Expediency Council will rule on the nation's state budget following disputes between the reformist parliament and the conservative Guardian Council oversight body over what it should contain. ... more

New Delhi, March 14, IRNA -- Iranian chess player, Ehsan Qaem Maqami, (seven points) lead in the ninth round of world grand master contest underway in Raipur in Central Indian State of Chattisgarh. ... more

ANKARA [MENL] -- Turkey continues to assert that Iran harbors Kurdish insurgents. Turkish officials said alleged Iranian help to the Kurdish Workers Party was a leading subject on the agenda of security talks held last month. The talks were held in Ankara between security officials of the two countries and dealt with border cooperation. ... more

Athens, 14 March: On the first day of Iran's President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami's official visit of Greece, the high ranking officials of the two countries began negotiations in the presence of the two countries' presidents. ... more

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan The U.S. military may be holding an Iranian general at its Kandahar detention center, but further investigation is needed to confirm his identity, an Afghan government spokesman said Wednesday. ... more

Tehran, March 13, IRNA -- President of world's soccer governing body, FIFA, expressed Tuesday his regret over the illness of former national goalkeeper of Iran Ahmad-Reza Abedzadeh, announced Iran's Football Federation. ... more

Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan yesterday said that there were no evidences to indicate that the Islamic Republic of Iran was trying to acquire nuclear weapons. His remarks fully exposed the false allegations of the American authorities. ... more

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah hinted Wednesday that it might launch attacks against Israel in support of the Palestinians. Hizbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in a radio interview that the killing of Palestinian civilians by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's military could force Hizbollah to act. ... more

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush said on Wednesday that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a problem and "we are going to deal with him," but stopped short of saying the United States would take action against Iraq. ... more

Moscow, 14 March: The commitments to build a nuclear power plant in Iran will be fully met, Russian Atomic Energy Minister Aleksandr Rumyantsev has said. Under the contract, the first reactor in Bushehr will go on line in 2004. "There are no disagreements with Iran over project implementation," Rumyantsev told journalists on Thursday [14 March]. ... more

Thanks to the efforts of our experts in the second air-base of Tabriz, a MiG-29 jet fighter was completely overhauled. The repair work took six months and during this period, all the parts of the plane were checked for cracks and rust. The operation saved the country one million dollars in currency. ... more

Moscow, March 14, IRNA -- Head of the Interim Afghan Government Hamid Karzai said here Wednesday that Afghanistan needs to strengthen its ties with Iran and remembered Iran as his best foreign trip ever since he accepted political responsibility five months ago. ... more

The U.S. military may be holding an Iranian general at its Kandahar detention center, but further investigation is needed to confirm his identity, an Afghan government spokesman said Wednesday. The Kandahar police chief, meanwhile, said he expected the Americans to return the detainee to Afghan custody, along with 11 others apprehended in the same operation a week ago. The 11 others are Afghans, the spokesman said. ... more

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The CIA has completed a classified report that warns of instablity in Saudi Arabia. U.S. government sources said the report is the first in about five years and reflects the state of the kingdom in the wake of the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington. ... more

King Abdullah warned Vice President Cheney yesterday that expanding the war on terror to Iraq could destabilize the region and undermine gains in Afghanistan. Vice President Cheney is guest of Jordanian King Abdullah at the palace in Amman yesterday. ... more

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- OPEC's current level of crude production is sufficient to meet demand, Iran's oil minister said Thursday, even as market fears about possible U.S. military action against Iraq was pushing crude prices higher. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries doesn't need to adjust its output target when its representatives meet Friday to assess market conditions, Iranian Oil Minister Bijar Namdar Zangeneh told reporters as he arrived at a Vienna hotel. ... more