In today's news we read that the Chinese president is scheduled to visit Iran and perhaps inaugurate portions of Tehran's Metro designed and built by the Chinese. ... more

In an overture to people in an "axis of evil" nation, President Bush wished Iranians warm greetings during the observance of Nowruz, the Persian new year. "This year's observance occurs at a time when our nation is united in its determination to make the world safe from terrorism," Bush said in a statement released Wednesday by the White House. ... more

US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, commented that it was his wish that this year the Iranian and American people would come closer together. US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday offered his best wishes to the people of Iran on the occasion of beginning of the Iranian new year, or Nowruz. ... more

It was 2:16 p.m. yesterday, the exact moment when the Persian New Year should have announced itself in tender spring sunshine, and a chilling rain was pelting the brave few hurrying past Mohammed Nasim's restaurant in Astoria, Queens. ... more

WASHINGTON — The CIA said Tuesday it couldn't discount possible Iraqi or Iranian involvement in the Sept. 11 hijacked-jet terrorist attacks on the U.S. Citing Iraqi connections to Al Qaeda and other undisclosed elements of the investigation, CIA director George Tenet told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that it was still unclear whether or not Iran and Iraq were linked to the crimes. ... more

WASHINGTON -- Interference from Iran is emerging as one of the most vexing problems for allied interests in Afghanistan because the Islamic Republic continues to allow Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters to escape across its border, the director of the CIA told members of Congress on Tuesday. ... more

Missing at Tehran airport – several al-Qaeda suspects in the process of being deported from Iran to Europe. Sending home some 150 detainees of various Arab and European nationalities captured after crossing from Pakistan has turned into a nightmare for Iran's foreign ministry, which has found itself up against other, rather less cooperative elements within the ruling system. French officials waiting at Tehran's Mehrabad airport earlier this month to take custody of several French members of the terror organisation were told by an apologetic foreign ministry that they had +lost+ two male suspects, although two women were ready to be flown back. ... more

The rejection of talks with the United States by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's effective head of state, indicates that there is little hope for American-Iranian rapprochement, at least in the short term. ... more

American forces in Afghanistan are releasing 43 prisoners, mostly of them mistakenly thought to be al-Qaida or Taliban fighters, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Twelve prisoners were released after being held for two weeks on suspicion they were Iranians trying to destabilize the interim Afghan government. ... more

LONDON (IPS) As Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i ruled out any negotiations with the United States, dashing hopes for possible improvement of ties between Tehran and Washington, tension is rising in US-Iranian relations that may have an overall impact on the anti-terrorism campaign. ... more

France's ALSTOM has been awarded an order worth around €375 million ($330 million) to supply the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) with 50 industrial gas turbine compressor sets to be installed in 18 compressor stations on the IGAT pipeline system for gas transportation within Iran. Each of the type GT 10 turbines will drive a compressor. ... more

Despite its strong attachment to religious values, the Islamic Republic of Iran has thrown its weight behind an extremely enlightened campaign to combat the Aids virus, an affliction normally associated with such un-Islamic practices as intravenous drug abuse and extra-marital sex. ... more

The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), one of the top performing emerging markets but with restricted access for non-Iranian investors, has won government approval for the first foreign takeover of an Iranian company. ... more

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran accused the United States on Wednesday of seeking to exploit and widen differences between the conservative and reformist camps in the Islamic republic. ... more

Poland's caretaker charge d'affaires in Armenia said on February 19 that the Warsaw administration is interested in implementing the Iran-Armenia gas supply project. Petr Iwaszkowicz said that Poland is following up the details of the project that paves the way for transferring gas from Turkmenistan to Armenia and finally to Europe via Iran. ... more

WASHINGTON -- Interference from Iran is emerging as one of the most vexing problems for allied interests in Afghanistan because the Islamic Republic continues to allow al-Qaida and Taliban fighters to escape across its border, the director of the CIA told members of Congress on Tuesday. ... more

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - A poet who penned verses blasting Saudi Arabia's Islamic judges as corrupt and serving ''tyrants'' has been jailed and the newspaper editor who published the poem fired, a Saudi official said yesterday. ... more

London: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has regarded the allegations by Director of CIA George Tenet on Russia assisting Iran with developing ballistic missiles "as unsubstantiated and not in keeping with the current spirit of Russian-American relations". ... more

Caspian states -- Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have agreed to convene in Turkmen capital Ashkhabad between April 23 and 24 in order to discuss the legal status of the inland waters, the Itar-Tass news agency cited a head at the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying. ... more

Two car bombs have exploded near the United States embassy in in the Peruvian capital, Lima, killing at least nine people and wounding many others. The explosions come less than three days before a visit by US President George W Bush. ... more

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has formally designated Bahrain a major non-NATO ally. The Bush administration issued the designation last week in a move that could provide Manama with additional U.S. military assistance. Bahrain is the home of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. ... more

Tens of millions of people from Asia to the Middle East were bringing in the new year on Wednesday by celebrating the ancient festival of Nowruz. In some countries, the festival has taken on an increased significance since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Taleban in Afghanistan. Nowruz, or Persian New Year, is held on the first day of spring and marks the beginning of the calendar year in Iran and Afghanistan, Kurdish areas of northern Iraq and Turkey and some Central Asian republics. ... more

Every nation has memorable days in its history which are regarded as milestones in the life and struggles of the people of that country. ... more