World - Iran

DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad defended Iran's controversial nuclear programme on Thursday, during a visit to Damascus by Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, and promised that cooperation between the two countries would continue. Full Story »

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's parliament will review the Islamic republic's relations with countries that voted against its nuclear activities at the International Atomic Energy Agency last week, the speaker said on Thursday. Full Story »

As Iran moves to cut billions of dollars in food, water, and energy subsidies, conservative lawmakers who stymied a number of President Ahmadinejad's economic legislative measures during his first term are under increased pressure to implement a timeline for the cuts that domestic critics say is too abrupt. Full Story »

CAIRO - A 26-year-old doctor who exposed the torture of jailed protesters in Iran died of poisoning from a delivery salad laced with an overdose of blood pressure medication, prosecutors say. The findings fueled opposition fears that he was killed because of what he knew. Full Story »

DUBAI (AFP) - Five British yachtsmen seized by Iran after apparently straying into the country's territorial waters were released on Wednesday and arrived in Dubai, saying they were treated well while in custody. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The wife of a retired FBI agent missing in Iran for nearly three years is making an impassioned appeal for information about her husband as she prepares for a somber milestone in his disappearance. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Iranian man has pleaded guilty to U.S. charges he illegally bought an array of military equipment for Tehran as it prepared for a possible war with the United States, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. Full Story »

DUBAI (AFP) - Five British yachtsmen joyfully decked their vessel with UAE flags as they reached Dubai on Wednesday after Iran accepted they had strayed accidentally into the country's waters and released them. Full Story »

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran on Wednesday released five Britons detained in the Gulf after their yacht strayed into Iranian waters, averting a diplomatic row on top of Tehran's disputes with the West over its nuclear program. Full Story »

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran freed five British sailors detained last week when their racing yacht drifted accidentally into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf. Britain said it was delighted with Wednesday's release and praised Tehran's handling of the incident. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Scores of prominent international figures called Wednesday on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to release three US hikers who have been held in detention for more than four months. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Federal authorities are set to announce charges against an Iranian man accused of plotting to violate the ban against shipping sensitive military technology to Iran. Full Story »

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday the Islamic state will produce 20 percent enriched fuel for its nuclear reactors, state television reported. Full Story »

TEHRAN, Iran - Ahmadinejad says Iran will enrich uranium to higher level rebuking UN demand for halt. Full Story »

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected on Wednesday as "illegal" a U.N. nuclear watchdog resolution over the country's disputed nuclear activities, state television reported. Full Story »

TEHRAN (AFP) - Leading Iranian economist Saeed Laylaz has been sentenced to nine years in prison for protesting against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his lawyer said on Wednesday. Full Story »

TEHRAN, Iran - A semi-official Iranian news agency says a well-known political analyst and the brother-in-law of the country's top opposition leader have been sentenced to prison. Full Story »

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A newspaper editor and well-known critic of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sentenced to nine years in jail for fomenting unrest after June's disputed elections, his lawyer said on Wednesday. Full Story »