United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday asked Iran to build "international confidence" in its nuclear programme by fully complying with the global obligations under NPT and cooperating with IAEA, shortly after Tehran slammed the UNSC for being "unjust and completely undemocratic".
Incumbent Hassan Rouhani faces stiff competition from hardline cleric Raisi.
The two-day meet of the 120-nation grouping, which began with the national anthem of Iran followed by the recitation of the verses from the holy Quran, was inaugurated by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the leaders' Summit hall in Northern Tehran.
Negotiating a sustainable compromise with Iran is not getting any easier, and this delay might not yield the desired result of bringing Tehran's nuclear programme under stringent limits, says Claude Smadja
Star striker Sunil Chhetri is among a 28-strong Indian probable squad announced for the 2018 soccer World Cup preliminary qualifying round matches against Iran and Turkmenistan.
Iran on Wednesday said it would neither accept nor deny Israeli allegation that Tehran was behind the attack on its mission employee in New Delhi and expressed hope that India will verify the case and clarify the real position.
Foreign ministers trying to reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear programme in Vienna are considering extending the negotiations as the Monday deadline looms large with "serious gaps" in the dialogue.
United States President Barack Obama has said that he would order the US military to destroy Iran's nuclear programme as a final option, if economic sanctions fail to compel Tehran to shelve its nuclear ambitions. "I don't bluff," Obama said while delivering his most explicit threat to Tehran till date, warning that "all options are on the table" and that the final option is the "military component."
The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to 'zero' by November 4 or face sanctions.
Stepping up its tirade against Iran, Israel on Tuesday said the plot for terror strikes against it and its citizens was hatched in Tehran, including the car bomb blast in New Delhi in which one its diplomats was seriously injured.
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Trump said the sanction will deny the Iranian Supreme leader access to financial instruments.
'The US appears to think that Pakistan is highly vulnerable today due to its economic crisis and one more turn of the screw may bring about desired results,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
He said the US will apply other punitive measures if Tehran does not give up its reported goal of developing nuclear weapons.
India is monitoring the situation very closely and will see how it develops in the next few days.
India is apprehensive about the Taliban's return as it would mean loss of access to Baluch rebels and help to the restive tribals of Waziristan. This would be a setback to the Indian strategy of returning the compliments of death by a thousand cuts to Pakistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In return for Pak's gesture, the US has authorised the reinstatement of a military training and educational programme which had remained suspended for 2 yrs. Pak blamed Iran's Maj Gen Soleimani for Baloch militant attacks against its forces.
US may have lost one of its most advanced drones over Iran, raising fears among officials in Washington that Tehran may gain partial access to closely guarded American technology.
Marzieh Vafamehr was arrested in July after appearing in My Tehran for Sale, which came under harsh criticism in conservative circles, the Telegraph reports.
Another week and a spate of OTT shows and movies to watch. Here's what Sukanya Verma recommends.
'The stage is set for increasing tensions in a highly volatile region as crucial as ever from a geopolitical standpoint,' predicts Claude Smadja.
The visit will provide thrust to expand bilateral cooperation
Considering that Qatar is a trusted ally of Washington for decades, it is expected to be a steady influence on the Taliban leadership, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
As settlement in dollars has become difficult due to sanctions imposed against Iran, India and Iran will explore other currencies like the euro, yen and dirham to resolve the stalemate over payment for oil imports at their meeting later this week in Tehran.
For two decades the US paid in blood and blood money for dependence on Pakistan to carry out one president's boast. Now, having been defeated by its proxies, another president will go into Rawalpindi's embrace to satisfy his constituents, predicts Shekhar Gupta.
Sanket Pandya, an employee of Goa-based firm Power Engineering who was stranded in Iran since December 2013, Monday landed in Mumbai from Tehran and was on his to Vadodara, his hometown.
ISI chief Faiz Hameed coerced the Taliban to announce an interim government guaranteed to preserve Pakistan's control over the levers of power in Kabul, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The partial withdrawal would mean that Iran would stop exporting enriched uranium stocks as stipulated by the 2015 agreement.
The US does not expect any "serious response" from Iran to halt its controversial nuclear programme unless the UN Security Council slaps Tehran with additional sanctions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.
Arjun Madathil Ramachandran and Ramchandran Shlok notched up the men's doubles title at the 26th Iran Fajr Badminton Tournament.
'While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the US government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive US limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted,' a Foreign Ministry statement said.
Protesters attacked what they deemed to be US' disproportionate response -- the killing of 24 militiamen on Sunday in retaliation for the death of an American contractor on Friday.
Reiterating that "Iran must not acquire nuclear capability," Mullen after his arrival in Israel on Sunday said that if a regional confrontation were to break out following a strike on Tehran, it 'will be a big, big, big problem for all of us, and I worry a great deal about the unintended consequences of a strike'.
Tehran plans to lift exports by 500,000 barrels per day
Bahram Ghasemi, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issued a telegram message on Sunday noting that visas would be issued for the Americans partly because of the decision by a US federal judge to "halt the execution of discriminatory restrictions against the entrance of Iranian citizens to America", IRNA reported.
Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this eye-catching photo feature.
The deal with Iran does not address any of the major issues thrown up by Tehran's ambitions, says Claude Smadja.
"It was a very proud moment for me as well as the entire Air India crew when we heard from Pakistan ATC praising our special flight operations to Europe," one of the senior captains of the special flight said.
Brent crude was trading at $105 a barrel on Friday while US oil was at $96.75.
Iranian women have been banned from stadiums when men's teams have been playing, since just after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
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