NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Iran has repeatedly threatened Israel with destruction. U.S. President Barack Obama has vowed that his country will do everything it can to protect long-time ally Israel.

President Barack Obama said Sunday that Israel has not yet decided how to respond to concerns about Iran's nuclear program and said there was no evidence that Iran has the intentions or capabilities to wage attacks on U.S. soil.

The organization that provides the world's banks with a system for moving money said on Friday it is working with officials in the European Union and the United States to address concerns about the services it provides to blacklisted Iranian banks.

US defence secretary Leon Panetta claims growing possibility Israel will attack Iran in nuclear row.

Lawmakers are considering a bid to force President Barack Obama's administration to blacklist Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an effort to thwart Tehran's nuclear capabilities, a congressional aide said on Wednesday.

The Senate Banking Committee is proposing news sanctions on Iran in an effort to stall its nuclear ambitions.

The possible release of detained Taliban leaders is likely to join Iran's nuclear ambitions at the top of a busy agenda when the top seven American intelligence chiefs testify before the Congress this week.

India has stated that it will not cut its oil imports from Iran despite the sanctions laid down against Iran by the U.S and the European Union.

India, the world's fourth-largest oil consumer, will not take steps to cut petroleum imports from Iran despite U.S. and European sanctions against Tehran, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday during a visit to Chicago.

Fighting sanctions with sanctions in a test of strength with the West over its nuclear ambitions, Iran warned on Friday it may halt oil exports to Europe next week in a move calculated to hurt ailing European economies.

Ahmadinejad is the highest Iranian government official thus far to offer to re-start the talks.

China Thursday criticized the European Union for banning oil imports from Iran, Beijing's third biggest crude supplier and a major trading partner.

Iran is unlikely to move toward building a nuclear weapon this year because it does not yet have the capability to produce enough weapon-grade uranium, a draft report by the Institute for Science and International Security said Wednesday.

Mehmanparast also intimated that the EU is simply bowing to pressure from the United States,

The European Union approved an oil embargo against Iran in hopes that new economic pressures will convince the country to abandon its nuclear program.

As the United States seeks to mobilize international support for a tough new set of sanctions on Iran, some experts are warning that tightening the economic vise could backfire and embolden the ruling regime.

Major powers signaled on Friday their willingness to reopen talks about curbing Iran's suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons but said Tehran must show it is serious about any negotiations.

Oil prices fell on Friday, pressured by economic uncertainty ahead of a possible debt deal in Greece, concerns about China's sluggish manufacturing sector, and weak U.S. petroleum demand.

Just add China to the list of those not supporting Iran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Speaking at the end of a six-day visit to the Middle East, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivered a firm warning to Tehran against developing nuclear weapons.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday warned against military intervention in Iran, fearing that it would not stop the Islamic Republic's nuclear weapons program, but instead bring more chaos to the region.

Iran's foreign minister warned Arab neighbors on Thursday not to put themselves in a dangerous position by aligning themselves too closely with the United States in the escalating dispute over Tehran's nuclear activity.