Iran Daily 
 
Iran, Russia urge end to Syria crisis
Iran and Russia both rejected the use of force as a solution to the crisis in Syria, while calling for an end to the bloodshed in the Arab country.

 
Kerry, pivotal senator demand holding off sanctions 
US Secretary of State John Kerry urged members of Congress Tuesday not to pursue tougher sanctions against Iran.

 
PGCC welcomes P5+1-Iran deal
The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) has welcomed the preliminary landmark deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers over Tehran’s nuclear program.

 
Ukrainian protestors force police from Kiev square
Ukrainian security forces on Wednesday pulled out of the epicenter of mass protests in Kiev after a nine hour standoff with thousands of demonstrators, in a major boost for the opposition to President Viktor Yanukovych.

 
Europe plans to close troubled banks
Eurozone countries edged closer on Tuesday to agreeing a plan to close ailing banks and sharing the costs, a move that would pave the way for a fundamental reform to underpin the currency and its banks.

 
Tehran-Kiev committee to boost trade
Iran and Ukraine will convene a joint economic committee in Tehran in the near future to boost trade, said the Ukrainian ambassador to Iran.

 
Egypt judges withdraw from Brotherhood trial
Three judges presiding over the trial of Egypt’s senior Muslim Brotherhood members stepped down after the defendants disrupted the proceedings and chanted against the judiciary.

 
MP: Iran seeks broader ties with Persian Gulf states
A senior Iranian lawmaker said Iran expects friendly countries to support the legitimate right of nations to use modern technologies, voicing Tehran’s determination to improve ties with Persian Gulf littoral states.

 
Iran, IAEA hold fruitful talks; new meeting on Jan. 21
The UN nuclear agency and Iran held a fruitful meeting on Tehran’s nuclear activities in on Wednesday and will have a new round of talks in Tehran on January 21, they said in a joint statement, Reuters reported.

 
FIFA accepts UAE’s fabricated name for league
FIFA has surprisingly introduced the UAE’s league under a fabricated name.

 
Tehran Times 
 
U.S. suspends non-lethal assistance to Syrian terrorists
The United States has suspended all non-lethal assistance into northern Syria after Islamic Front forces seized headquarters and warehouses belonging to the opposition’s Supreme Military Council (SMC), a U.S.

 
Moscow keen to continue nuclear cooperation with Iran: Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Moscow is keen to continue cooperation with Tehran to develop its nuclear energy program.

 
Senior Saudi delegation secretly visited Israel: report
A senior Saudi military delegation has secretly visited Israel and discussed issues related to Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli sources have revealed.

 
Rouhani among the top 100 global thinkers of 2013
Foreign Policy magazine has named Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as one of the top 100 global thinkers of 2013, where Rouhani comes in at number 18 on the “decision-maker” section of the annual list.

 
Lawyers describe French veil ban as unconstitutional
Lawyers for a young woman whose arrest for wearing a full-face veil sparked riots, argued Wednesday in court that France’s contentious ban on such coverings was unconstitutional and targeted Muslims.

 
Hamas leader talks to Russian foreign minister
Gaza’s Hamas government says its prime minister has held a rare phone conversation with Russia’s foreign minister, according to AP.

Iran, UN nuclear agency to meet again on Jan. 21
Iran and the UN nuclear agency have agreed to meet again on January 21 in Tehran, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency said after talks on Wednesday between Tehran and the IAEA.

 
Iran sees progress in talks with powers on nuclear deal implementation
Senior Iranian officials indicated on Tuesday that progress was being achieved in expert-level talks between Tehran and six world powers over the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal, Reuters reported.

 
Kerry to Congress hardliners: New sanctions on Iran would be seen as an act of bad faith
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has defended the nuclear deal struck with Iran to a hardline panel of congressmen.

 
Persian Gulf Arab states welcome Iran nuclear deal
The (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council ([p]GCC) has welcomed the preliminary landmark deal between Iran and the P5+1 (United States, Russia, United Kingdom,
France, China and Germany), further depicting that a fresh leaf is turned over in the relationship between the Sunni monarchies of the Persian Gulf region and their Shia neighbor, Al-Jazeera reported.

 
Iran’s new envoy visits London
Iran’s new envoy to Britain Mohammad Hassan Habibollahzadeh left Tehran for London on Wednesday.