Iran Daily 
 
Rafsanjani concerned about terrorism in Iraq
Chairman of the State Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said that all sects and ethnic groups should be unified to fight the ominous phenomenon of terrorism in Iraq.

 
Iran optimistic about comprehensive nuclear deal
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday that a comprehensive solution to Iran’s nuclear program is possible only through mutual commitment to Geneva deal.

 
Halkbank to keep processing Iran energy payments
Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank will continue to process payments for Turkey’s oil and gas imports from Iran, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said on Wednesday.

 
Japanese crude refiner renews contract with Iran
Chairman of Japan’s JX Nippon Oil & Energy, the country’s largest crude refiner, said the company has renewed its annual contract with Iran starting Jan. 2014.

 
Geneva deal changes West approach toward Iran
Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi said Wednesday that the Geneva deal reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers turned the West’s policy of confronting Iran into interaction with the country.

 
Gates slams Obama’s leadership style in new book
Former US defense secretary Robert Gates, in his upcoming memoir, has harsh words for President Obama’s leadership style and commitment to the Afghanistan war, accusing the president of losing faith in his own strategy.

 
MPs hold talks with Straw
Chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi met the visiting British parliamentary team in Tehran on Wednesday.

 
Araqchi, Russian counterpart discuss Geneva deal on phone
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ryabkov on Tuesday, discussed the Geneva deal reached between Iran and the six world powers in November.

 
Conservatives blasted for ‘wrench-throwing’ in nuclear talks
A senior political analyst lashed out at “conservative hardliners” for “throwing a wrench” in nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers in an attempt to “derail” the process.

 
Berlin keen to cooperate on regional issues
A German lawmaker, Andreas Schockenhoff has expressed his country’s readiness to expand cooperation with Iran on regional issues.

Lebanon welcomes Iran’s probe proposal
Lebanon has welcomed Iran’s proposal to dispatch a judiciary delegation to Beirut for investigations into the recent terrorist bombings that targeted the Iranian embassy in the Lebanese capital.

 
German-Iranian woman set to head Social Democratic Party
A German-Iranian woman is tipped to become the next secretary general of Germany’s co-governing Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Frankfurt-based daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said Wednesday.

 
Majlis delegation to visit Russia
An Iranian parliamentary delegation is scheduled to visit the Russian capital of Moscow in the near future, a senior lawmaker said. Mohammad Hassan Asafari, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Majlis, said on Wednesday that a team comprising three members of the committee will travel to Russia in two weeks as part of parliamentary exchanges to further develop relations between the two countries’ legislatures.