Iran Daily 
 
62 US organizations oppose Congress bill
As an anti-Iran bill is gaining support among Republican senators in the US Senate, more than 60 US organizations have delivered ajoint letter to the upper chamber urging senators to oppose the new Iran sanctions legislation.

 
Assad, Zarif discuss peace talks
Syrian President Bashar Assad and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Damascus on Wednesday held talks about next week’s United Nations conference aimed at trying to resolve the three-year deadly conflict.

 
Iran not to back off from nuclear right
The Iranian president says the Islamic Republic will not retreat one iota from its right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

 
Bomb attacks kill dozens in Iraq
Bombs hit Iraq’s capital Baghdad and a village near the northern town of Baquba on Wednesday, killing at least 62 people, police and hospital sources said, as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned that militants were trying to set up an “evil statelet.”

 
UN chief backs Iran’s participation in Geneva II
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has once again reiterated the international organization’s support for Iran’s participation in the upcoming Geneva II conference on Syria.

 
EU to lift insurance ban on Iran oil Jan. 20
European Union governments will implement all EU sanctions relief for Iran covered by a landmark nuclear deal on Jan. 20, the day the agreement takes effect – including lifting a ban on insuring its oil, officials said.

 
Tehran-Moscow ties expanding
The agreement on the Iranian nuclear program reached at the Geneva negotiations with the P5+1 group of world powers will help resolve the decade-long impasse, Moscow believes.

 
Iran, Cuba’sstrategic partner
A Cuban official has described Iran as a “strategic partner” of the Republic of Cuba, saying Havana is willing to upgrade its trade ties with Tehran.

 
Tehran Times 
 
62 U.S. organizations warn Senate against new Iran sanctions
Sixty-two U.S. organizations delivered a joint letter to the Senate on Tuesday urging it to oppose new Iran sanctions legislation, S.1881, that they say would “critically endanger the possibility of a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear standoff with Iran.”

 
Geneva II meeting can end Syrian conflict: Iran’s Zarif
In a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the planned conference on Syria has the capacity to put an end to the conflict in the country.

 
Lebanon arrests senior commander in Azzam Brigades, kills another suspect
The Lebanese Army arrested Wednesday a commander in the al-Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades during a raid in the Bekaa Valley in which the Army also shot and killed a suspect allegedly involved in aiding the leader of the brigades.

 
Western spy agencies contact Syria for fighting terrorists
European security officials are working together with the Syrian government to deal with the threat of European terrorists currently honing their battle skills in Syria. Damascus says there is a schism between politicians and security people in the West.

 
Bahrain opposition, future king hold rare meeting
Bahrain›s state television has broadcast images of the crown prince meeting with top opposition leaders one week after reconciliation talks were suspended.

 
New wave of terrorist attacks kills 59 in Iraq
Bombs hit Iraq’s capital Baghdad and a village near the northern town of Baquba on Wednesday, killing at least 59 people, police and hospital sources said, as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned that terrorists were trying to set up an “evil statelet.”

 
Govt. will not accept discrimination in citizenship rights: Rouhani
In his second day of visit to Khuzestan Province, President Hassan Rouhani said his government will not accept discrimination against tribes and ethnic groups.

 
UN chief, Iranian deputy FM discuss delivering aid to Syria Ban welcomes
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hussein Amir Abdollahian discussed the Syrian crisis and the Iranian regional ideas to solve it during a meeting in Kuwait City on Tuesday.

 
Russia advises against any move that may derail Geneva nuclear deal
Russia has advised against any statement and action which may negatively affect the course of the negotiation process between Iran and the major powers.

 
‘U.S. should stop contradicting itself, send Geneva II invitation to Iran’
The U.S. should not send mixed messages to Tehran over its participation in the upcoming Geneva II talks aimed at ending the Syrian conflict, as it could potentially damage a P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran, political analyst Kaveh Afrasiabi told RT in an interview published on Tuesday.

 
Iranian delegation in Lebanon to probe Beirut embassy attack
An Iranian delegation arrived in Beirut on Wednesday to investigate the attack against the Iranian Embassy in Lebanon last November. Twenty-five people died in a double suicide bombing in front of the Iranian Embassy on November 19.

 
Imposing new sanctions on Iran would be a ‘strategic error’: Robert Gates
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that imposing new sanctions on Iran by Congress would be a “terrible mistake” and a “strategic error”.

 
U.S. denies secret agreement with Iran
The Obama administration has denied claims that the interim deal reached between Iran and the world powers included a secret side deal.

 
Senate Majority Leader: No immediate plan to allow vote on Iran sanctions bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made clear on Tuesday he has no immediate plan to allow a vote on a bill that would slap new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, Reuters reported.

 
U.S. lawmakers not seeking war with Iran: congressman
A congressman has said that U.S. lawmakers do not want war with Iran, criticizing White House officials for suggesting that backers of a new Iran sanctions bill in the Senate are actually trying to start a war.