Iran Daily 
 
Western delegates race to Iran
Six months after the inauguration of Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani, western diplomats and businessmen are racing to Tehran hoping that a diplomatic thaw will reopen lucrative markets.

 
Kerry, Zarif discuss next round of nuclear talks
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met his American counterpart John Kerry on the sidelines of the 50th Munich Security Conference.

 
Yemeni official: Kidnapped Iranian diplomat alive
Yemen has confirmed that the kidnapped Iranian diplomat Nour Ahmad Nikbakht is alive and in good health.

 
Israeli officials angered by US boycott warnings
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected US Secretary of State John Kerry’s warning against a growing boycott movement against Tel Aviv  should peace talks with the Palestinians fail, saying the stance undermined Israel’s legitimacy and thechances of reaching a peace agreement.

 
Thousands rally in Ukraine after West support
Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Ukraine on Sunday in a bid to wring new concessions from President Viktor Yanukovych, buoyed by pledges of support from Europe and the United States.

 
Iran, Iraq discuss environmental cooperation
Iran and Iraq have stressed the need to use full capacities of both states to broaden Tehran-Baghdad cooperation in protecting the environment.

 
US rapped for denying travel permit to Iranian official
World Affairs Council, an educational nonprofit organization, has blasted the US State Department for refusing to grant permission to Iran ambassador to the UN to travel to Philadelphia and deliver a speech at a meeting hosted by the group.

 
Official: 95 percent of Iranian expatriates can return home
Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular and Parliamentary Affairs Hassan Qashqavi said almost 95 percent of the Iranians living abroad have no problems traveling to their homeland.

 
Britain to pay back Iran £400 million
Britain is to pay back £400 million it has owed Iran since the Islamic Revolution more than 30 years ago.

 

 
Tehran Times

Zarif, Kerry meet to discuss final nuclear accord
Iranian Foreign  Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Germany on Sunday to discuss the next stage in efforts to reach a final agreement to end a decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.

 
Iran, China to draw up ‘roadmap’ for economic cooperation: official
An official at the Iranian Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance says Iran and China will soon sign a agreement setting a “roadmap” to boost cooperation in a wide range of economic sectors, such as industry and mine, oil, gas, and petrochemicals, communications and information technology,
banking, transportation, and energy.

 
Tense Thai elections go ahead despite protests
Protesters trying to derail Thailand’s national elections Sunday forced the closure of hundreds of polling stations in a highly contentious vote that has become the latest flash point in the country’s deepening political crisis.

 
Demo held in Beirut to condemn Saudi terrorism
Lebanese protesters gathered outside the Saudi Embassy in Beirut on Saturday to condemn what they called the negative role of Saudi Arabia in the region.

 
Israel halts financing of illegal West Bank settlements
The Zionist entity’s Finance Minister Yair Lapid has decided to suspend the transfer of public funds to West Bank settlements pending a probe into their alleged misuse, his office said, according to AFP.

 
‘Lake Urmia is drying up due to lack of a strategy for sustainable development’
The lack of a proper strategy for “sustainable development” has led to Lake Urmia drying up to a great extent, says Isa Kalantari, an official that Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani recently tasked with monitoring the efforts to revive the lake.

 
UAE summons Qatari ambassador over Qaradawi comments
The United Arab Emirates summoned the Qatari ambassador over what it said were insults against the UAE made by a prominent cleric in a broadcast from Doha, state news agency WAM reported on Sunday.

 
Yemen’s Houthis seize Salafi strongholds
Shia Houthi fighters in Yemen have overrun the strongholds of pro-Salafi tribes following  weeks of fighting, which have left scores dead.

 
Iranian nuclear negotiators are backed by military might: general
The deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that Iranian nuclear negotiators are backed by the country’s military
might.

 
Iran will not halt research on centrifuges: Zarif
Iran will not give up research on centrifuges used to purify uranium as part of a final deal on its nuclear program, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday, according to Reuters.

 
Iran sues British Ministry of Defense firm over failure to deliver tanks
The Iranian government is taking a Ministry of Defense-owned company to the High Court to end a £400m row over British-made Chieftain tanks that has dragged on for 35 years, the Independent reported on Sunday.

 
Karroubi transferred to his home
Mehdi Karroubi, who was put under house arrest two years after the 2009 presidential election, has been moved from detention at a location in Tehran to his home in the capital’s northern Jamaran area, his son said on Sunday.