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Iran presidency candidates to step forward, finally

By Marcus George and Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Few Iranian presidential elections have been so unpredictable but the next few days will at least narrow down who will stand in the ballot on June 14, for which candidate registration starts on Tuesday and ends on Saturday.

Iran diplomat's arrest due to "misunderstanding:" minister

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister said he believed the detention of a former diplomat linked to the country's reformists was caused by a "misunderstanding" and defended the man's record, Iranian media reported. Bagher Asadi, who was a senior diplomat at Iran's U.N. mission in New York before becoming a director at the secretariat of the D8 group of developing nations in Istanbul, was arrested mid-March in the Iranian capital, sources told Reuters this week.

Iran begins registering presidential hopefuls

Iran began Tuesday a five-day registration period for candidates in a June 14 presidential election, with a string of conservative hopefuls in the running but key reformists yet to come forward, reports said. The interior ministry started registering candidates from 8:00 am (0330 GMT), according to the media reports. Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar advised hopefuls against waiting until the last day to register, while warning against early campaigning, said the state broadcaster's website.

Iran diplomat with links to reformists detained

An Iranian diplomat with ties to the reformist camp has been arrested following "a misunderstanding", Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying Thursday by the Isna news agency. Bagher Asadi's detention comes weeks ahead of the June 14 presidential election, the first since the wave of protests that followed the 2009 poll that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeat reformist candidates. "We hope that the misunderstanding over Mr Asadi, who is a senior and respected employee of the foreign ministry, will be resolved and that he will be freed," Salehi said.

Iran diplomat with links to reformists detained

An Iranian diplomat with ties to the reformist camp has been arrested following "a misunderstanding", Foreign Minister Alki Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying Thursday by the Isna news agency. Bagher Asadi's detention comes weeks ahead of the June 14 presidential election, the first since the wave of protests that followed the 2009 poll that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeat reformist candidates. "We hope that the misunderstanding over Mr. Asadi, who is a senior and respected employee of the foreign ministry, will be resolved and that he will be freed," Salehi said.

Fresh round of Iran nuclear talks in Istanbul May 15

The EU's top diplomat Catherine Ashton will meet chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Istanbul on May 15 in a fresh effort to defuse international concern over Tehran's disputed nuclear drive. Ashton's office said "the talks are a follow-up to the last round of negotiations held in Almaty" on April 5 and 6 that failed to produce an accord.

Iran minister warns ex-presidents over elections

Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi on Thursday warned ex-presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, without naming them, over their alleged role in the protest movement that followed Iran's disputed 2009 elections. The two former presidents have not yet announced if they will contest the June 14 presidential election to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who cannot stand for a third consecutive term.

PM Abe vows to promote Japan nuclear infrastructure exports to Mideast

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed Wednesday to promote exports of Japan's nuclear infrastructure to the Middle East in an effort to enhance economic ties with the region. "I want to build...a completely new relationship (with the Middle East)," Abe said in a speech at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, expressing hope to strengthen ties with the region also in the political and security fields.

Iran says it's ready to resume talks with world powers

By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Iran is ready to resume talks with world powers on its disputed nuclear programme and awaits word from the European Union on timing and details, Iran's deputy nuclear negotiator said on Thursday. Ali Bagheri, in an interview with Reuters in Geneva, said Iran needed 20 percent-enriched uranium for its Tehran research reactor and four others being built, and was continuing to convert some of its stockpile into reactor fuel.

Iran parks millions of oil barrels on tankers as buyers retreat

By Jonathan Saul LONDON (Reuters) - Iran is storing millions of barrels of oil on tankers in its territorial waters as Tehran struggles with tougher Western sanctions on its vital seaborne export trade, ship industry sources say. Iran's oil revenues have fallen by about 50 percent since tough EU and U.S. measures were imposed last year, hurting business and cutting living standards for ordinary Iranians.
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