Iran, Middle East | featured news

Iran's government faced criticism on Monday over its response to two earthquakes that killed 306 people, with complaints of a lack of tents and about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's decision to go ahead with an overseas trip.

The death toll from twin earthquakes rose to 300, officials said Sunday, as rescue efforts in northwest Irancontinued and more bodies were expected to be found.

Overcrowded hospitals in northwestern Iran struggled to cope with thousands of earthquake victims on Sunday and rescuers raced to reach remote villages after two powerful quakes killed nearly 300 people.

Iran has stepped up work to develop a nuclear warhead, Israeli newspapers said on Sunday, citing officials in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and leaked U.S. intelligence.

Two strong earthquakes leveled villages and damaged homes in northwestern Iran on Saturday, killing at least 180 people and injuring more than 1,350 others, state TV reported. Thousands of people spent the night outdoors as aftershocks rattled the area.

Standard Chartered won some help from Britain's central bank governor on Wednesday in its fightback against the New York banking regulator's allegations that it had hidden $250 billion of transactions with Iran.

Iran has test fired a fourth-generation Fateh 110 missile with a range of 300 kilometers, the state Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Saturday citing Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who said the test was "successful".

Congress is pressing ahead with a new package of crippling sanctions on Iran, expanding on financial penalties and targeting Tehran's energy and shipping sectors in the hope that economic pressure undercuts its suspected nuclear weapons program....

Mitt Romney would support a unilateral military strike by Israel against Iran to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapon capability, a senior foreign policy adviser said Sunday. The presumptive Republican nominee began a series of meetings with top Israeli officials here Sunday and plans to deliver a muscular defense of Israel in a formal speech delivered near Jerusalem’s Old City. Previewing the candidate’s remarks, adviser Dan Senor told reporters that Romney would back Israeli military action against Iran.

Obscure private firms are offering Iranian crude oil at steep discounts to European oil traders as Tehran seeks ways to restore oil export flows hit by Western sanctions.