Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed hope for a negotiated solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

North Korea's chief nuclear envoy says delegates have reached agreement on some points of a Chinese-backed draft aimed at ending the standoff over the North's nuclear program.

The White House says it has no intention of going to war with Iran.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council, Gordon Johndroe, dismissed statements from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said his country would target U.S. interests around the world if it came under attack over its disputed nuclear program.

A top Iranian envoy is holding talks with senior Russian officials in Moscow on ways to resolve Iran's nuclear standoff with the West.

Russia's foreign minister has told Iran that Moscow is hoping for a positive response to its efforts to help resolve the international standoff over Tehran's nuclear program.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a Middle East tour, has urged Iranian leaders to return to negotiations on the country's nuclear program.

International nuclear experts say Iran has linked up two more sets of centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear plant, this time underground.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he supports a proposal by the U.N. nuclear agency for the international community to hold off sanctions on Iran if the Tehran government suspends sensitive nuclear activities.

France has said a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable, backtracking on earlier remarks by President Jacques Chirac.

Iran has begun 10 days of celebrations, known as "Ten Days of Dawn," to mark the 28th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Iran has denied a British newspaper report that North Korea was giving it technical help to prepare an underground nuclear test similar to the one carried out by Pyongyang in October.

South Korea's foreign minister offered a note of caution ahead of six-nation talks to freeze North Korea's nuclear program, saying Wednesday there was a long way to go before a final agreement will be reached.