AFP: Iran ushered in its Persian New Year on Tuesday with a symbolic cannon blast from its flagship destroyer, and speeches from leaders vowing to fix an economy suffering under Western sanctions.

BBC: In late 2004, in an atmosphere of frenzied speculation about war with Iran, Jack Straw – then Britain’s Foreign Secretary – told the BBC that military action was “inconceivable.”

Wall Street Journal: Now that Vladimir Putin has allowed the Russian electorate to rubber-stamp him back into power, he can return with redoubled purpose to his consistently regressive interference in world affairs.

Wall Street Journal: Faced with U.S. pressure to move faster in isolating Iran’s financial sector to choke off funds for Tehran’s nuclear program, the European Union took an action last week that officials in Brussels admit goes well beyond the carefully-calibrated sanctions they originally intended.

AFP: Two British journalists working for an Iranian broadcaster who were detained by a Libyan militia last month have been freed, the interior ministry said on Sunday.

Reuters: Britain accused Iran on Sunday of blocking a website days after it was launched by the British government to reach out to Iranians, in the latest spat over media censorship.

Bloomberg: Iran’s Central Bank, which had fixed the national currency at 12,260 to the dollar in a bid to stabilize it, said traders are once again allowed to buy and sell at market rates.

AFP: An Indian court issued on Saturday an arrest warrant against another Iranian suspect in an attack last month on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi, a report said.