AFP: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will on Tuesday host a summit with his counterparts from Afghanistan and Pakistan, which is expected to discuss rebulding of war-shattered Afghanistan.

New York Times: As Iran finds itself locked in an escalating cold war-style conflict with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations, the quietly influential Sultanate of Oman has accelerated its cooperation with Tehran, nurturing an alliance that helps empower Iran while highlighting the deep divisions among Arab capitals.

AFP: US-born reporter Roxana Saberi flew into Vienna from Tehran on Friday, only days after her release from an Iranian prison where she had been jailed on allegations of spying for the United States.

Reuters: A U.S. judge has sentenced an aviation company owner to 17 months in prison for conspiring to ship parts for fighter jets and other military aircraft to Iran in violation of the U.S. embargo, according to court papers.

Press Association: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appealed to Pope Benedict XVI "to make his voice heard" and use his moral authority to condemn the harsh anti-Israel rhetoric voiced by Iran's hard-line president.

AFP: CIA chief Leon Panetta has held secret talks in Israel with top officials who assured him the Jewish state would not launch a surprise strike on Iran, a report said.

Reuters: Eight people died in fighting between gunmen and a religious militia in northwestern Iran near Turkey and Iraq, a government daily reported on Wednesday.

AFP: A lawyer for US-born reporter Roxana Saberi, freed this week from a Tehran jail, said on Wednesday the spy charges she had faced arose after she obtained a classified report on the US war on Iraq.