The Times: The White House warned Iran last night that military action is still one of its options despite the "hand of friendship" offered by President Obama.

Washington Post: President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in the past week have sent repeated signals to Iran that the door is now wide open for direct talks between the two countries three decades after the Iranian revolution, but U.S. officials say the method, the pace and the tenor of that diplomacy still remain to be settled.

Washington Times: Former Defense Secretary William J. Perry held a series of previously undisclosed meetings last year with a senior adviser to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to discuss Iran's nuclear program, a person familiar with the back-channel talks said Thursday.

Wall Street Journal: The United Nations official responsible for keeping tabs on Iran's nuclear program detailed measures he believes the new U.S. administration should take to halt Tehran's nuclear-weapons program, and described previous U.S. efforts as "a total failure."

AFP: US President Barack Obama prefers diplomacy with Iran but preserves "all his options," the White House said Thursday, refusing to rule out military strikes despite promises of a new rapprochement.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jan. 29 – Russia has delivered two Mi-171 helicopters to Iran as part of a $45 million contract to upgrade the latter's rescue fleet.

AP: Israeli election front-runner Benjamin Netanyahu told a session of the World Economic Forum on Thursday that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons ranks far above the global economy among the challenges facing leaders of the 21st century.